Hartlepool United (H) League - Saturday 12/08/2006

[dinarado]

A performance at 75% and we won, signs are looking good.

Ince - Brilliant.
Westwood - is not a right back, but shored up midfield.
Gerrard - one of his worst games for us, very poor.
Roper - Class, won everything.
K Taylor - great performance
Wright - Appalling. No strength whatsoever, the weak link.
Keates - Ran our midfield, 2 superb goals.
Kinsella- the usual chinchilla. runs his heart out.
Fox - gave us shape and some dangerous crosses.
Sam - Brilliant at holding the ball up and turning defenders.
Butler - Superb, always a threat runs his heart out.

Subs;

wright-appalling.No strength whatsoever,the weak link

dude take last seasons rose tinters off...the guy showed plenty effort was far from light weight..but is and never has been a tough tackler...however his quality of ball in to the box was at times as good as any winger ive seen down the bescot!!

if you want my opinion..oh you dont!!...oh well.....you have a twindling army of anti wright supporters out there....so many un biased supporters are being converted..just take it on the chin and get over it!!!

:)

Pead - look much better with him at RB
Constable - looked sharp, needs killer instinct.
Ishmel twerp - What a disgrace to out football club, kicks their player in the kidneys whilst on the floor, also refused to shake any of their players hands at the end. get rid.

[matt3454]

If hartlepool could shoot we would have lost. 1 penalty miss, they missed a one on one and could generally not shoot.

[Neuromantic]

wright-appalling.No strength whatsoever,the weak link

dude take last seasons rose tinters off...the guy showed plenty effort was far from light weight..but is and never has been a tough tackler...however his quality of ball in to the box was at times as good as any winger ive seen down the bescot!!

if you want my opinion..oh you dont!!...oh well.....you have a twindling army of anti wright supporters out there....so many un biased supporters are being converted..just take it on the chin and get over it!!!

:)

Sorry, but today he was crap. he is a bottler. i cannot see how anyone and yourself can say he is nto light weight? My friend percie (who is a wright fan) said he had a weston super. He was poor today.

[/b]

[Fray Bentos is God!]

A performance at 75% and we won, signs are looking good.

Ince - Brilliant.
Westwood - is not a right back, but shored up midfield.
Gerrard - one of his worst games for us, very poor.
Roper - Class, won everything.
K Taylor - great performance
Wright - Appalling. No strength whatsoever, the weak link.
Keates - Ran our midfield, 2 superb goals.
Kinsella- the usual chinchilla. runs his heart out.
Fox - gave us shape and some dangerous crosses.
Sam - Brilliant at holding the ball up and turning defenders.
Butler - Superb, always a threat runs his heart out.

Subs;

Pead - look much better with him at RB
Constable - looked sharp, needs killer instinct.
Ishmel twerp - What a disgrace to out football club, kicks their player in the kidneys whilst on the floor, also refused to shake any of their players hands at the end. get rid.

I can't believe you're smart.

[CSFC]

i couldnt get to the game today. what did ish do??

Two footed tackle. He took the ball cleanly enough, but it was yet another wild moment.

[Jorge14]

Our most workmanlike performance. But really, we didn't need to get in to second gear. A comfortable victory, verging on 'easy'.

Clayton Ince controlled his box totally, and gave Gerrard a constant bollocking in the second half. He made a couple of great catches, but his kicking still leaves a lot to be desired. However, he is first out-and-out shot stopper we've had since Walker.

Westwood - Did well in the second half. He isn't a right back in a million years, but he really got stuck in to the game when he was moved in to midfield in the second half.
Roper - Had a couple of dodgy moments in the second after he went down early on with what looked like a twisted knee. Still, one of, if no the best, centre half in the league.
Gerrard - Very poor. Lacked positional responsibility, and looked really exposed against the less than exceptional pace of Hartlepool. Could have cost us a couple of goals with reckless awareness, fortunately it didn't. If Picken is fit next week (he was limping around in the bar before the game and at half time) then I'd bring him back in to the team.
Taylor - His most solid defensive performance this season, and really looked more of a force going forward. His lack of pace catches him out more than people realise though. However, he read the game well today, and handled his marker pretty well.

