http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Burnley-1-Hull-City-0-player-ratings/story-24503500-detail/story.html Burnley 1 Hull City 0 - the player ratings: Who was the best of a bad bunch? Philip Buckingham gives his verdict on the Hull City player performances in the 1-0 defeat at Burnley. Steve Harper (starman) A surprise inclusion back from a bicep injury but showed his value with a superb save to keep out Ings’ volley. Helpless to stop Barnes’ winner and kept an element of pride intact. 6 James Chester Misread the flight of the ball to present Ings with a first minute chance and soon felled his own pal Boyd in a difficult start. Lacked his usual authority and replaced with half an hour to play. 5 Paul McShane Lucky not to score an embarrassing own goal but still one of the better performers. No one could question his effort while plenty of others around him went through the motions. 6 Curtis Davies Forced off the field with a worrying back injury to leave City with 10 men. Not the worst culprit by any stretch but the captain wasn’t without faults. Poor distribution but a threat in the opposition box. 5 Ahmed Elmohamady A 100th City appearance was well below the standards he’s set in the previous 99. Boyd pushed him back for long periods and slow to react when Barnes nodded Burnley into the lead at the back post. 5 Robbie Brady Preferred again ahead of Robertson and dug McShane out of a giant hole when clearing a sliced effort of his own line. Showed decent application and desire but not quality where it mattered. 5 Tom Huddlestone One the fall guys following Burnley’s opening goal and rightly so. An indifferent season gets little better and a sluggish performance was shown up by Burnley’s energy in the middle of the park. 4 Mohamed Diame Stared brightly enough with that usual presence but found badly wanting as the game went on. Anonymous when his side needed him most and blended in well with the mediocrity. 5 Jake Livermore Like his midfield team-mates, he couldn’t match the energy and desire of the home team in an area that set the tone emphatically. A big disappointment and ended the game as a central defender. 4 Sone Aluko A first Premier League start since the final day of last season but not one to cherish. Afforded poor and sporadic support but failed to cause Burnley problems before his 50th minute withdrawal. 4 Abel Hernandez A low shot wide in the early stages promised a bright afternoon but the striker was soon rendered ineffective by the hosts’ defence. The bright start of the £10m man is fizzling out very quickly. 5 Subs Stephen Quinn (for Aluko 51) Injected some much needed quality in behind Burnley on the left but his work went unrewarded. 6 Gaston Ramirez (for Huddlestone 51) Hard to see his value two months into his loan. A wasteful passenger. 4 Hatem Ben Arfa (for Chester 59) Unlucky not to start but couldn’t make his manager rue the decision. 5 Not sure they reached 4 and 5 really.
I'll go with the 6 for McShane for effort alone. Unlike many others he did seem to be trying his best. The rest of the ratings are not far off with the exception of Aluko who should be rated 2 but no one dare score that low. The last chance saloon door has closed. Bring back Tom Ince. If he can't at least match some of that lot yesterday he has a problem.
