MOM and Match Ratings v Arsenal

[stevenqoz]

Gomes 6 A worry
BAE 9 Almost fautless tonight
Corluka 6 Struggled with VDV in front of him
Gallas 8 Utter professional, only stayed on to wave off Nasri
Dawson 7.5 Won everything in front of him...but Arsenal are sneaky and....
Bale 6 Brave and hopefully just a dead leg
Modric 6.5 Outnumbered centrally, battled on
Huddlestone 6.5 Slow start ...strong finish to his 3rd game back
VDV 8 Worked hard but wide is not his real go....2 vital goals
Crouch 6 Usual PC...you get what the label says...can't do attacking headers
Pav 5.5 It was like playing with 10 men. Ineffectual and missed an earlier hook thru Gallas problem
subs
Lennon 6.5 Made some impact
Sandro 6.5 Should have started
Kaboul 6 Overexcited and prone to miscontrol

Harry 6 Left us too long outnumbered centrally. Could not help Bale injury but ought to have mirrored Arsenal shape tonight.

 

[stemark44]

I couldn't understand Redknapp's selections tonight,how he didn't start Sandro,especially in this game, was beyond me.

 

[fortworthspur]

Dawson gets such a break around here. He was dreadful - played a part in all three of their goals, and Gallas wasnt much better. Yes, our strikers suck, but why does our first choice CB pairing let them waltz down the middle time and again? Thing is, Gallas will retire soon, but Dawson will still be here.

Modric may be the best CM is the prem right now.

Benny and VdV were great, too.

Also, close the book on Pav, he's no better than the other two.

 

[garyhopkins]

Gary you seriously need to watch it again, a 6 is just plain wrong after a performance like that. In truth you shouldn't really need to re-watch...are you pissed? :razz:

Ha, ha. No, but I had to get up at 1:30 to watch the game (and then work at 8 o'clock). Watching on the telly you often miss some moments. For one in the excitement I didn't realise it was his pass to Lennon for the penalty!

I really do need to re-watch it!

 

[garyhopkins]

I'm sure 6 is good but if he was outstanding you can see why good doesn't really cut it.

Yes, of course. It was my gut reaction to a game where we let in three and could have drawn 5 a piece. I therefore felt that I couldn't mark the defenders too highly or I'd get a lot of flak on here. As it is the exact opposite has ensued. I will need to see it all again!

 

[Mullers]

I can't believe the people who want us to get rid of VDV, I'm glad they don't run the club. :duh:

 

[maldini]

Dawson gets such a break around here. He was dreadful - played a part in all three of their goals, and Gallas wasnt much better. Yes, our strikers suck, but why does our first choice CB pairing let them waltz down the middle time and again? Thing is, Gallas will retire soon, but Dawson will still be here.

Agree with this...

Dawson n Gallas were awful especially in the first half. Gallas at fault for at least 2 of the goals too. Corluka was so bad defensively Harry had to take him off at half time.

 

[Spursbabe63]

Some of those ratings a dreadful. BAE actually played very well tonight and his ball for Lennon was excellent and you give him a 6.

For me he was my MOM - defended and attacked and his diagional balls were almost perfect all night. Definitely deserved higher than 6!

 

[StockSpur]

modric missed in open play from 6 yards with the keeper going the other way, he drops points for this surely?

 

[Legend10]

BAE, VDV & Modric were outstanding!

So good to see VDV completely school that little shite and then basically laugh in his face! he showed Wilshere he has a million miles to go to be a top top player.

If Luka hadn't kicked it against his standing foot we would have produced one of the great derby wins which over the 90 i thought we deserved!

I think the ommission of Sandro was a big error, if you're going to play 442 then Sandro & Modric looks the perfect combination.

 

[Legend10]

Also Huddlestone played one very sloppy ball first half but other than that played fairly well over the 90mins and also scored not only an excellent goal but a crucial one to get just before half time, must be worth a 7 for that performance.

What game were you watching?

 

[jondesouza]

I thought moving out left today robbed us of a bit of impetuous at a time when we were on top. I would have just swapped sandro for Hudd at that time.

Agree with most of your comments but just wanted to highlight this one which is absolutely correct.

 

[EastLondonYid]

Definately a game of two halves, first half they looked likely to score everytime they crossed the halfway line, why the fuck did Harry leave us so exposed?
I was shocked azza was left out, and Sandro not starting was baffling....
Second half totally different story, not so much tactically, more guts and desire, we bombarded them and should have won, but at 1-3 i thought it was going to be a hiding, so being realistic a draw isn't the end of the world...Harry got away with it tonight....

Gomes..6 conceded 3, 2nd goal looked savable, but he showed balls to keep going.

Charlie 6 did well getting forward, can't wait for walker next season.

BAE..9 as good a performance you will see..pace,commitment and end product.

Dawson 7 guts and character again, lacks that extra to make him really class.

Gallas 7 played his bollocks off, but first half struggled abit.

vdv 9 don't like him on the right, but lastnight was almost like GAZZA!

Hudd 6 not his best game, goal crucial, kept going but should have been replaced at ht.

Luka 8 got better as the game went on, he was driving us forward, pity he didn't bury his chance...

Bale 5 can't remember him doing anything, he will bounce back for sure.

Crouch 7 kept working, his presense as important as what he actually provides.

Pav 6 did ok, but is ok enough nearly every week?

Azza 7.5 looked dangerous and made a big difference, unlucky not to start.

Sandro 7 calm and tough, when he came on i knew we wouldn't lose, it was a sign that harry would take a point.

