Schmeichel- 7. Didnt have anything to do. He has a Massive kick on him Peltier 8. Looked very good going forward and was solid at the back Mills 8. Gave the ball away a little cheaply on several occasions but was a lot better defensively Bamba 9. He had CMS in his back pocket the whole game MOTM Konchesky 7. Wasn't really tested but was good going forward Fernandes 7. Not as good as normal but still done a job Wellens 7. Same as Fernandes Abe 8. Put some great crosses in the box and didnt give the ball away all game. All round solid game from Yuki and a great header for the goal King 7. Got involved a bit more then normal today Vassell 8. Done very well holding the ball up and made some great runs. Great cross for the goal Beckford 8. His dribbling was brilliant at times and looked class. Him and Nugent are going to be quality together All round best performance so far but without the killer edge which will come with a few more games and Nugent coming back Sven got his tactics bang on today. Well earned 3 points
Thought Vassell was faultless today. Their right back was getting dizzy Vassell turned him inside out so often. We closed them down higher up the pitch and kept that going for 94 minues. Brilliant performance. Would have given Vassell 9.5 and Beckford 7, but agree with the other ratings
I think Bamba was a lot better today and in the Mercury in the week Sol spoke about the fact he needed to go back to 'defending basics' and I think he did that and he did what Bamba does best; those tackles that are as hard as nails, winning everything in the air. It was a performance that harked back to the time when he first signed for us. I also thought Mills showed the form we all saw at Reading. He kept it simple which really helped him. It looked as though he was instructed to just play to his strengths: heading, blocking, tackling, organising the defence. He was also helped by the fact he didn't really have to worry about his distribution. When he was under pressure, he just looked to clear it or play a ball over the top to Vassell or Beckford and when we looked to build from the back, he played it simple to Bamba and let him try to start the attacks. If they defend like that and play with the same understanding, we won't concede many goals. I still think though we need to improve the way we defend from crosses because I think we just tend to flood the box and not close down the actual crosser which allows him infinite time and space to pick out a cross. But that's a minor criticism to a much more united defensive performance and we were much more organised off the ball and harder to break down. Abe especially impressed me with his combativeness off the ball and his hurrying and harrying which forced Brighton out of their usual passing football. Probably my MOTM. Going forward, I thought again it showed how fluid the 4-4-2 is and how much more comfortable we are when playing it. Also the full-backs really impressed me with the way they got forward and supported the attack - everytime I saw Peltier raiding forward I got flashbacks to Naughton at his best. I think the key going forward was the speed at which we moved the ball. Before, I think we were too slow and ponderous in possession but now it was one and two touch stuff and the ball was being zipped around with a real fluency that we've only really seen for brief periods so far. Also the raw pace of Beckford and Vassell running in behind caused them real problems and they played with an excellent understanding. One would drop short whilst the other would try and make a run in behind which stretched Brighton and also one would pull wide and the other would move into the vacated space which allowed the midfield the space to support as well. It's the sort of movement and positional rotation that is needed to unlock teams - especially at home. It wasn't a complete performance but we deserved to win the game and it was a big step to really kicking on and performing as we know these players can. The important thing now is that we don't get carried away with this win and the performance and we keep grounded for what will be a tough double header against Cardiff and then to 'Boro and I think 4 points from those games would be a good return. We must use this win as a springboard for better things and push on from it and make sure we don't suffer a hangover like we did against Barnsley.
His job isn't to pass though. His job is to head, block, takle and organise and he did that brilliantly well today.
Kasper - 7 - Kicking was poor first half, good second. Didn't have a lot else to do. Peltier - 8 - Defended well and showed a willingness to get forward that he hasn't done before. Mills - 7- Won headers well and looked more comfortable than usual. Bamba - 8 - Very comfortable apart from with CMS sitter. Konchesky - 7 - Made some important tackles and showed a lot of committment. A good all round performance. Wellens - 6.5 - Decent game, seemed to be looking for the killer pass with little chance to do so in the first half, but got stuck in well and sprayed the passes around to good effect. He should be playing further forward though. Fernandes - 7 - Shocking first half, terrific second. He should be playing in the deep role. Abe - 7.5 - Invisible first half, very good second, took his goal brilliantly. Playing him wide right won't work long term. King - 7 - Linked up well all over the pitch, would like to have seen him shoot more when he was in good positions but a good performance really. Beckford - 6.5- Showed glimpses of real quality when running with the ball, a bit too greedy at times and thought he had more time on the ball than he did. He seemed to be desperate to get as close to the goal as possible before shooting. Still, in 2 games he hasn't had a real goalscoring chance yet. It will come for him, no doubt. Vassell - 8.5 - MOTM - Ran his socks off and showed that when he really wants to, he can have a massive effect on games. He's always had the pace and touch but for the first time in a long time he had the confidence and aggression to run at players, which made a massive difference. Vassell summed up our performance actually, we are still not a great footballing side, but we were confident enough to be assertive yet patient in possession, and our general aggression made a real difference. I don't think we've lacked work rate so far, but you have to say, when seeing our good performances - the halves against Forest and Southampton, and today - the noticeable difference was the tempo and the...oh **** it I can't think of another word I'm knackered - aggression! As long as Sven sends them out next week like he did today, we've got a real chance of beating Cardiff.
Can´t comment because I only see/read whats on the net, but by all accounts Bamba was good. Anyway it´s just nice to be moving up the table & keeping those pathetic 'so called' WUMS quiet. We´ve got a tough tough couple of months ahead, infact the rest of the season is tough, but these next 8 games or so are going to show us what LCFC are really made of. I can´t say I give a toss about the Cardiff cup game tbh so I´d say put out the res´s & save the 1st choises for next Sunday. " COOOOOME OOOOON YOOOOOU BLUUUUUES "
Yes, he performed his core role well, but its in every footballers job description to be able to pass a ball, especially when they cost that much. Not wanting to be over critical but I say it as I see it.
I agree his passing was atrocious but surely his other attributes make up for it? He was quality yesterday apart from passing, that doesn't make a defender bad though.
i admit ive been hoping that tunch would return because i feel that mills needs a steadier partner than bamba but hats off to the defence and i hope im proved wrong over the next 10 games or so
I agree and there in lies the challenge for Sol Bamba. We've seen him produce that kind of performance before but what we need now is for him to produce that kind of performance for 5 games on the bounce and find that consistency that can see him ranked amongst the best in this division.
The best place for Tunchev at the minute is Crystal Palace where he gets 90 mins every game while he wouldnt get that here. We need to see if his body is up to it and so far it is. Call him back at Christmas
