Albion player ratings vs Bristol Rovers

[Bring back Bryan wade!!]

If you don't mind please guys for those of us who didn't go to the match

 

[Notters]

Bit hard with the perspective behind the goal but I'd say:

Ankergren - 5, really got on my tits with his time wasting and petulance
Painter - 7, better than of late, lots of man-marking and backtracking
El Abd - 8 MOM, cracking heading, sublime passing
Calderon - 6, bags of pace and some tasty crosses but perhaps didn't get back enough
Bennett - 8, getting back to his best all over the pitch
Dicker - 7, tighter passing than recently
Bridcutt - 7, solid
Wood - 5 fairly anonymous today but I like him
Murray - 7 not as sharp as of late perhaps but still ace
Barnes - 7.5 don't know what gus has done to him since Bournemouth but he's been on fire. The first goal was the type of shot he was missing earlier in the season, though this time he had two defenders on him. Very encouraging.

Ref - 4 niggly noggly

Hope most of this makes sense, hard to review on an iPhone.

 

[Lord Bamber]

Ref - 4 niggly noggly

Post of the day!

 

[severnside gull]

Ankegren 5 not his best game in very trying weather conditions and his time wasting wasn't the best
Calderon 6 one of his least effective matches but he was up against Hoskins who is close to as good as it gets in this league
Greer 5 struggled under the swirling ball and less commanding and less certain than usual
el Abd 6 found it as difficult as Greer but marginally more effective
Painter 8 best I think I have seen him play both in defence and attack. Real class
Bennett 7 coming back to his best after what must have been a difficult time
Dicker 8 strong in the tackle and excellent passing. If he develops the confidence to strike on goal more often he will become even better
Bridcutt 7 good combative performance. Kept things moving and always had an eye to spread play wide on either side
Barnes 7 looked mobile out wide and cutting in - a goal and 2 assists. Growing in confidence and composure
Wood 6 takes a lot of the weight off Murray and Barnes and unlucky when a Bennett cross just fell slightly behind him and he could only scuff his shot
Murray 7 cannot understand why people say he is slow. Languid maybe but he is so mobile, covers ground back and out wide taking defenders with him. Maybe he isn't a prolific scorer but he is so close to being the complete article

subs:
Noone - 7 given a ridiculous amount of space and terrorised their defence
Sandaza -5 came on late. Got booked

 

[Notters]

Oops, missed Greer. 5.5 for him.

 

[Seagull over NZ]

As someone who doesnt get to see Brighton very often these days I was mightily impressed with Bridcutt. Thought he popped up everywhere and very rarely misplaced a pass. Also impressed with Barnes, thought he was may e the pick of the 3 front men. Am intrigued by poyet's 4-3-3 formation as usually when done it is with 2 wingers and 1 striker rather than 3 out and out strikers. But poyet has them very well drilled, they drop back when needed and Elliott and dicker are quite fluid where they turn up on the pitch. All of this can only happen if someone like Bridcutt plays like he does.

Back four were solid, liked the look of Calderon and painter going forward and I can't believe el abd is the same player.

All round we looked in control today despite that cracking opener from Rovers. My wife made her Brighton debut today and loved it bar the cold!!

 

[Brighton M]

Are people rating el-abd highly for the sake of it now, just because he's improved so much. can't believe he's been better than greer in every single game this season, but nsc tends to suggest otherwise?

 

[oxfordseagull]

I actually thought greers disribution was spot on, slight tendancy to hoof it but today seemed to find some quality passes?

 

[Vatican Citys No.2 Keeper]

I actually thought greers disribution was spot on, slight tendancy to hoof it but today seemed to find some quality passes?

Totally agree, whilst defnesively he looked shaky at times, as did el abd, his distribution and sight is top notch!

Ankergren 5.5
Calderon 7
Greer 6.5
El-Abd 6.5
Painter 8
Bennett 7
Bridcutt 8
Dicker 8
Barnes 7.5
Murray 8
Wood 7

Subs:

Noone 7
Sandaza 4

 

[Jim in the West]

Oops, missed Greer. 5.5 for him.

5.5 for his headed clearances, but 8 or 9 for the way he passes the ball out of defence.....he has an uncanny knack of passing the ball in a different direction to the way he's looking - fools the other side every time, and never seems to make a false pass. Very impressed by Greer today (or rather yesterday)

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

What is it with Ankergren and time wasting - FDM played this way too?
Its not like we are struggling atthe bottom and want to deny the oppo's time on the ball and scoring opportunities.
It almost seems like a personal thing rather than a team - ie "All the time I've got the ball, I can't be put under any pressure" rather than: "We are the top team, lets get the ball in play quickly [even if we are already winning] to score another goal".

Why, why, why?

 

[Beach Hut]

Bridcutt and Dicker were awesome as they were against Watford, turning into a dream pairing in the centre midfield

 

[Mackenzie]

Ankergren 6
Calderon 6
El-Abd 7
Greer 6
Painter 7
Bennett 6
Dicker 7
Bridcutt 7
Barnes 6
Wood 6
Murray 8

 

[hola gus]

As someone who doesnt get to see Brighton very often these days I was mightily impressed with Bridcutt. Thought he popped up everywhere and very rarely misplaced a pass. Also impressed with Barnes, thought he was may e the pick of the 3 front men. Am intrigued by poyet's 4-3-3 formation as usually when done it is with 2 wingers and 1 striker rather than 3 out and out strikers. But poyet has them very well drilled, they drop back when needed and Elliott and dicker are quite fluid where they turn up on the pitch. All of this can only happen if someone like Bridcutt plays like he does.

Back four were solid, liked the look of Calderon and painter going forward and I can't believe el abd is the same player.

All round we looked in control today despite that cracking opener from Rovers. My wife made her Brighton debut today and loved it bar the cold!!

Think you are to something there. I think you only can play the 4-3-3 formation if you have "legs" in midfield, and Bridcutt must be key to this

 

[Left Footer]

Ankergren 6
Calderon 7
Painter 8
Greer 7
El Abd 7
Bridcutt 7
Bennett 7
Dicker 9
Barnes 8
Wood 6
Murray 7


Noone 7
Sandaza 5

Dicker was immense and Ashley Barnes managed to silence my mate who is always criticising him so must have played well, stunning finish for his goal not sure how he managed to get so much power.
Thought Painter`s work for the second goal near our own corner flag was immense and very similar to the goal against Orient on New Years Day.

 

[Tomo1794]

Dicker was immense and Ashley Barnes managed to silence my mate who is always criticising him so must have played well, stunning finish for his goal not sure how he managed to get so much power.

Barnes goal reminded me of Pavlyuchenko's for Spurs against Chelsea.