Absolutely abysmal.

What a poor, pathetic showing today was. Absolutely rubbish.

The worst part of it was, we NEVER, EVER tested Westwood ONCE during the match. The shooting was literally non-existant. We didn't have a shot on target. Bogdanovic was woeful. He was lazy, he was offside at least 6 times in the first half. He doesn't jump, at ALL! He was terrible. Hammill was a complete disappointment; his crossing was abject. His corners were downright disastrous. He tried to beat men when an easy ball was on; he failed to beat anyone. I expected better from him, and got completely let down. To be fair, it was him who had the only decent shot on goal, with around 4 minutes to go to the end. JCR did nothing at all; he was as poor as Hammill.

I thought Moore and Foster had ok games; but again, weren't at the races for Coventry's second goal, wich arguably, could be attributed to the stupidity of one Rob Kozluk; what the hell was he thinking? Absolutely idiotic. He'd been booked literally 3 minutes before, for a carbon copy 'lunge' and at a pivotal moment of the game, aided in us going down 0-2 in a game in which we really should've taken something Coventry weren't a good side; they were distinctly average and got a lucky break with the free kick after 8 minutes, which put us on the back foot. They never troubled us again after that. But, we never troubled them either.

I'm really really disappointed today. After the good result last week, and the midweek victory at Lincoln, I expected a good performance and a good result, but got neither. For me, we have a really good squad. Davey has done well to bring the players in, and arguably has been pivotal in bringing these players in. So, that begs the question, what goes on once they cross the white line onto the pitch? Evidently, today, not much. A complete joke, and things just have to get better on Tuesday night.

Ratings:

Steele 6 - Did ok, and didn't in all honesty have much to do. Flapped at a couple of crosses and was out of position for the 2nd goal, as the ball sailed over his head. However, due to the non-presence of a left back, the cross was put over far too easy. Still, should've done better with the 2nd.

Kozluk 4 - Did little going forward, then in all probability, killed the game in 4 minutes of sheer stupidity. Not good.

Foster 7 - Man of the match. Played well. The best of a bad bunch.

Moore 6 - Did ok. Fluffed a couple of easy clearances when a cool head was all that was needed.

Anderson 6 - Did ok. Tried to get things going, and tried to play football.

Butterfield 6 - Again, did alright. Looked to play football, but gave a couple of silly passes away and tired towards the end.

Hammill 5 - Poor. As a winger, he didn't do anything that even resembled a winger. Devaney (who I don't rate) must've been wondering what he'd done wrong. His crossing was abject. His corners were poor. A big let down today.

JCR 5 - See above.

Bogdanovic 5 - Terrible. Ran about and showed a few neat touches, but did little else. He was offside at least 6 times in the first half, he doesn't challenge for headers, and was very little threat going forward.

Macken 6 - Played alright. Brilliant at holding the ball up and brings others into play; however, had no one working off of him today, and the threat just wasn't there.

Like I say, I'm very frustrated and disheartened.

Poor. That's all there is to it.

 

Didn't take long that did it? (banghead)

 

There's no point in sugar coating things.

I like Adam Hammill, and I think he will do well for the club. But the fact of the matter is, he was not at the races today; the same as the rest of the team.

 

Not much to disagree with there.

 

De Silva was rubbish aswell, how many passes did he fluff!!!! less than 6 out of 10!!!

 

I don't think its possible to disagree with the assessment though - only expressing a fair opinion on the day

 

He said he was poor today.

Which he was. The same goes for quite a few of the team. Poet has only reflected on the performance today, he's not saying we shouldn't have signed him, we're doomed etc.

Agree with most of what you say Poet, but I think Butterfield was pretty anonymous and we missed Colace protecting the back four. Mcindoe was running rings around Hassell in the first half too. Only Foster could be pleased with his own performances today.

 

Disagree completely

The lad is relatively young, he's not the finished article, we owe him a certain amount of gratitude for what he did to help keep us up last season. This year he has chosen to come back to us on a permanent deal, despite a number of other clubs showing interest - it's clear that a player of his ability has numerous options. He arrives for his debut as 'our player' and he (by the accounts of many) doesn't have a good game. So people get on his back and dose him up with criticism. Must make him think 'Glad I made this decision'.

The lad is quality. End of story. He's allowed an off day without some idiot giving him a verbal kicking on the internet. FFS get behind the lad. Can we really be so fickle?!!

 

RE: Disagree completely

He gave a fair assessment on each player. Shut thi' trap.

 

No-one is saying he's ****

just that he didn't play well today - FFS is honesty and fair and honest assessments not allowed now.

 

what the ****

i agree with you, somethings definitely wrong there...

 

I'm not saying Adam Hammill is rubbish.

He's not; he's a damn good player.

However, the fact of the matter is, he was terrible today, as were the rest of the team. He's capable of creating and scoring and today, never came close to doing neither. He had 5 corners in the first half; 3 hit the first man, and 2 drifted towards the far touch line. He put one decent cross in all match, which nearly resulted in an own goal by the Coventry defender.

I'm not slating the lad. I'm slating his performance today. I pay to watch Barnsley FC, and I pay damn good money. Today, wasn't a good performance. If you paid £75 to watch an opera, and the singing was dire, would you still applaud? Of course not, you'd be honest, because by not being honest, people never improve. What is the point in telling young Hammill he played well today, when it was blatantly obvious to all, that he, and the rest of the team, didn't.

 

RE: No-one is saying he's ****

I didn't say that he did label him as '****'. I think it's harsh to expect a player to arrive and just turn in a great performance just like that - I also think there's value in defending the lad and giving him a bit of time. Ok - he didn't have the kind of game he had against Watford (away) last season - but the bigger picture is that we should be willing to give him a bit more time before we start with the criticism. I'm sure he knows that he didn't have a great game - if anything I'd rather him think 'I owe it to those fans that are getting behind me to put that behind me' - not 'fecking hell, they're already on my back'.

Personally, I think that Hammill should be more or less off limits for a couple of months before people start on with the 'disappointment'.

 

Agree with everything

Bogdanovic and Macken don't work imo - you've got to play one or the other. They aren't quick or strong enough to cause defences any problems.

Thought De Silva played quite well, but he was on his own. Butterfield was very quiet, didn't do much wrong, but he rarely saw the ball.

Both wingers were dire. I'm glad JCR actually stayed out wide in the second half, he kept coming further and further inside. But still, they were both awful.

The last time I saw us play was away at Coventry last year and with practically the same squad (other than Colace?), we were much, much better then.

 

RE: I'm not saying Adam Hammill is rubbish.

Opera - Football. Not the best comparison.

It's not about 'being honest'. It's about giving the lad a few games to settle down before the criticism starts.

 

You're talking daft mate.

He had a bad game.

That's football. That's life.

Fact.

 

To be fair to Poet

He didn't single anyone out. He said they were all poor, which is no doubt what Davey is telling them at the moment. Neither did he draw any bizarre conclusions about Hammill being a poor signing or should be expelled from the team.

 

RE: Absolutely abysmal ?

How can you rate any player over a 4 and say absolutely abysmal?

 

Errm, because it's a 'team game'...

As a team, we were dreadful, however, there were some ok individual performances, such as Foster.

 

Nope. You're wrong.

I think that anybody that gets onto a player days after they have signed and arrived is incredibly premature and impatient. The way to manage the situation sensibly is to look at it and say 'early days - not a good performance, we know he can do better'. A bit of encouragement. The fact that you were 'completely disappointed' - well boo hoo. Get over it. Try and do the bigger thing and swollow it for once.

I share everybodies frustration with Simon Davey - completely in the same place with that.