Player Ratings vs Burnley (H)

[Acker79]

Despite being a comfortable win in the end, there still seems to be plenty of room for improvement. 14 shots and only 3 on target. I honestly cant think where all those shots come from, we seemed to lack any bite or threat in the final third. Ulloa was great, but he would often get the ball and have no options, or if he was lucky, there'd be one brighton player in the box with the 8 burnley players. We were too content to keep the ball in the air at times, rather than bringing it down, the passing is improving but there isn't enough movement off the ball, and I felt at times it looked like we had 10 men to Burnley's 11. They had too much of the ball and too much space to do something with it when they were down to ten men.

Still, all that means when it does click it is all very promising.

Kuszczak 7.5 much improved on his derby performance
Calderon 7
Greer 7 as Kuszczak
Upson 7 as Kuszczak
Ward 7 comfortable home debut, got forward a few times early, then seemed to not attack much
Ince 8 Dominated the first half
Crofts 7.5 worked hard, good finish, involved in the build up for the second
Lopez 6.5 still not looking match fit and entirely comfortable, but did look better than v Derby
Agustien 7 not as wasteful with constant long direct pass attempts
Buckley 7 decent performance, better than his recent efforts, an assist, drew fouls and the yellow cards for their keeper
Ulloa 8.5 great performance, didn't see the ball flying off his chest so much, and stayed strong fighting for the ball

Lualua 6.5 - A couple of runs soon after coming on then went quiet
Forster Caskey - closed people down, but game was over so couldn't really contribute much
March - Not on long enough

 

[Silk]

Kusczack - 7
Calderon - 7
Ward - 6
Greer - 7
Upson - 8
Ince - 8 - great to see a younger player come in and do well
Dave - 6
Crofts - 7
Agustien - 6 looks unfit, 2 defensive headers that went towards our goal, two missed chances to score. Would otherwise be 7.
Buckley - 7
Ulloa - 8

LuaLua - 6
JFC - 6
March - not on long enough

Clearly this manager, system, set of players have not gelled yet. We lacked the control in midfield that we had last season.

 

[Bring back Bryan wade!!]

Kuszczak - 7 - Only had one challenging save to make, and took it well.
Calderon - 8 - Solid defending, was dangerous on attack
Upson - 8 - Solid today, nothing got past him
Greer - 8 - As above
Ward - 7 - Decent performance
Agustein - 6 - Has moments of quality, but often lets himself down with lack of sharpness, lost the ball several times today
Crofts - 8 - Tenacious performance, was key part of many of our best movements
Lopez - 6 - Tidy passing, but too easily shrugged off the ball, not as sharp as he should be
Ince - 8 - Bridcutt like performance, kept everything tidy in the middle, good passing, quality prospect
Buckley - 7 - Good runs and touches but let down by his finishing
Ulloa - 9 MOTM - Won almost everything that came to him, clever touches, quality head for the goal, great assist, great defending

Spot on Mustafa, exactly how I saw it. First time I have been this season and Ince impressed me greatly. Ulloa is a beast, so strong and wins almost everything in the air and on the deck. We are lucky to have him.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I'd knock a bit of the score that Ulloa's been given. MOM, for sure, but some disappointing misses that he was well capable of putting in the net. And Ince had a terrific first half. If there was a Man of the Half award, he'd have got it.

 

[Broady]

Ward was very good, won a large percentage of his one on ones, helped out in attack and it was his block that Ulloa pressurised to lead to the first goal.

Had Bridge played the game that Ward did today, people would have rated it an 8 I think. Remember that this season the wing backs are not given as much protection as under Poyet.

 

[Stat Brother]

Having Ward with a bona fide winger in front made such a massive difference to the Derby game with Massi and Barnes.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Kuszczak - 6

Calderon - 7
Upson - 7
Greer - 7
Ward - 7

Agustein - 6
Crofts - 6
Lopez - 5
Ince - 7

Buckley - 8
Ulloa - 9

 

[Creaky]

I'd agree with the majority on the player's ratings, (ie a combination of the OP and the first post).

As far as a rating for OG's tactics I think between 6 & 7 would be fair.

 

[SeagullSongs]

Kuszczak - 7. Did what was needed and had much better distribution today.

Calderon - 8. Put in some decent crosses, made some good tackles and passed the ball well.
Greer - 7. Solid.
Upson - 7. See Greer.
Ward - 8. First time I've seen him play, pretty impressed. Good touch and gets forward plenty.

Ince - 8.5. Even more impressive than his first match, quality first touch passes, good positioning and very strong.
Crofts - 8.5. Good finish and seemed much hungrier for the ball than he did last season.
Agustien - 8. Much better than the last home game with fewer misplaced passes, but still looks like he needs some fitness work.
Lopez - 7.5. Getting back up to speed again, better today.

