Player Ratings v Middlesbrough (h)

[Lifelong Supporter]

Agree with this and the rest of your post.

I really believe our team were not mentally prepared for this game (somehow!!!). You could tell this with the opening passage of play.

There is no doubt CH has done really well with this set of players but the real test is how he manages them when things are not going well. This test could come soon.

Yes well playing 4 4 2 the players have to be on their game. If they are not and at this level they are going to get punished. I feel are ageing defence is now being caught out by physical demands of the season.
The warm ups today are as much as some of the players of yesteryear went through in a game !!!!

 

[um bongo molongo]

Stockdale - 7 - distribution ok, no chance with the goals.
Bruno - 6 - did ok
Greer - 5 - lost man for second goal, 3 games in a week a big ask at his age.
Uwe - 6 - did ok
Calde - 5 - struggled to get forward at all and loss of bong/rosenior has definitely weakened us. Same comments as Greer, tough ask. Still a legend though.
Stephens - 7 - thought he and Kayal played well.
Kayal - 7 - see above
Murphy - 3 - dreadful. No threat, didn't beat his man once and looked like he didn't fancy the physicality.
VLP - 5 - better than Murphy. Still poor.
Hemed - 4 can't fault his effort but no goal threat at all, same as Tuesday.
Wilson - 5 looks dangerous with ball at his feet but link up play is poor. Body language post 60 mins terrible, doesn't look fit. At least he won't be going back to Man U on that showing.

Zamora/Crofts - irrelevant, game over when they came on - how bad must Elvis be training to not get a go?!
Goldson- 6 - hard to judge

Hughton- 4 - churlish to criticise first defeat but we were overrun at times in the middle Tue night and same today. Needs an alternative formation for these tough games.

Catering staff - 1 - seriously, how hard is it to pour pints and serve them, it should not take that long!

 

[theboybilly]

All 6 except Stephens 7 and Kayal 6.5 Team as a whole 5 Management got it all wrong 4. but we will improve.

How did the management get that wrong? The team largely picked itself. Our first sub was enforced and the other two are becoming the norm. I don't think anybody, especially Hughton, expected Albion to be so lacklustre from the beginning

 

[warmleyseagull]

9 goals conceded in last four games, 4 of the last 5 goals have been headers, 4 conceded from corners in last 3 (5 including pen that indirectly resulted from corner at Derby).

OK, these were against decent teams, but it is worrying. I think we are being worked out at the back and the finger has to be pointed at centre backs. GG is too slow, Dunk is a car crash waiting to happen in between moments of assured brilliance, Hun is weak in the air. I though Goldson did alright after a slightly nevous start. He came forward and tried (if not well executed) some probing passes. He should get a run of games now.

 

[Arkwright]

Boro were good and we did not match them in any area on the pitch. Not the end of the world still a great position going into Christmas.
One observation I thought Kayal had an awful day, gave the ball and away far too easily stopped passing to feet and clipping ambitious aerial passes. Stephens held the middle of the park together and was MOM.
Last we need a left footer, Chicksen for Calde.

 

[BensGrandad]

How did the management get that wrong? The team largely picked itself. Our first sub was enforced and the other two are becoming the norm. I don't think anybody, especially Hughton, expected Albion to be so lacklustre from the beginning

Why bring on Crofts as we didnt need to win the midfield we needed goals. Murphy was doing his usual since Bong has been out nothing so the obvious move was BZ for Murphy then if that didnt work Manu for Van La Parre and try to go for 3 goals. We were never going to get them with Crofts sitting in midfield, not that he did anything wrong, but the wrong type of player for what we needed.

 

[BHA96]

Stockdale 5

Bruno 3
Greer 4
Hunemeier 4
Calderon 4

VLP 5
Stephens 3
Kayal 7
Murphy 2

Hemed 2
Wilson 4

 

[Brighton Mod]

Caught cold again for an early goal, coming from the left again! Some may criticise Hun for the first and our right back for he third, but both of these goals were created by crosses and our right back was found wanting on both occasions. We need to stop the supply of crosses before our centre back have to get involved.
Once a goal down so early on Boro had the luxury of flooding he midfield and therefore stopping any movement from us, hence the long ball so often.
A disappointing day with nothing to show for it, I won't accept that the players are jaded or tired, do accept that injuries are having a major impact and feel that CH has got his tactics wrong for the last two games, just coudnt see who was going to score for us today.
Its so much about CH now, I hope he's not being distracted.

 

[Tarpon]

Why bring on Crofts as we didnt need to win the midfield we needed goals. Murphy was doing his usual since Bong has been out nothing so the obvious move was BZ for Murphy then if that didnt work Manu for Van La Parre and try to go for 3 goals. We were never going to get them with Crofts sitting in midfield, not that he did anything wrong, but the wrong type of player for what we needed.

