TOPIC: Player ratings v Bristol Rovers

Gillespie 7 - Bad error for their second, but three great saves
Miller 7 - improving, what a ball for the winner
Gillesphie 7 - looks improve since coming back into the team
Raynes 5 - what a clanger for their first
Ellis 7 - solid performance as usual
Grainger 6 - not his best day but kept going
Comley 8 - all action performance
Kennedy 7 - sublime finish
Stacey 7 - promising debut, great goal
Gillead 7 - much better game playing more centrally
Wyke 7 - battled well and good finish

Subs
Joyce 5 - down on confidence, should've scored from 50 yards
Jabo 6 - good hold up play
Pedro 5 - not on long enough

Best we've played since before Christmas against a good side

Agree woth most but feel Gillesphey is too loghtweight for his size. would like to see grainver dropped back and Sweeney back in at left midfield when fit.

Good moaning, I was just pissing and thought I would give my ratings.

Gillespie 6 - Some good saves but needs to improve concentration.
Miller 6
Raynes 5
Ellis 7 - battling effort.
Gillespehey 6
Grainger 6 - seems to be struggling for fitness
Kennedy 6 - thought he struggled with pace of game but great finish
Comley 7 - energetic
Stacey 7 - storming first 20 minutes!
Wyke 7
Gilliead 6

Re Joyce folks were going spare cos he didn't shoot from 50 yards. He would have missed. Instead we ran down the clock and won a corner.

He should've shot
I reckon 40% chance of a goal and 60% chance of a goal kick versus 30 seconds wasted.
Symptomatic of his lack of confidence, probably not helped by idiots booing him as he came on the pitch (after they'd booed the decision to sub Stacey)

Gillespie - 7 (would have been a 5 until last 10 mins)
Miller - 7. Involved a lot. Good game.
Raynes - 6. Probably at fault for their first.
Ellis - 7. Solid as usual. Typical performance.
Gillesphey- 7. Did his job
Graninger - 6. Not quite his usual performance we've seen this season. Few needless little swipes off the ball in front of the ref.
Gillead - 8. Always wanted to get going. Linked up well with Stacy.
Stacy - 9. Great debut. Worked hard, lovely goal. Think curled was actually right to bring him off when he did though. Few loose touches early second half. Thought he was possibly tiring.
Kennedy- 8 great goal. Solid performance
Commley- 7. Better first half than second I thought
Wyke - 7. Battled away. Did well to make it for the goal. Wish he'd shoot when he gets opportunities. Loves taking loads of touches.

Jabo - 6. Did okay
Joyce - 6. Same as above
Pedro - 6/7 wanted to get forward, possibly took a step over and touch too much.

I'd give Jabo an extra point for his game management in stoppage time, heading the ball away to prevent the quick throw in, then holding onto the ball while Bristol players bounced off him. Superb stuff.

Seekaye wrote:
A goals kick would have also wasted significant time, although i'm not his biggest fan dont think the booing was needed but it in the end we wont the match and thats al that matters.

bejustandfearprokas wrote:
I agree with your ratings apart from -

I'd give Grainger a 4 - yes he huffs and puffs but he's not a winger(Curle shoudn't pick him in that position) and as for his diving and constant pushing of their players for no reason he needs to stop both.

I don't think fans were booing Joyce, more the decision to bring our best player off. Yes the boo's continued, but I still don't think they were aimed at Joyce.

Very questionable substitution at the time for me. Questionable even had we been 2-1 up, but we got the 3 points which were just deserved in my opinion.

Comley was fantastic, ran his socks off, and a worthy man of the match. Great to see Gilliead celebrating at the full time whistle too - he looked genuinely chuffed to bits. So much for loan players not giving a shit eh!

Certainly sounded as though Joyce was being bood from where I was sitting, his name was announced and then there were boos.

Got to say it really wound me up.
1) As a good friend used to say, I've done a lot of jobs of work, can't think of one I'd have done better if I had been bood when doing it.

2) Stacey is a young inexperienced lad, who played really well but with another game in less than a week maybe it was better to not overtire him.

3) We needed some one strong in midfield, when Joyce came on Kennedy had a little more license to go forward, which worked out rather well in the end.

So boo, I boo the boo-ers.

He was definitely booed when he came on which I haven't heard for a long time. Probably contributed to his early wayward passes. Not nice to hear.

