Match Ratings -VS- Villa

[t79boy]

Robinson was OK today, he was quick off his line and did deal with the crosses. I honestly dont see why punching a cross out is such a crime in so many peoples minds.

Boateng was fuckign shit. Only Zokora, Keane and maybe Hudd can even feel remotely satisfied with that. Brilliant goal by Defoe but he needs to do more

Short memory matey !!

Reflect to Reading's first goal !! Where he punched str8 to their player !!

 

[damn91]

We probably didnt perform that well because all of our young players were doing things that they shouldnt have been doing last night. a very disapointing display

 

[SC05]

Robinson 5 : Flaps at everything, I can't help but feel nervous everytime a cross comes in. Kicking wasn't brilliant either.

Zokora 7 : Played well. Kept Ashley Young quiet.

Dawson 4 : Won some important headers but losing Mellberg for the goal was schoolboy. Also should be partly his responsibility to make sure his team-mates are marking the right players!

Kaboul 5 : Did okay before coming off.

Lee 5 :Brings nothing in attack and if he does he always passes it back. Very weak defensively too.

Lennon 5 : Why doesn't he take on his man more? Hes obviously capable. Did well defensively but thats it.

Boateng 5 : Gave away needless fouls in dangerous areas. Any set-piece against us gives the opposition a chance. Some neat touches but distribution wasn't good enough.

Jenas 5 : Clumsy at times. Has the potential but doesn't produce. We need a good attacking central midfielder.

Malbranque 6 : Not one of his best games. Lost the ball alot and he trys to wiggle his way out of tight spaces in own half to often without looking for an easy pass.

Defoe 6 : Lost the ball when he had it because he didn't look up enough for his team-mates. More dangerous in second half - good goal.

Berbatov 5 :Attiude and body language is frustrating. At one point in the second half when he lost the ball Andy Gray said its lucky hes such a good player otherwise ramos would not be happy? So everytime he loses the ball it doesn't matter no?

Subs:

Huddlestone 6 : Invented some creativity into the midfield. Did okay.

Keane 6 : Did well when he came on. It annoys me how much he jumps out of tackles tho.

O' Hara 5 : Felt sorry for him but if I was him I would of made sure I wasn't marking him. Didn't really contribute much.

 

[t79boy]

We probably didnt perform that well because all of our young players were doing things that they shouldnt have been doing last night. a very disapointing display

Why does this only apply to our team :shrug:
Aglonhor (or whatever) and Ashley young are young aswell but still performed better than anyone on our team !

 

[Dibby]

whats all these low scores for berba. when he had the ball he passed to OUR players, when he didn't have the ball he made space for himself and screamed for the ball but the rest of our fuckwit team passed it backwards.

I feel sorry for him.

:up:

 

[Supersonic]

Short memory matey !!

Reflect to Reading's first goal !! Where he punched str8 to their player !!

OK I play in goal myself so here is what I think.

Today, Robinson only punched pacey crosses into the box where he could get lot of distance on them, which I think is fine.

If, like for the first Reading goal, the ball is floated in, he should try and catch it or better still leave it for the defence if theres a friggin crowd of players.

So today RObinson punched the right things, and for me that is good enough on crosses

 

[Black]

You lot under rate Lee too much about "offers nothing going forward" He gets forward but if our players position was a bit better he could create more we all know hes not left footed and im sure the players must know that too.

Robbo [6] Played ok, with a better CB's in front of him he would be much better

Zokora [7] played good considering he played at right back

Dawson [5] Looked scared, did not look confident at all

Kaboul [6] dunno

Lee [7] Played good got forward got back if only he was left footed

Lennon [4] Sleeping on the right, feel bad for him he needs to stop expecting the ball and get involved in the game more

KPB [5] Know i know why Jol never rated him, all action midfielder :duh: i don't see that

Jenas [6] Can only pass 1 meter ahead of him, he is the guy i expect to get Lennon in the game and the 2 strikers or mabey im expecting to much from him a lot of people seem happy box to box midfielder for 9m who don't create nothing:shrug:

Went to right back and played much better got forward tried to create chances

Steed [6] Didn't play to his normal standards

Berbs [6] played ok, played LAZY at times with a better midfield could do so much more

Defoe [6] Considering the service from the midfield was non existent in the first half, got better when we got better passers on the field

subs

Keane [7] he tried , ran like a horse. Unlucky not to get the penalty

Huddlestone [6] too laid back at times but made a difference when he came on

O'Hara [6] Never really got into the game, wanted to see that left foot more

We really need a good CM infront of the back 2 too many time did i have to see long balls or balls going back and fourth between the back four because our CM they were too deep in villa's half

O'Hara in CM >>> Jenas in CM

 

[t79boy]

OK I play in goal myself so here is what I think.

