I don't think there was much between the two sides They're superbly exquisite divers though, beat us hands down in that department
Meslier - 8. Fantastic yet again. Still a kid and I wouldn't swap him for any other keeper in the world at the moment. Dallas - 7. Had the toughest job tonight with Zaha. Kept him quiet until the last 20 minutes when the game stretched. A really good battle and Dallas probably edged it. Cooper - 6. Thought he had a torrid first 45. He was alot better 2nd half and one pass to James in the last 10 minutes was top notch. Llorente - 7. Like a rash. Defended superbly. His distribution just isn't quite working at the moment but he keeps trying to play through midfield. Struijk - 5. Booked early and struggled afterwards with Ayews pace and trickery. Off injured. Phillips - 6. Not at his best. Gritted his teeth and rolled his sleeves up and got stuck in. Off form but still held his own. Forshaw - 8. Too many needless fouls but otherwise full of running, battled very hard and rattled a few. Kept it simple and made himself available. Good to have him back. Klich - 7. Thought he had a really good first half hour but looked tired afterwards. He ran his socks off that first period. Very committed. Didn't really have an impact with the ball. Raphinha - 8. Obviously the most talented player we have but has fallen in to the trap of trying to do too much too often. Ultimately proved the difference with the penalty. Created numerous chances. Linked up well with Firpo. James - 7. Created a great chance for Rodrigo. He chased, harassed and tackled his heart out. Maybe his best game for us so far. Roberts - 6. Great first 15 minutes. Great last 15 minutes. Went missing in-between but the service wasn't great during that period. Had a glorious chance first half from Raphinha cross but missed the ball. Subs. Rodrigo - 6. A typical Rodrigo performance. Showed glimpses of quality but not often enough. Firpo - 5. Some bewildering decisions and passes as we've grown accustomed to but linked up well with Raphinha going forward and dug a couple of good crosses out. Cresswell - n/a. Late sub to see it out.
Let's hope Chelsea and Leicester give us a helping hand tomorrow because we need all the help we can get at the moment.
I honestly thought there was nothing much in it. If we didn’t have a shot on target until the 80th minute we’d have been going ape. We had 62% possession, we had 16 shots to their 9 we had 3 on target to their 1 and 7 corners to 4. Yes I want us to play better but I just didn’t think it was as bad as a few others seem to.
On the game in general I thought we edged it.....just. We controlled the game more than them and 2nd half they were quite happy to sit back and try and get something on the break. Palace are a good side and the pace and flair they have on the counter will trouble alot of sides. As for us. I thought the workrate of our players was top notch. The team spirit is still there. We might not be smooth going forward but we have just had back to back clean sheets and that will pick up points. The shape and balance was good and Phillips and Forshaw together give us a more robust centre. I'd kill to have a 28 year old Pablo at 10.
Ally McCoist does my head in, utter prick 90% of the time but… Both he and the other commentator said the difference with Leeds over the last few weeks is we’re less gung-ho and far more disciplined in our own half than we were last season.
Evening all. I'm so glad I avoided this forum while the game was on. I've just read it back and the negativity is crazy. We won. Cooper is a defender and we kept a clean sheet against a team that beat Citeh away. Roberts was a million times better than James up front. I thought James had one of his better games for us. Forshaw was excellent again. In the Brighton game he ran more than anyone, I bet he was close today again. Firpo started poorly but I think he got much better as the half went on. We're suffering up front without Paddy but.. We won! There's no easy games in the PL. Cheer up ffs!
Stay off Twitter mate, they’re having a melt down slamming Roberts calling him a liability. MOT Leeds news has given Struijk 3/10 Cooper 4/10 Klich 4/10 Firpo 5/10 I’ve no idea what game they think they were watching. One positive on Twitter, most are saying James was our second best player tonight for his grit, running and tackling back. I’m happy so I don’t care
Yeh, I don’t get the hate on the performance. We weren’t great, we’re not playing like we did at our best last year, but it wasn’t terrible. It was a pretty even game, I think a point would have been fair, Few clear cut chances, we had the pressure they looked a threat on the break. palace are a decent side this season, vieira has them playing good football and they have some talent. it’s just a relief to get the points. We could do with 3 more at the weekend
I think if we get three points at the weekend it will set us up to nick a couple of draws on the rest of the December from hell fixtures.. I think Brentford is still too early for Bamford and Ayling to be playing 90 minutes but who knows. Struijk seemed a groin injury so he’ll probably be out for a few weeks.
I’m at a loss what people expect of Dan James. Because he cost £25m he’s meant to score goals for fun and run every defence ragged every week?'. That’s how football works is it? just my opinion but I thought he was good again today, he was our best player at spurs. He works hard, he stretches defences his first touch is exceptional and he can control the ball whilst running at pace. Yes his end product is hit and miss… that’s why he was £25m not £75m
Going to agree with all that mate. James ran his nags off, yes he scuffed the final ball too much but boy his energy his pace and he battled back brilliantly. Roberts again had a good game and where he went quiet its because as everyone who has played up top this season we dont get the ball to them so not enough chances. Fair play to Roberts though, thats 2 out of 2 which has been good. The 11 before that I will forget if he keeps it up he also ran all night. Forshaw excellent and 2 matches in 3 days. He looks fit and we have just gone 2 clean sheets on the bounce. We may just have our midfield DM and CM filled with Phillips and Forshaw
Cant sleep im that chuffed with the win as soon as i close my eyes im trying to take the penalty myself
I agree. I'll be honest here though. I kinda roll my eyes at the kid more than I should and its not because of how he plays. It's the fact we paid 25 million for him when we needed that money elsewhere. I have to try and rid that thought from my head when I watch him. Maybe other people just can't get over it and he becomes a target.