Westwood - 8/10 - Thought he made some crucial first half saves which kept us in the game. He looks more than capable so far this season of being the replacement for Mig we all hoped he would be. Celutska - 5.5/10 - ok going forward but i felt he got dragged all over the place defensively. Really like the lad but was his worst game for us so far. Colback - 6/10 - I felt sorry for Jack today. Worked his socks off, put in some decent challenges, tried to get forward, however due to Mavrias just running about in circles he was often left with 2 to 3 men. Diakete - 8/10 - our MOTM in my opinion. A solid man mountain who put in some great last minute challenges. Roberge - 6/10 - Walcott's pace had his pants down at times, however he is a calming presence on the ball at the back and i would like to see his partnership with Diakete flourish. Mavrias - 5/10 - Worked hard but just ran around in circles constantly. Nice ball to setup Altidore for the goal that should have been but overall a hard match for him to make his debut in. I would have preferred to see Johnson on the left and Seb on the right. Johnson - 7/10 - Worked hard,tried to create and looks a threat going forward. Sometimes it doesnt come off, sometimes it does but thats what the majority of wingers are like. Has been a plus for me since PDC came to the club. Vaughan - 4/10 - Too similar to Ki to play together (but not as good). Lost the ball a number of times in the centre which led us to being counter attacked. If it wasnt for Westwood, couldnt have been a lot more due to his mistakes. Ki - 7/10 - Some lovely forward balls, not afraid to put a foot in and think he could be another astute loan signing in which we all want permenantly but will probably have no chance of getting, i.e Danny Rose Altidore - 7/10 - Strong, great hold up play,not afriad to shoot, should have had a goal. Really like this lad and think he is only going to get better. Fletch - 6.5/10 - Some lovely touches, great movement and some good link-up play with Jozy. Faded as the game wore on but really looking forward to his and Jozy partnership. Only negative was (at times) Jozy and Fletch where a bit too far apart from each other. Obviously this will improve with more game time together. Subs Gardner - 8/10 - changed the game for us, best penalty taker ive ever seen, put himself about and added the steal in the middle we needed in the first half. Borini - 6/10 - Looked game to have a crack, cut in well off the left and gives us another attacking option Wickham - 6/10 - should have done better with his header but not enough time to make an impact. Overall opinion We got severly dominated in the middle first half. When Arsenal counter attacked we seemed to part like the red sea. We really are missing a player like Catts, N'Diaye, Cabral in the middle to give us some steal. With this type of player our attacking play could really flourish and prevent us being dominated on the counter. I really like the early signs of the boys up top and the new centre half pairing. The signs are there but my only worry is fans getting on players/managers back and loss of confidence due to the up and coming fixture list.
Good stuff I didn't see the game but those ratings are encouraging Vaughan shouldn't be starting, Cabral must have fallen out with PDC. If that's the case Catts will be key when he's able to play again
Ive tried to do it overall. If it was on the first half performance alone it would be a lot different,lol.
Good summary PMP. I maybe would have given Mav & Roberge an extra mark but otherwise good marks. Personally think minor tweaking required to get the settled team we need and then we will kick on. Even with the horrendous fixture list. We will play worse than we did yesterday and win a game. To hit the woodwork twice, have 2 goals disallowed ( 1 wrongly on an absolutely effin w*nk decision) and for a short time have a very good Arsenal side on the back foot bodes well imo.
Judging from the bits of the game I've seen we were well suited to go on and win the game at 1-1 before a lovely strike from Ramsey out of nowhere
Westwood - 7 (Still not convinced by him. His saves were all easy and straight at him) Celustka - 6 (Did ok, Johnson does seem reluctant to play him through on the overlap for some reason Diakite - 7 (big strong and good in the air, unlucky not to score. He provided the bite we needed) Roberge - 7 (Watch again and count how many important clearances he made) Colback - 7 (Did well against 2 men as Mavrias didn't help him at all) Johnson - 6 (sparks here and there but just doesn't do enough) Vaughan - 4 (too slow, too lightweight) Ki - 7 (FINALLY!!! A centre midfielder who can pass. Very promising) Mavrias - 5 (Tearing my hair out with this lad as he constantly left Colback exposed) Fletcher - 7 (Ooozes class, just needed a goal to top off and impressive display. Altidore - 6 (Mixed bag, his touch let him down in.crucial areas and he has a tendency to bottle things) Gardner - 7 (Completely changed the game, did everything Vaughan couldn't) Boring - 6 (Selfish like all good strikers are, likes to have dig. He'll be a good acquisition) Wickham - 5 (One or two flashes of a good player. Should have done better with his chance) Di Canio - 7 (Liked the team selection bar Vaughan, he saw what was wrong and changed it at half time)
Even before it went in the net, if it was a free kick, it should have been a sending off and the most blatant fowl was inside the box. When I first noticed the ref had stopped play, I thought thought it was for a penalty. And it was a great goal, no one heard a whistle, so the correct decision would be to play the Advantage Rule ... at 2-2, the crowd would have been on fire and we might have won it. The whole event was a ****ing travesty.
Vaughan is tidy most of the time but even as a fan, its clear that he doesnt have enough creativity to trouble most of the teams in this league. He is ok coming on to beef up a 5 man midfield if we are holding on for the win but he isnt creative enough and sometimes leaves himself open to being dispossesed as he takes to much time to decide what he is going to do. This is why I dont understand why we didnt go out and bring in a top class midfielder on a permanent during the summer. Bearing in mind all of the changes we have made it would have brought 95% of it all together. All respect to Gardner, he came on and changed the game, even his most ardent critic cannot really argue about that. Perhaps playing alongside Ki could be the making of Gardner and he comes in more than handy for dead balls. It will be great news if he can put in that kind of performance week in week out whilst having the opportunity to play alongside some class. Only thing to consider is that Ki leaves in January... The team itself is good enough to avoid the drop for sure however when referees take points away from a club that is fighting for survival, it doesnt make the task any easier. Next up, Sessegnon.
If you look at the arsenal Goals you can put them down to a lack of a DM especially the second. Look when the ball comes in. 3 arsenal players on the edge of the box unmarked.
Absolutely Tony. Other thing was Di Canio was urging the team to keep going but they stood off when arsenal got the second. On another note, if the free kick was given at 1-2 and they had a centre half sent off the game could've been very different indeed
Not at all. If you look at the league over the last few years you will notice that all of the teams that have failed to finish in the top 8 have been relegation contenders right up until the last few weeks of the season. That for me is fighting for survival. We may finish top 8 and have the potential to do so, but the difference between that and a relegation battle is the odd point here and there against the clubs that receive referee assistance.
At that point it looked like only one team was going on to get the second goal. We got caught on the counter from a good goal. We still pushed on and should have had our deserved 2nd but it wasnt to be. If we play like we did yesterday we should give anyone a game. I dont want to be too optimistic because our record at the hawthorns isnt great and with it set up for Sess to make his debut, we will probably get a kick in the teeth.
Completly agree which is all the more reason we need Catts or Cabral. When Arsenal countered, we parted down the middle like a Boro girls legs.
