Today's Performance | Page 2 | Vital Football

Today's Performance

Admittedly for the 1st half today I was struggling to watch on my phone in the car while trying to keep the sun off the screen, managed to watch the 2nd half properly, but I'd tend to agree with Brexiteer on Parker. I don't think he had a bad game by any means, but I'm quite surprised to see so many on here rating his performance today so highly. To me he seemed pretty subdued, was certainly the one that least caught my eye out of our attacking players.
 
I thought Parker was a bit worrying towards the end - dwelling on the ball and losing it a few times.

But the main thing is the real quality of Hanlan, Charles-Cook and Parratt. They all look to be improving the side over last year. SL looks to have done extremely well in the close season and I enjoyed the game more than any home game, for a long time.
 
Thoughts- Disappointed to see Parrett go off, I thought he showed some good touches in the short time he was on the pitch.

This side has so much more pace in it than in the last few seasons which makes us less predictable and more enjoyable to watch.

Hanlan- deservedly man of the match. Every time he got the ball he looked to do something positive. We shouldn't put too much pressure on him as it's early days but he looks like he could be some player.

UTG

Ps Rainham End did well, I enjoyed listening to the rendition of "we are the middle" etc which reminded me of my teens.
 
Ps Rainham End did well, I enjoyed listening to the rendition of "we are the middle" etc which reminded me of my teens.

I used to enjoy those chants too (until they went on waaaay to long). They were great in that when a game was dull and drifting it could bring the crowd back to life.

There was right/middle/left side chant.

And then the Town End would also pipe up and get the RE going again.

Good times.
 
A really entertaining game against a Burton side who I can see doing well this season. Their passing and movement in the final third was excellent and like us they could have scored more than they did.

Holy 7 - poor positioning for their goal - got sucked towards the ball and left himself two thirds of the goal to get across. Also another dodgy moment first half when he spilled the ball on the edge of the box. Other than that looked assured, good handling and did well when one on one in the second half.

O’Neill 8 - caught out a couple of times trying to overplay in the wrong area but other than that was excellent. Good last ditch tackle first half to prevent Boyce going clean through. Outstanding free kick. Assume his contract is up at the end of the season? Sign him up!

Garmston 7 - fairly quiet game but did well when called upon.

Zakuani 7 - decent game against a strong attacking team. Chose to head a few balls he could have put his foot through. Threw himself in front of shots when required including one notable example when we were under a bit of pressure first half.

Ehmer 7 - thought he may have been lucky not to give away a penalty late second half when their forward got in front of him - can any of our ifollowers comment? Other than that did okay.

Byrne 6 - quietish game. Some decent balls down the right channel first half for RCC and Hanlan to run onto. Not sure the system suited him quite so much as other players.

Parrett 6 - showed some real quality touches and close control. One run through the middle reminded me of Gazza (Pazza?). Very keen to see more so hope the injury is only minor.

Bingham 7 - played well first half - looked at home on the left of Pazza.

RCC 8 - yesterday was his second ever league game - REALLY!? Looked very assured and composed in everything he did - Burton couldn’t cope with him particularly first half. Second half did some excellent defensive work and tracked his runners. Very exciting prospect.

Parker 7 - did okay and was a useful outlet on the break. Generally managed to keep hold of the ball and find a team mate.

Eaves 8 - two goals. I think it would be very easy to downplay his first goal - I thought that was a brilliant finish on his weaker foot. He had too much time - a chance that most League One strikers would have failed to convert but he made it look easy. Second was a real goalscorer’s goal.

Hanlan 9 (MOTM) - anyone care to suggest a better home debut? Another player Burton couldn’t handle (as Clough admitted himself). Unlucky not to score but two assists the first of which showed good awareness. Was he also fouled for O’Neil’s freekick? Will obviously be benefitting from being an unknown at this stage so may find it tougher when teams have a game plan to counter his attributes but any such attention will help those around him and could really benefit Eaves who usually gets all the attention from opposing defenders.

Ref was okay without having much to do.

Extremely encouraging effort from the team. The new signings look excellent additions. Surely any casual attendees yesterday will be keen for another visit.
 
