Rate The Players v Accrington Stanley | Vital Football

Rate The Players v Accrington Stanley

Jules

Website Owner
Staff member
6.0 is the par score, use half-marks and give us your comments too.

Deadline is 5pm on Wednesday.

Palmer
Poole
Bramall
Montsma
Walsh
Grant
Jones
McGrandles
Hopper
Johnson
Rogers

Edun
Scully
 
Palmer 3.5 - at fault for the first, terrible distribution throughout and got a hand to the second without saving it.
Poole 6 - average.
Bramall 3 - looked like he'd never played football before, let alone started for us.
Montsma 6 - won some big headers. Not his usual self though.
Walsh 6.5 - played OK but not helped out with a lack of passing options.
Grant 6.5 - great assist and some good set pieces which should have resulted in goals.
Jones 5.5 - looks really poor after being left out.
McGrandles 6 - did ok
Hopper 6.5 - good header.
Johnson 6.5 - good moments but inconsistent. I'd like to see him make an impact from the bench against Wigan.
Rogers 6.5 - nice header for the goal and a good volley. A game changer.

Edun 7 - made the difference
Scully 6.5 - offered something different.
 
Palmer Palmer 5
Poole 6
Bramall 5
Montsma 6
Walsh 7
Grant 7
Jones 6
McGrandles 7
Hopper 8
Johnson 6
Rogers 6.5

Edun 7
Scully 6
Poole 5
Bramall
Montsma
Walsh
Grant
Jones
McGrandles
Hopper
Johnson
Rogers

Edun
Scully
 
Palmer 4
Poole 5.5
Bramall 4
Montsma 5
Walsh 7
Grant 7
Jones 5.5
McGrandles 6.5
Hopper 7.5
Johnson 6
Rogers 6.5

Edun 6
Scully 6
 
Palmer 6 (Struggled with his distribution initially due to heavy press)
Poole 5.5 ok (Not on message in the first half)
Bramall 4
Montsma 5.5 (Back to the careless fouls and gave ball away in poor places)
Walsh 7
Grant 7 (Got better in the second half)
Jones 5 (Covid hangover)
McGrandles 5.5 (One of his worse games in a Lincoln shirt)
Hopper 7
Johnson 5 (Heavy pitches do not help but wasteful wasteful wasteful)
Rogers 5 (Very frustrating watching him)

Edun 6.5 played well and gave us some momentum - some poor distribution
Scully 7 Energy and effort. Others take note.
 
Palmer 4: His halo finally slipped on what was arguably his worst performance for City. Terrible mistake for their first and his kicking was awful all game. Could he have done better with their equaliser?
Poole 6: Dodgy first half, gave the ball away numerous times, but showed vast improvement after the break and made one superb goal-saving tackle and looked to get forward. Not a patch on Eyoma though.
Bramall 3: That was some debut, on a par with those chumps we employed when fumbling our way through the lower reaches of the National League. Gave it away virtually every time he had it and just looked completely out of his depth. Will hopefully get better.
Montsma 6: Defended okay, looked a little rusty. Threw in his obligatory ‘one bad mistake per game’ but thankfully nothing came of it. Brought the ball out of defence well at times.
Walsh 7: One of the best players on the pitch again and showed why he’s our number one centre-back now. Dominant in the air and on the ground.
Grant 6.5: Much better second half and lovely cross for Hopper’s goal. Didn’t have the time or space to dictate as much as he'd like and wasn’t helped by Jones’ no-show in midfield (again).
Jones 5: Virtually anonymous. Last night was the chance for him to stamp his authority and reclaim that midfield spot as his own, but went missing in action once more. Where has the Jones gone from earlier in the season? Enter Max Sanders…
McGrandles 6.5: Grafted like a trooper in the centre, having to cover the work of two men, but wasn’t able to get forward much. Picked up his fourth booking in seven games and needs to watch this.
Hopper 7.5: Excellent at both ends of the pitch and a second goal in three games where he sniffed out the chance. Puts in a solid shift every match and made countless clearing headers in his own box and is proving highly valuable to this team.
Johnson 5: Apart from a couple of occasions, he was mainly nullified by Accrington. He has to do more to get himself into the game if things aren’t going right
Rogers 6: Gets an extra point for his goal, but he looked disinterested at times last night and was so casual in possession. Frustrating as he’s obviously got great ability, but equally sloppy too.

Edun 6.5: Was miles better than Bramall and looked much more comfortable down the left. Must be something about the left-back position, though, as he was guilty of a few misplaced passes too.
Scully 6.5: Busy performance, scurrying about and surely in line for a start on Wednesday now? In danger of becoming a bit-part player, though, due to being behind Rogers and Johnson in the pecking order.
 