Today, Robinson only punched pacey crosses into the box where he could get lot of distance on them, which I think is fine.

If, like for the first Reading goal, the ball is floated in, he should try and catch it or better still leave it for the defence if theres a friggin crowd of players.

So today RObinson punched the right things, and for me that is good enough on crosses

Point is that it seems to be his first tactic !! When catching it should be !! How often do you see top keepers doing this :shrug:
Van de Sar, Cech etc dont do this

 

[Supersonic]

But Buffon and Casillas do. Its and English thing. And atm our goalies are shit so maybe we should change it.

Im not saying that catching the ball is the wrong thing to do at all, I just think punching is safer and wont results in as many cock ups as trying to catch it will

 

[Supersonic]

Berbs [6] played ok, played LAZY at times with a better midfield could do so much more

Give it a few weeks...

 

[Chatterbox1169]

whats all these low scores for berba. when he had the ball he passed to OUR players, when he didn't have the ball he made space for himself and screamed for the ball but the rest of our fuckwit team passed it backwards.

I feel sorry for him.

There were a few occasions where he was careless with his passing and it ended up with their players.

As mentioned earlier by others, when things don't go his way, he does have a little sit down and sulk. If he really wants a 'BIG' club to swoop in and steal him....he's not exactly showing himself in a good light.

Poor marks for all from me!

Robinson 5 - average

Zokora 7 - picks up all over the place and works hard
Dawson 4 - not on form...needs to get back to last seasons best
Kaboul 6 - solid, fewer mistakes than usual
Lee 5 - same as usual, works hard.

Boateng 5 - has potenial but has a bit of a nasty streak - could get him into trouble
Jenas 4 - sloppy, few decent runs but nothing to get excited about
Lennon 6 - supported Zokora and tried hard
Malbranque 5 - not as good as his recent performances but steady

Berbatov 4 - his 'I'm better' atitude is getting on my nerves now!
Defoe 5 - being generous due to his goal, but apart from than nothing to write home about. He begs for a chance to start...and then doesn't bother to make an impact.

SUBS
Huddlestone 6 - added support in the midfield
Keane 6 - caused more forward pushing so encouraged others
O'Hara 5 - tried hard - which defender told him to mark Laursen?

 

[t79boy]

But Buffon and Casillas do. Its and English thing. And atm our goalies are shit so maybe we should change it.

Im not saying that catching the ball is the wrong thing to do at all, I just think punching is safer and wont results in as many cock ups as trying to catch it will

you still havent answered why the likes of Schmeical (the ol one) et al used to catch the ball with out the risks you seem to think there are associated

 

[Gilzeanking]

First , points to Joey with his 'All managers are the same' schtick (which I don't agree with generally). A second management team have failed to teach us how to defend .We obviously need new playing personnel .

So I'm giving Joey a 6 .

Secondly I'm going to disagree with everyone on the first Villa goal . The ball was headed home from the front white line of the goal area . To me THAT IS ROBBO'S AREA OF CONTROL . When a cross comes in from a corner for example , the two sides are even in their chance to get in a header APART from the side with a goalie who can use his hands to reach higher and further. This is what gives the defence the advantage .But with Robbo we LOSE this advantage cos he's just not there .

So Robbo gets a 1 .

Noone here knows who is responsible for arranging who picks up who at set pieces ,so I'll give whoever this mystery man is , a 0 .

On the plus side ,I don't know what the possession figure is but I'll guess its strongly in our favour away to a good team .
This wasn't a meek surrender , we tried , so effort gets a 6.

Why Lennon won't take on defenders anymore is a mystery ,yes he's scrapping for the ball much better ,but thats not why he's on the pitch...so 4 for effort .

 

[joey55]

First , points to Joey with his 'All managers are the same' schtick (which I don't agree with generally). A second management team have failed to teach us how to defend .We obviously need new playing personnel .

So I'm giving Joey a 6 .

Secondly I'm going to disagree with everyone on the first Villa goal . The ball was headed home from the front white line of the goal area . To me THAT IS ROBBO'S AREA OF CONTROL . When a cross comes in from a corner for example , the two sides are even in their chance to get in a header APART from the side with a goalie who can use his hands to reach higher and further. This is what gives the defence the advantage .But with Robbo we LOSE this advantage cos he's just not there .

So Robbo gets a 1 .

Noone here knows who is responsible for arranging who picks up who at set pieces ,so I'll give whoever this mystery man is , a 0 .

On the plus side ,I don't know what the possession figure is but I'll guess its strongly in our favour away to a good team .
This wasn't a meek surrender , we tried , so effort gets a 6.