Wright - So frustrating. Like Johnny Hodge used to be, if he beats his marker in the first 10 minutes, he will go past him 80% of the time, if not, then he is ineffectual and lacks confidence. I thought he put in some cracking crosses, particularly one in the first half which whistled right across the front of goal inches from the heads of Kinsella, Sam and Butler.
Kinsella - Bossed the game again when he was on. All he has to do is stand in the centre circle and knock balls around. It was an interesting battle with him and Tinkler, and whilst he was on the pitch, I thought he just about edged it.
Keates - Just about his best game since he came back to the club. Busy as ever, and sensibly left the passing to Kinsella and later to the likes of Fox and Taylor. Two superb goals too.
Fox - Didn't get past his marker enough times, but played a sensible game against a right back with Premiership experience. Never looked dangerous, but linked up well with Taylor, and was tracking back all day long. Amazing what a fitness regime can do.

Sam - I thought he was superb in his build up play, and rarely wasted a pass. Set up Keates, and plays Butler in to some great positions. He just doesn't look like scoring though at the minute. I think he needs one to bounce in off his arse from a corner.
Butler - Chest out, head up, knew he was the best player on the park. Gave the centre backs a torrid time, and absolutely ran his socks off.

Subs:
Constable - Made some very sensible runs, and I just don't understand Ravenscroft's criticisms. Strong in the air, reads the game well, and gets in to good positions. If he starts scoring, we could be looking at 15 goals plus.
Pead - Gave some much needed balance at right back, and made a couple of important interceptions.
Ishmel - The lad has no respect for the professional game, and, I hate to say it about one of our own players, but he needs a big centre half to 'do a McShane' and put him in the stand. Was lucky not to be sent off which he undoubtably would have been had the linesman seen the stamp in the back of the right back.

A solid performance all told. If Hartlepool are 4th or 5th favourites, then it just shows how weak this league is, and how criminal it is that we are playing at this level.

Finally, there were some hooligans as mascots today...and the little girl was giving Swifty a torrid time. Still, thats better than her mom who was overwhelmed by the presence of Chris Marsh. :lol:

[Neuromantic]

i couldnt get to the game today. what did ish do??

Two footed tackle. He took the ball cleanly enough, but it was yet another wild moment.

No, its not that, that has made me angry. It was the disgusting kick to the kidneys to their player who was on the floor. the bloke is a disgrace.

[SuperDon]

i couldnt get to the game today. what did ish do??

Two footed tackle. He took the ball cleanly enough, but it was yet another wild moment.

and the kick out while the hartlepool defender was on the floor. crazy.

[Malla_Saddler]

if ish could control his temper i rekon we would see a brilliant player in him

[sj]

Just shows what a big plyer Dobson is for us. The lack of him today made the difference. His power spirit and drive were missed today. I think we need another box-to-box player like him rather than a new striker.


Ishmel should go-- aint got room for a " gangster" on the field of play-- and he aint going to listen to anyone :evil:

[Fray Bentos is God!]

Just shows what a big plyer Dobson is for us. The lack of him today made the difference. His power spirit and drive were missed today. I think we need another box-to-box player like him rather than a new striker.


Ishmel should go-- aint got room for a " gangster" on the field of play-- and he aint going to listen to anyone:evil:

Got to agree there SJ, we did miss his presence in the middle but i thought Keates was OK and proved his worth with 2 crackers, Ishy however, learn to check it or piss off.

[NeechezTheSaddler]

Very impressed by our performance today, at times we were on the back-foot - but thats to be expected by a good team like Hartlepool.

I thought Wright was ok today, frustating sometimes as always, but generally had a decent game, Keates did well with 2 cracking goals and our defense - bar a few lapses were solid.

Ishmel was crazy, should have been sent of for kicking the player on the floor, shame as well because before the match i was hoping he'd get a chance, but as usual he goes psycho.

[the_game]

i love Ishmel :lol: gangster + a future great player for the saddlers 8)

[Neuromantic]

A performance at 75% and we won, signs are looking good.

