Tag: writing

This afternoon, Carlisle United produced a five star performance to beat Braintree Town 5-0 at Brunton Park. A hat-trick from Regan Linney, an own goal and a late goal from Jack Ellis were the difference.

An incredible afternoon in the sunshine at Brunton Park for Mark Hughes, his team and the Carlisle United supporters. Braintree will be doing their best to forget today’s game pretty quickly.

Match Review

Carlisle came out of the blocks really quickly and were unlucky to not take the lead in the first minute as Regan Linney’s deflected shot was well saved by Braintree keeper Mason Terry.

The home side’s early domination continued as Archie Davies had a shot comfortably saved before Luke Armstrong’s header was brilliantly kept out by Mason Terry once again.

In the 15th minute after brilliant work from Junior Luamba, Stephen Wearne passed to Regan Linney and his curling effort from outside the box was curled to perfection and beat Mason Terry all ends up and gave Mark Hughes’ team a deserved lead.

Just before the half hour mark Regan Linney threaded a good ball through for Luke Armstrong to cross in to the danger area and it was deflected home by Braintree defender George Langston to double the Cumbrians’ lead.

The game slowed down from its frantic start but Carlisle continued to put pressure on the Braintree defence through Luamba and Linney mainly but a thoroughly exciting first half from a Carlisle perspective.

HT Carlisle United 2-0 Braintree Town

The home side created the first chance of the second half as Callum Whelan’s long range effort was well saved by Mason Terry.

Terell Thomas nearly scored the one of the great Brunton Park goals with a stunning 40 yard strike brilliantly tipped over by Mason Terry.

In the 52nd minute Callum Whelan was brought down in the box and Carlisle were awarded a penalty. Regan Linney calmly sent the keeper the wrong way to extended the blues’ lead.

Just after the hour mark Luke Armstrong found himself one on one with Mason Terry after a great pass from Regan Linney but was denied by a smart save from the Braintree keeper.

Regan Linney completed his hat-trick in the 66th minute with a brilliant front post header from a Cameron Harper corner.

Ten minutes from time a corner was headed down by Morgan Feeney and nodded home by Jack Ellis to make it 5-0.

Carlisle comfortably saw out the rest of the game and were more than worthy of their 5-0 victory.

FT Carlisle United 5-0 Braintree Town

How Did Carlisle Perform?

First half got off to an absolute flyer. Regan Linney set the tone early on and gave Carlisle a deserted lead with a great finish. The midriff kept the ball well and stopped anything Braintree tried to build in attack and especially Wearne and Whelan were posing a threat going forward as well. Defensively the home side were comfortable in the first half with Terell Thomas and Bevis Mugabi handling John Akinde very well in the first half.

Second half, Mark Hughes sent his players out with the same fast and strong start to the half and the pressure on Braintree was applied from the first minute of the half. Defence were comfortable again in the second half and the midfield were calm and composed with the ball even with the substitutions.

My Carlisle United Player Ratings

Gabe Breeze -7- didn’t have a lot to do, won’t have an easier afternoon all season.

Archie Davies -7- solid in defence when needed and was a constant attacking threat when Carlisle went forward.

Bevis Mugabi -7- very solid at the back, kept Akinde very quiet along with Thomas.

Terell Thomas -8- absolutely outstanding for the second game in a row. Brilliant last ditch tackle in the second half, kept their frontmen quiet and nearly scored a 40 yard screamer as well.

Cameron Harper -7- put some dangerous crosses in to the box in the first half and second half done his job very well.

Jack Ellis -7.5- a very comfortable day in midfield for Ellis and he kept the ball well at times. He also scored Carlisle’s fifth goal.

Callum Whelan -7.5- got in to some dangerous positions, could’ve had a couple of goals if it wasn’t for a great block and save from Braintree.

Stephen Wearne -6.5- picked up some dangerous positions but lacked a final pass was missing at times. A good shift for the team though.

Junior Luamba -7.5- a constant threat down the wing and covered a lot of ground tracking back when needed as well.

Regan Linney -10- the hat-trick hero, brilliant opener, took the penalty well and an excellent near post header for his third. Ran his socks off and was a constant threat on top of the three goals as well. Easily man of the match.

