Carlisle Player Ratings

[jcdenton08]

For those who were there;

IMHO:

Kuipers - 7 (Kicking solid, two good saves at 2-0 in the last ten minutes which avoided a worrying last few minutes)

Virgo RB - 6 (Never a full back, and seems quite slow on his feet. But never beaten in the air, and positionally while better than previous times I've seen him at RB, struggled with their left winger, who was the home man of the match)

Tunnicliffe CB - 8 (Really solid, strong in the air and has some pace, very committed, solid player. Very promising)

Elphick CB - 8 (Worked well with Tunnicliffe, had the job of marking Anyinsah and dealt well with it generally)

El Abd LB - 7 (Out of position on a few occasions, and fortunate not to concede a penalty for holding onto their strikers shirt from a corner in the first half. But he worked very hard, and made a couple of excellent tackles and blocks. All in all he tried very hard but the same old problems were there. Also managed to talk himself into a booking)

Bennett RM/LM - 7 (Worked hard and has a lot of pace, very eager to impress and chased back well.)

Crofts CM - 7 (Seems to think he has a lot longer on the ball than he does, but is always the one who puts his foot on the ball and tries to look for a pass. Had a good game generally)

Dicker CM - 7 (Good tidy game, few mislaid passes and could've scored in the second half at 2-0 but volleyed straight at the keeper, and Forster was offside for the rebound.)

Davies LM/RM - 8 (Had an excellent game I thought, ran his socks off and whilst not the best defensively was constantly in acres of space in the first half. Had a good dribble and curling shot wide, and seemed to really be enjoying the match. Looks a very good signing)

Dickinson ST - 5 (Really poor performance, and slightly worrying. Technically very poor throughout, but the perceived lack of effort was the concern. No contribution and poor work rate in the first half, didn't compete or make any attempt to get close to Forster, who carried him throughout the match.
Was very surprised to see him come out for the second half, and not much better. After a poor piece of control in front of our fans, got a bit of stick which is obviously heard, and worked a little harder for the next minute or so, completing one of his only successful passes all game.
Also, despite how poor he was throughout, managed to assist the second goal with an excellent cross for Forster to tap in, but then, again worryingly, didn't celebrate the goal, but turned and jogged back to the half way line. Hart was ready to come on for him just before the second goal, but the substitution was delayed a while to see if he'd improve with the assist. He didn't.
First time having seen him play (as an Albion player) I was surprised by how little he jumped. He has this odd technique of getting under the ball, holding the defender off, then back-heading a flick on almost vertically in the air. Is this normal from him?
IMHO probably the worst player on the field on the day, but his contribution to the second goal sealed the game.


Forster ST - 10 (In contrast, Forster was a different class. His quality really showed through and every time he got the ball he looked menacing. Despite his age he was a lot quicker than both centre backs, and his usual runs into the channels were well timed, and the delivery on the break was very good. Superb centre-forward performance and the best player on the pitch by a mile. Also, did anybody else spot him teasing the Carlisle fans when we went 2-0 up? Think someone shouted something at him, and his replied with signing 2-0 to them..)

SUBS: Hart ran around a lot but didn't do much - one excellent ball almost reached Forster but apart from that nothing. Thornhill barely had a kick.


Thoroughly deserved the three points, even if 2-0 was a bit of a mugging.

 

[Djmiles]

I would agree with most of that, but I think the criticism aimed at Dickinson was slightly harsh. Certainly wasn't 2 ratings lower than any of our other players thats for sure.

 

[Don Quixote]

Why did we even buy Dickinson? He's not needed.

 

[Jim D]

Forster made specific mention of Dickinson as the reason he was able to get the two goals. They are just getting their partnership sorted out so there will be times when it doesn't quite work. I can only see this relationship getting better and more chances and goals resulting. Expect Dickinson & Forster to be our preferred pairing for the long term.

 

[bluestripe]

watched Dickenson again yesterday, his first touch is shocking, doesnt lead the line well at all, and again for a six footer why oh why does he not jump and attack the ball, i agree with all of the above, he must get better surely, as not what i expect from a big centre forward, does he understand what is expected in the role, i am not convinced he knows the job, when we were up against it yesterday he did not hold the ball up at all well thus losing it and putting us back under pressure. but if he can improve in these areas i believe we will have player on our hands asa i think he will get goals.

