By Chris Turner, MK Fellas
I have been given the honour of doing this weeks player ratings in the absence of Luke Payne, so spare me the embarrassment it is my first time 😅
If you don’t agree with them then it’s probably cos I’m a bit generous/over harsh with my ratings but hey ho everyone is entitled to their own views so please do enjoy and comment what you think 😊
Full time score was Crewe 3-1 MK Dons. The loss leaves us second in the league table behind Notts County who we face at home next weekend, which will surely be a tough test
Player Ratings:
GK – Craig MacGillivray – 6
I think Craig made some really good saves for us today, which kept us from conceding more than we would have. Definitely has improved on his catching, but he is still palming the ball out into dangerous areas, which is a concern of mine that we do need to work on. We saw it against Wrexham when he did it, and he has done it on a few occasions
RWB – Cameron Norman – 4
Norman had a good opening 20 minutes, a lot of our attacks were coming down his side and there was good link up between himself, Gilbey and Leko but he pressed too high at times leaving space in behind exposing Warren O’Hora and Jack Tucker. In the second half, he was completed isolated after the formation change by Crewe, and we didn’t see as much from him. It’s definitely his lowest in a Dons shirt so far
CB – Warren O’Hora – 5
I think Warren was one of the better players today. He was very dominant in the air as normal and drove forward a lot in our opening 20 minute spell, which i liked. However, he was exposed by Norman pressing too high and was clearly fouled before Crewes third, but the ref was blind…
CB – Jack Tucker – 3
I really don’t understand why Jack Tucker plays the way he does. He pings long balls up the pitch, which we sometimes win, sometimes don’t, but that’s all he has to his game. Baker-Richardson was beating him to pretty much every ball that came in, and every Tucker had the ball he would just hoof it up the pitch, and he lacks communication with Mac, too. Really needs to improve. Otherwise, I would be looking at playing O’Hora in the middle and starting Stewart.
CB – Tommy Smith – 5
I think Smith had a quiet game. He was exposed at times due to Harvie pressing up very high and lacked recovery pace to deal with Tracey in the second half and was substituted midway through the second half. He definitely shows his experience at times but nothing to stand out, praise, or criticise.
LWB – Daniel Harvie – 4
Harvie again had another game where he started off well but went off course after we grew into the game. He consistently leaves Smith exposed behind him and doesn’t trackback, he doesn’t take a man on and beat him like Norman does, I feel like he needs to step his game up otherwise I would be looking to start Tomlinson there instead
CDM – Dawson Devoy – 3
Devoy looked out of his depth today in that deep lying midfielder role. He was taking the ball off the backline well but not progressing it forward. He was physically invaluable of making a tackle or winning a header and was leaving his position exposed when he floated upfield. Really showed how we missed MJ in this role today
CM – Alex Gilbey – 5
The captain got off to a really positive start with Leko and Norman as mentioned, but he got sucked into the game and had a quiet one second half. He couldn’t get anywhere near the ball as we could retain possession, and we didn’t use him enough as we hoofed it up the pitch too often. He could’ve had a goal, but he will see better days.
CM – Ethan Robson – 5
Another game of two halves for Robson. He pressed really well and made lots of interceptions in the first half to help us keep the ball, but in the second half, he was bypassed and became ineffective. He dropped into DM when Payne came on and was non-existent there.
LF – Ash Hunter – 5
There’s not much to say on Hunter as he went off inured after half an hour, but he had a good performance whilst he was on with his link up with Leko and pressing. Hopefully, he isn’t out for too long
RF – Jonathan Leko – 5
Leko bagged his first league goal since the opening day and started off really positive and had a good few chances, but again he petered off, he doesn’t press and shouldn’t have been playing CF and should have been deployed off the LW to switch with Max Dean where he is far more effective.
Subs:
Max Dean – 5
I think Dean was a surprise to everyone to see on the bench and had a fairly quiet game. He made one really good run, but his curling effort was saved by their keeper. He was on the left, which really didn’t suit him, and was drilling too deep at points. If he has a future here, i want him down the middle
Joe Tomlinson – 4
This was the most confusing substitute I’ve seen, Tomlinson is a LB and was playing RW. I didn’t notice him do anything, and he was virtually non-existent all game. He has a brighter future ahead thought i can assure that
Jack Payne – 5
Was brought onto try and give some creative spark to the team, but we were far gone by that point m. Failing to retain possession and hoof ball completely neutralised his strength, but I’m sure we will see more of him in the future
Overall, it was a disappointing performance and I think some changes need to be made. I want Tucker, Devoy, Smith, and Robson all dropped, and we should Lewington MJ and Payne nest game to mix things up. O’Hora should be played centrally, and I want Stewart starting next to him with Lewie, too. I also want to see Leko and Harrison up top, I don’t want to rush Mo back but if not, then I’ll leave that decision of the front two up to GA as I wouldn’t mind which one
Onto the next one, come on, you Dons!
*This is an edited version
