Ratings v Twente

[theShiznit]

In terms of all round play, it has to be up there. And that's coming from a Pavlyuchenko fan. He's been disappointing in his last few games, but he showed what he's capable of when he's up for it.

agreed, i was really pissed with Pav the last 2-3 games, and wouldn't have been bothered if he was given the pull at half time... (but glad he wasn't)

he (like all strikers) needs a run of games to get touch and match sharp, hopefully he can get one now, as Crouch and Defoe have had a fair run, now it's just poor ol' Robbie looking to get a few games in a row.

 

[Mr Pink]

Pav was excellent second half. He was absolutely shit in the first, but as soon as he scored the first penalty he improved dramatically.

Bale was absolutely awesome. I'd love know how far he ran tonight. They showed a stat when Modders went off (I think it was Modders, could have been Pav) and he'd run 1km more than the team average. Bale is just a monster and a machine.

Hudd was shit first half, immense second half though. Lucky to be on the pitch too I thought, and could be in trouble with UEFA for the arm into that blokes face.

King and Bassong were both excellent, as were Hutton and Benny. Unfortunate to concede, the ball just seemed to fall for Twente at the time.

VanTheMan, loved every minute he was on the pitch, although something told me he was going to be sent off. He really is a top player, and its not just fancy flicks and skills, he puts himself about really well and gets back and defends. Was unlucky not to have more than one goal tonight.

Agree with all of this. Although I think Hutton lost his man really easily in the second half when they were breaking down the left in the second half. He looks great going forward, still unconvinced going the other way...perhaps am being ultra critical here.

 

[SpurSince57]

I don't think you are being ultra-critical at all, and we're going to be meeting teams who have far more dangerous LMs than Chadli. Actually, we'll be doing just that on Saturday.

 

[kernowspur]

Hudd was very poor in the first half, much better in the second. But he shouldn't have still been on the pitch as his elbow was deliberate and deserved a red card. He could have really cost us dearly tonight and I expect UEFA will come after him, so he could miss the Inter game aswell.

 

[walworthyid]

Like others have said, Pav really improved after the pen and just grew and grew as the game went on.

He showed strength, awareness and good touch. I'm sure I remember Hiddink saying that he needed to be constantly pushed to play at his best. Even on his best day he is still no Berbatov, but he would certainly be good enough for us at the moment.

 

[yiddy_yiddingham]

I'm just glad Corluka didn't start. He's toilet.

 

[coldasice199]

I agree with basically all said above.

I think Pav looked really good after the pens. His eyes lit up and he looked dangerous. He always scores. I don't mind Pav.

Bale MOM for me. Then VDV

 

[Black]

I thought pav was shit, when we play 2 up front it gives him a excuse to be lazy but the fact that we went down to 10 men and he was the lone striker he had to do something.

 

[Damian99]

Hudd was very poor in the first half, much better in the second. But he shouldn't have still been on the pitch as his elbow was deliberate and deserved a red card. He could have really cost us dearly tonight and I expect UEFA will come after him, so he could miss the Inter game aswell.

And VDV :shrug:

I mean he did get sent off so why just point out something that didn't happen.

 

[phil]

Gomes 7 - One good save but a dodgy punch.

Hutton 7 - Amother sound game

Bassong 5 - Surprised by the high ratings being given to Bassong. Twice in the first 10 minutes he was caught ball-watching and lost the player he was marking allowing clear chances. He then gave the ball away to Ruiz that led to the Gomes save. Against someone like Eto'o, that could have been 3 goals.

King 7 - Unflappable

BAE 6 - O.k. but I wish he would stop hitting long balls to Crouch all the time.

VdV 7.5 - Excellent skill and committment for 60 minutes but a stupid challenge.

Modric 8 - Controlled midfield

Huddlestone 6.5 - Awful first half but good in the second half.

