Davis - 6, didn't have a lot to do in goal, although made 1 good save Richardson - 7, his best game in a saints shirt Fonte - 8, superb at the back as always Martin - 7, nervy 1st half hour, but was superb 2nd half Harding - 6. had snodgrass under control Guly - 5, just wasn't in the game at all Cork - 7, some of his touches were superb Hammond - 7, good passing, superb goal Lallana - 8, again outstanding Lambert - 6, looked a little lost, didnt help he was always being fouled Connolly - 7, looked good up front with Lambert De Ridder - 6, looked pacy but not much else to do Chaplow - 7, looked real quality when he came on Schneiderlin - N/A, didnt have enough time to influence the game
Lambert has 3 functions:to score goals, set up others and to draw the defence to him. Two out of three's not bad. Had a couple of good free kicks. Hope he gets an early goal before people get on his back, but he contributed well today. Also Guly always slow to start.
Hammond deserves way more than 7. Could hardly have done any more. Cork likewise deserves a bit more than a 7. Guly, whilst he offered little in attack, did do a lot of work defensively, and thus deserves more than a 5. Harding had an ok game (pains me to say that), but he did put Martin under needless pressure at times by passing the ball to him. As the senior player, I thought Harding should have taken responsibility himself for getting the ball away. I'd say: Davis 7 Richardson 8 Fonte 8 Martin 7 Harding 7 Guly 7 Hammond 9 Cork 8 Lallana 7 Lambert 7 Connolly 7
I think Leeds tried to target Harding a bit and pinged a few balls at his head, on that basis I he coped well. I thought Richardson dominated in defence and justified his start. If Lallana played in Lambert in the 93rd minute for a tap in then everyone would have said he had a good game, so that's just the way it goes.
Good performance all round, Cork was man of the match for me, seemed to always come away with the ball and do something positive with it. I think Guly didn't offer a lot going forward, but did seem to be our only player who could tackle hard with Leeds' midfield. Bit of a controversial one - I don't think Fonte was as good as he could have been today, he seemed a little bit clumsy, and always seemed to be climbing on the Leeds players, but still did well. Lallana was excellent today, I was secretly a little worried he wouldn't be quite as good as he was in League One, but with a goal and an assist against a good side I'm relieved to say I was silly to be worried! Davis - 7 Richardson - 8 Fonte - 6 Martin - 7 Harding - 7 Guly - 6 Hammond - 8 Cork - 9 Lallana - 9 Lambert - 7 Connolly - 8
Lambert still looked quality - the way he created the first goal is the other element to his game which people dont often give him credit for. His control and vision are class.
Davis - 6 Richardson - 6.5 had a good game but always left space on the wing Fonte - 8 Martin - 8 controlled the defence well with Jose, superb Harding - 7 moved the ball down the line well and was quick with supports Guly - 5 improved in 2nd half Cork - 8 never been a massive fan but proved me wrong Hammond - 8 didn't ook out of depth at all, his passing was second to none Lallana - 8.5 brilliant Lambert - 6, few good headers to set up other players Connolly - 6/7, seemed to get lost in the action some times but good finish for his goal De Ridder - 6, looked pacy but not much else to do Chaplow - 7, looked real quality when he came on Schneiderlin - 6, made some good little challenges and passes, should have brought him on earlier to shore up the midfield
Possibly his best performance in a Saints shirt (at least at St Marys any way). I thought he was very good. Just wish he had Butterfield's delivery!
I thought he was class - so solid! Smashed one of their players in a 50/50 and looks proper heavyweight! Also dont forget that he is a real leader too.
If a player plays well, I'm not gonna knock em. That said, I did only say "ok" and I still wasn't happy with him putting Martin under pressure at times.
Also being super critical didnt like Harding for a few moments in the first half - got the wrong side of his man once or twice, especially from crosses!
Davis - 6.5 - One superb save from Paynter, Distribution was appalling as ever though. Richardson - 8 - Very solid, made some great tackles and marked Gradel well, few poor passes/crosses though. Fonte - 9 - Amazing as ever. So so solid. Martin - 8 - Unlucky with the Penalty, just seen it on Sky and it definitely hit his CHEST, ridiculous decision. Apart from one mistake in the first half I thought he had an excellent game. Don't think we need to spend big on a CB partner to Fonte, this kid has the potential to be incredible. Gets better every game, give him a run in the team and him and Fonte should develop a fantastic partnership. Harding - 5 - Poor for me. Rate Dickson a lot higher and I think it's a mistake having Harding as first choice LB. Guly - 6 - Dipped in and out of the game but had a few very good runs and tackles. No mistakes. Cork - 9 - Corky was ace today, what an absolutely brilliant signing this has proved to be. Welcome home Jack! Hammond - 7 - Really good game from Hammond, not his biggest fan but he seems so much sharper this season already, great finish for his goal and put his body on the line every chance he got, he'd die for the cause and you could see that in his performance today. Lallana - 8.5, Legend. Superb as usual - as if he's ever been less! Lambert - 6 - Felt sorry for Lambert, Kisnorbo had his arms all over him all game didn't give him an inch of space, some good touches and passes, as well as a really unlucky free-kick.. Shame he never really got into the game though. Connolly - 7 - Good game from Conners! Took his goal superbly, looked classy throughout but as he's quite lightweight and Leeds are big and dirty I felt sometimes he just got pushed around a little too much. De Ridder & Schneiderlin - Don't think it's fair to rate them, hardly had the ball but looked good anyway. Two of our most classy players IMO so hopefully they get to get into it a bit more soon. Chaplow - 8 - Thought he played excellently when he came on, closed down well & put on the pressure, good tackles, brilliant shot that got tipped onto the post and also got back to support Richie in defense which denied Gradel from getting the ball. Brilliant team performance, Onwards & Upwards! COYR!
Great team performance & will gel as the season goes on. Davis 7 Made some great saves Richardson 8 Looked solid Fonte 7 Not his usual composed self Martin 6 Nervous Harding 7 did ok Guly 6 Mixed performance Hammond 9 Outstanding & great goal Cork 8 Shows what a class addition he will be in midfield Lallana 8 usual class Lambert 8 Work horse today impressed Connolly 7 Shows his class & experience what a goal. Thought our midfield didn't give Leeds the chance to breath. Really impressive
You forgot: Nigel Adkins 10/10 He got the tactics dead right and an important part of that was Gully's role against a pretty meaty 5 man Leeds midfield.
Adkins is ma homeboy Brilliant performance by all of them today I thought. Lambert & Deano looked the sharpest I've ever seen them, actually the whole squad does in retrospect. Just shows what a good pre-season can do for you ey! MoM for me though is Corkyyy, the lad had an absolute blinder. Bring on Baaaarnslehh boys
Deano looked great today & what a goal. Pleased he had a good game as has done well in pre season. Lots on here predicting he would lose his place to Morgan. Proved he is fighting for his life. Great start for the opener as captain.
Davis 7 Richardson 8 Fonte 7 Martin 6 Harding 7 Guly 6 Hammond 10 Couldn't of done any more Excellent Cork 9 class in midfield Lallana 8 Lambert 8 impressed Connolly 7/8 Midfield looked impressive today. Thought Chaplow looked good when he came on. But the work rate from the midfield was outstanding. Closed everything done. Some pretty impressive performances today. Hammond for me was faultless.