The subs were made in 74 mins. It was damage limitation: impact on team confidence, morale and goal difference + give Crofts some minutes while maybe a Bobby goal to belatedly lift spirits.

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

It was apparent after the first 5 minutes that we had the wrong formation to prevail over 'Boro, who looked so comfortable on the ball, while we were either chasing the game or just smothered by their numbers. Boro held the initiative and mostly looked like the side playing at home. A worrying trend that we keep conceding at set pieces.

Murphy and VLP were too peripheral. Greer had 'one of those games'. We just do not have the depth on the bench to make a decisive comeback. We weren't playing Charlton today, so IMO it needed some sensible adjustments to our tactics. Plus the players have endured a hard week and looked a bit below par.

Stockdale: 7 - Not much he could do about the goals, and just as well he made that point blank save, otherwise...
Bruno: 6 - Worked hard but often outnumbered
Greer: 4 - A very costly lack of defending at set pieces, clinically punished by Boro.
Hunemeier: 6 - Ok until crocked. Not helped by Greer having an off day. These circumstances further underline Dunk's stupidity at QPR.
Calderon: 6 - Typical Calde, gave his all for the cause
Stephens: 7 - Not as influential as we are used to and often outnumbered.
Kayal: 6 - Similar to Stephens. God forbid if either of them get an injury or lengthy suspension. They are our engine and creativity.
VLP: 5 - Similar to Murphy in that the game passed him by too often. Not enough penetration going forward or awareness of when proper defensive work was needed
Murphy: 5 - Same as VLP. Too lightweight.
Wilson: 6 - Odd flashes of his talent but with Hemed going AWOL was far too isolated and forced to take on the Boro defence alone
Hemed: 4 - Forgot he was the pitch for much of the time. One decent chance that was well off target.

Goldson: 6 - Did Ok. Pity we didn't find opportunities to give him some pitch time in recent weeks so he didn't have to be blooded in such a difficult game. We may have to rely on him more than expected this season and I wish him really well.
Zamora: 6 - Showed a bit more than Hemed......
Crofts: 5 - I can understand Hughton wishing to shore up the midfield but this wasn't going to change how the game unfolded. He certainly didn't frighten the Boro bench.

Hughton: 3 - Has been brilliant this season but seemingly the wrong tactics for 'Boro's formation.

 

[nwgull]

In fairness, out of all of our players, it probably was either him or Kayal.

And Stephens wins it for pulling of an overhead kick pass from the centre circle out to Calde on the wing.

 

[lizard]

Stockdale 6 - Let down by a poor defence, hard to blame too hard for conceded goals, made a couple of saves.
Bruno 5 - Not at his best, positionally poor today.
Greer 3 - Terrible, did he stay out until 4am last night and consume 15 pints?
Hunemeier 5 - Looked more solid than Greer but seemed to lack communication between all defence.
Calderon 5 - Not a left back.
VLP 5 - Poor but don't think Bruno helped his cause.
Stephens 6 - Average today I thought.
Kayal 7 - Our only player that would have got into the Middlesboro' starting lineup.
Murphy 5 - Did little, decisions questionable, ineffective with Calde behind him.
Wilson 5 - Not likely to score without the ball, poor service, felt sorry for him. Bet he can't wait to return to the Mancs in Jan.
Hemed 3 - Not likely to score, full stop. Am finally starting to lose patience with his inability.

Goldson 6 - Horrid time to have a home debut enforced.
Crofts 5 - Strange change I thought when we needed goals.
Zamora 5 - Pretty anonymous, should have started. Zamora could miss 3 pens, run over to the stand and kick me in the face and I'd still give him a 5.

It would be easy to point the finger to Mr Hughton but having the run we have been on, it seems a little harsh. Maybe he didn't get it spot on today but he was certainly let down by the overall team performance.

Must give credit to Middlesborough, the best I've seen this season and would expect them to win the league at a canter. 2nd is up for grabs, with us, Derby and Hull all equally as shit by comparison. Not too upset at losing, kind of glad it was to a team far superior as opposed to a last minute dodgy penalty or something feeling unjust. We had an off day and they gave us one hell of a reality check. Hope we aren't reliant on points when we play the opposite fixture, or hope they are home and hosed and have an off day.

Will be interesting to see how/if we bounce back. Brentford will surely fancy their chances now, winning their last 3 at home, scoring 4 in the process today. We're going to need to severely up our game to get anything out of it, we play like today and a similar result will ensue.

Injuries are crazy at the moment but we need to expect that and have players ready to step up. January should be good if Bong, Rosey and Lua Lua return and it will be interesting to see if Tony decides to stick or twist for the run in. It's pretty evident from today that we have some quite major issues to address but it's not all doom and gloom, besides we're almost safe already.

