You see that's where this game is strange in that I thought Bradbury was much worse than he has been. I think his inability to hold the ball up was shown up by the Saint's defenders constantly taking the ball off him without fouling him. From my years of watching the game someone, even isolated, who holds the ball up will draw fouls from the opposition. But he didn't get hardly any.
As for AB I thought he constantly climbed all over the back of Jones, but the ref seemed prepared to let him get away with it.
Anyway it's all about opinions. :)
You're right Hooly, it is strange especially as at away games we are all sat in the same place so we can't even blame differing angles for our opinions.
I put Bradburys lack of effectiveness down to the fact that his partner, Hooper, may as well not have been there.
I like Hoops, I think he has a good future in the game and I hope we offer him a new deal. But yesterday was his first game for us in ages, and he's just come back from a nasty injury at Orient. Boy did it show. He failed to beat any man at all, kept falling over his own feet and really just wandred around fairly aimlessly.
Bradbury in the first half did give the ball away but he also made some excellent lay offs as well. As a team we have to start defending from the front but sadly today we just crumbled and the only real effort at stemming the Saints tide was provided by Barrett and Clarke, with occasional assistance from Francis and Foran.
The "senior" members of the midfield, McCormack and JCR, were for me pretty disappointing as they weren't really in the game and too much was therefore placed on the shoulders of the youngsters like Hooper and Moussa. The latter acquitted himself much better than Hoops did, especially in the first half.
But far from being too critical, we know there is a huge gulf in quality between league one and the CCC. We also have to remember that we essentially have a young side that after another pre-season will have got that little extra fitness and understanding. I really do want the menagement to clamp down on this party lifestyle that we have down here at the moment and I'd rather not see players out all over the town every night of the week (whether they are drinking or not).
Next season we will find it easier to recruit players and I fully expect a slightly larger squad - but not too big, as we essentially need that close knit team spirit that only a tight squad can bring.
We'll need a couple of experienced heads to replace Sodje and Prior, and perhaps another go at an experienced striker because I feel Bradbury will not be up to it as the target man.
There are several reasons to be optimisitic. I don't expect to bounce back, but 2 or 3 years of consolodation will provide the strength we need to compete at CCC level.