Bale 8 - Another typical Bale performance

Crouch 6 - Worked hard and had an assist for the first goak

Pavlyuchenko 7 - Dire first half but improved considerably after scoring.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

Personally speaking, I really fucking enjoyed that.
It wasn't always sparkling football, but it was rip snorting, full bloodied Champions League tie that had a bit of everything (including the best linesman we've ever had at WHL). Skill, drama, verve, niggle, controversy and goals.
Tactically, the most influential decision Redknapp made tonight was moving Bale back out to LM. Can there be any doubt that that is his best position now. The disapointing thing for me was that he reverted to the Huddlestone/Modric CM pairing which means we don't get to see Modric at his free moving best. He was still good but he was shackled somewhat and I'm fucking dying to see us play a 4231 with Modric, Bale and VDV interacting. We saw the worst and best of Huddlestone tonight; first half he should have cost us at least one goal when he was caught pondering and was poor positionally as well at times. That initial lack of pace or ability to change direction quickly will always make him vulnerable and at when the opposition have the ball he can be a liability. BUT....His second half performance was very good; as good a second half as I've ever seen him have. He worked really hard and every aspect of his game was good.
I was a little disappointed with Twente, but we did play well, we were positive and even when down to 10 men we played some good stuff. We were helped by the benefit of a couple of decisions that might not have gone our way on another night (hand ball/Hudd elbow) and they fucked up a couple of good chances but overall we were good and deserved our win.

My MOTM......(drum roll maestro please)......Huddlestone.

Ratings:

Gomes 7.95 - One outstanding save at 0-0 after their guy stripped Hudd and ran through. Otherwise good. Great to have him back

Hutton 7.5 - Good game.

King 7.4 - Good game

bassong 7.4 - Good game

Ekotto 7.2 - Good game

VDV 7.75 - If he'd stayed on the pitch he would have pissed MOTM but he was a bit stupid to do what he did. It could have cost us. Prior to that he was fantastic. Clever, industrious and scored a beautiful goal of the highest calibre.

Modric 7.5 - Good, tidy, efficient and provided some lovely touches. His passing in tight corners is better than Huddelstone's, but he was somewhat hindered - offensively - tonight by the formation and tactics.

Huddlestone 8 - Possibly a first for me, and slightly by default as it would definitely have been VDV if he'd stayed on. But that said I actually thought Huddlestone put in, overall, one of the best 90's I've ever seen him put in. Gave the ball away more than Modric, and once was almost fatal, but his head never went down, and down to ten men he worked his bollocks off, and also played a couple of really nice passes.

Bale 7.9 - Excellent going forward. Lets just buy a top drawer LB and forget this bollocks about him being a LB. He doesn't relish the defensive side of football - and even as a LM he must improve this side of his game - but offensively he's pretty mustard.

Crouch 6.75 - Worked hard but not his night overall. Beautiful knock down for VDV's goal though - which is what he's all about.

Pavlyuchenko 7 - Was lively, stuck his penalties away well and did well to set up Modric and also made more passes than Crouch (which rarely happens for any of our strikers) but he has the body strength of a small child.

Jenas 6.5 - Spot on decision by Redknapp. Came on, didn't do anything spectacular, but chased people down and stopped them making the most of their extra man. Energy was just what was needed at the time.

Keane 4 - He had two fantastic chances to do something simple and fucked them both up.

Redknapp 7 - I look forward to him playing Modric/VDV/Bale in the "3" and his Hudd/Mod Cm pairing could have backfired but circumstances and good play ensured it didn't. Credit for putting Bale back to LM, The subs were all spot on at the right times. So more plusses than minuses.

 

[jurgenthegerman18]

Gomes 7 - good to have him back.
Hutton 6 - looked ok, still not match sharp but better than Charlie
King 7 - usual reliable self
Bassong 6 - solid enough, does better with King playing
BAE 7 - looked good tonight

Hudd 6 - did ok once we were in front
Modric 8 - made us tick
VDV 8 - top talent + top attitude, MotM if he had stayed on
Bale 8 - never stops, always dangerous, made one, scored one

Pav 7 - useless first half but finished strongly, hope he starts v Villa
Crouch 6.5 - did a good job for the team

Jenas 6.5 - settled the midfield once he was on

All in all a top night at the Lane, nice when the decisions go your way.