Ince - Brilliant.
Westwood - is not a right back, but shored up midfield.
Gerrard - one of his worst games for us, very poor.
Roper - Class, won everything.
K Taylor - great performance
Wright - Appalling. No strength whatsoever, the weak link.
Keates - Ran our midfield, 2 superb goals.
Kinsella- the usual chinchilla. runs his heart out.
Fox - gave us shape and some dangerous crosses.
Sam - Brilliant at holding the ball up and turning defenders.
Butler - Superb, always a threat runs his heart out.

Subs;

Pead - look much better with him at RB
Constable - looked sharp, needs killer instinct.
Ishmel twerp - What a disgrace to out football club, kicks their player in the kidneys whilst on the floor, also refused to shake any of their players hands at the end. get rid.

I can't believe you're smart.

IN reflection gaz, i think appalling is a bit too strong, but i honestly think he was average at best. Bedeau will have the right wing slot swen up.

[dornansog]

Ish is an utter disgrace. He either needs to see a head doctor or see about a course of Ritalin. His hot headedness is usually excused by people saying how he reacts to bad tackles and intimidation. Today he does not have that excuse. Look into his eyes,he looks a troubled young man up for a fight. He could and should have been sent off TWICE today and he only played 10 minutes.
No amount of potential can excuse his stupidity. Get rid he has no future in football. He oozes contempt and resentment HE WILL NEVER LEARN BECAUSE HE HAS A BAD ATTITUDE.

:evil:

[stealth_vision]

ish is a arragont lil s**t
hell get his just deserts when he comes up to a big player
who will wail ten shades of black into him if he never come on i reckon we could of got a third goal
but lets just see wha happens when dicky dosh gets him on his own

[dornansog]

ish is a arragont lil s**t
hell get his just deserts when he comes up to a big player
who will wail ten shades of black into him if he never come on i reckon we could of got a third goal
but lets just see wha happens when dicky dosh gets him on his own

:?: :D

[dornansog]

ish is a arragont lil s**t
hell get his just deserts when he comes up to a big player
who will wail ten shades of black into him if he never come on i reckon we could of got a third goal
but lets just see wha happens when dicky dosh gets him on his own

Answers on a postcard please :?: :D

[Dave Gittins]

Hopefully DD will drum it into Ish's thick skull that there are some things you never do on a football field. These include kicking a man when he is down and going in for a tackle two footed. We are lucky that the officials never saw the assault on the defender while he was on the floor and also that the 'Pool guy got well out of the way with the other incident.

As has been said - played 10 minutes and could (should) have been sent off twice. The kid has obvious talent but too many other issues. He wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes under Ray (remember Jason Brissett). He should either get his act together or p**s off away from the club.

[stealth_vision]

he should know full stop you never kick a man when hes down wheter it be on the pitch or off the pitch

[matty_walsall4eva]

isshy is just a liability

[WFC_Rob]

Without wanting to say 'we told you so', myself and King Crimson said early on in his professional career that whatever talent he has, he isn't worth keeping if he's going to behave like that.
Anyway, onto the game - I thought we won comfortably without getting out of third gear. We gave them more chances than we would have liked, but that's now over 270 minutes without conceding a goal. Nobody can argue with that.
Dobson was a big miss today and I thought we left far too many gaps in the centre of midfield. It was no surprise that Keates got man of the match because of his goals, but other than those and one good tackle in the second half, I can't actually remember him doing anything to influence the game.
Gerrard also looked out of sorts today, especially when he missed the ball to allow their striker to have a clear run at goal (and a pretty awful miss).
The left-sided combination is really pleasing to see and opposition players get very little joy attacking down that side. Taylor has definitely improved defensively, particularly in the air, and Fox is starting to become more confident when getting forward. His delightful flick into the path of Taylor in the first half is a perfect example of this.
Westwood did about as well as we can expect given that he is not a fullback and has nobody to help him out defensively.
I was pleased with a couple of Wright's runs today and also noted that he put a couple of tackles in. I still think he's our weakest player, but at least he did something defensively today. I've been told to focus on the positives and if I have nothing nice to say, not to say anything at all, so that's all I will say on Wright. :wink:
Sam played as well as he has done so far today and claimed another assist. He holds onto the ball for too long at times, but we can live with that if he carries on providing goals.
As for Butler, he's your ideal striker in my opinion. Was up against Nelson who is a quality defender at this level, and gave him no end of trouble. His never-say-die attitude was summarised by him chasing the ball and putting over a cross which was cleared allowing Keates to score his second.