I thought Bristol rovers were starting to take control at that point so adding another midfielder into the mix was the right decision.

I honestly thought that the booing was aimed at Curle for what could be viewed as a "negative" substitution - taking off arguably our best player (would have been Man of the Match if he'd stayed on). Certainly didn't think it was aimed at Joyce. Joyce was stood in view on the touchline for a fair bit and it was only when the number showed 16 that the crowd reacted. Probably just about worked in the end but we didn't create a huge amount after Joyce came on.

Gillespie - 7 - Looking at the footage of the second goal, he maybe could have done better (though it seems to bobble and come through Raynes' legs. Two great saves right near the end.

Miller - 7 - Should really get his contract sorted for next season now. Pretty solid defensively and decent going forward - excellent pass for the winner and unlucky to hit the post with his header from a corner.

Raynes - 5 - Pretty dire to be honest. Got done for pace by the big ginger lad up top a few times and what on earth he was doing for the first goal I don't know. Would rather see Atkinson alongside Ellis if we're going to go back to passing it out from the back.

Ellis - 7 - Some good last-ditch tackles and headers today. Not a huge amount got past him.

Gillesphey - 7 - Vast improvement in the last month or two. Looks comfortable passing it out from the back and has learned when to get rid when in trouble.

Comley - 7.5 - Like this lad. Very tenacious, bit of pace about him and was fairly brave with his passing today.

Kennedy - 6.5 - Actually thought he was pretty poor today (and said as much to a mate) but then popped up with an excellent, cool finish for the winner. That said, he's looking very tired at the moment and could maybe do with a rest.

Stacey - 7 - Very impressed. Looks comfortable with the ball on either foot and not afraid of taking on his man. Also did more than his fair share of tracking back and defending. Lovely finish for his goal. Still think it was odd to take him off, especially when Grainger came off a few mins later anyway.

Gilliead - 6 - A bit better than of late and created some decent chances but once again spent a lot of time fannying out of challenges. Should look at the way Stacey put himself about. Good corners though.

Grainger - 6 - Not involved in the game much though not entirely his fault - was in space a lot of the time but wasn't picked out. Couple of decent crosses in.

Wyke - 7 - Come a long way from the scrawny lad who signed from Boro last season. Commanding again up to, great determination for his goal. Some good flick-ons too. Drifted out of the game after the subs but would argue that wasn't really his fault.

Subs

Joyce - 6 - Can understand the frustration of the fans seeing him come on for an attacking player (probably would have been less complaints if it was say Grainger he replaced). Did alright though, bar that one shocking pass to Miller. Agree with the posters above that he should really have had a go at the open goal but that might be a sign of his lack of confidence.

Ibehre - 6 - Solid enough considering he's been ill all week. Good running down the clock at the end.

Pedro - 5 - All hail the new Johann Smith step-over king! Interesting cameo, but hard to judge him on it.


Overall, I thought we dominated the first 20 or so minutes playing some good stuff, with Stacey and Gilliead interchanging well and linking up with Wyke. Their early subs brought them back into it but their goal was a total gift from Raynes. Second-half we looked strong again until the subs and we flitted in and out of the game after that until Kennedy's winner. Vital three points and next weekend is massive now - need to make sure we don't lose at the very least.

Gillespie 6 - few good saves but some poor moments, still not commanding in the least

Gillesphey 6 - shaky but stuck to the task
Ellis 7 - Steady
Raynes 5 - bad error for goal, not as steady as usual
Miller 6 - great ball for winner but his first thought is nearly always to go backwards

Comley 8 - looked knackered but good performance
Kennedy 7 - usual battling display and great run and finish for winner
Grainger 5 - one good cross early on but poor from then on
Stacey 8 - good performance and lovely goal, knackered when brought off

Gilliead 7 - vast improvement on recent performance, best since xmas
Wkye 6 - battled well for his goal but needs to do a lot more as the lone striker

Joyce 6 - terrible start but composed in closing stages, 100% correct decision not to shoot from halfway
Pedro 5 - looked promising but lost the ball in the end nearly every time
Ibhere 6 - held it up well late on, Wyke should learn from him

Entertaining game. Best opening 15 minutes for 3/4 months, we were excellent. BR made two changes to tighten things up and started to take control without looking too threatening. Two of the softest goals you could ever concede which is the story of our season, but credit where it's due we stuck at it and came strong again at the end. Just about deserved the 3 points in the end.

