Just got home from Coventry game today - thought I would give player ratings for those who couldn't catch it... Overall thought it was a scrappy game and neither team were at their best, first half we looked the better side then second half they edged it until Berge came on where we regained control. Big credit to Arbeloa who's subs were spot on today.
Leno 6.5- Don't think he really had to make a save, credit to our defence.
Castagne 7- Solid performance, made some good interceptions and part of a defence that looked solid.
Affengruber 7.5- Another solid performance, reads the game really well and composed on the ball
Bassey 8.5- Great game from Bassey, he was winning everything today and one of his biggest strengths is how he carries the ball out of defence, very composed under pressure too.
Robinson 4- Had a stinker today, crosses were all over the place and gave the ball away a few times
Larsson 6 - Not a bad debut, didn't make any mistakes but wouldn't say he had a big impact on the game, reminded me of Lukic actually and could see we looked better when Berge came on for him
Charles 8- Thought he was great again today, love his strength and how good he is at carrying the ball, gets the ball and turns, makes some good line breaking runs.
Bobb 8.5- Thought he had a quiet game today but came up with the match winning moment of magic, What a goal. Such a talented player and great to see him get a lot of love from fans after the game.
King 6.5- Not at the best level he's been this season but worked hard even if not everything came off.
Iwobi 6- Again not his best performance of the season but wasn't bad, just failed to make a big impact.
Garcia 5- Felt a lot of our fans in the ground were too harsh on him singing Muniz name as I felt he was feeding off scraps today, one or two misplaced touches also.
Subs:
Berge 7.5- Came on and we regained control in midfield, love his partnership with Charles and hope he is fully recovered so the pair are back to start together against Villa
Palacios 7- Loved his energy after coming on, made some good passes and added a bit more technical skill I felt like we were missing at times
Muniz 6.5- Came on and put himself about much more than Garcia had, holding the ball well at times although he tried to score from our half when we should have been keeping the ball in the 92nd
Solid cameos from Tete and Cairney too, Cairney coming on and helping us keep the ball better and Tete coming in to make us that bit more solid, making a few more tackles.
Interesting to note too that after the game Muniz clapped our fans and then went straight down the tunnel, didn't join the celebrations after the game with Arbeloa/the players
Good first hand info. Thanks
Very fair assessment and totally agree 100% from what I saw when I was watching it. ::thumb::
Out of curiosity, how windy and rainy was it today because you cannot always tell too much from a TV !!! ? I am not defending Robinson as he was dire, but some of our other, even lesser passes did not seem as controlled.
Quote from: AshfordFFC on October 24, 2026, 10:13:19 PMVery fair assessment and totally agree 100% from what I saw when I was watching it. ::thumb::
Out of curiosity, how windy and rainy was it today because you cannot always tell too much from a TV !!! ? I am not defending Robinson as he was dire, but some of our other, even lesser passes did not seem as controlled.
I was tbh a bit worried about the weather because if anything with us being a quite lightweight technical team and them being physical it would play to their advantage so I think if anything it makes the win greater.
I can forgive Garcia for a couple of poor touches as he had probably never played in weather like that.. It was very bad, walking to the ground I could barely see from the rain and it was very intense.. combo with the wind meant it was slapping against your face
Tom brings such a calming presence to the side. He's exactly the sort of player you want on the pitch when seeing out a game, retaining possession and taking the sting out of things. The Ipswich game was crying out for him, and I think it highlighted just how important his role will be this season. The same goes for Tete. Seeing how much he organises the back line, alongside his defensive quality, really underlined just how valuable he is to this team.
Quote from: @jolslover on October 24, 2026, 10:15:42 PMI was tbh a bit worried about the weather because if anything with us being a quite lightweight technical team and them being physical it would play to their advantage so I think if anything it makes the win greater.
I can forgive Garcia for a couple of poor touches as he had probably never played in weather like that.. It was very bad, walking to the ground I could barely see from the rain and it was very intense.. combo with the wind meant it was slapping against your face
thought as much - thanks for the confirmation ::smile::
Loving the partnership Affengruber and Bassey are building. Gives us a really strong foundation, and they seem to have a great understanding and partnership.
Very fair ratings. The defence is looking very sturdy at the moment, that spin of Berge/Charles/Bassey/Affengruber is strong. It's a shame Sess is out for a few games because Robinson is in such bad form - he's not just bounced back from last season's issues at all. He was dreadful today in defence and attack.
Our biggest issue is the misfiring attack. Bobb finally produced the magic he has been threatening, but I don't think he was brilliant before the goal. Ditto Iwobi and King - both lively but lack that killer instinct.
A lot of goal scoring issues come back to Garcia who is getting more peripheral each game. Muniz won more fouls in 2 minutes of coming on than Garcia managed all game. I'd like to see him run the channels more and stretch the game, like Andy Johnson, but it doesn't seem to be in our plans. As it stands, he's never going to score enough goals. Time will tell, but he's starting to look more like Roberto Soldado than Raul atm.
Wins v Hull & Coventry really the bare minimum for this team. It's a good, positive platform but next 3 games will be a proper test of whether we're making progress or not...
Quote from: @jolslover on October 24, 2026, 09:34:40 PMInteresting to note too that after the game Muniz clapped our fans and then went straight down the tunnel, didn't join the celebrations after the game with Arbeloa/the players
Does feel like something has changed with Muniz post injury. He was less engaged with the fans towards the end of last season too I felt.
Clearly frustrated at his predicament. He started brightly last season and was expected to be the main man, and now he's barely featuring with a new striker.
There seemed to be so much standing water on the pitch. There was a pass one of the midfielders played with about 10 minutes left out to the left wing. The ball looked perfect pace when it left his foot but came to a stop halfway
Pretty good synopsis. My only disagreement is Castagne. Thought he had poor game, would rate as 4 or 5.