Gazza - 5 - Poor, and looked suspect airily maybe time for a loan? Clyne - 9 - Dealt with QPR's team of tricky wingers superbly and made some cracking forward runs Fonte - 8 - Solid can't remember him making any massive mistakes Yoshida - 7 and a half - Same as Fonte but I can remember the odd mistake he made Shaw - 9 - Same as Clyne except he's only 17!? Brilliant game, brilliant prospect, brilliant player. Morgan - 8 - Got stuck in as per usual and played some good passes Cork - 9 - Once again was just everywhere doing everything Puncheon - 10 - Lovely goal and was superb both offensively and defensively Ramirez - 8 - Tries a lot and when it comes off it's a 10 when it doesn't a 6 so the average is an 8. Has to be said he's learnt to try his tricks a bit further up the pitch now. Lallana - 10 - Fantastic game and the skills at the end were stunning Lambert - 9 - Bullied his defenders, scored a brave goal and played some terrific knockdowns Steven Davis - 8 - Did a good job, similar to cork. JayRod and Fox didn't have long enough but looked decent. Adkins - 10 - good subs didn't panic at 2-1 Fans - 10 - Couldn't hear the QPR fans apart from the Boo's
Agreed, the team/formation have been spot on last 2 games. Some great balance with some work horses in cork and Morgan then some individual talent like Ramirez along with two great wing backs (Shaw looked so good going forward)!
Can't fault your scores really. I'd probably be slightly more generous and give Gazza a 6, but I agree he didn't look comfortable and was at fault for their goal. Surely Boruc has got to be fit and ready to show us what he's made of by now? Also sorry Paulo, that haircut is enough of a reason to drop you.
Gazza cocked up, but luckily it didn't cost us this week However, time for Kelvin or Boruc next week - I liked the look of Gazza, but has had a poor couple of games
When you say "Time for a loan" with regard to Gazza, the problem we have is that we don't have anyone that's much better, if you combine our keepers we have a good keeper but individually they all look suspect. Should definitely be a priority come January. On the plus side it looks like our defenders are learning and getting stronger. Great performance all round today though. A much needed win.
Would largely agree those ratings buy would give Yoshida an 8. He put in some great challenges and interceptions. His passing is largely pants but he did nearly score a very nice goal!
I never do these, but... Gazzaniga - 3 Clyne - 8 Yoshida - 7 Fonte - 7 Shaw - 9 Puncheon - 9 Schneiderlin - 7 Cork - 8 Lallana - 9 Ramirez - 7 Lambert - 7 Davis - 7 Fox - N/A Rodriguez - N/A
Yes Gazza looks nervous atm but just dropping him will destroy his confidence even more. I'd go with Joe's ratings but Gazza with a 5.
Agree except yoshida 6 cork 9 and davis 8 - he had so much energy and won the ball in the centre of the park so much it helped keep saints on top. Just saw we had 21 shots - I think Puncheon had 10 of em. Was gonna say the team need to shoot on sight as took too long sometimes. Edit: gazza 6 come on guys he wasn't that bad. Celebrated with the fans at 2-0 which was cool
Honestly, I thought he was really, really bad and would have been punished by a better team. His save from Hoilett's long range effort in the first half looked good at first glance, but I think replays showed he should have got a much more comfortable hand on it. Then from the following corner he came out and was nowhere near the ball. He got away with it because no one in a QPR shirt wanted to attack the ball. It was the same mistake for the goal, and it's such a basic error to make. The reason he annoyed me so much is that he made such a blatant mistake and then did it again. Our entire back four was solid and QPR were useless up front, and still they managed a goal.