Luke Armstrong -8- never stopped running, created spaces for Linney and Luamba to run in to and forced the own goal.

SUBSTITUTES

Georgie Kelly -6- held the ball up well at times and could’ve got on the scoresheet as well.

Josh Grant -6- broke the play up and defended well when he came on.

David Ajiboye -6- looked dangerous at times but still looks low on confidence when running with the ball.

Morgan Feeney -6- done is job well when he came on alongside Thomas.

Ethan Robson -6- had a part to play in the fifth goal and could’ve got on the scoresheet himself late on.

Please note these are the ratings of Dan and nobody else.

A Message From Paddock Perception

We are working alongside Liam and his YouTube channel Blue Army TV this season to make sure we bring you the best Carlisle United content we possibly can. You can subscribe to his channel and follow him on X, his handles are below:

X – @blue_army_tv

YouTube – @BlueArmyTVchannel

Another partnership Paddock Perception has is with Carlisle United YouTube channel CU04, they have amazing content on their channel and we are looking forward to working with them this season. You can follow them here:

X – @CU04_YOUTUBE

YouTube – @CU04

Thank you everyone for reading Paddock Perception, your support means everything! Please don’t forget you can follow Dan and Craig on X for more football content:

@dan_batemannn

@CraigWL1997

This Bank Holiday Monday, Mark Hughes’ Carlisle United welcome Steve Pitt’s Braintree Town to Brunton Park.

Carlisle will looking for their first home win of the season and to make some progress in the league table meanwhile Braintree will be looking to put an end to their poor away form and return to winning ways.

How Have Both Teams Started The Season?

Carlisle United have had a stuttering start to the season after beating Woking 2-0 on the opening day they followed that up with a 3-3 draw against Boreham Wood and a 1-1 draw with Solihull Moors. Last time out the blues spoiled Wealdstone’s 100% start to the season with a hard fought 1-0 victory thanks to a header from Luke Armstrong.

Braintree had a flying start beating Halifax 3-0 at home before beating Leicester under-21s in the National League cup 2-0 but since then they’ve struggled and were beaten 2-0 at Hartlepool and 2-1 at Boreham Wood and in both games had a man sent off, last time out Braintree beat Yeovil 1-0 in a hard fought game and are sat on 6 points from their first 4 games.

Players To Watch

Carlisle United players to watch have been similar in most of these match previews I’ve done so far so I’m going to go with some different players for this match.

The first player to watch out for is Junior Luamba, the winger joined the Cumbrians from Salford this summer and has impressed in his appearances in the blue shirt so far. His pace and ability to put the ball in to the danger area will cause the Braintree defence real issues especially in transition and on the break.

The second player to watch for the Cumbrians is Georgie Kelly, his hold up play could be vital in Carlisle’s attack, if he wins his flick ons and manages to keep the ball he will be the key part of Carlisle’s attack and will look to feed Regan Linney and other forwards at the earliest opportunity.

As for Steve Pitt’s Braintree, they have some experience in their side such as former Ipswich and Brentford player Alan Judge and form Ipswich and MK Dons defender Tommy Smith to name but a few but they are not their danger men.

The first player to watch for Braintree is big target man John Akinde, Akinde has played in the EFL for teams such as Barnet, Lincoln, Gillingham and Colchester. Akinde holds the ball up well, bullies defenders and links up the forward line very well, he will be a handful for the Carlisle United defensive line.

The other player to watch is Lewis Walker, Walker came through the QPR academy, he has played in Italy for Carpi and Como before coming back to England to play for Gillingham and Woking before joining Braintree this summer, he and Akinde have formed a good partnership and scored two goals in their opening day 3-0 win of Halifax.

My Predicted Carlisle United Starting Eleven

Breeze, Davies, Mugabi, Thomas, Harper, Macadam, Whelan, Wearne, Luamba, Linney, Kelly.

I think with games coming thick and fast there will be some rotation to Mark Hughes’ side. I think he may rest Armstrong and start Kelly and maybe freshen things in midfield as well.

Score Prediction

Carlisle United 2-0 Braintree Town

This is the perfect game for the Cumbrians to kick start their home form this season. Braintree struggle on the road and Carlisle should have too much fire power in key areas for them.