 

[stevenqoz]

Gomes 6.5 Generally strong ...glad to have him back
Hutton 7 Decent both ends...a challenge for Corluka
King 7 Solid against Goliath
Bassong 6.5 Honest...did well
BAE 6.5 Did little wrong ....good touch
Bale 9 World class
Modric 6.5 Started well drifted out of game
Huddlestone 7.5 Many great blocks / interceptions...class CL display
VDV 8 You can't pick out just the bits you like with VDV...committed
Crouch 6.5 Frustrating but eventually put us in it
Pav 7 Interesting to see that he had run 11km in the game....showed well
Jenas 6 Did a job
Keane NET
Lennon 6 Did a job

Harry 7 Will be pleased overall....4 4 2 worked tonight

 

[Adam]

Really dont understand the Hudd criticism for the first half-I wonder if you werent able to see on TV but he was the only player we had holding the defensive shape together and put in some fantastic blocks, three in and row at one point in fact.

Second half he was absolutely magnificent in all aspects of the game though-comfortably MOTM for me

 

[jonnyp]

Gomes 7 Good game
Hutton 6.5 Did well
King 7 The King
Bassong 6.5 Pretty good game
BAE 7 Good game by Benny
Hudd 6 Weak in the 1st half, some delightful passing in the 2nd.
Modric 6 Not involved enough and why couldn't he use his left leg for his chance?
Bale 7.5 MOM. Very good, great taken goal.
VDV 7.5 Would've got MOM from me if not for his red card which I think was a harshly given one but a stupid body tackle it was. I'm incredibly surprised by his determination and passion and work-rate. Great player.
Pav 6 An enigma. Scores vital goals but is so average.
Crouch 6 Good assist to VdV but we play way too many long balls up to him. We really do need to address our striker situation in January because we're so one-dimensional at the moment.

Keane 6 Didn't do much
Jenas 6 Didn't do much
Lennon Not enough time

 

[Monkey Bastard Hands]

Good all round performance tonight, and for the first time I think the team worked well since we've had VDV.

Gomes 7 - Pulled off a couple of terrific saves, good to have him back.

BAE 7 - Good game today, not as effective as going forward as he can be but defended well.
King 8 - Quality, nuff said.
Bassong 7.5 - Great performance tonight, he's done well since he's come in over the last couple of games.
Hutton 7 - Didn't do much wrong, solid at the back and made some good runs.

Bale 8.5 - Another top class performance topped off with a very well taken goal. I didn't think his final ball was as good as it has been but that's a very critical comment on an otherwise fantastic game.
Modric 8 - Worked his arse off tonight and deserved his standing ovation when he was subbed.
Hudd 7 - Solid performance though after watching the replay of the elbow incident he was lucky to be on the pitch. Grew as the game went on and was oozing confidence by the end.
VDV 9 - What can I say. Some of the things VDV did tonight had me speechless. His vision, passing, skills on the ball, work rate, effort, closing down, passion, just everything was a class above anyone else we've got in the team. Unlucky with the penalty (despite their keeper being an absolute knob, he did make a good save) but his goal was class. The sending off stopped him from getting a perfect 10, but to be honest I can forgive him for it because he was obviously so pumped up for the game and that's exactly the kind of thing we need from more of our players. He wanted to win so much tonight, I hope that winning mentality gets across to the rest of the team.

Crouch 6.5 - Had a solid game, held the ball up well.
Pav 7 - He definitely contributed more than recent games but it took him a while to do so. Looked better once he'd got the penalties but still needs to be hungry for goals right from the start of the game and not 60 minutes in.

Jenas 6.5 - Came on in difficult circumstances given VDVs departure but did a good job.
Lennon 5 - Didn't really do much and still won't take on players
Keane n/a - can't really rate him based on 3 minutes work.

Harry 8 - I thought he chose the perfect lineup tonight; are we finally starting to see a balanced team who know their roles and where they're playing? I'd stick with this at the weekend (injuries permitting) as I thought it worked well tonight.

 

[BringBack_leGin]

Gomes, despite the amount of shots Twente had, only really had one toughish moment, the early save when Janko I think was through on goal. He stopped it well and was assured and comfortable for the rest of the game.

Hutton was beaten twice all day, once after a slip, but he defender well generally, looked calmer and more assured on the ball than I ever remember him, and was part of what was a very good defensive unit. Well played.

King was superb in my opinion. Brought the ball out like he used to, never beaten on the ground or in the air, and reads everything so well. It was his burst up the pitch with the ball that seemed to snap us out of it.

Bassong had a good game, far better than the other day. He brought the ball upfield well, his passing was fine and I don't remember any mistakes. He and King paired up nicely today.

Ekotto was superb. He gets us out of so many tricky situations it's untrue.

