Gazza played well I thought. Distribution ok, one very good save, one punched save and he dealt with two very difficult near post corners in the first half. Cork was my MOM but Gazza should take some confidence from that performance.
I'm not saying he was great today but he played well and when he went off we had no-one looking to go direct and consequently kept playing infront of their defence and midfield.
Unfortunately when someone watches a match with a pre-fixed view of a player, everything they do is wrong. Or, at least, they'll be the first to notice and jump on the slightest mistakes. It's what's happened with some fans with Guly, Wanyama and now Gaston. Watch a match with no negative bias on any of the players and you may just enjoy it more!
Absolutely agree. He was certainly the equal of Lallana in an attacking sense first half (and second, come to think of it).
I'm just going to come out and say it. I really like gaston and think he's starting to show his early potential. Would love to see him stay and watch him, Adam and jay link up behind a CF in the future.
The guy behind me didn't stop bitching at Gaston all game (including after he was subbed off). Gonna have to have words soon, especially if I'm not renewing my season ticket.
As well as a xenophobic nature to the ratings, this is the classic case of a 2-3 point swing just because of the result. I really enjoyed the football for the 1st half and I think the players did too and the problem was they enjoyed it a bit too much. Instead of getting the job done and winning the game they played like a team already 2 or 3 goals up and ended up trying a flick or trick too much instead of earning the win and then playing with a swag. This should be the biggest lesson to take from the game. As for the individual performances. Have to agree that Cork was MOTM and the game was a sobering display from our two young full backs. Chambers was wasteful in possession and hit far too many hopeful scoops into the penalty area. Shaw's crossing continues to be a weak spot in his armoury and against sides that defend deep we need better quality as the full backs are often the spare man in attacks
I'm not known for being a great Ramirez fan but even I would say he played well today. My only criticism is that he doesn't seem able to maintain a high level of performance for the entire game. Maybe that is inevitable given how little playing time he gets. I am known as being a Cork fan but I am going to buck the trend and actually criticise him a bit. Ok, so he totally controls these kind of games but there was nothing from him that ever looked liked creating an opening. it was all very 'safe'. I suppose you could argue that that is his role and that it is up to the others to make the chances but I do think he should take more direct approach sometimes (e.g. his run against man City that lead to the penalty).
Man this will be like the twighlight zone because in going to stick up for cork against you Creating things is not his forte, his job is to do the mopping up and keep things moving along. He was MOM.
Reverse psychology!! I'm sure he didn't do it so much last season, that was more down to Schniederlin. Cork used to regularly get involved in attacking moves particularly with Puncheon and Clyne down the right. He does what he does really well (obviously), I'd just like a bit more variety sometimes. One thing I was going to mention about him is how aggressive/tough (I'm not sure of the correct word) he seems to have got recently. Maybe it is the Wanyama influence.
A lot of the assessment of how a player is rated has to be coloured by previous performance. Adam has been on fire recently, yet I saw him lose possession half a dozen times yesterday. He is still a class act, but should he get an 8, comparing him to other attacking midfielders or a 6 comparing with himself on song?
Agree Jack was MOM as far as I was concerned, his shooting has also improved, one attempt in the 1st half was only 30 yds wide?