Braintree’s frontmen could cause the Carlisle defence issues but if they handle that well I think Carlisle will have too much quality in the end for a side that notoriously struggles on the road.

A Message From Paddock Perception

We are working alongside Liam and his YouTube channel Blue Army TV this season to make sure we bring you the best Carlisle United content we possibly can. You can subscribe to his channel and follow him on X, his handles are below:

X – @blue_army_tv

YouTube – @BlueArmyTVchannel

Another partnership Paddock Perception has is with Carlisle United YouTube channel CU04, they have amazing content on their channel and we are looking forward to working with them this season. You can follow them here:

X – @CU04_YOUTUBE

YouTube – @CU04

Thank you everyone for reading Paddock Perception, your support means everything! Please don’t forget you can follow Dan and Craig on X for more football content:

@dan_batemannn

@CraigWL1997

On Saturday evening Carlisle United made the long trip to the capital to take on high flying Wealdstone. The game was decided thanks to a first half header from Luke Armstrong and a solid defensive display in the second half.

Carlisle ended Wealdstone’s perfect start to the season, the Cumbrians are now sat on 8 points from their opening 4 fixtures and have moved up to 7th place in the table.

Match Review

Both sides started the game on the front foot and created early chances. Luke Armstrong had a goal controversially ruled out for a foul in the first five minutes but the blues kept pushing for the opener despite that disappointment.

Regan Linney got in down the left and forced a save from the Wealdstone goalkeeper and Jack Ellis curled a shot just wide of the Wealdstone goal before an Archie Davies corner was flicked in with his head at the near by Luke Armstrong in the 18th minute to give Carlisle a deserved lead.

The away side continued to look threatening especially in transition in the first 30 minutes and chances for Regan Linney and Junior Luamba were missed when both should have done better.

Wealdstone we’re getting some joy in the forward areas especially down their right side as their winger seemed to have the beating of Cameron Harper but their crosses in to the box were dealt with well by Gabe Breeze in goal.

The front three of Carlisle were pressing well and looked a threat every time they went forward. Luamba’s pace and natural width he gave us was a huge improvement on the day against Solihull Moors.

HT Wealdstone 0-1 Carlisle United

The second half started off in the same vein as the first, Carlisle were pressing high up the field and their first chance came from that where Harvey Macadam saw his shot parried away by Dante Baptiste.

In the 53rd minute Gabe Breeze was forced in to action with a great stop to prevent the home side from levelling the score. From the resulting corner Wealdstone heaped on more pressure and Breeze was called in to action once again to stop a header from Deonysus Woodman.

In the 65th minute Regan Linney broke the offside trap and pulled his short wide of the near post when he perhaps should’ve done better and finished the game.

As the game went on Carlisle looked more and more content with the lead they had as they sat back and invited Wealdstone pressure but the defence was up to the balls in to the box and got their heads to every cross in to the danger area.

The away side’s defence held firm and Carlisle comfortably saw the game out for a deserved 1-0 victory.

How Did Carlisle Perform?

In the first half the front three of Armstrong, Linney and Luamba pressing high and then pace on the break was causing Wealdstone massive problems. Luamba in particular with his direct running and creating width when he didn’t have the ball was creating spaces in key areas for players such as Wearne, Linney and Armstrong to move in to.

Defensively both Mugabi and Thomas dealt with Wealdstone’s crosses well. Breeze in goal didn’t have a great deal to do overall but when he had to come for balls he did and when there were saves to be made he made them.

Carlisle’s pressing slowed down a lot after the hour mark and they tried to slow the pace down and hit Wealdstone on the break. Regan Linney broke the offside trap twice in quick succession but couldn’t find the net on either occasion but Carlisle’s second half game plan was there for all to see and they implemented it well.

Overall I would call it a perfect away performance, we took our chance, defended very well, kept a clean sheet and ran the clock down well to see the game out.

My Carlisle United Player Ratings

Gabe Breeze – 7.5 – didn’t have huge amounts do at a times but dealt with a lot of crosses in to the box very well and made some important stops late on.

Archie Davies – 7 – wasn’t as much of an attacking threat as he was on Tuesday but he defended very well and stood strong when their left-back tried to take him on.