Palmer 4
Poole 6.6
Bramall 4.5
Montsma 6
Walsh 7
Grant 7
Jones 5
McGrandles 6
Hopper 8 MotM :clap:
Johnson 6.5
Rogers 7

Edun 7
Scully 6
 
Palmer 4 - The woeful mistake for their first seemed to affect his confidence through much of the match. Poor distribution. A game to forget.
Poole 6 - Got better after a suspect first half.
Bramall 3.5 - Don't tell your manager you are fit and ready when clearly you are not. A headless chicken might have given a similar first half performance.
Montsma 6 - A slow start, some good headers, grew in confidence.
Walsh 7 - Steadied a floundering ship. Thank goodness he was there.
Grant 6.5 - On his own at times. Good assist and unlucky that more of his plays into the box did not result in worthwhile goal attempts.
Jones 5.5 - Could do so much better.
McGrandles 6 - Not the normal box to box display
Hopper 7.5 - Grafted more than any other City player. Great positioning for his goal.
Johnson 6 - Marked out of much of the game, odd glimpses, poor passing at times.
Rogers 6.5 - He has great quality as shown by his cushion headed goal, could have had another, needed to have more "fight" though.

Edun 7 - The lad is quality, organisation returned when he came on.
Scully 6.5 - Just what was needed, he was like a terrier.
 
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Palmer - 4- been a brick all season, so this is harsh. But distribution woeful, found touch better than Owen Farrell and big howler for the first. Credit in part to Accrington's press. Distribution improved after Edun came on.
Poole - 5 - better of the two starting full backs but not enough getting forward.
Bramall - 4 - trust the recruitment team that Cohen has the potential, but showed little of it last night. Needs to keep working to get on method.
Montsma - 5.5 - still clearly struggling to back to regular fitness levels, uncharacteristically shaky in possession.
Walsh - 7.5 - manful performance holding the defence together, MoM candidate.
Grant - 6.5 - swamped in midfield in 1st half, much better in deeper role in 2nd, great delivery for 2nd goal.
Jones - 5- like Montsma, clearly not back to normal energy levels, struggled to make any impact.
McGrandles - 7 - most prominent of midfielders throughout, great link play for the 1st goal.
Hopper - 7.5 - hard working up front, contributed in defence, ghosted nicely for 'simple' 2nd goal, MoM.
Johnson - 6.5 - in and out match, but no L1 defender is comfortable when he's running at them. Lovely, precise cross for first goal
Rogers - 6.5 - like Johnson, some quiet periods. Work in progress but a real talnet, much improved defensive game, clever header for his goal.

Edun - 7 - really made a difference when came on, left side more secure, and real threat getting forward, twice nearly set up a 3rd. Couple of stray passes.
Scully - 6.5 - usual lively self, a trademark low cross nearly reached Johnson.
 
Palmer - 5.5
Poole - 6.5
Bramall - 5
Montsma - 6
Walsh - 7
Grant - 6.5
Jones - 5.5
McGrandles - 6
Hopper - 7
Johnson - 6
Rogers - 6.5

Edun - 6.5
Scully - 6.5
 
Palmer 5 Big mistake for the first goal and his subsequent kicking distribution suffered because he was making sure it didn't happen again, but giving it too much. Keeper mistakes are always punished and highlighted. Still well ahead on brownie points this season.

Poole 6.5 Struggled first half but got better. That one covering tackle in the second half was fantastic. Is a different right back to Eyoma so I don't expect to see him bombing forward as much as TJ

Montsma 5.5 Looked a bit rusty with some poor distribution and positioning

Walsh 7 Kept the defence together

Bramall 4 Very nervous first start. Unfortunate that the whole team started so poorly, which as a new player is not what you want to settle into the rhythm of play and never looked comfortable. Done now and put it behind you as this does happen to new signings more often than most realise

Jones 4 Virtually anonymous. Just didn't seem to have the energy which does make you wonder if he's not fully over the infection.

McGrandles 6 Hard working as ever having to cover more ground without Bridcutt being there. Terrific play to get the ball to Johnson for his cross for the first goal

Grant 5.5 Nowhere near his best and seemed to get a little frustrated at times

Johnson 6 Gets a point for the cross for Rogers which was very well executed but otherwise couldn't get involved

Rogers 6 As with Brennan wasn't involved as much as he or we would like, but scored a very clever header and that volley which nearly made it 3 was superbly executed

Hopper 7.5 My MOM. Worked hard all match and it was noticeable that it was him getting on virtually every cleared corner from their attacks. Excellent defender for a centre forward and also took his goal well

Scully 6 Caused them problems with his different style of running to others
Edun 6 Did fine though also gave the ball away when he first came on a few times
 
Palmer 4.5
Poole 6
Bramall 3.5
Montsma 5
Walsh 8
Grant 7
Jones 5
McGrandles 7
Hopper 9
Johnson 6.5
Rogers 6.5

Edun 6.5
Scully 7
 
A wide range of marks for once.
Some poor performances mixed in with 2 or 3 players dragging the team into getting a result.
Hopefully a stronger line up and much better performance for key game on Wednesday.
 