Whole mindset of the team was totally different to the last 3 months and we looked confident on the ball and created some good openings by playing simple football, similar to the start of the season. It was helped by the fact Bristol Rovers never really pressed us and allowed us to play though. Makes you wonder why we were so direct for the last 3 months, resulting in poor performances and poor results. We do however need to learn when to play at the back and when to just clear your lines, definitely something Curle should be instilling into the team.

Cracking 3 points though and gives everyone a bit of renewed hope

Seekaye wrote:
100% Joyce did the right thing not shooting, scoring on the run from halfway line is a lot harder than it looks, especially with the keeper getting back at pace. Not many, if any, players at this level could have scored in such circumstances.

Joyce was composed, retained possession, eventually won a corner and all in all wasted about 2 of the 5 minutes of injury time. Sensible play

A very enjoyable end to end game and certainly the best performance I've seem from us in 2016. We played some lovely football in the first 20 mins.

Gillespie 7 - redeemed himself with 3 great saves at the end. A good shot stopper but seems slow in decision making at times and as for the mix up in the 1st half when he just managed to clear it, the less said the better
Miller 6 - lovely through ball for Kennedy, less sure defensively in 2nd half
Gillesphey 8 - though he did really well, especially when lacking cover in front of him a lot of the time
Raynes 6 - solid in the air but at fault for the first
Ellis 6 - a couple of really good last ditch tackles but struggled at times on the ground
Grainger 5 - what was going on with him today? Strange performance. I don't think he'd have stayed on the pitch for 90 mins if he hadn't been subbed, he'd have got a 2nd yellow the way he was behaving
Comley 7 - worked very hard at closing down and covering but it was his initial error when he misjudged an easy ball in the centre circle which gave them possession and lead to their first goal
Kennedy 7 - pleased for him to get the winner. has been below par recently but getting back to some decent form
Stacey 7 - lovely goal, worked hard defensively and linked up well with Gilliead
Gilliead 7 - much more committed than of late ( now international duty out of the way? ) and showed a few nice touches and close passing. As already mentioned he was dead pleased at the end.
Wyke 8 - lead the line really well, got some good defensive headers in defending set pieces too

Subs
Joyce 5 - brought on to close down midfield
Jabo 6 - held ball well to run the clock down but a stupid booking
Pedro 5 - some promising touches so it will be interesting to see how he does

I thought the game was played in the main in a good spirit and Rovers played some nice football at times. The double substitution early on by Clarke made a big difference. A pleasant change not to see opponents rolling round as if they'd been shot every few minutes. They perhaps got a few soft free kicks towards the end but I'd blame the ref for that rather than any histrionics on their part.

Good team spirit yet again.

franksidebottom wrote:
Disagree. He was 40 yards out on the touch line. He toe ends it, it going to cross the bi-line somewhere with surely a decent(ish) chance that he scores. Game won. I've followed Carlisle for 35 years and never seen us score on the break with the keeper up for a corner. Seen it against us a few times, Swansea in league 1 the season we weren't far off the playoffs and a home game close to the end of our relegation from league 2 season

My f**k buddy was watching Sky Sports Gillette Soccer Monday and she said they were very complimentary of our style of football.

franksidebottom wrote:
Even if he had missed it would have been a goal kick, i understand your point of view though but it was not a shot that was required he could have passed it in as that keeper moved slower than a snail, and any midfielder who could thinks he could not hit an area of 192 square feet should have more faith.

After watching all the second half on Utd Player my view is that: it was correct to bring on Joyce as Stacey was tired and BR were pushing forward; the booing cane when Joyce ran on to the pitch; and he made the right choice in not going for goal, he was way out near the touch line and the chance of scoring was low, the move he started took a good 2 minutes off the clock. And that is from me who doesn't think Joyce is that great.

It would have been interesting to see the reaction of Joyce if the two substitutions that were made about a minute apart came together. What formation were we playing for that minute of football, and what's the point in doing that when a minute later you change it again when Jabo came on.

The first 20 minutes of football was almost infuriating. The link up play, the movement, the composure, everything was fantastic. Why have we simply not bothered to try doing that for the last 3 months? Why have we had to ensure 3 months of dreadful hoofball, unable to win games?

