Boruc - 7 - Fairly solid keeping, one great save in the first half and good bravery (take note Adam). Bit of comedy in there too! Clyne - 6/7 - Not very composed at the beginning of the game but had a very good and lively second half. Jos - 6/7 - Again not too good under pressure at the beginning of the game but followed up with a very solid second half - won everything in the air. Yoshida - 8 - Most improved player all season. So composed, good passing game, won a lot in the air and his reading of the game was top notch. Shaw - 7 - Caught out of position a couple of times but overall a very solid game and got better as it went on. Cork - 8 - So solid in the middle of the park, him and Morgan completely dominated the mediocre midfield of Reading. Morgan - 7 - Good performance, not too much to say. Looked well in control all game. Gaston - 6 - Started very well, one of few players to look likely in first 30 minutes but faded rather badly in all honesty. Davis - 8 - Great performance, worked hard and great supply all game. Jay Rod - 9 MOTM - Superb. Worked for everything, gave the defenders absolute hell all game and determination for the goal was a game changer. Lambert - 8/9 - Ran JayRod fairly close, won everything. Great composure on the ball, classic Rickie. Adam - 7 - Came on, kept the ball well and a great finish for his goal. Would have been higher rating most likely if he was on for longer. Guly - N/A - Missed a difficult chance. Not enough time for a rating.
As I said during the game Clyne wasn't getting the protection that Puncheon affords, but he was getting a lot of help from Maya.
Schneiderlin was better than Cork. Some of you are really up his arse at times. It's getting ridiculous. What does Schneiderlin have to do to be classed as having a good game these days? He's made more tackles and interceptions today than the highest average in the league which is held by himself for interceptions and Leiva for tackles! His passing completion and aerials were also above his average! This is getting laughable now. Cork vs Schneiderlin TODAY Passing %: 77 vs 85 Tackles: 1 vs 5 Interceptions: 0 vs 4 Aerials: 4 vs 5 It's like some of you are giving Cork credit for Schneiderlin making tackles or interceptions at times because he is everywhere. He covers so much ground I am convinced some of you are confused who is who in the middle of the park.
Boruc 7 Clyne 7 Maya 6 Hooiveld 6 Shaw 7 Cork 7 Schneiderlin 7 Davis 7 Ramirez 6 Lambert 8 Rodriguez 8 Lallana 7 Guly 7
Well this post is bizarre. Many have had Schneiderlin down as their player of the season. Can't we love and appreciate both? Great midfield duo who compliment each-other fantastically well. Think you flew off the handle here, a bit OTT, chill out and enjoy the win.
I've heard some people say that you don't notice the best holding midfielders because they do their job so well and subtly.
That's a huge generalization and shows a huge misunderstanding at different play styles for different players. Usually they are a partnership in 4-2-3-1. One presses hard and the other plays cover. At times Cork was too high or wide today. His passing accuracy should also be higher if he's the deeper and more defensive of the two but it was much lower.
You can love and appreciate both but rating Cork higher today is just nonsense and shows obvious favoritism. Another reason I'm frustrated is that Ramirez has had a lot of stick in the match thread despite hitting a beautifully disguised through ball to Rodriguez when he hit the bar . And a nice back heel to Davis who decided to square it instead of shooting. He also wasn't in his preferred position. No one deserves lower than 7 today. We kept a clean sheet as well..
Are you Mrs Schneiderlin in disguise?! At least we're arguing over who was best, not who was terrible! Let's let people love who they want without fear if reprisals! Peace Out
I think Morgan is a slightly better player than Cork, and the best DM in the league. But today i though Cork had a slightly higher influence, calm down.
Cork IMO, has a bit of a tougher job in terms of his play showing up in the stat sheet. He funnels a lot of players off but doesn't get credit for a tackle. And he tends to get the ball in really tough positions without a lot of time and space so if he can toe poke a ball past a defender and then half-clear it he's done his job. He cleans up a lot of loose balls back there. I used to sometimes get worried about his tendency to dribble in his own half with defenders on him but now I like it. Suits our game, and his dribbling is good enough that the occassional bad giveaway is way more than offset by the times he beats 1-2 players and sets up a man advantage on a counter. Both he and Schneiderlin play their roles to perfection and both were excellent today.
Boruc - 6 - Looked a little bit shakey... In fairness didn't have an awful lot to do Clyne - 7 - Ran up and down the wing and made plenty of tackles Shaw - 7 - Hooiveld - 7 - Solid against a less than impressive Reading attack Maya - 8 - Really composed on the ball, at the start of the season I used to have my heart in my mouth when ever he was on the ball, he inspires a little more confidence now though Cork - 8 - One of the best performances of his season didn't put a foot wrong Schniederlin - 7 - Usual solid performance Davis - 7 - Would have got an 8 but he missed a really good chance J-Rod - 9 - MOTM! Great pace and tekkers! Brave to score the first goal. Gaston - 5 - A few inspired touches and passes don't distract from the generally bad passing, also missed what I'm prepared to call a "sitter". Was taken off on the hour for Lallana. Lambert - 9 - Played deep today, like a true number seven. Fantastic vision. Did a job defensively when he had to. Best of the rest - Lallana - 7 - Came on, took his chance brilliantly.
Boruc 7 Clyne 7 Yoshida 7 Hooiveld 7 Shaw 6 Cork 7 Schneiderlin 7 Davis 7 Ramirez 6 Lambert 8 Rodriguez 8 MOTM Very close to giving Jay a 9, Davis an 8, and Shaw a 5 (sorry, I just thought he was poor today, especially first half). Yoshida was good, but wasn't tested enough to warrant anything higher than a 7. Not his fault.
Boruc 7 Clyne 7 Yoshida 7 Hooiveld 7 Shaw 7 Cork 7 Schneiderlin 8 Davis 7 Ramirez 7 Lambert 8.5 Rodriguez 8.5 Lallana 8
Boruc was shaky at the back today, but at the same time seemed to have the game under control. Odd, I know. Technically, I think you have to rate him a 6 at best but I'm not too worried about it. You have to grant him his eccentricities. He's been good when it counts. Hooivled also not very good today. Saints defense was very shaky to start. But you have to figure Reading would come out firing. Then again, did the defense really get better or did Reading give up? I am not in a tizzy over the state of Saints defense, but still think someone will need to be brought in over the summer. Yoshida MIGHT make the step up, Hooiveld will always be useful against certain teams, and Fonte deserves a shot, as does Forren. But bring in one no-doubt, solid, top quality CB and let the others fight for their place. Ramirez had his moments as usual, but have to agree that overall he wasn't that great. No need to panic but have to rate him honestly for this game. So.. 6's for Ramirez, Hooiveld, and Boruc. I'm just going to give 8's to everyone else. Everyone played well and Reading was pretty awful so kind of hard to distinguish. Some players played a bigger role than others perhaps, but it was just sort of luck who the ball bounced to. We had way more than enough to win that game easily.
re Boruc. maybe 6 is unfair and 7 is better. After he fumbled the ball he made sure he steamrollered the Reading player to get it back.
For me Shaw's first half performance was his worst of the season. He's been excellent and just looked uncomfortable in possession. Gaston missed a good chance but we weren't made to regret it and his creativity was good today. Nobody below a 7. Most 8 with Jay, Rickie and Cork on 9 for this one.
