Nottingham Forest (away): player ratings

[Machiavelli]

Stockdale 8 -- he's getting better and better
Bruno 6 -- kept Antonio quiet
Greer 7 -- he's having a great season
Dunk 8 -- looks amazing, would have been 9 if he hadn't given the ball away on the edge of the penalty area
Bennett 6 -- restricted Burke; could have done better with two crosses
Holla 6
JFC 7 -- played a lot better than many on here claim: one great lung-busting run in the first half; one brilliant ball to set up CMS in the second
Crofts 7.5 -- he was excellent today, got through a lot of work, can't remember him doing anything wrong, and he did a lot right
Colunga 6 -- thought he did a lot better than others claim; he's very intelligent with his movement, doesn't seem to give the ball away; the core criticism that can be made of him is that he needs to be stronger to shine in this league
CMS 5 -- non-stop, high octane harassing and running, too many offsides, should have scored when Jake set him up; I really hope Baldock does it, because CMS will struggle to get into double figures
KLL 6.5 -- had a solid game, what's noticeable is that his decision-making really is improving this season

Subs:
Ince 5.5 -- not his best game, rubbish in the air
McCourt 7.5 -- five minutes and still nearly won it for us
Gardener n/a

Sami: good work, things are starting to click, we looked defensively solid against a team who not only were top of the league, but also didn't have too much trouble scoring -- they didn't look like scoring today. We need to look like scoring. Not so sure that CMS assists with this.

 

[litmanen]

JFC 7 -- played a lot better than many on here claim: one great lung-busting run in the first half; one brilliant ball to set up CMS in the second

He failed to score from a great place. Yes, it was offside, but Jake did not know that when he tried to score.

 

[Napier's Knee]

Stockdale - commanding 8
Bennett - strong first half, good wing play 7
Bruno - bruno 6
Greer - commanding 8
Dunk - immense 9
Holla - solid, reliable 6
JFC - better in the second half but as bad at free kicks as corners 6
Crofts - better than previously - further forward suits him 6
KLL - played wider, better position for him but must stop long distance shots 7
Colunga - nondescript But some good movement in second half 5
CMS - incredible work rate, no first touch 5

Ince - beginning to find his place in the new system 7
Paddy - exciting and deserves marks just for his pass that CMS screwed up 8
Gardener n/a

Sami. Got the feeling that he was playing today with Tuesday on his mind - playing the season not just the match. Solid defence and chances being made for the strikers. But that is our weak spot. Beginning to feel that Sami is an evolution from Oscar, not the revolution we first thought.

 

[BensGrandad]

Stockdale is begining to show why we bought him and gradually winning his critics, of which I am one, over

 

[BensGrandad]

Stockdale - commanding 8
Bennett - strong first half, good wing play 7
Bruno - bruno 6
Greer - commanding 8
Dunk - immense 9
Holla - solid, reliable 6
JFC - better in the second half but as bad at free kicks as corners 6
Crofts - better than previously - further forward suits him 6
KLL - played wider, better position for him but must stop long distance shots 7
Colunga - nondescript But some good movement in second half 5
CMS - incredible work rate, no first touch 5

Ince - beginning to find his place in the new system 7
Paddy - exciting and deserves marks just for his pass that CMS screwed up 8
Gardener n/a

Sami. Got the feeling that he was playing today with Tuesday on his mind - playing the season not just the match. Solid defence and chances being made for the strikers. But that is our weak spot. Beginning to feel that Sami is an evolution from Oscar, not the revolution we first thought.

That was flagged offside so not a chance or screwed up by CMS.