I would also like to pay tribute to Richard Money for his genuine appreciation for the fans. When the attendance was read out, he applauded the support. The relationship between the manager and fans is one which is often underestimated, but if the fans know they are appreciated, they are more likely to get behind the players and bring in revenue to the club.

[philthesaddler]

Decent performance, no where near what we're capable of. Wright didnt play as well as he did on tuesday, we missed Dobson, but Keates brought us an excellent finish or two, so swings and roundabouts.

Real shame about Ish when he came on. This lad has got bags of talent, and he just seems to get wound up by every little challenge that comes in on him. Granted, players will go in hard on him, but he just has to learn not to react, I worry though because he's got a lot of talent and doing what he does is letting it go to waste.

As for the performance, well, we never really looked like not winning, we look like scoring goals and I thought we didn't play that well. Foxy did well, Wright was average, Keates and Kinsella did ok, Butler looked like he did his calf, maybe thats why he went off. Sam is improving with every game, and is starting to look a really good signing, he got a good work rate, great strength and a good touch.

The real test of our metal will come next week. Lincoln are doing ok, we've had 3 relatively easy matches, a good result next saturday and we might well be unstoppable!

One final thing, the refereeing in our two home games has been quite atrocious. Against Stockport, the ref was rubbish, and todays was terrible. How the hell did he give a penalty for a challenge clearly two yards outside the box? 5000 people could see the challenge was cleanly outside the area, the marks on the turf were entirely outside the area, yet the ref gave it, shocking. It wasn't even a dubious decision, there was no ambiguity about it at all - you could forgive the ref a slight mistake, but that was a total shocker of a decision. Compare that to Butlers last tuesday, which was 110% nailed on. Anyway, justice was done.

Top of the League, 9 points from 9. Beadeau, Wrack, Dobson, Nicholls to return, Constable looking a decent player...Up the Saddlers.

[TheSaddlers]

We're one of 3 teams in the football league not to concede a goal from the opening 3 games.... Port Vale, Notts Forest and Walsall :) UpTheSaddlers!

3 games (3 wins and 3 clean-sheets) I'm happy enough with that start :)

[Bristol Fan]

I'm getting more and more confident about this season after today. It was easily our worst performance (Dobson missing - no coincidence) and Hartlepool were easily the best side we've faced, but we still won 2-0. For all their dominance of posession, the Pools never really seriously seemed to threaten apart from the penalty, which was saved - just like everything else thrown at him - by Ince, who is completely shattering the preconceptions I was having about him. He's already proved to be blatantly the best keeper we've had since you-know-who.

What worries me still is midfield - Kinsella does some nice things but he's too slow and gives the ball away too much - I think for all the good he does, it's more than outweighed by the bad. We seriously missed Dobson and while Keates did fine - scoring two peaches, of course, in the process - he was no substitute. Hopefully it will be Kinsella who makes way for Dobson when he's back - but I'd still rather see someone else brought in to play alongside Dobbo.

Fox did a little better today, but he still doesn't offer enough for me. Sam had his best game - he holds the ball up brilliantly - it's just a pity that the final ball doesn't come off quite often enough. Still, with another assist to his name, that's OK. Butler was terrific again - no goal today, but wonderful workrate. For some reason when he ran to the corner to win a ball he seemingly had no chance of winning, and put in the cross which led to our second, I was reminded of something that Merson said when he was first appointed manager - which was that Jorge Leitao chased too many lost causes and wore himself out. Another reminder of Merson's genius - never one to chase anything (at least anything not wearing a skirt), Butler's battling reminded me of the great Walsall strikers of the recent past - Jorge at his best, Goodman, Rambo. Never-say-die. Brilliant.