VDV was our leader tonight. It's not just the passing, shooting, and control, all of which are second to none, it's also the fight and determination, the work rate and the command over his fellow players. Perhaps he should tone down that fight a little for next time though. Very sexy goal too, reminded me of Kanoute's debut goal v Leeds all those years back.

Huddlestone recovered from a poor opening spell to be an absolute giant for us. Two amazing blocks in quick succession in the first half, and one great tackle too, and a second half in which he won everything he needed to, brought the ball forward brilliantly and played some lovely passes.

A touch underwhelmed by Modric tonight, quite rarely. Whenever he had the ball, he did something good, including one lovely pass to Bale, but he wasn't involved enough. I put it down to being just back from injury and playing a full game just the other day. As I said, whenever he did have the ball, he used it well, but he didn't get involved enough.

Bale, the machine, was a bit subdued first half and still put at least 4 dangerous crosses into the Twente area, and in the second half he just caused them so many problems and fully deserved his goal. Amazing player.

Pavlyuchenko is a confidence player, no doubt about that. Poor in the first half, scores a penalty, plays very well and ends up doing the lousy job of being a lone striker in a 10 man side quite brilliantly. He gets confidence from a goal, his touch, strength, work rate and even pace all dramatically improve, making him a very good number 9. He needs to learn to play like this before he scores as well though, because there's clearly a very able player in there, he just needs to tap into it every game, not for a half every few games.

Crouch was not as bad as some are suggesting. One amazing burst all the way up the pitch, one two included, from our own defense, meant I couldn't begrudge him the resulting shot, and he both won a penalty and set up VDV. Still, I think he looks short on confidence and off form, but he was better than some think tonight.

Jenas came on when we needed energy but not foolhardy tackling, and he gave us just that. I was glad it was him and not Wilson, because at that point the ref was blowing for everythign and we'd recently conceded from a set piece. He might have seemed quiet, but his job was to be neat and keep us in possession in a 10 man team, and he did it well.

Lennon looked a bit more confident than he has done, but still seemed to shirk the opportunity to take people on. Perhaps it was because we had a man sent off though, and he was keeping us in possession, which he certainly did.

Keane came on with no time left, got very involved very quickly, but was a touch selfish. He didn't look off the pace particularly, but he did seem a bit desperate to do something. Unfortunately, he need consecutive games to rediscover his form, but we can't afford any passengers.

 

[dannythomas]

The disapointing thing for me was that he reverted to the Huddlestone/Modric CM pairing which means we don't get to see Modric at his free moving best. He was still good but he was shackled somewhat and I'm fucking dying to see us play a 4231 with Modric, Bale and VDV interacting. .


.

Who would be your "2" in the 4-2-3-1 ?

 

[Lanh]

Gomes 7 - Commanding, other than one wander to the edge of the area.

BAE 7.5 - Top stuff as per usual. One slight error but his pace saved him.
King 7 - As captain and leader of the defence he really should be making sure we're organised at set-pieces.
Bassong 7 - Much better, still a little lost at times, but getting closer to last seasons excellence.
Hutton 6.5 - Good energy, don't remember anything particularly bad, but then I don't remember anything particularly good either.

Bale 7.5 - Full of running but final ball was well off today. I remember when Lee Young-Pyo was playing he'd often play balls into the middle that connected with nobody and he'd be raped for it, Bale does the same and suddenly it's the fault of everyone else. I don't understand that.
Modric 7.5 - Hard-work was the order of the day and he did it without complaint.
Huddlestone 6.5 - Moment of madness which could cost us in the future detracted from a solid performance.
VDV 5 - Would have been MoM but for one of the most stupid sending offs that I have ever seen (-2) and the missed penalty (-1).

Crouch 6 - Meh. Not sure what he did other than the assist for VdV's goal to be honest.
Pavlyuchenko 8 MOM - Pretty average in the first half, but once again, came good when it mattered. Stepped up and did the business for us with the penalties which ultimately won us the game when VdV didn't want to, and played bloody well as the lone striker, helping to ease the pressure when we were down to ten.

Jenas 8 - Excellent, had a very specific job to do and did it brilliantly. His work-rate and dedication to task, together with Pav's goals, won us the match tonight.
Lennon & Keane - 5 No time to do anything significant.

 

[Black]

Hudd will be in the next england squad