Gazza - 4 - Poor day for Paulo, to follow up a dodgy (moment in the) Swansea game, didn't look comfortable and at times looked like he'd been drafted in from a local Sunday league team at last minute. The kind of issues he had are not rare in young keepers though and are not to me a huge cause for concern, he has the makings of a very good keeper, that doesn't mean he will end up one but the issues he's having can be mostly resolved through experience and training. Reminds me a bit of De Gea to be honest, I worry teams may start to target him. Clyne - 9 - Probably been the player who has impressed me the most through the season, knew we had a good player on our hands when we signed him but despite all our troubles he has slotted in beautifully save for a slip against United and a tough time against Everton. Rock solid defensively, supported Puncheon well and always a good outlet and always has a liveliness about him when he's going forward. Fonte - 8 - Thought both CBs were solid, had few problems for most of the game, won the aerial battle comfortably, were left vulnerable against onrushing players on the counter a few times but were calm and didn't make any of the silly decisions we've been plagued with all season. I feel one of them should have been beating Hoilett to the ball leading to the goal, you expect your CBs to beat a 5 ft 8 winger to the ball in the middle of the box 8 yards out regardless of the situation really, but that was the only blotch for me. Yoshida - 8 - See above. Shaw - 8 - Great game for the young man, our team so much more balanced with him slotted in at left-back. Solid at both ends. Bright future ahead of him one has to hope. Schneiderlin - 7 - Good but not great game for Morgan. Thought he was his usual self and was also a good part of the attacking play, but just don't like to see him ahead of the ball too often, especially in situations where we are a goal or two up. We got caught a few times when he or others had given the ball away, when QPR were able to run at our back-four unchallenged and that is always a worry. I feel his and the team in general's adventurousness is what can get us into trouble sometimes, when we had a lead he should have just been sat in front of the back-four keeping us solid, but we were still playing our fluid, attacking style and at times over-committing. By no means should we shrink back to the edge of our box like against United or City, but we do need to find a balance between maintaining our style and threat, whilst still keeping a comfortable hold of the game when in the lead. In the end it was comfortable, but for a while in the second half it wasn't and that's where we need the team, and Morgan (Although it is both down to his own intuition and our team plan) to be a bit more rigid and responsible. Not really rating him down because of that just nit-picking and felt like airing that! Cork - 8 - Solid game, gives us a bit more grit in the midfield, Davis I think is the more gifted player but Cork just drives the team in the right direction. Was always in and around the play fighting for the ball and knocking it around. Not a technically spectacular display but very efficient and very useful. Lallana - 8 - Another good game for Adam at both ends of the pitch, really pleased with his performances against QPR and Swansea, not rewarded with anything on the stats sheet but a constant danger and keeps the ball going in the direction we want it. He really got it going with his fellow midfielders and Lambert, all rotating in and out and linking the play, was a beauty to behold at times. Didn't quite add the finishing touch at times but a very good game regardless of that. Puncheon - 9 - Seemed very determined and fired up, always going places with the ball and a threat throughout. Got a little bit cavalier in the second half, should have put a couple more away, and then took a few hopeful shots, but he seemed the only one who wanted to have a dig and he was having the game of his Saints' career, so can't really fault him for that. Ramirez - 7 - Another game where he showcased his talent and ability but only to a point. Didn't quite have the final ball and tried a bit too much sometimes, still don't feel he quite has his head right. Not a bad performance overall though. Lambert - 8 - Grabbed himself a goal but wasn't on the end of much, but a very good game regardless as he worked his role of creator tirelessly, won a lot of knock-downs, linked with Lallana, Ramirez and Puncheon well and was really at the centre of most of our attacking play.
Hard to judge how well Saints played because QPR were so awful. On the other hand, I was thinking that if Saints were the club I thought (hoped) they were, this should be a routine victory and it mostly was. So... 7.5's for everyone, 5 for Gazzaniga and 8.5's for Puncheon and Cork. Puncheon MOTM. Fonte and Yoshida looked pretty good today, so their 7.5's are a little more meaningful. What I was hoping to see is that they could play solid and mistake-free when not put under pressure and they showed that at a minimum, they can at least do that. And I thought Fonte even went a little above that. Ramirez maybe tried a little too trickery with the ball at first but I thought he was fine once he settled in. People need to cut him some slack about taking on defenders, because I mean... that's what he does. He's a creative midfielder who is being paid the high wages because he can do things with his feet that others can't. He should be trying to beat his man. What I think many people don't notice is that he chases back pretty well, and he plays much more conservatively in his own end. So he's not a selfish player or a guy who thinks he needs to take on entire teams. I feel more comfortable with Ramirez on the ball midfield or between box and midfield than I do with Schneiderlin. Cork was really good today and gave the defense that bit of spine and extra coverage they needed. I've been really impressed with him so far this season, and I will admit that towards the end of last season I was beginning to wonder if he could make the step up. He was starting to look like one of those guys who always gives full effort but in the end just doesn't quite have enough. At this point, I think he has to start over Davis but I would consider a Davis/Cork pairing in certain away games.
Genuine question, was at work today and am bouncing up and down waiting for the extended highlights!!!
Oh good, not sure it will be on MOTD, but anyone who watched the game will tell you in the last 5 minutes he absolutely ruined 2 players.
Is this Gazzaniga criticizm a joke? We haven't picked up a point or cup win without him in the side. He's a lucky charm to either the team or defence isn't he. So keep ****ing picking him unless you lot want to start losing again? He's also very young and learning..bet if he was from the academy or english you'd all want him in the side..
I'd rather have Gazza in goal than a psychopath who the fans will get on the back of and bring the whole team down. I don't think Kelvin's as good as the other two, was rightfully dropped even though I didn't think he was doing too bad.