I still think we can get better - Bedeau might solve the left-side problem (even if he plays on the right and Wright on the left), Dobson will be back, there's even a chance that Wrack might return and find some of his old form (doubtful though I know it is) - and I still don't want to get carried away. Gerrard had a bit of a shocker today and we were indebted to (a) poor finishing and (b) great saves from Ince to keep the clean sheet. We'll come up against lots of better strikeforces than we have done so far.

At the moment I think we'll certainly be battling around the play-off places but I do think we need a tiny bit extra before we're going to be really competing with the likes of Swindon and MK. Just a suspicion of course, and we couldn't have wished for a better start to the season - three wins, three clean sheets. Has that ever happened to us before!?

[Bristol Fan]

Forgot to say - Constable hugely impressive again when he came on. Looks like he is finally beginning to realise the potential we were told about when we signed him. Might have a jewel on our hands with that one.

[WFC_Rob]

Bedeau might solve the left-side problem

Personally, I wouldn't call our left side a problem. Despite the alleged lack of creativity down that side, very little of the opposition play attacks us down that side which is one of the reasons why we're one of only 3 sides in English football not to have conceded so far. One of our weaknesses is that we perhaps don't create enough chances as we could if we had a creative midfielder, but we are still creating enough chances to win matches, which is ultimately all that matters.
Let's not forget that although Fox is relatively new to his position, he is only 20 and potentially has many years ahead of him playing in that position if he is given the right guidance from DD.
Bedeau will solve the right-sided problem, but I've said my fair share on that matter as it is. :lol:

[Bristol Fan]

Bedeau might solve the left-side problem

Personally, I wouldn't call our left side a problem. Despite the alleged lack of creativity down that side, very little of the opposition play attacks us down that side which is one of the reasons why we're one of only 3 sides in English football not to have conceded so far. One of our weaknesses is that we perhaps don't create enough chances as we could if we had a creative midfielder, but we are still creating enough chances to win matches, which is ultimately all that matters.
Let's not forget that although Fox is relatively new to his position, he is only 20 and potentially has many years ahead of him playing in that position if he is given the right guidance from DD.
Bedeau will solve the right-sided problem, but I've said my fair share on that matter as it is. :lol:

There isn't a problem on the right side that needs solving... :D

It's a good point you make about us being solid down the left flank and little opposition play coming through there. I hadn't really thought about that. Which shows how deeply I think about things! With a very defensive central midfield, it does make us completely reliant on Mark Wright for creativity.

Ishmel certainly proved that he isn't the answer to the left side "problem".

[m&m]

I'm obviously happy that we are top of the laegue after 3 straight wins and no goals conceded however today must give DD cause for concern.We started poorly and didn't really get much better.Only 2 oportunistic long range strikes gave us the win probably against the run of play.Hartlepool played the best football and squandered some great chances including the penalty.
I had a feeling that Dobson would be a loss but did no really realise by how much until today.Last week at Rochdale picken was superb and Pead has done ok too in the first 2 games.Why change it DD?I think somebody said Picken has an injury --I sincerely hope it's not too bad as the Roper/Gerrard partnership was a shambles today.Maybe bringing in that idiot Westwood upset things?
Still play badly and win --how many times have we done that in recent years?

[YGA Saddler]

We are top of the league and we havent got out of third gear yet. When we get a full squad I'd expect us to win a few games 3 or 4 nil, I dont like to say it but we are better than this league and I cant see no-one stopping us.

Why do people continue to slag Westwood? He was played out of position and did a decent job IMHO. I thought that he had to bail Gerrard out on a couple of occasions and only lost possession once. STOP MAKING HIM THE "BOO BOY" UNTIL WRACKY GETS BACK!! We are top of the league stop moaning for christ sake.
I guess Ince has proved the doubters wrong, quality save from the free kick come penalty and hasnt put a foot wrong yet. I thought Keatesy was the best player and on that performance Kinsella will be dropped for Dobson. Sam still fails to find the net but he makes up for that with the chances he creates for the rest of the team.
Fox and Taylor still needs a little work but today I thought they were better than the previous two games, their crossing seemed a little more consistent.

3 wins out of 3 and no goals conceeded. COME ON!!!

Cant go next week but fingers crossed we will be celebrating another 3 points.

UPTHESADDLERS.