Why Lennon won't take on defenders anymore is a mystery ,yes he's scrapping for the ball much better ,but thats not why he's on the pitch...so 4 for effort .

Thanks for the marks, but can you stop saying I said all mangers are the same. I didn't say that at all. Over a number of different posts I pointed out the limited effect a coach can have on a team and supported it with historical data. I've said there are incompetent coach's, but that in general, the idea of the super coach, which most fans seem to believe in is a myth. Football is a far more simple games than fans seem to think it is and they seem determined to go to crazy levels to over complicate and over analyse things. A coach (in terms of coaching on the training ground) can have an effect, but I strongly believe it is far less than most people think. For example Ramos is a great coach, but I'm still sure that over the course of this season he'll go on to prove that Jol's 5th place finishes were about right for our squad and that coaching wasn't our problem, playing staff was.

 

[KentuckyYid]

From what I saw on TV I'd give Lee a 6 with no more than 5 for anybody else.

 

[stevenqoz]

Robbo 5.5 Did not look confident
Zokora 7 Fine game throughout
Dawson 5 Outfought and thought the whole game
Kaboul 6 Marginally better than partner until ankle went
Lee 7 Did little wrong, a steady game
Lennon 5.5 Worked hard first half but mainly on defensive
Malbranque 6 Worked hard once more
Jenas 5.5 Ordinary game, looked better at right back
Prince 6 Muscle but little guile today
Defoe 6.5 Few touches first half, did job with fine finish
Berbatov 6 Marked tightly throughout, little scope

Huddlestone 7 His introduction brought us back into the game. Made time on ball
O'Hara 6 Little chance to impress but helped keep ball
Keane 6 Part of the recovery but only a small part

Ramos 8 Working with what he has. Once again made some good early alterations. May have deserved a point if only for the way he got us back into a game we were clearly losing.
A first half played at high pace and where we were largely second. Our athletes were outfought and ran by theirs. The introduction of Huddlestone gave us improved possession and we bossed much of the second period. One question I would have would have been why was Taabart not there available for the last 20 minutes.....he would have been more effective than Keane running at the Villa defence which suddenly seemed vulnerable. We got nothing from the match in the end but had a much better second half. For a side that struggles at corners I would say that it is essential that we have a man on each post while defending. Once again today one of the goals may have been hoofrd away by such a defender.

 

[General Levy]

Thanks for the marks, but can you stop saying I said all mangers are the same. I didn't say that at all. Over a number of different posts I pointed out the limited effect a coach can have on a team and supported it with historical data. I've said there are incompetent coach's, but that in general, the idea of the super coach, which most fans seem to believe in is a myth. Football is a far more simple games than fans seem to think it is and they seem determined to go to crazy levels to over complicate and over analyse things. A coach (in terms of coaching on the training ground) can have an effect, but I strongly believe it is far less than most people think. For example Ramos is a great coach, but I'm still sure that over the course of this season he'll go on to prove that Jol's 5th place finishes were about right for our squad and that coaching wasn't our problem, playing staff was.

Joey,

Is that Jol in your avatar picture?

 

[Supersonic]

you still havent answered why the likes of Schmeical (the ol one) et al used to catch the ball with out the risks you seem to think there are associated

For one thing Schmeichal was one of the greatest goalies of all time so comparing him with RObbo is unfair.

THe main problem with catching it is that any little nudge and the chance of spilling it straight to a strikers feet is high, and the new balls move ridiculously so catching is harder.

Punching is easier to adjust in the air iyou get a push and should almost always fall safe of danger.

I appreciate that catching is preferable if its safe but i just dont see why punching is so bad as long as its a good punch

 

[joey55]

Joey,

Is that Jol in your avatar picture?

Yes! He only left a few months ago, surely you can't have forgotten what he looks like?

 

[stevenqoz]

I have to say that perhaps the relatively high marks for Huddlestone is a bit of watching the game with blinders on. I like the kid a lot, but I felt that he was an absolute waste of space today. He didn't have any decent touches other than the richochet off his fat behind that Defoe scored on. He lost the ball and ruined our forward momentum continuously and he only broke up one play. I would actually give him a 2. He was horrible. I'm not saying sell him. Just that he sucked the life out of our offensive today.

Did you watch the game? Huddlestone was the bloke who bought us the time on the ball that got us back into the game. The first half was 100 mile an hour and our athletes Jenas and Prince came a poor second to theirs. Villa did not get near to Huddlestone whose passing was crisp, accurate and most all maintained posession for us. Ask yourself what was it about the changes that got us back into the match and led us to dominate possession? The only problem I would have was Keane / O 'Hara instead of Taabart.