It was great to see Gilliead and Stacey getting in between the lines of their midfield and defence - getting the ball, turning and attacking their defence. Fair play to Rovers for changing it so early, kept them in the game and really they at least deserved a point from the game.

Some dreadful defending and we made mistakes all over the pitch, but I'd much rather watch us make mistakes trying to play the right way than hoofing it up top aimlessly, where we still lose the ball.

Cracking game, cracking entertainment, more of the same please.

Seekaye wrote:
40 yards? I wouldn't like you to cut my carpets Seekaye!

So you followed Carlisle for 35 years and only seen it happen once at this level? Like I say, not many players at this level are capable of doing it.

I bet John Barnes against Arsenal in '89 or Ginola against Bulgaria in '93 wished they'd done what Joyce did yesterday

Folks were going bonkers because he didn't slot away this 50 yard sitter, some of our strikers have been struggling to hit the target from 10 yards recently.
We did well to see the game out.
You can't fault the battling qualities of the team this season.
Yes, we conceded two poor goals, but we battled away and it was a hard fought win.
Get frustrated that some folk seem so quick to voice their disapproval, but seem to make little effort to encourage or cheer the team on until AFTER we score.
Still, I will stand in the paddock...

franksidebottom wrote:
Still disagree. Not many league 2 footballers can kick the ball 40 yards in a straight line?! Yes it turned out well and we got the win but imagine if they'd equalised and we'd passed up the chance to seal the game. Give the crowd some excitement, should've had a go!

Seekaye wrote: Given the amount of time left on the clock I think it was much more likely they'd equalise had Joyce gone for the shot. Keeping possession pretty much guaranteed us the win so there was really no point trying to do otherwise.

daviejones wrote:
100% the right decision, you can never tell what might have happened if he had have shot but his decision played a major part in seeing the game out. Also, when the decision in the crowd was to shoot, it shows something of his character after being booed onto the pitch not to shoot to try and win some fans back.

Gillespie 8 - 3 great saves at the end and a great stop at the one on one before HT. Would have lost without him.
Miller 6 - great ball for Kennedy but I'm still not as certain about him as some. Gets forward but needs to work on his crossing and not passing it backwards.
Gillesphey 7 - thought he had a good game, nice to see him getting some form recently after his bad run.
Raynes 5 - wins his fair share of headers but definitely at fault for the first and should have done better for the second as well.
Ellis 7 - really good performance, almost my MoM. Poor mistake diving in when beaten to let their ginger lad clean through before Gillespie bailed him out though.
Grainger 5 - been brilliant this season but just wasn't at it today at all - looked knackered very early, maybe came back from his injury too soon?
Comley 8 MOM - great game, chases all day long, closing down and breaking up the play. Actually turns and runs forward with the ball as well, far better team with him beside Kennedy than Joyce.
Kennedy 7 - was actually thinking he'd been relatively quiet and not done too much before he came up with the winner.
Stacey 7 - lovely goal and worked hard getting back too, quieter 2nd half before coming off but maybe just tiredness.
Gilliead 7 - much better than he has been recently and actually put in a couple of tackles for once
Wyke 8 - played really well, won more than his fair share of headers but as they got back into the game there was increasingly nobody near him not giving him much chance. Took his goal brilliantly and some great headers in our own box too.

Subs
Joyce 6 - don't like Joyce at all but he actually did a decent job, except from that shocking ball to Miller. I was kicking off when he didn't take the chance to shoot as their keeper was painfully slow getting back, but worked out well in the end. I would have been slating him if they'd scored one of their chances to equalise though!
Jabo 7 - did what he does best and held up the ball when we needed it to wind the clock down, did just what we needed. Only down his poor shot when it was pulled back to him.
Pedro 5 - was looking forward to seeing him, was something different but wasn't great. Not sure he actually retained possession once and didn't really put any work in defensively, hopefully improve the longer he's here.

I think Raynes' decision to head back to Gillespie was the right one, but the problem was that he didn't stand in front of the striker to stop him getting to the ball before it got to Gillespie. Basic defending to get your body in between the ball and the man, similarly basic errors led to the second goal as well giving the man enough space to turn and shoot - it does look like Gillespie was wrong-footed on that one so I spare him the blame for getting beat by it.