Kaboul 7 got forward and worried the scum, left a few gaps but we got away with it.

Harry.5 strange first half selection , i would have had azza/sandro instead of hudd/pav....but by hook or by crook got it right in the end...i think he gave the scum the initiative and we could have been out of the game by more in the ist half, 2nd half we were AWESOME!!!!!!

 

[MrWoolley]

Agree with this...

Dawson n Gallas were awful especially in the first half. Gallas at fault for at least 2 of the goals too. Corluka was so bad defensively Harry had to take him off at half time.

I think in their defence, it wasn't much of a game for defenders! Sometimes you've just got to appreciate the attacking skills of both teams and accept defenders were never going to win!

With that said, my MOTM was BAE. He was top top draw. Passing was fantastic, defending was solid, and put in a brilliant shift. Shout outs to Modric (as per usual) and VDV for outstanding contributions.

Oh, and decent goal by Thudd

 

[MendD3]

Gomes - 5
Corky - 6 - Kaboom - 5
Gallas - 6
Dawson - 6
Ekotto - 9
vDv - 10
Modric - 8
Thudd - 7
Bale - 4 - Lennon - 7
Pav - 5 - Sandro - 6
Crouch - 5

 

[yiddobrett]

Best game I think Crouch has had in ages, one lots in the air for once and control on the deck wasn't bad either.

BAE was absolute class, kept Walcott very quiet although he obviously punished us early with a run on the right from deep.

Gallas and Dawson were solid, nothing really got through them, same with Modric.

VDV has to be man of the match though, never stopped working, one cracking finish and a very good penalty under immense pressure. Oh, and a quality celebration right in front of the scum...

 

[kernowspur]

BAE MOTM for me. Some of the comments on here show just what a favourite Hudd is with some people. He had a dreadful first half, mis-placed passes and losing the ball. The only good thing was his goal. Improved in the second half but for two to vote for him as MOTM is just plain crazy.
If Jenas had played as Hudd has against Real and Arsenal he would be crucified on here. I don't think Jenas should be playing but against the very best teams Hudd has been shown wanting many many times, Sandro should have started.
I am still not convinced by Hudd. Compare him to Wilshire who is 4 years younger. smaller than Hudd but harder to knock off the ball, has forced his way to being an England regular while Hudd is still on the fringes of the team. I do think Wilshire is a loud- mouthed, arrogant twat, but he is a very good footballer.
VdV and Modric had very good games last night. Modric is the key to the team and should be playing alongside Sandro as our first choice central midfield pairing.

 

[Gilzeanking]

Ha ha , poor old Gary Hopkins out in Thailand...never seen anyone get this level of continuous stick for his 6/10 for Benni....he apologises and in then comes someone else with more grief for him..

Support Gary Hopkins I say , true the 6/10 was a bit light...but he watched in the small hours in the morning...he deserves some slack I reckon .

Anyway BAE.... 5 (jus jokin') no , 8.5 ..Obviously been reading SC re his disb'n ,it was great .

Hudd 6 I'm not his greatest fan but I have been adding the rider to any criticism that his row Z shots are largely in the past and that if he continues to keep his shots down he'll score...smug me...tho I prefer Sandro .

Mods just love it when he has the ball at his feet in the oppo area...he really should be getting more goals with his skills 8

VdV thats more like it...he responds to the atmosphere imo 8

Bale 6 Fascinating problem from a chairman's point of view . An in depth
assessment of his game and his future is essential now . Player of the Year
, someone will cough 50 mill plus for him....He's good but is he overvalued now that his surprise element is lost ?.....some billionaire offers 70 mill , thats a tough chairman decision .

 

[ravo]

Gomes 6 - Jekyll and Hyde

BAE 9 - MoM.

Corluka 5 - Good going forward, but couldn't handle Nasri

Gallas 7 - Couple of howlers, but improved

Dawson 8 - Excellent

Bale 6 - Well neutralised by Scum

Modric 7 - Great battle with Cesc.

Huddlestone 6 - Great goal. Passing was well off in the first half. That's what he's there for and needs to get back to his best.

VDV 8 - Great goal. Should have done a little better for Nasri's goal and he just stopped and let Nasri come central and have a ton of time/space.

Crouch 6 - Worked hard as usual. Should have done better with chance

Pav 6 - Worked unusually hard. Got about the pitch, some good runs.

Subs:

Lennon 7
Sandro 7
Kaboul 5

I would have liked us to have gone with VdV up front with one of the strikers, and started with Lennon on the right.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

Dont disagree with much of that BC, but my MOM goes to Ekotto.

Agree that Hudd was poor for the first 30 mins, but he's making errors with his passing that he wouldn't normally do to be fair, still looks a little rusty and off the pace...not that he had much to start off with :wink:

But yeah VDV was immense, you could see how much he wanted it and coupled with his quality its a magic combination.

I definitely want Sandro in the side, what that means for others in certain positions I'm not so sure.

I'm not going to turn this into a long winded Hudd debate - we've had plenty lately - but the point I've tried to get across, and the facts bare out, is that this is in fact reasonably normal. Hudd gives the ball away more than any other CM we have, and has always struggled against tough opposition. Same game last year he gave the ball away 15 times for example. And people have cited Palacios as having the odd hospital pass in him, but Huddelstone has actually done it just as frequently with, worse consequences, like ManU away last year, Wigan home, Madrid and Arse last night.

For me, if he's going to play, it's not in a formation like that. It leaves us open and vulnerable. In the right formation I don't shit myself if Hudd plays, but I personally think in the modern game he will always be compromised.