One of the things that impressed me about Hanlan and Charles Cook was their strength. So often you see raw inexperienced players with loads of pace etc but they get bullied out of the game with ease. Not the case with these two lads. Exciting stuff.
 
Bit late adding my thoughts as I only watched the game this morning. Bit easier to watch once you know the score!
Decent enough performance which got better once we took the lead and exploited the gaps that Burton were having to leave in order to get back into the game. Thought for large parts of the game we played like the away team - perhaps that explains why we had such a poor home record last season. If a team sits back against us we’ll be forced to do more than just knock the ball over the top. Thought we bypassed the midfield a lot yesterday with a lot of long balls. This will only become a problem when we hit a bad streak and the fans start moaning and groaning.
Impressed with Hanlan. The thing that impressed me most with him was his composure in front of goal. He had 5 attempts at goal yesterday and none were snatched at or fired wide. The first was brilliantly tipped onto the cross bar and the other 4 forced the keeper to make decent saves albeit one actually led to the goal. After watching the game I immediately went and looked at Hanlan’s odds for top Goalscorer. You can get 150/1 with Bet365 which if done each way could give you a great run for your money. Unfortunately Bet365 will only allow me to put 20p on which hardly seems worth it.
Overall a good solid performance.
 
Having not been there but reading from here, all the comments about Hanlan remind me of Agyemang when he first started - hopefully he continues to improve and impress, unlike Agyemang who I don’t think ever performed like his home debut again.
 
Ehmer 7 - thought he may have been lucky not to give away a penalty late second half when their forward got in front of him - can any of our ifollowers comment? Other than that did okay.

Just seen it now on the extended highlights video. Think you're probably right, he was slightly fortunate. I think it was one of those cases where the forward tried to stay on his feet and as a result the ref didn't give the penalty, if he'd gone down I think the ref would've given it.
 
Some nice quotables from Nigel
Clough about the difference between the Championship and League One being honest lads running around working their socks off and causing you problems.
 
Having not been there but reading from here, all the comments about Hanlan remind me of Agyemang when he first started - hopefully he continues to improve and impress, unlike Agyemang who I don’t think ever performed like his home debut again.

Worth considering that Hanlon's away debut was just as impressive. I thought you were there (Accy) Nathan, apologies if that was not the case. I can see where you are coming from with the comparison with Agyemang btw, although Hanlon made his Gills debut at a younger age - and will be even better!!
 
Just seen it now on the extended highlights video. Think you're probably right, he was slightly fortunate. I think it was one of those cases where the forward tried to stay on his feet and as a result the ref didn't give the penalty, if he'd gone down I think the ref would've given it.

I've often thought that if ref's would give the foul/pen when it was due regardless of player collapsing in a heap, that there would be a lot less diving.

Player lightly touched but goes down, pen 10 out of 10. And every commentator/pundit/refs assessor agrees.

Player chopped and hacked but rides it and stays up, play waved on 9 out of 10. And no-one says a word.

It's the main reason players dive imho.
 
I agree OSK, I also think that there should be more yellow cards issued for diving, even if they are issued several minutes later when play is eventually stopped.
 
Some nice quotables from Nigel
Clough about the difference between the Championship and League One being honest lads running around working their socks off and causing you problems.
I thought during the first half when Burton were putting us a lot of pressure, some of their movement off the ball was very good indeed. Credit to our defence for hanging on. Felt Burton were largely let down by the final ball into the box. Once Gills got their noses ahead, Burton huffed and puffed but struggled to make that many clear chances.
 
I've often thought that if ref's would give the foul/pen when it was due regardless of player collapsing in a heap, that there would be a lot less diving.

Player lightly touched but goes down, pen 10 out of 10. And every commentator/pundit/refs assessor agrees.

Player chopped and hacked but rides it and stays up, play waved on 9 out of 10. And no-one says a word.

It's the main reason players dive imho.

Agreed, OSK. It's commendable that a player tries to stay on his feet, and on this occasion he managed to set up a decent chance for Burton which was denied by a great block by Zakuani, but like you say, it's no wonder so many players choose to go down when often it's the only way the ref's going to give the penalty.