Firstly, how the hell Swindon have gone so many games unbeaten I will never know. They were bobbins. Utter bobbins. They must rely quite heavily on Douglas in midfield because they were weak as piss at the back, the strikers were growing everly frustrated with the 'service' they were receiving and barely offered a shot on goal all afternoon. Defensively they were rubbish in the first half an hour and we took full advantage.

First half was excellent, we got behind their defence time and time again. The second half was pretty dull but I'm not going to complain about that.

I was never worried about us not getting the 3 points after Brownie put ahead within a couple of minutes, a great cross from Boydy although I happily admit that I was screaming at him to put Monkhouse in though it was good to be proved wrong. A pint point cross and he showed all game that he is finding his touch again.

It was so refreshing to see us not play the long ball, long ball will never work with Behan and Boydy. Boydy proved yesterday he doesn't have the speed to get on the end of flick-ons. He played deeper and he distributed the ball excellently to bring the two wingers into the game. We reaped the rewards of trying to play football yesterday and the way we continuously carved their defence open in the first half proved that this is a strength we have to play to, as I pointed out after the Grimsby match we have a beautiful pitch at home and we have some great football players so lets knock this long ball shyte on the head and start getting the best out of our better players.

Ratings....

Flinders-8-He had relatively little to do in terms of stops to make and the ones he did make were straight at him but he held them all comfortably, he did waste a couple of balls which he kicked far and long; we don't have the pace upfront to try and get behind their defence with long punts like that. The best part of his game yesterday was his punches from crosses, he came for everything and connected with everything, he almost took Lee Peacock's head off at one point and that will fill the defence with a lot of confidence. On MOTD three of the best keepers in the country in Cech, Reina and James were all caught coming for balls that they tried to punch and were beaten (2 of them resulted in goals), Flinders should consider giving them lessons as he excelled in this area yesterday. The first time this season I've seen him tested and he put in a great shift. Would we have kept a clean sheet yesterday with either of last season's pair between the stick?

Austin-8- Their left winger was quick, very quick. Too quick for my liking. He did Austin for pace continuously but Austin proved what an excellent defender he is and played him out of the game. A very commanding performance and he is going to be a massive favourite at the club in my opinion. Doesn't fanny around, gets stuck in and knows how to defend properly.

Liddle-8-I've never seen a transformation like I have from Liddle over the Summer. I wouldn't have lost too much sleep if we had released Lidds in the summer as he's been poor in the middle since we made the step up to League 1. He proved what a clever footballer he is yesterday and was head and shoulders above their forwards, cleaned up well after Collins when needed and never put a foot wrong all day.

Collins-8- If you'd have told me at the start of the season that Collins would have featured so heavily in our season so far I'd have expected us to have been bottom. I really thought he was a donkey. In hindsight he was only playing like a donkey because he had a big tub of dog sh*t playing next to him but thankfully that big tub of dog sh*t is now 'furthering his career' at Norwich. Collins won everything yesterday and like Liddle never put a foot wrong, he took care of Swindon's bigger men and Lee Peacock never got a sniff when he came on. I was advocating that Clarky should be back in the team as soon as he is fit purely because I think he offers the defence so much but after yesterday I think it would be criminal to split up the current two. Another massively improved player.

Hartley-7- I thought his posititonal play was a bit suspect at times, Hartley appeared to get pulled in the centre which gave their right winger a lot of space at times. His defence work was more than solid though when needed and he put in a very commanding shift.

Monkhouse-7- Monky was heavily involved in a lot of our good work in the first half but I was a bit disappointed in him second half as I thought he'd have been more than up for it as he normally thrives on situations like the one he faced after he scored. Put his goal away well and got himself in some great positions. Didn't make many friends yesterday....always good to have a player like that on your team.

Jones-8-Great to have him back. I really rate Richie Jones but having spoke to a couple of others they weren't so convinced as I was by his contribution. A lot of Jones's work goes unnoticed and I think he'll be harder to play against that we give him credit for, I'm sure opposition midfielders don't like coming up against him. He won some good tackles and linked up well with others. Booked for an OTT tackle in the first half but it was good to see in some sense as it shows we have a bit of bite back that we have missed recently. A couple of examples of him doing unnoticed work was a) Liddle went on a bit of a run with 10 minutes to go and once half way up the field he got dispossessed, who had jogged back to fill his space in central defence? Jones. b) another time when Humphreys got caught out of possession, Jones left his man to clear up the mess but still screamed at Humphreys to get back and pick up his man that he had left which Humphreys did and stopped them from breaking through the midfield. OK, it's not earth shattering midfield work but when you go to places like this you have to stay organised and Jones did this with a little bit more yesterday. Plus he used to play for Man U which proves he is a good player.

