Davis 7 - Did well on a number of occasions, not to blame for any goals Chambers 7 - Good first half, wasn't helped by his teammates in the second Fonte 6 - Had trouble holding the offside line Lovren 5 - Worst game I've seen him play for us Shaw 5 - Really, what is the deal with his "illness"? (Clyne 6, did as best as he could on opposite side of pitch) Cork 5 - Bit "headless" today Davis 5 - Chelsea midfield chewed him up & spat him out Schneiderlin 5 - Wasn't in the game Lallana 7 - Can't do it all on his own Ramirez 5 - Typical display from him, couple of good passes, but caught in possession all the time & doesn't offer himself for the pass enough Rodriguez 5 - Was he playing?
Agree with most of this, except I'd put Lallana at a 5 he did no better than Ramirez for me. Also the Northam were **** again today. Aside from the first few minutes they did a grand total of **** all, first half included.
K. Davis - 7 - Good early rushing and a decent save, can't really fault him for the goals. Chambers - 7 - Impressive first half, less so second half. Fonte - 6 - Looked shaky, but a few good blocks. Lovren - 5 - Poor display, his worst game for us, but he's earned credit with the fans. Shaw - 6 - What's up with him? Was alright, but nothing special. Cork - 6 - Fished the ball out nicely a couple of times, but a few silly fouls and a bit slack with his passing at times. Schneiderlin - 5 - Was he playing? Seemed to totally pass him by. S. Davis - 8 - Impressed me the most. Tidy player. Used the ball well, worked hard in defensive areas too. Lallana - 7 - Couldn't do it all on his own. Tried and failed, worked hard and hassled the opponents. Gaston - 6 - Good first half, went missing second half, just like the rest of the team. Rodriguez - 5 - Pretty anonymous, a few attempted runs, and should have scored when Gaston set him up. ...and the subs... Clyne - 6 - Not bad considering he was out of position, silly to lash out though. Lambert - 5 - Anonymous. Could have scored, chased a lot, with little joy. Ward-Prowse - 5 - Moved the ball well, but not really on for long enough.
Guarantee that Mourinho paid a lot more time in the dressing room before the game talking about Lallana than he did Ramirez. Often needed 3 Chelsea players to get the ball off him, mostly only needed 1 Chelsea player to get the ball off Gaston. Even on Lallana's poor days, still feels like he's making an impact, even if its freeing up space for others.
Not sure it's going to possible for the atmosphere at St Mary's to get worse, but it's certainly trying. Bank Holiday football games are often **** atmospheres though.
I agree, and I think Lallana played perfectly fine. We disagree on Ramirez's effectiveness and I think that stat makes the point for me.
I'm sorry, but is scandolous to suggest lallana played better than ramirez today, atleast gaston created something.
I would give Luke Shaw no higher than a 4 today. Looked to be playing at about 70% fitness, poor lad. Never ideal when playing against Mata. Also, why doesn't he cross the ball into the box? Three times today he held onto the ball too long in an attacking position and ended up losing it. Chambers was very good again though. Better than Shaw over the last half dozen games.
Running your socks off doesn't equate to a good performance. I don't blame lallana, he has been outstanding this season, so the occassional poor performance is to be expected
I have to say, impressive though Shaw is for one so young, his attacking play generally leaves a lot to be desired. Chambers and Clyne (even on the wrong side) both look far more threatening going forward.
Not blaming anybody, our squad just isn't one to match the top 5. I just don't think you can play lallana and Gaston together? Especially against the Bigger Boys.
Gaston has been sat in the stands or on the bench all season. Today he got his chance, in a home game, against a big team, live on TV back to Uruguay.... did anyone get the impression he was "busting a gut" trying to impress today? This was his big chance, did he take it or just put in an "Ok at best" performance? I've still got the feeling I've had all along about him. He's got the ability, not the application and can't seem to adapt his game to suit his team and this league. Saints could keep on giving him chances, but you are not going to build a team round him and you are not going to drop Lallana for him... so what do we do with him? Of course Poch says he needs him in his squad, simply because he's got NO other attacking midfield options in his squad and no one currently good enough coming through from U21/U18 etc in that "number 10" role. (I don't see JWP as that kind of midfielder).
Shaw wasn't himself today and got subbed. Every player can have an off day, especially one so young. Shame with Hodgson watching.