Terell Thomas – 8 – one of his better games in a Carlisle shirt, won pretty much everything, always looked in control and kept their frontmen quiet all game and is my man of the match.

Bevis Mugabi – 7.5 – similar to Thomas, very solid didn’t put a foot wrong and had answers for any of the attackers questions.

Cameron Harper – 6.5 – was beaten down his side a few times, failed to stop some crosses in to the box but overall a solid game.

Harvey Macadam – 6.5 – worked very hard in midfield, passed the ball well, made some good runs and tracked back well.

Jack Ellis – 6.5 – industrious in midfield, covered a lot of ground, done a brilliant job of keeping their midfield quiet and could’ve had a goal in the first half.

Stephen Wearne – 6.5 – picked up pockets of space in the first half but just couldn’t find that final ball. Worked very hard for the team and didn’t do anything wrong.

Junior Luamba – 7.5 – very impressive first start for the club, fast and direct in transition especially in the first half and his runs caused Wealdstone a lot of problems.

Regan Linney – 7 – on another day he could’ve had a hat-trick but it wasn’t his day in front of goal but he worked tirelessly for the team and was a constant threat going forward.

Luke Armstrong – 8 – covered a lot of ground up front closing defenders down and giving Linney and Luamba options going forward, on another day he maybe gets another goal but got the decisive goal and it was between him and Thomas for man of the match for me.

SUBSTITUTES

Callum Whelan – 6 – knew his role off the bench was to work hard and close people down and he done that well when seeing out the game.

David Ajiboye – 6 – made some good runs late on but couldn’t really get in to the game. He did track back well and helped see out the game.

Georgie Kelly – n/a – wasn’t on long enough to impact the game.

Morgan Feeney – n/a – wasn’t on long enough to impact the game but good to see him back.

Please note these ratings are the opinions of Dan and nobody else.

A Message From Paddock Perception

We are working alongside Liam and his YouTube channel Blue Army TV this season to make sure we bring you the best Carlisle United content we possibly can. You can subscribe to his channel and follow him on X, his handles are below:

X – @blue_army_tv

YouTube – @BlueArmyTVchannel

Another partnership Paddock Perception has is with Carlisle United YouTube channel CU04, they have amazing content on their channel and we are looking forward to working with them this season. You can follow them here:

X – @CU04_YOUTUBE

YouTube – @CU04

Thank you everyone for reading Paddock Perception, your support means everything! Please don’t forget you can follow Dan and Craig on X for more football content:

@dan_batemannn

@CraigWL1997

After back-to-back disappointing performances at Brunton Park against Boreham Wood and Solihull Moors one thing that has been apparent to many people is the midfield seems to lack real balance.

Against Boreham Wood the midfield had too many attack minded midfielders and against Solihull there were too many defensive minded players in there, this needs to be fixed for Wealdstone tomorrow or the blues’ midfield risks being dominated once again.

How Has The Midfield Performed?

Against Boreham Wood, the midfield three for Mark Hughes was Harvey Macadam, Callum Whelan and Elliot Embleton and they were outfought at times so against Solihull Hughes went for a more defensive midfield and played right back Jack Ellis in there alongside Harvey Macadam and Josh Grant on his debut.

Against Boreham Wood the tough tackling and press from the opposition meant we lost the ball too many times in dangerous areas but against Solihull it was too defensive and it meant Mark Hughes’ side consistently failed to make any progressive passes in the final third for the attackers and were too slow in transition because the midfielders were too defensive minded.

The Solihull goal on Tuesday came from Josh Grant passing the ball blindly across the back line instead of looking to play forward to the attackers, there needs to be more balance in that area so Grant’s mistake doesn’t happen again.

What Should Hughes Do?

Historically, a successful midfield three is usually one holding midfielder, one box-to-box midfielder and one creative midfielder and Hughes has the players at his disposal to implement this in the coming games.

For creativity I think Elliot Embleton is first choice with Stephen Wearne off the bench, as the box-to-box option I would say Callum Whelan is first choice with the option of Ethan Robson off the bench and as the holding defence minded midfielder it looks like Harvey Macadam is first choice for Hughes with Josh Grant as the option off the bench.