 

[Finchley Seagull]

Before people start writing off Dickinson, does anyone remember what they were saying about Forster in his first month or two at the club? He hardly scored and generally looked poor. Personally, I think Dickinson has done quite well generally (although I missed yesterday's game) but why he needs to be written off and have people asking why we needed to sign him at this stage is ridiculous.

 

[Jim D]

Before people start writing off Dickinson, does anyone remember what they were saying about Forster in his first month or two at the club? He hardly scored and generally looked poor. Personally, I think Dickinson has done quite well generally (although I missed yesterday's game) but why he needs to be written off and have people asking why we needed to sign him at this stage is ridiculous.

Not just Forster - Murray had loads of abuse directed at him. Not trying, can't score (one-in-ten-Glenn), didn't work for the team, etc. etc.

 

[bluestripe]

i dont think people are writing off Dickenson , i think every body wants him to do well, just pointing out an opinion, he is a young player still learning his trade and perhaps, has areas in his game that could be worked on so that he could make us stronger as a team, if we can see it ,im sure Russell can,i expect him to get so much better, then we will have a tremendous player on our hands.

 

[dougdeep]

In our last home game I thought Dickinson was better than Forster but nobody started Nicky out threads.

 

[Finchley Seagull]

i dont think people are writing off Dickenson , i think every body wants him to do well, just pointing out an opinion, he is a young player still learning his trade and perhaps, has areas in his game that could be worked on so that he could make us stronger as a team, if we can see it ,im sure Russell can,i expect him to get so much better, then we will have a tremendous player on our hands.

How about "Why did we even buy Dickinson? He's not needed."? Some people clearly are writing him off although I agree the majority with common sense are not. To be honest, if Dickinson had no flaws in his game at his age he would not be playing for us but people don't seem to understand that and think he should be the finished article.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

Must be only in away games he is poor then. Has been the pick of the players at home in 2 of the 3 games....

 

[Napper]

I'd take Dickinson playing shit if it means we win 2 - 0 and he sets up a goal every week

 

[Edgefield]

Our fans often dont appreciate the need for a strong player up front (particularly at narrow withdean where the ball inevitably spends a lot of time in the air).

The beneficial effect of such a player is often the pressure he will take off those around him, Forster is prospering from their partnership.

Given Dickinson is raw, hes not the finished article yet, whereas Owusu was!

 

[Caveman]

Just to correct your onslaught of Dickinson. He wasn't coming off, it was Forster set to come off. Hence, the 2nd goal and Slade leaving him on for his hattrick.

 

[jcdenton08]

Hang on, this was a player ratings thread, based on how well each player played for the team on the day. I only singled Dickinson out because he honestly did not have a good game, and my concern was as much about his technical performance on the day (first touch, workrate, heading) as his perceived attitude (nature of his booking, body language, reaction to the goals) in yesterday's game. As said before, this was not a critique of him as a person, or of his performances to date generally. Just how he played yesterday.

I'm sure most sensible readers of NSC will realise that's what I meant, and I am not suggesting we sell him, or he is a bad signing, etc etc.

I also hope that when we're playing badly, he'll be the one bagging the goals to compensate for games like the one he had yesterday!

 

[Acker79]

Heading is often a problem for the freakishly tall like Dickinson and Crouch. It's a skill they never needed to develop, they never had to jump, because the kids were always shorter than them.

Unfortunately by the time they get to professional levels, the shorter players have learned to jump and suddenly the tall players need to start developing that, but it's often too late for them to really prosper at heading until they get to their peak as players.

 

[Finchley Seagull]

Hang on, this was a player ratings thread, based on how well each player played for the team on the day. I only singled Dickinson out because he honestly did not have a good game, and my concern was as much about his technical performance on the day (first touch, workrate, heading) as his perceived attitude (nature of his booking, body language, reaction to the goals) in yesterday's game. As said before, this was not a critique of him as a person, or of his performances to date generally. Just how he played yesterday.

I'm sure most sensible readers of NSC will realise that's what I meant, and I am not suggesting we sell him, or he is a bad signing, etc etc.

I also hope that when we're playing badly, he'll be the one bagging the goals to compensate for games like the one he had yesterday!

In fairness, my criticism wasn't aimed at you, it was aimed at the person who said why did we bother buying Dickinson. I did not see yesterday's game but feel people have given him unfair stick on here in the previous games.

 

[Zebedee]

In our last home game I thought Dickinson was better than Forster but nobody started Nicky out threads.

Agreed. I still say that Forster's level of fitness is such that he starts to struggle after 60 mins.

 

[7:18]

Dickinson will come good, he played very well at Millwall and against Stockport