 

[Weststander]

Why the criticism and relatively low scores for CMS? He cost us up to £3.25m - shirley for that price he's a great finisher, with a good first touch.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Stockdale 8 -- he's getting better and better
Bruno 6 -- kept Antonio quiet
Greer 7 -- he's having a great season
Dunk 8 -- looks amazing, would have been 9 if he hadn't given the ball away on the edge of the penalty area
Bennett 6 -- restricted Burke; could have done better with two crosses
Holla 6
JFC 7 -- played a lot better than many on here claim: one great lung-busting run in the first half; one brilliant ball to set up CMS in the second
Crofts 7.5 -- he was excellent today, got through a lot of work, can't remember him doing anything wrong, and he did a lot right
Colunga 6 -- thought he did a lot better than others claim; he's very intelligent with his movement, doesn't seem to give the ball away; the core criticism that can be made of him is that he needs to be stronger to shine in this league
CMS 5 -- non-stop, high octane harassing and running, too many offsides, should have scored when Jake set him up; I really hope Baldock does it, because CMS will struggle to get into double figures
KLL 6.5 -- had a solid game, what's noticeable is that his decision-making really is improving this season

Subs:
Ince 5.5 -- not his best game, rubbish in the air
McCourt 7.5 -- five minutes and still nearly won it for us
Gardener n/a

Sami: good work, things are starting to click, we looked defensively solid against a team who not only were top of the league, but also didn't have too much trouble scoring -- they didn't look like scoring today. We need to look like scoring. Not so sure that CMS assists with this.

I watched it on the stream but would agree with those ratings.

 

[severnside gull]

Stockdale had a good game. I love a keeper who commands his area and he is adding shot-stopping to his repertoire.
Bruno and Bennett were much more aware of their defensive roles today so we weren't left with them up the field and no cover. Very pleasing.
Greer and Dunk were excellent.
Holla holds the midfield and covers in front of the defence at least as well as Bridcutt did for the large part and has an eye for a forward pass. JFC is learning the slightly deeper lying role and is getting better at it while Crofts' industry helped in preventing them applying any consistent pressure. I thought we had better shape today and we held it together well.
Colunga and CMS both need the confidence of a league goal or two. Kaz is playing well in this system and even when he telegraphs what he is doing he looks our biggest threat.

By and large we nullified their biggest threats and credit has to go to Sami for that.
Good performance.

I would probably mark it as 6's across the board except for Greer (7) and Dunk (7.5)

 

[spring hall convert]

That was flagged offside so not a chance or screwed up by CMS.

CMS clearly didn't know that BG. Clearly. It was a terrible finish.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

Watched on a good stream, but from what I saw one of our better performances this season. I didn't see the Leeds game though

Stockdale 8 - Excellent save, and commanding. Can't ask more
Bruno 7 - Good defensively & decent going forward
Greer 7 - Solid again
Dunk 9 - Finally hit the levels expected before the court case. Our best player today & this season
Bennett 7.5 - I like him more every game. Shame he didn't pick CMS out for the winner
Holla 7 - Keeps things ticking over... slightly bemused to see him go off, when Colunga & CMS stayed on
JFC 7.5 - Pick of our central midfielders in my opinion
Crofts 7 - Exactly the right kind of game for him. Did well
Colunga 6 - Good movement, but not suited to a wide role. Looked like a striker played as a winger
CMS 5 - Can't fault the effort. Can fault everything else
KLL 7 - Expected him to be gash as he usually is when he starts. Actually played well... doesn't lose the ball very often, which is rare for a player like him

Subs:
Ince 7 - Solid
McCourt 7.5 - The greatest player of all time. He opened up Forest twice in the 5 minutes he was on
Gardener n/a - Utterly pointless substitute

 

[BensGrandad]

I thought, but could be wrong, that he KNEW he was offside and just used it to take up valuable seconds to stop them mounting an attack.

 

[Machiavelli]

I watched it on the stream but would agree with those ratings.

I watched it on the stream, too. Must be contagious...

 

[Skaville]

I didn't see today's game but really pleased to hear the positives about JFC. I think he's had some unfair stick in recent weeks. He's coming of age (but please stop him taking corners!).

 

[BensGrandad]

I didn't see today's game but really pleased to hear the positives about JFC. I think he's had some unfair stick in recent weeks. He's coming of age (but please stop him taking corners!).

