Player Ratings - Middlesbrough (H)

[BUTTERBALL]

Kuipers 7
Watson 6
Cullip MOM 8
Pethick 6
Jones 7
Oatway 6
Carpenter 7
Rogers 7
Brooker 6
Zamora 7
Steele 7

Subs

Virgo 6
Mayo 6
Hart 7

 

[Seagull1989]

Tomas -6- seemed a bit hesitant at point in first half and should have claimed the ball.
Bruno -5- think he gave ball away for first goal. Too many fancy flicks instead of playing simple ball.
Greer -5- liability. Needs to close down attackers more.
El Abd -6- did well as usual
Bridge. -6- has a quality first touch
Bridcutt -7- had a good game and won ball on numerous occasions
Crofts -5- needs to get stuck in more
Hammond -5- poor decision making. Missed free header as well.
Lopez -6- his best game So far. Improving
Barnes -6- did well. Links well with CMS
CMS -8- Plays with passion. Was getting manhandled by Boro constantly


Buckley -6- would love to see him start
Lua Lua -6- not long enough to really influence
Dobbie -1- If he's meant to have the "eye for the pass" perhaps it might help if he looks before he passes it.

 

[fratsomrover]

First real chance to assess Lopez today and I thought he was good. A very precise passer of the ball and has a good delivery. I agree with several here in so much as I thought Bruno was poor. His error led to their goal and generally he made more mistakes than anyone else. He's a v good player but today he was poor. Hammond, Croft and Bridcutt cant all start together. None of them got forward to threaten opponents goal so CMS was largely isolated. No idea what Barnes's role was, hardly noticed him until he missed that header. I cant really fathom how he plays week in week out when Buckley is available.
Lowest rating today must go to Gus for picking such a negative line-up. It's about time he realised teams will always come here to defend and the onus is on us to get that first goal. It's the same as last season. He thinks if we dominate possession all will be okay, but it isn't if you cant convert possession into goals. It is goals that decide games not possession.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Kuszczak 6
Bruno 4
Greer 5
El-Abd 6
Bridge 7
Bridcutt 7
Crofts 6
Hammond 5
Barnes 5
Lopez 6
CMS 6

 

[kalinski]

I honestly believe that we all seem to watch different games...I thought Barnes had a great game linking up between midfield and attack, I can actually see what his position is but think Dobbie is a better player to play in that position. I also don't understand such a negative set up at home. Surely, we can go for three attacking midfielders and CMS at home? On Bruno he was marked for the whole game by their 24 who did a great job closing him down and blocking his runs...

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

On at least a couple of times in the second half they absolutely had 10 in the box.

Running at people, especially in crowded areas is more about ball control/dribbling than pace.

Pace helps! A lot. Dribbling is no good if you can't do it quickly. The point I was making not apart from one Dobbie run no other than Buckley and latterly Lua Lua run at them. It unlocks defences.

 

[Gwylan]

Kusczack 7 Nothing to do
Bruno 5. His worst game for us: gave away the goal and was wayward in several passes
Greer 6 Nothing much to do but what he does, he does so slowly
El Abd 6 Some good tackles but a bit wayward in his distribution
Bridge 8 Excellent game again
Bridcutt 7 Generally good. Lost possession a couple of times
Hammond 6 Better than last time but that's not saying much
Crofts 5 Largely anonymous
Lopez 7 Thought he was our best player in the first half, some great passing. Faded a bit
Barnes 8 MOM. A terrific game: involved in just about every attack. Covered every blade of grass and some superb first touches
CMS 5 Headless chicken time again

Subs
Buckley 5 Not at his best today
Dobbie 4 A shocker, seemed to think that shooting from impossible angles and range would be the way to score
KLL Not really on long enough but seemed to be threatening

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Pace helps! A lot. Dribbling is no good if you can't do it quickly. The point I was making not apart from one Dobbie run no other than Buckley and latterly Lua Lua run at them. It unlocks defences.

Vicente isn't the most spritely of people but I think he beat more players in his short stint last season than any other Albion player, therefore totally disproving your point.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Vicente isn't the most spritely of people but I think he beat more players in his short stint last season than any other Albion player, therefore totally disproving your point.

I think you'll find he's a lot quicker than many in the team.

 

[GingerBeerMan]

I think you'll find he's a lot quicker than many in the team.

I think you'll find he's not

 

[El Presidente]

I think you'll find he's not

I know Christmas is closing but has Panto season already started?

 

[Acker79]

Bridcutt Pretty good

A rating?

Buckley 5 - poor touch and control and no attacking threat
Lua Lua 6 - didn't seem to want to attack their right back, but we looked more dangerous once he was on

Dobbie?

 

[JBizzle]

Apologies. Bridcutt 7

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

A rating?



Dobbie?

Oops. 5 I would think, would have been 6 if he'd scored.

 

[Jack Daniels]

Ref wasn't too bad. People need to take their blue tinted specs off

You need to put glasses of some description on. He is and always been. .............. Useless.

Point out the games we won with him in charge if you like. f***ed up with saints goal that wasn't given though. Doesn't make him good.

D'urso = muppet.

 

[Austrian Gull]

Kuszczak 6 - didn't have much to do.
Bruno 6 - no way MOM. Some sloppy passes, at fault for the goal. Can see why fans like him, though.
Bridge 7 - quality is there for all to see. Could do with a genuine left-sided midfielder in front of him.
Greer 6 - not as bad as some have made out.
El-Abd 6 - ditto.
Lopez 7 - I liked what I saw. Good passing, intelligent movement.
Crofts 5 - had little influence on the game.
Hammond 6 - looked decent second-half.
Bridcutt 7 - MOM for me.
Barnes 6 - some nice touches.
CMS 5 - the same CMS as I saw last year, unfortunately.

D'Urso 3 - not so much for anything he did against us but more of his complete lack of feel for the game. Has he ever heard of the advantage rule?

Boro fans 9 - right behind their team, extremely vocal, sang songs about individual players, no hompophobic stuff that I heard - not that I understood more than 50% of what they were singing, mind.

 

[Acker79]

Any more?

 

[Acker79]

Match Rating Averages

Bridcutt 7.18
Bridge 6.92
Kuszczak 6.68
David 6.39
Bruno 6.19
El Abd 6.06
Barnes 5.97
Hammond 5.74
Mackail-Smith 5.58
Crofts 5.55
Greer 5.29


Subs
Lualua 6.13
Buckley 5.56
Dobbie 4.52


Team Average: 5.98