The Fishy - Grimsby Town FC

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Who will go down?







 

Sheff Utd Report Card

By: Dr Fishy
Date: 22/09/2002

JUST before I mark the players for their great effort at Bramall Lane, I would like to make a point. Who the hell is in charge of substitutions for Town? Is it Groves or Rodger? Or both?

Home > 2002-2003 Season > Report Cards > Sheff Utd (a)


Whoever it is needs to sort it out, quickly. Town have now lost three games this season due to late goals. Coincidence? I don't think so.

The reason for this, I feel, is substitutes. At Bramall Lane, Town were looking comfortable for three points - that was, until United changed to a 4-3-3 system. Three fresh legs up front against two thirty-something year-olds who have played nearly every minute of every game for the Mariners this season. So, it would make sense, you feel, to bring a defender off the bench to help out, perhaps replacing a striker.

Mr Raven was there, so surely an ideal substitute? No, let's not change anything! Groves and Chettle, for all their effort, just cannot be expected on their own to tackle. Three massive subs, all with fresh legs - it seems so simple to change things but after all, this is Town. We just don't do things the simple way.

Also, what the hell are Mansaram and Rowan supposed to do coming on in injury time? We need them on earlier. So come on Town, sort the subs out. The some eleven players cannot be expected to play every game for 90 minutes. OK, that's the moaning over with, well, until we reach Barnard.

Coyne: Another collection of superb saves. Couldn't be faulted for any of the goals. One question to Mr Hughes: When does Jones, Freestone, Crossley or Ward make as many good saves week in week out? Came out well to collect balls low down.

Grade: B

McDermott: Very solid defensively including one superb tackle in the second half. Passing was a bit loose, but did come forward well.

Grade: C+

Ford: Often left the winger wide on his own, which meant he was often trying to catch up with him but usually did via a good tackle. Has to play from the start, wherever it may be in defence.

Grade: C

Groves: Very solid again, never lost anything in the air until the Blades' subs came on. However, he needs to make subs earlier!

Grade: C+

Chettle: Has the habit of often being in the right place at the right time, usually just to hack a loose ball away. A bit slow when distributing the ball along with being a bit dodgy with a couple of back-passes. Still, comfortable until the subs came on.

Grade: C

Campbell: One of his better games this season. Did well defensively and got more stuck in than usual. Also he made a few forward runs - always looks knackered though, even in the pre-match warm-up.

Grade: C

Barnard: Apparently we have two Welsh internationals but I still don't know who else (apart from Coyne) it is. Barnard never made forward runs with the ball and never got back to cover. He never does anything. Oh, he does take corners. Note the last time we scored from a corner.

Grade: E

Coldicott: A second successful solid performance from Stace. He's a lot better away from home. He got stuck in and threw himself at shots to block them and tackled well. Now he just needs to learn how to pass forward.

Grade: B-

Pouton: Had a rather quiet game by his standards. Has his sudden bursts of activity that includes the usual step-overs; enough to make Town fans adore him. Seen better performances from him though.

Grade: D+

Kabba: This was his best game for Town so far. His control was much better and his pace devastated Shaun Murphy and whoever else was in the Blades' defence. Tired towards the end of the game, basically because of all the running he did. So why not sub him with 20 minutes to go? How about it Grovesy? No, let's wait until injury time.

Grade: B-

Robinson: An interesting player. Scored - which is enough, missed a sitter, lacked control but does have pace. Don't know what to make of him yet.

Grade: C-

SUBS

Cooke: Didn't do much, but was playing on the left side.

Rowan and Mansaram: Can't grade them because they came on too late. Do you think I've made my point now???


Grade Guide

A*This is almost impossible to achieve as I will refuse to give anyone this grade - unless they score six goals and get opposing players sent off.
AThis is more possible to achieve, although the player must have had a brilliant game i.e. he can't have put a foot wrong all match.
A-The player must have performed superbly, setting up goals, scoring goals, making match-winning tackles etc.
B+The player played to a very high standard indeed having been influential throughout the 90 minutes.
BThis can be achieved if the player had a very good game overall but could be forgiven for making one or two minor mistakes.
B-The player put in a performance worthy of special mention for his efforts on the pitch or otherwise having a good game.
C+A mark for players who have had an average game but at the same time played well in patches and may have had an impact on the final score.
CAn average performance but not worthy of being dropped for the next game - a competent performance.
C-Start thinking about the player's attitude and commitment on the pitch. Showed little effort and was probably invisible for most of the match.
D+Poor game and realistically shouldn't feature in the next game.
DThis player shouldn't be playing in the near future.
D-The player deserves to be fined for his abysmal performance
EThe player should be sacked
F And then shot



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