Humphreys-6.5-I'd still rather see Rowell in and I fail to see how he isn't a better player. Richie put in a decent enough shift, a few wayward balls but generally he put himself about well. Came over to the fans at the end as usual which shows he cares. Others thought he was better than my mark suggests but I am not convinced by him and think we have better long term options to partner Jonesy.

Browny-7.5- A goal and an assist plus he was involved in everything that caused their defence problems, can't ask for much more. I still think he'd be better through the middle and I think we're missing out by playing such an excellent striker on the right wing. I hope Turner changes this soon but I don't expect him too.

Behan-7- Linked up well with Boydy throughout. He won what he needed to win; nothing flash but didn't put a foot wrong. I can't understand why he didn't take the free kick we had in the second half though, he'd have put it close than Humphreys and it was perfect range for him.

Boyd-8- The best I have seen him play since he has returned. His first touch is excellent and he combined well with all those around him. One bit of skill in the second half which put Monkhouse away was absolutely superb. He retains the ball well which brings the midfield into the game and his cross for Browny was pin point

Bjornsson and Larkin- Bjornsson still worries me but it's never going to be easy coming on for 20 minutes here and there. Jermaine Easter used to make a lot of sub performances and he never really settled, fans got on his back, his confidence plummeted and we ended up binning him off. He's done well since. We have to give Bjornsson time to adjust as I'm sure he must have a decent player in him. Larkin had one half chance when he got put through by Bjornsson, there wasn't any pace on the ball though so he had to shoot as the defenders were catching him and the keeper made a decent save. Decent strike though.

McSweeney- only on for the final 10 but put in some strong tackles.

Turner-7.5- Felt a bit sorry for him as he looked quite sheepish when he gave the fans a quick clap, he clearly knows that there is a bit of pressure on him after the results recently. Putting Jonesy back in was the right decision for me and playing football instead of hoofing the ball is so much better for our play. We've got the foundations of a good squad and we have the ability to finish mid table if we keep playing to our strengths and he puts further bite into the midfield.

If you're still reading this...I'm going for a lie down.

Bob's report was more accurate.

I wasnt there yesterday, But a cracking report TPP... I totally agree with your comments about Richie Jones. I think a lot of his work goes un-noticed. I also like the fact that he's a hard tackler and dont mind if he gets booked for it, Because at least he's there trying and fighting for the team.

He's very hot and cold with the fans. Not many players in recent years have created such a 50/50 split with fans' opinions

Great report TPP and well done CTfor yet another away day special.

You're right, he does divide opinions and I can see why. I think if more people made a concious effort to watch him when he hasn't got the ball then they'd see what he offers.

He got heavily praised when he did a great man marking job on Scott Parker at the start of the year but when he puts in comparable shifts against players at this standard he gets slagged off by certain quarters.

Great report TPP, it's amazing how much detail you can pick up from a radio commentary

Thats because they have not had the experience of playing football at a reasonable level. You should pity them

In concurrence, a lot of people think that there are only strikers on the pitch (oh and a goalie to make spectacular saves) ... doesn't matter that goodwork from midfield puts them in a scoring position in the first place or excellent defending keeps the opposition from scoring.. lets face it if they had their way the game would consist of three strikers and a goalie ten half time twenty the winner..

Lets face ten people could write a report from a game and not one of them would be in anyway similar... Its all about opinions and like noses we'll all have different ones.

jones on his day is probably the best midfielder at the club. However there are plenty of days when he runs around like a headless chicken. He just needs experience, and a kick up the arse now and again.

Being constantly dropped for virtually no reason wont help him get that experience, IMO.

Playing Brown down the middle is a longer term solution.

If we did it now it would mean playing Sweeney or Mcsweeney right mid
and leaving out either Boyd or Behan.

I think the present formation is a stronger option, until we get a genuine right 'winger'

Have you ever considered that when Jones is running around like a " headless chicken", he is actually closing down space.
One of the first things you get taught in football is that when your team is in possession you find space and when the opposition have the ball you close it down.
It's called doing your job off the ball.
Not a lot of people know that, so keep it to yourself.

Getting with what you're saying Mr Dibbs, however to be fair to Jones he's had a bit of chew with the Mrs recently so it may be a little understandable why his mind wasn't totally on the job.

I wouldn't argue with the points you have made Mr ADG. What I would say though is that centre midfield is a problem for us and Jones is as good as we've got in my opinion. He either makes his name first on the team sheet in CM or he will be discarded. Now is his opportunity and, going on Saturday's performance and his positive reaction to his kick up the arse, he seems to have made great strides to grasping that opportunity.