Anyway, thank god we haven't got to play them every week!

 

[Hampster Gull]

It is evident Tony will go all in

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

And Stephens wins it for pulling of an overhead kick pass from the centre circle out to Calde on the wing.

You know what, I forgot about that. I'd raise his rating in the game for that alone - it was beautiful.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

From an complete outsider.

Greer was shit. Absolute pony

 

[JCL666]

Stockdale - 7 - distribution ok, no chance with the goals.
Bruno - 6 - did ok
Greer - 5 - lost man for second goal, 3 games in a week a big ask at his age.
Uwe - 6 - did ok
Calde - 5 - struggled to get forward at all and loss of bong/rosenior has definitely weakened us. Same comments as Greer, tough ask. Still a legend though.
Stephens - 7 - thought he and Kayal played well.
Kayal - 7 - see above
Murphy - 3 - dreadful. No threat, didn't beat his man once and looked like he didn't fancy the physicality.
VLP - 5 - better than Murphy. Still poor.
Hemed - 4 can't fault his effort but no goal threat at all, same as Tuesday.
Wilson - 5 looks dangerous with ball at his feet but link up play is poor. Body language post 60 mins terrible, doesn't look fit. At least he won't be going back to Man U on that showing.

Zamora/Crofts - irrelevant, game over when they came on - how bad must Elvis be training to not get a go?!
Goldson- 6 - hard to judge

Hughton- 4 - churlish to criticise first defeat but we were overrun at times in the middle Tue night and same today. Needs an alternative formation for these tough games.

Catering staff - 1 - seriously, how hard is it to pour pints and serve them, it should not take that long!

I'd go with these.

I'd also echo the "how shit must... be" for Elvis and/or Chicksen to get a game.

Murphy has been poor for a while and it's not just on the left, it's also when he switches wings so blaming it on the LB situation is lame.

Today was tailor made for Poyet pack the midfield tactics.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

Murphy has been poor for a while and it's not just on the left, it's also when he switches wings so blaming it on the LB situation is lame.

I agree with the things you said apart from this. His performances have dropped since he's had a wrong footed full back behind him. That's because he's an inverted winger... he needs decoy runs to be truly effective. Calderon crowds his space, offers him no outlet on the outside and is ineffective when making overlapping runs on the inside. Essentially, every time he comes inside there is no option for a pass on, meaning that the defenders know that he can't pass on the outside as he has no viable option and instead they can crowd him out much easier.

And he switched wings for the better part of 10 minutes today. That's hardly enough evidence to back up your point about him switching to the right hand side and still being ineffective.

 

[DJ NOBO]

Why bring on Crofts as we didnt need to win the midfield we needed goals. Murphy was doing his usual since Bong has been out nothing so the obvious move was BZ for Murphy then if that didnt work Manu for Van La Parre and try to go for 3 goals. We were never going to get them with Crofts sitting in midfield, not that he did anything wrong, but the wrong type of player for what we needed.

We needed crofts on from the start to bolster midfield, Wilson on the bench. It's obvious hughton does not think chicksen and Manu can be trusted at this level.
Whatever we tried today though would only have been damage limitation. They were far too savvy for us. The real shame is the points lost on Tuesday and last Saturday , that's turned this difficult week into a bit of a disaster

 

[tigertim68]

Worse performance of the season , with only Kayal and Stephens come out with any credit . Did not see the point of Zamora coming on , better of keeping him for the next game .
Missing all our injuried players and Dunk yesterday ,need reinforcements quick

 

[Skaville]

Stockdale - 7 - made some decent saves. No chance with the goals
Bruno - 6 - got caught out of position a couple of times.
Greer - 4 - looked shot
Uwe - 4 - played like a man who had zero game time in weeks
Calde - 6 - gave everything. One of very few to keep going at 0-3
Stephens - 6 - he was running through treacle in the second half. Exhausted
Kayal - 7 - decent
Murphy - 2 - if Elvis is no better than that we've seriously wasted some cash
VLP - 5 - looked the most likely to create something but STAY ON YOUR FEET. Been watching Zaha?
Hemed - 4 - Zero threat
Wilson - 6 - if we were going to nick one he was the most likely. Great turn of pace for that wayward first half shot

Crofts - 4
Zamora - 5
Goldson- 5 - looked very edgy

Hughton- 3 - thought many things came back to haunt him. For example, they killed us off, then gave Clayton a breather. Wouldn't it have been nice to have given Kayal and Stephens a bit less game time in recent weeks by finishing teams off rather than inviting them onto us? Why were we so narrow today? What did Crofts add?

Finally, why could I not get a pie in the WSU at half time or full time? I just don't understand why there is no lunch at a lunchtime game?!