Against Wealdstone tomorrow I think for a well balanced midfield the Cumbrians need to go with a midfield three of Macadam, Whelan and Embleton but just because I think that it doesn’t mean Mark Hughes will go with that.

I don’t necessarily think this midfield is ideal but on paper and from what I’ve seen so far this season I think it’s the best we have in terms of balance.

What would your midfield three be for tomorrow’s game?

What To Expect Against Wealdstone

I’m intrigued as to what team we will see tomorrow because the majority of the fan base were not happy with the performance on Tuesday against Solihull but Mark Hughes came out after the game and said he was “pleased” with what he’d seen, this surprised many people including myself so we could see wholesale changes tomorrow or it could be unchanged, we will have to wait and see.

As far as Hughes’ comments go, I understand you don’t come out and throw your players under the bus but you could word things a little differently instead of saying you were “pleased” with being played off the park by a side that you’re expected to beat for 75 minutes and scraped a draw.

A Message From Paddock Perception

We are working alongside Liam and his YouTube channel Blue Army TV this season to make sure we bring you the best Carlisle United content we possibly can. You can subscribe to his channel and follow him on X, his handles are below.

X – @blue_army_tv

YouTube – @BlueArmyTVchannel

Another partnership Paddock Perception has is with Carlisle United YouTube channel CU04, they have amazing content on their channel and we are looking forward to working with them this season. You can follow them here:

X – @CU04_YOUTUBE

YouTube – @CU04

Thank you everyone for reading Paddock Perception, your support means everything! Please don’t forget you can follow Dan and Craig on X for more football content:

@dan_batemannn

@CraigWL1997

On Saturday Mark Hughes takes his Carlisle United side to London to take on high flying Wealdstone. Sam Cox’s team have a 100% record so far this season and will be a huge test for the blues after a stuttering start.

Wealdstone are strong at home and were tipped by a lot of people to struggle this season but with three wins from three so far they will be looking to keep that run going.

How Have Both Teams Started The Season?

Wealdstone have won all three of their National League games this season, they’ve beaten Truro 2-0 on the opening day they then followed that up with a 2-1 victory over Halifax in the second game and then they defeated Woking away from home 2-1 in midweek. They also beat. Wolves under-21 side in the National League cup in there as well.

Carlisle United have a slightly stuttering start, they began the campaign with a 2-0 victory over Woking but have followed that up with two lacklustre performances and draws, 3-3 at home to Boreham Wood and 1-1 with Solihull Moors midweek.

Players To Watch

Sam Cox’s side have a lot of experience in their side along with youth and pace but I’ve chosen two players to watch out for in particular and both have bags of experience.

Max Kretzschmar in midfield will keep the ball well, the former Woking and Wycombe man will try to dominate the centre of the pitch and will pop up in dangerous areas and look to break through the Carlisle United defence.

Another danger man for Wealdstone is Enzio Boldewijn, the former Crawley and Notts County forward has lots of experience and has scores goals at every club he’s been at. He will be a constant threat and the Carlisle defence will have to keep him at arms length in this one.

For Carlisle I’ll probably say this a lot this season but Regan Linney, if he can get the ball and isolate the full backs he will be a constant attacking threat for the Cumbrians in this game and many more to come.

Another danger man for Mark Hughes’ side is Archie Davies at right-back, he was man of the match against Solihull and was a constant attacking threat, if Carlisle play a winger on the right ahead of Davies they could link up well and cause the Wealdstone defence serious problems in this game.

My Predicted Carlisle United Eleven

Breeze, Davies, Thomas, Mugabi, Murray, Ellis, Macadam, Whelan, Luamba, Linney, Kelly.

I think Hughes will have noticed what was missing against Solihull and how much better and more direct we were when Luamba came on.

We will need to try and keep the ball better than we did against Solihull and that’s why I think he’ll bring in Whelan or Embleton to keep the ball better and be more progressive when we do have the ball.

One of Armstrong or Kelly may be dropped and I’ve chosen Armstrong but it will depend on if Kelly can play two games in a week.

Score Prediction

Wealdstone 1-0 Carlisle United

Carlisle after a winning start have underperformed in recent matches with two poor performances and draws at home in their last two games meanwhile Wealdstone have won three in three, have lots of experience and are strong at home. I think this will be a tough game and a hard fought contest but I think the home side just edge it.