Palmer 4 As others have said, definitely not his night. Did not seem to trust the surface, and looked short of confidence as a result. Also seemed surprised about their high press, and whether to go long or short.

Poole 6.5 Better defender than attacker on what has been seen so far. Made better forward runs in the second half, and I personally think he would have closed down and blocked Charles on the equaliser if he had not been subbed for TJ. TJ was very slow in covering Charles.

Montsma 5.5 Rusty, as others have said. Clearly needs to play games to get back his early season form, but Jackson has been commanding recently.

Walsh 7 Our best defender for the last two months, and was again here.

Bramall 4 Didn't seem to understand his role. A lot of Palmer's hesitancy was because neither full back took up the positions TJ and Edun normally do to play out from the back.

Jones 5 Like Montsma, lack of game time has taken the edge off his game

McGrandles 6 Another decent performance from Conor without getting into the box like he usually does. Another booking though.

Grant 5.5 Difficult night for Grant, but was alert enough to allow Scully to take that short corner for him to cross for Hopper's goal.

Johnson 5.5 Not really involved apart from that one cross for Rogers. Seemed to struggle to get any speed up on that surface.

Rogers 5 A couple of excellent moments (goal and a shot), but overall looked as though he didn't fancy it last night.

Hopper 7 Along with Walsh, our best player - both up front and in defence. Deserved his goal.

Scully 6 Helped improve the side when he came on.
Edun 6 Back four looked much more settled after he came on, but a few awful passes.
 
Palmer 5 - Distribution and will probably feel he could have done better with the 2nd
Poole 6 - Better second half
Bramall 5 - Full debut to forget. He'll know it, give him some slack to grow
Montsma 5 - Rusty
Walsh 7 - Held the defence together
Grant 6.5 - A couple of essential moments in otherwise difficult game
Jones 5 - Struggled to get into the game
McGrandles 6 - Didn't impose himself defensively or off the ball
Hopper 7.5 - Catalyst for 2nd half team improvement and vital physical presence
Johnson 6 - Fairly anonymous
Rogers 6.5 - Extra half mark for passing the ball into the net with his head

Edun 6.5 - Mixed bag but provided some much needed spark
Scully 6.5 - Instant team lift when he came on
 
Palmer 3
Poole 5
Bramall 2
Montsma 5
Walsh 6
Grant 6
Jones 5
McGrandles 5
Hopper 7
Johnson 6
Rogers 5

Edun 7
Scully 7
 
Terrible first half performance - no energy - allowed Accrington to dictate the game and close us down quickly. Was that because we like to play out from the back and we played three different defenders (reducing the comfort and routine passing around at the back and through the thirds) and missed Bridcutt. As a result the midfield and strikers never really got into the flow first half. Better second half performance, especially once Tayo came on. Lucky to get a point.

Palmer - 5 - definitely below his usual level. Terrible mistake for their first and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen any keeper put so many balls straight into touch.
Poole - 6.5 - uneasy first half but settled better in the second and had some good moments. On his way to gelling 🤞
Montsma - 6 - average for him. Made some decent interceptions but looked a bit lost at times. Maybe because he has missed games his composure and confidence needs to rebuild.
Walsh - 7.5 - My MoM. Considering the pressure on the defence and having new partners around him (& missing Bridcutt) he was superb & held us together first half. Reads the game so well.
Bramall - 4.5 - not fit and familiar with the players or shape. No sign yet of his speed. Maybe MA could have picked a better first game for him, though he needs to get up to speed.
Grant - 7 - below par first half but lifted his game in the second. Definitely missed Bridcutt’s security and outlet behind him and having two new FBs limited his interplay, until Tayo came on.
Jones - 5.5 - tried hard and covered a lot of ground but just didn’t quite click for him.
McGrandles - 6.5 - worked hard but like others found himself up against it and lacked a bit of his usual composure, although played a great part in one of the goals.
Hopper - 7 - worked really hard to put pressure on the Accrington players and try to generate some momentum up front. Well taken gamble for the goal.
Johnson - 6.5 - struggled a bit with the conditions (though they were better than Hull) but laid on a great cross for Rogers’ goal.
Rogers - 6 - made a few decent runs but ran into blocks. Took his goal well. Growing into it like Johnson, needs better conditions and a bit more ‘gelling’ time. Didn’t help with unfamiliarity of Bramall behind him.

Edun - 7 - badly missed first half & you could see the difference immediately he came on with his understanding with the other players.
Scully - 6.5 - added a different dimension to the strike force.