And free kicks unless he is going to have a shot at goal

 

[Grombleton]

Mine are based off the stream and only on the second half, so may not be the same as others:

Stockdale: 6.5. Commanded the area well but didn't have much to do.
Bruno: 6.5. Got forward well and used the ball well - no signs of excessive showboating
Greer: 8. Dominated alongside Dunk. He's a superb player
Dunk: 9. Immense. This is his season
Bennett: 6. Did well, but his crossing leaves a bit to be desired. Not terrible though.
Holla: 6. Quiet, but did what he had to do well
Crofts: 6.5 A couple of good runs through the middle and kept things going
JFC: 7. Always looked for a forward pass and played a superb ball through for CMS
Lua Lua: Did well considering he almost always had 2 Forest players on him. Some of his shots are a bit wayward, but at least he's willing to have a go
Colunga: Didn't do much in the second half. Seemed to be out wide almost all the time, I'm not sure if that's on instruction but it left CMS isolated when he could have come inside a bit more
CMS: 6.5 Ran himself into the ground and didn't think his touch was that bad...just didn't work for him and could have done better with his chance in the 2nd.

Ince: 6. Not bad, but not brilliant.
Gardner: n/a
McCourt: 7. He was only only on for a few minutes but Forest seemed petrified of him, to the point they allowed him the freedom of the City. Was 1/2 yard ahead of everyone else. Class player.

Overall? A good point. It seemed the ref was happy to give Forest the majority of the decisions. Antonio looked 1/2 threatening 1/2 a thug...Assombalonga was never going to score, even if he was on the pitch all night. We did really well against a "good" Forest team.

 

[Skaville]

And free kicks unless he is going to have a shot at goal

Totally agree there too.

 

[dazzer6666]

Stockdale - commanding 8
Bennett - strong first half, good wing play 7
Bruno - bruno 6
Greer - commanding 8
Dunk - immense 9
Holla - solid, reliable 6
JFC - better in the second half but as bad at free kicks as corners 6
Crofts - better than previously - further forward suits him 6
KLL - played wider, better position for him but must stop long distance shots 7
Colunga - nondescript But some good movement in second half 5
CMS - incredible work rate, no first touch 5

Ince - beginning to find his place in the new system 7
Paddy - exciting and deserves marks just for his pass that CMS screwed up 8
Gardener n/a

Sami. Got the feeling that he was playing today with Tuesday on his mind - playing the season not just the match. Solid defence and chances being made for the strikers. But that is our weak spot. Beginning to feel that Sami is an evolution from Oscar, not the revolution we first thought.

Pretty much agree with these. Bennett's 'cross' in the second half would lose him half a mark for me, and Paddy has got to start in place of Colunga. He'll create many chances for CMS and/Or Baldy.

 

[Superphil]

As per [MENTION=22929]Grombleton[/MENTION] I watched the second half. IMO, we looked like we had the measure of the only unbeaten team in the league, definitely things to be positive about. If I have to be critical, it surrounds attack, JFC seems to be holding back, maybe a lack of confidence, KLL can never clear the 1st man from corners, and CMS has either forgotten how to do it, is being coached wrongly, or is misunderstanding the coaching he is getting.

To get a nil nil at first right now is no mean feat, let's hope, and trust, that SH can build on this and start turning draws into wins.

 

[Eggman]

As per [MENTION=22929]Grombleton[/MENTION] I watched the second half. IMO, we looked like we had the measure of the only unbeaten team in the league, definitely things to be positive about. If I have to be critical, it surrounds attack, JFC seems to be holding back, maybe a lack of confidence, KLL can never clear the 1st man from corners, and CMS has either forgotten how to do it, is being coached wrongly, or is misunderstanding the coaching he is getting.

To get a nil nil at first right now is no mean feat, let's hope, and trust, that SH can build on this and start turning draws into wins.

Yes. Positive after today. I think we'll be ok. Top 10 at least. It will just take a bit of time.

 

[aolstudios]

Stockdale 7.5
Bruno 6.5
Greer 8
Dunk 8
Bennett 6
Hola 6.5
JFC 7
Crofts 7
Colunga 6
CMS 6
KLL 7

Ince 6
McCourt 7.5
Gardener n/a