A Message From Paddock Perception

We are working alongside Liam and his YouTube channel Blue Army TV this season to make sure we bring you the best Carlisle United content we possibly can. You can subscribe to his channel and follow him on X, his handles are below.

X – @blue_army_tv

YouTube – @BlueArmyTVchannel

Another partnership Paddock Perception has is with Carlisle United YouTube channel CU04, they have amazing content on their channel and we are looking forward to working with them this season. You can follow them here:

X – @CU04_YOUTUBE

YouTube – @CU04

Thank you everyone for reading Paddock Perception, your support means everything! Please don’t forget you can follow Dan and Craig on X for more football content:

@dan_batemannn

@CraigWL1997

On Saturday at Brunton Park, Carlisle United blew a 3-1 lead against Boreham Wood and defensively there was a lot left to be desired. Boreham Wood attackers were left unmarked on numerous occasions and there were gaping holes in the blues’ defensive line continuously.

Today I’m going to be looking at the players in the back line of Carlisle United and where Mark Hughes should be looking to improve and potentially change ahead of tomorrow night’s match with Solihull Moors.

A Look At The Carlisle United Defence

Jack Ellis at right-back was the best of the four on Saturday and wasn’t at fault for any of the goals, he also played very well against Woking in the opening game and got a brilliant assist for Luke Armstrong.

Ellis does have Archie Davies as competition but I think Ellis’ position in the defence is safe for now and should start against Solihull.

Terell Thomas is a real issue for me, he’s meant to be our captain and has constantly been poor for a prolonged period of time. He constantly berates others around him even when some of it is his own fault. He looked way off the pace against Boreham Wood and was at fault numerous times and made countless mistakes.

I think because he’s captain he probably starts against Solihull tomorrow but if that’s the case he’s extremely lucky to be starting.

Aaron Hayden very much like Thomas looked well off the pace on Saturday and was static at times and you could argue he was at fault for at least one of the goals. I think him and Thomas don’t compliment each other well at all and get caught out for pace a lot of the time.

I think Hayden could be the one that’s changed against Solihull with Bevis Mugabi to come in instead of him.

Cameron Harper at left-back had a dreadful first half against Boreham Wood and is yet to convince me defensively since he joined last summer, technically he’s usually decent but there was misplaced passes and lack of doing the basics on Saturday.

He did improve slightly second half and was a little better but still nowhere near good enough. I think Hughes likes Harper so he might stick with him against Solihull but I think Sam Murray deserves a chance personally.

What Changes Should Be Made?

The first thing I would say is, how are we starting the same back four this season that we got relegated with last season?

Thomas and Hayden need addressing quickly by Mark Hughes with Mugabi a ready made replacement for one and then we need to know when Morgan Feeney will be fit and ready to go because if it’s going to be a long time I’d be tempted to look at Paul Huntington on a free transfer even if it’s just a short term deal.

Harper at left-back is another issue that we seemed to address in the summer by signing Sam Murray from Manchester United but so far Hughes has stuck with Harper but surely Murray has to get his chance very soon and if he doesn’t I would question why he’s not playing and why did we even sign him.

The defence is a massive problem that has plagued Mark Hughes since his arrival at the club and if it isn’t addressed it will keep costing us in the long run, like it has the last two seasons.

The manager needs to show that he won’t tolerate those performances we seen in Saturday and that players will suffer the consequences of costing us a game.

A Message From Paddock Perception

We are working alongside Liam and his YouTube channel Blue Army TV this season to make sure we bring you the best Carlisle United content we possibly can. You can subscribe to his channel and follow him on X, his handles are below.

X – @blue_army_tv

YouTube – @BlueArmyTVchannel

Another partnership Paddock Perception has is with Carlisle United YouTube channel CU04, they have amazing content on their channel and we are looking forward to working with them this season. You can follow them here:

X – @CU04_YOUTUBE

YouTube – @CU04

Thank you everyone for reading Paddock Perception, your support means everything! Please don’t forget you can follow Dan and Craig on X for more football content:

@dan_batemannn

@CraigWL1997