Tonight's Performance | Vital Football

Tonight's Performance

Therealwaldo

Vital Squad Member
That was truly abysmal. At least as bad as anything under Pennock, Taylor or Edinburgh. Strange as we started quite brightly but after Rotherham scored we gradually subsided until we looked like a bunch of blokes from the pub who thought playing a game of football might be a good idea although a bunch of blokes out of the pub might have done better. We were second to every ball and often incapable of finding a man in a blue shirt. I sincerely hope that those who are sure 52 points will be enough are right.

Holy 6 has started going on strange walkabouts. One tonight might have cost a goal but the referee took pity on him and gave a free kick for a foul on him. Is looking a bit edgy.

Ogilvie 3 that was one of the worst displays by a defender in a Gills shirt that I've seen. Given that he's filled in at centre back it's surprising that he didn't win a single header. His inability to head out a simple ball down the line directly led to their goal. Surprised he stayed on the pitch as long as he did.

Ehmer 6 never gave less than his all. Started getting forward towards the end with no better effect than anyone else.

Zakuani 6 did ok until injury forced him off.

O'Neill 5 several misplaced passes. One horrendous free kick that nearly cleared the Rainham End and one decent one that went just wide.

Byrne 6 probably the most consistent performer in our midfield on the night and that's not saying much.

Hessenthaler 5 just not at the races. Perhaps an extra point for the well saved shot in the last minute that might have earned us an undeserved point.

Wagstaff 5 started brightly but as guilty as the rest of poor passes, crosses etc.

Reilly 5 he looked to be carrying an injury in the first half that might have affected his ability to chase and press.

Wilkinson 5 started really well but faded as the match went on. Won lots in the air in the first half, much less in the second.

Parker 4 by far and away his worst performance in a Gills shirt. Gave the ball away countless times effectively halting any momentum that we might have had.

Subs.

Nugent 5 he might not be very elegant but he gets the job done at the back. His distribution was marginally better than in his last home game.

Eaves 6 usual energetic approach made it look at least feasible that we could get something. Sadly it wasn't to be.

Fair play to Rotherham, they were infinitely better than us which begs the question, how the hell did we win 3:1 at their place ? UTG
 
A bit harsh in my opinion .We were second best .Parker and Byrne were at least trying to make things happen as were others we became more and more desperate. Unfortunately this was a game we needed leadership we did not have it .Martin may have made a difference. There was a lack of a out ball from defence that left us hoofing to often .There were players who appeared to hide while the others tried harder and harder .Wilkinson just disappeared second half as did Waggy and Hess .Agree on Ogilvie he was poor .Felt for Reilly a little as again he was forced to left back against a useful player .While in midfield is felt the midfield looked fairly even with Rotherham. Eaves gave the kiss of life to the front line .Not sure if he is carrying a injury but I see no other reason why he did not start .
 
Blimey its got to have been bad if Waldo - gives those marks - and hes dead right !
This was a bit like the Oldham game for me - Waldos said it all !!
 
It has been the same problem for a few years. A passable defensive midfield, but in turning defence into attack completely clueless. This area of the team must be a major priority in the close season, Wilkinson and Eaves should prosper if we can find a midfield that can actually create chances for the strikers. It would make a nice change to watch that.
 
Ogilvie played like someone who knows he won't be here next season, I don't think he's bothered any more.
I think that might be the case for some of the other out of contract players too- they must all have a good idea of whether Lovell plans to retain them or not.
The trouble is, with a smallish squad, some players have to play when we have one or two injuries/suspensions, even if they probably won't give 100%.

I think Byrne, Hess and Reilly are very similar - all holding midfielders with very little goal threat or creative pass between them - Byrne gets the odd worldie but rarely a tap in, and Hess has really struggled to chip in with a few goals for a long time now.

Not surprised that Lovell again preferred Wilkinson to Eaves, there must be something going on there behind the scenes.

Holy has remained rooted to the spot for most of the last goals he has conceded, and I thought he was lucky to get a free kick after being dispossed by their striker tonight.
 
Pretty well spot on Waldo. Maybe a mark more for Parker as he had the handicap of playing woth Wilko who barely moved (3 for him).

Gills "on holiday" and lacking quality in most areas. Rotherham a class apart, esp on the right with Emmanuel and Taylor - quality crosses and slick movement. How the #### did we win up there?

If we were still playing this morning I don't think we would have scored yet.

