Dont forget the player stats today plz lads. In Ghana so wont be at the game obviously. But will will try & listen on the radio whilst relaxing at the company BBQ on the beach. Its a hard life but someone's got to do it !! UTT My prediction for today Hull City 6-1 Preston NE
I'm happy to do it later, but I've got to drive to London immediately after the game, so it won't be until about 11.00 tonight.
Guzan - 7 - What else can you give him he came for the ball well, he had no saves to make, his kicks were not perfect but i can't ask for much more than a clean sheet. Rosenior - 8 - Good going forward, as solid as ever, can still count his mistakes at this club on one hand. Chester - 7 - Reads the game well, great signing and certainly will develop well. Needs to take people out on the half way line a bit more, Gerrard would take the ball or the man. Gerrard - 8 - Played well, got a goal and he is growing in my opinion of him, however why on earth would Cardiff sell him he is better than there centre halfs Dawson - 7 - I have being critical of him before the last few games, but he is getting forward and getting back to his old self. Stewart - 8 - He ran at people, he got crosses in the box, he got some shots away he won corners, did awfully well just need a little more end product. Koren - 9 - My man of the match, he is clearly better in the middle and he ran the game, i think he really needs to stick there. Evans - 7 - Played well, not his best didn't get as stuck in as before but defensively had little to do. Belaid - 7 - End product was not really there but he took players on had pace and bit of skill, he has real potential. Fryatt - 8 - No goal today but he makes great runs, creates chances and space for others, what a signing! Mclean - 8 - Wins headers, gets up people's noses, and he does the hard yards. He will score goals if we give him chances... Devitt and Barmby did well but not enough time to have any impact. For me we played just as well as last week just didn't put them away but for me the team was very very good today, some may be critical but i will take a 1-0 win every time. Preston looked decent tbh, organized well and defended better in second half.
Onward & upwards, do ya think the teams above us are starting to look over their shoulder now Any chance of a rating from anyone who travelled to Pride park last night. UTT
Here are my ratings from last night. Played poor in the first half but much better 2nd half. It is always a good sign when you don't play that well and still win games! Guzan 7 - spilled one shot but Gerrard was there to clear away. Made a few decent saves and claimed a few corners well. Rosenior 9 - Just shaded for Man of the Match imo but didn't put a foot wrong and overlapped well in attacking the Derby left back. Chester 8 - Played well, got in some decent tackles and headed clearances Gerrard 9 - He was everywhere and got the winner. Nigel sign him up! Dawson 8 - Defended well, but didnt have much chance to go forward, especially when we swapped to 4-3-3. Has lifted his game over the past two months and is back to his best at the moment imo. Harper 7 overall - 5 first half 8 or 9 second half. Not sure what it is that he does, but we just keep winning with him in the side. Smashed the crossbar from 30 yards early in the second half, passed to team mates and tackled well in the 2nd half and played a big part in sealing the win. Anonymous like the rest of the midfield and attack in the first half. Belaid 5 - Isolated but first touch wasn't the best. We just couldn't keep the ball first half. Looked like he was limping from an early solid challenge on the sideline before getting taken off for Simpson. Still shows glimpses that he will be a good player for us though - will take time to settle. Koren 7 - another assist from the corner and put in a few decent set pieces. Like the rest of the midfield he put in a decent performance 2nd half and worked hard to close the game out late on. Evans 6 - has been giving the ball away a bit too much for my liking, but worked hard and battled well against that **** in the Derby midfield! Played his part. McLean 6 - Just wasn't his night. The referee clearly had it in for him and after receiving a booking for daring to jump to win a header he was a bit subdued. As always worked his socks off and defended well from the front and at set pieces kept Ayala quiet. Fryatt 6 - worked hard like McLean and defended from the front. One fairly decent chance that was well saved by the Derby keeper, but their defence kept him fairly quiet. At times was playing up top on his own when McLean and Simpson were tracking back. Subs Simpson (for Belaid) 8 - Good first touch and link up play, held the ball up well and like his fellow forwards he put in a good shift for the team. Barmby (for McLean) 6 - Worked hard and linked well with Simpson late on to close out the game. Hobbs (for Fryatt) 8 - Not on for long but won every header and his first touch in a City shirt was a crunching tackle that left the Derby player on the ground feeling like he had been hit by a train!! Thoughts anyone?
I thought again we were very good defensively (apart from when we played 3 centrebacks, at which point I thought we looked completely confused as to who was playing where). HOWEVER, in midfield we failed to keep the ball apart from a 15 minute period in the second half at the end of which we scored. Evens is under extreme pressure at the moment as he is the only one in the middle of the park willing to put a foot in. I feel sorry for him and his performances are suffering as a result. Also up front I thought Fryatt was nowhere all game and although he worked hard, Aaron was not good enough in posession to cause their defence a threat. Simpson on the other hand looked strong, quick and threaded some lovely passes inside the fullbacks to both Rosenior and Koren. So my scores would be: 7 Guzan 8 Rosenior 9 Gerrard 8 Chester 7 Dawson 5 Belaid 6 Evans 6 Harper 6 Koren 5 McLean 5 Fryatt Subs: 8 Simpson 6 Barmby (not on long enough to assess) 6 Hobbs (not on long enough to assess)
Thanks fellas Looking forward to the Cardiff game although i will miss that one too. But home for the next few matches after that as i dont plan to answer my phone for at least 3 weeks. UTT
