Boruc 6 Clyne 7 Fonte 7 Yoshida 7 Shaw 6 Cork 7.5 Schneiderlin 7.5 Lallana 7.5 Davis 8 Rodriguez 5 Lambert 7 Chambers 6
Boruc - 6 Clyne - 6 Fonte - 6 Yoshida - 8 Shaw - 6 Cork - 8 Schneiderlin - 7 S. Davis - 8 Lallana - 6 Rodriguez - 5 Lambert - 6
Boruc - 6 Clyne - 7 Fonte - 6 Yoshida - 9 Shaw - 6 Cork - 8 Schneiderlin - 7 S. Davis - 7 Lallana - 7 Rodriguez - 6 Lambert - 8
I thought Steven Davis and Cork were the best players for us today no doubt. Boruc wasn't a 6 I don't think. He had a poor game by his standards. Distribution was good but he came out a bit rashly for the first, and buggered up the second. Rodriguez and Lallana anonymous.
Boruc 6 Clyne 7 Fonte 6 Yoshida7 Shaw7 Cork 7 Spiderman 6 Davis 6 JRod 5 Lambert 6 Lallana 6 Shawcross 9
Boruc- 6 Came out a little too early on that first goal, but he was in a tough 1v1 situation. He would have had to have been perfect, usually he is. Like most of the team, he wasn't awful, but he really wasn't great either. Clyne-6.5 The one sub I would have wanted to make in the second half would have been Chambers for Clyne early as I feel Chambers gives us more width. But Chambers had a dead leg so that changed things. Clyne did have a good game and didn't do anything wrong, the way things worked out just didn't suit his style. Fonte- 7 Solid at the back, as always. I think he played one kind of sketchy pass but got away with it. Yoshida- 6 He's just not that good. He played smartly and within himself, but it meant lots of safe passes and clearances in situations where Fonte or Lovren might have been able to put more pressure on Stoke. Shaw- 6. Disappointing game for me. He had that one nice counter but that kind of fell into his lap. He did make a nice pass to Clyne. Overall though, he didn't take charge of the game and provide some width and crosses in the second half when we really needed them. Cork- 6 Something was wrong in the midfield the first half, though not sure exactly what it was. Schneiderlin- 6 Same as Cork. Was disappointed with him in the second half as well. He's the deep-lying playmaker and no plays were made from deep. Davis- 7 Looked the most active and dangerous in the opposition half. Lallana- 6.5 Somewhat marked out of the game, but to my mind at least put a shift in and made Stoke have to work hard to contain him that should have opened up opportunities elsewhere. Rodriguez- 5.5 Just not very good today. Not entirely his fault as he didn't get many chances, but still made several bad decisions with the ball. Lambert- 7 Got the goal on the set piece. Made a couple of nice passes and at least looked like he was trying to make something happen. I know it's a little eyeopening to see him passing instead of scoring and not being the physical presence he once was, but I think he's still better than maybe some people are giving him credit for.
Boruc - 5 Clyne - 7 Fonte -7 Yoshida - 7 Shaw - 6 Cork - 7 Schneiderlin - 7 Davis - 8.5 - MOTM Lallana - 6 Rodriguez - 5 Lambert - 7 Tempted to give Schneiderlin and Clyne an extra 0.5.
I can't say I agree with saying Fonte was better than Yoshida today. I thought Maya was solid, not sure about you lot...
Ergh, it felt like an end of season nothing to play for kind of game. The crowd seemed pretty flat and the weather didn't help. Ok performances but it was the lack of invention and execution of that final pass which was the real frustration. I notice a 9 given to Shawcross but we practically kept chipping the ball to his forehead. He still commanded his penalty box well, but don't play into his hands. I like Cork, Davis & Schneiderlin but it's games like today when we need that extra bit of creativity to work alongside Lallana. This was a Gaston match and highlighted our lack of squad depth which is the difference between 9th & top 6.
I think Fonte was a bit better than Yoshida, but then I'm blind and they both look the same from where I'm sat.
Not quite sure why Relentless disliked your post Dan, I pretty much agree (though I thought Davis was quietly efficient as ever).
I loved the break in the first half when Davis ran from box to box with the ball and hen slipped it to the player on his left..... but WTF was our right back doing there? If that had been our left footed full back, it would probably have been a great goal. Agree. Ok performances all round, Davis efficient as ever.