Hope for a 0 0 on Sat. Can't see us scoring again, esp with Wilko (although tbf he got little service).
 
So what's the go with Wilkinson?

On the match thread someone was saying he had a very good first half. Even asking who would come off for Eaves because he (Wilko) was playing well. Did hear they all faded a bit 2nd half. But I thought Wilko hadn't done bad (according to some)
 
Wilkinson was probably our best player in the first half. He got lots of applause around me for a number of things he did including pressuring their back line into mistakes. He was no worse than many others in the second half. I think at least some of the criticism of him is uncalled for. I repeat a comment I've made before. He looks older than he is and as a striker with his build he is unlikely to be at his potential for a couple more years at least. What I don't understand is the willingness to write off a player who is capable of scoring the kind of goal he did at Portsmouth.
 
He had an ok first half, committed and winning some of the many hoofs. Second half he faded alongside Eaves, which led to him getting the usual catcalls (especially now Ogilvie had gone off). Like I say, Gills fans want players who can run after lost causes like Kedwell, and Wilkinson has been doing that plenty of times recently. However, one lost challenge and he’s ‘a lazy fuck’.

I’d still say he had a better game than Parker who had a headless chicken day other than some weak headers in the first half.

That said, this was a collective shitness, all players pulled together to ensure no-one had support. Hence the fruitless flick-ons, the running down blind alleys (although Parker and at times Wagstaff were the only ones willing to do this until O’Neill turned up fashionably too late).

We knew Eaves had to come on at half time as he’s more effective in the hoofball role, but apart from that I was struggling to see how we could change our fortunes. It needed a change of formation, hence a striker for a wide player after his customary stinker.

I think today shows our biggest miss of the season may be Sean Clare - a player who can drop back, pick the ball up and look at a fruitful pass or run forward. I’m not moaning that we didn’t get him, as he performed well enough to since make appearances for Sheff Weds. But our standard of football has suffered significantly. If he was in the team we’d possibly be looking at playing Navid or Moussa, or continuing with Martin who has had a decent season.
 
Maybe I'm a tad harsh on Wilko. A couple of nice touches first half and got piss poor service all game. However, disappeared 2nd half and very little effort. At least Eaves causes aggro and against poorer teams can be very effective. The whole Rotherham team were a class apart so his effort came to nothing.

Agree that there aren't many I'd be desperate to keep for next season. Lovell has a tough job ahead as we have little money. I hope people don't expect too much of him next season after this year's miracle working.
 
As soon as I see Ogilvie was starting on the left of a 3 man defence I knew we'd be in trouble. Rotherham found out this weakness very early on and were doubling up on Ogilvie down our left side every time they attacked us. He had no chance in the air up against Smith, and inevitably they were creating most of their early chances, and scored from this weakness.
Why Stevie Lovell started with, as others have pointed out, a player who isn't playing well and who is clearly not massively bothered at the moment. We should have gone with Nugent from the start all day long!

As for the performance in general, considering how lightweight and lacking in creativity our midfield is, I didn't think they did too badly against a decent and very energetic Rotherham midfield, who fair play to them, pressed us well in numbers the whole game.

It's obvious to me though, after watching this team for the majority of the season, we need to completely overhaul the midfield in the summer. We need more muscle and leadership in the defensive midfield area, more energy/pace/forward passing through the middle, and a winger or two who can actually get down the line and put more accurate crosses into the box.
 
I don't agree with the comments about Rotherham being a class apart. Not saying they weren't better than us, Emmanuel in particular was a thorn in our side all night, but they weren't outclassing us or playing us off the pitch.

In contrast it was mostly down to our ineptitude that we rolled over so meekly, we just never looked like scoring. In the second half Rotherham were able to sit back and soak up the pressure, then hit us on the counter attack which they were almost successful with on a couple of occasions. Barring a decent free kick from O'neill and a volley that was saved late in the game (was it by Ehmer?) we really didn't look threatening at all. A lot of possession yes, but nothing coming from it and far too many wayward passes/crosses.

Far too many players having an off-day last night, Ogilvie in particular had a mare, being beaten everytime by Taylor. No harm in ringing the changes for Saturday in my opinion.
 
Rotherham did what they had to do - efficiently preserve the 1-0. We were simply not good enough but they are no world beaters. Ogilvie is the weakest link - not his fault but he is just not good enough at this level. Obviously will have no future at Spurs so perhaps a league 2 side is his level. What has happened to Garmston - is he injured again?