Buckley - 8. Very lively today, great cross for Ulloa's goal.
Ulloa - 9. Amazing performance all-round, strong, great close control, passing crisp and one of the best headed goals I've ever seen.

----------

Lualua - 7. Seemed to be playing more in the middle as Ward was too busy charging down the wing for him!
Forster-Caskey - 7. Looked quick and sharp, hopefully he'll get some more time soon.
March - n/a.

 

[North London Seagull]

He was poor. He plays better with Orlandi in the team. He will improve though.

Just don't think he's fit yet, signed him up late again like last summer window and if you remember last season, he started poorly but came very good

 

[albionalex]

Kuszczak - 7
Calderon - 8
Upson - 7
Greer - 8
Ward - 7
Agustein - 7
Crofts - 8
Lopez - 6
Ince - 8
Buckley - 8
Ulloa - 9

 

[Guinness Boy]

Kuszczak-6 - okish but not the player of last season. What was he doing with that dribbly shot that was going wide that ended up in a corner? Or is someone going to tell me that was brilliant?
Calderon-8-Ace. One brilliant back tracking run, couple of great interceptions, lively going forward.
Upson-7 solid all day long but Burnley were pretty two bob going forward
Greer-7 not noticed too much - which isn't a bad thing
Ward-7.5-Like him more than I thought I would. Nice to have a left footed starting left back!
Agustein-6 hit and miss but still like him
Crofts-8- BLOODY HELL IT'S THE OLD ANDREW AGAIN
Lopez-6- Not his best game
Ince-9-All over the shop in a good way
Buckley-6-Not his best game either
Ulloa-10-Perfect Centre Forward performance

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Kuszczak 7
Calderon 8
Greer 7
Upson 7
Ward 8
Agustein 7
Crofts 8
Ince 8
Lopez 7
Buckley 7
Ulloa 9

subs

LuaLua 7
Forster-Caskey 7
March 7

 

[scousefan]

I thought Agustein was one of our best players today, his passing needs some work but excellent control and dribbling.

I must be missing something with Agustien. He was better than when I saw him come on as a sub at Leeds. However he is too slow and gives the ball away. Sometimes it looks like poor fitness that will surely improve and sometimes a careless and arrogant attitude. I'd have scored him a 5 and Dave a 6 as our only two poor performers.

Ince and Ulloa were outstanding (9 and 10) and Buckley good (8.5). Saw signs of a great understanding developing between Buckley and Ulloa.

 

[goldstone]

Excellent game to watch except when we completely took our foot off the pedal in the last 15 minutes. That was unnecessary; it made for a boring end to the game; we could instead have exerted more pressure and hopefully improved our goal difference against ten men. One way to have achieved that would have been to bring March on for the last 15 mins instead of the last 3 - he has the speed and energy to have made a difference.

Kuszczack 7. Little to do. Kicking and distribution good.
Calderon 8. Very good game. The guy is a star defending or attacking. MUCH better than Bruno (and Saltor)
Greer 7. Good game.
Upson 7. Solid game.
Ward 7. Did well. I think we have solved our LB problem.
Ince 8. Did really well in a key role. A star in the making?
David 5. Our weakest link. Way off last season's form.
Agustein 7. Some wonderful moments, but a touch inconsistent. Hopefully just a question of match fitness.
Crofts 7. Hope he is back to his best. Well taken goal and a good overall performance.
Buckley 7. Much better than recent performances. Great cross for Ulloa's goal.
Ulloa 9. An excellent striker's performance. Great hold-up play, exceptional ball control, super goal, strong on the ball, puts in a good shift to help the defense.

Subs:
Lua Lua 6. Didn't get that much of the ball. Seemed to be playing quite a central role. Strange.
JFC 6. Wasn't too involved.
March N/A. Didn't even get a touch.

 

[BRIGHT ON Q]

Excellent game to watch except when we completely took our foot off the pedal in the last 15 minutes. That was unnecessary; it made for a boring end to the game; we could instead have exerted more pressure and hopefully improved our goal difference against ten men. One way to have achieved that would have been to bring March on for the last 15 mins instead of the last 3 - he has the speed and energy to have made a difference.

Kuszczack 7. Little to do. Kicking and distribution good.
Calderon 8. Very good game. The guy is a star defending or attacking. MUCH better than Bruno (and Saltor)
Greer 7. Good game.
Upson 7. Solid game.
Ward 7. Did well. I think we have solved our LB problem.
Ince 8. Did really well in a key role. A star in the making?
David 5. Our weakest link. Way off last season's form.
Agustein 7. Some wonderful moments, but a touch inconsistent. Hopefully just a question of match fitness.
Crofts 7. Hope he is back to his best. Well taken goal and a good overall performance.
Buckley 7. Much better than recent performances. Great cross for Ulloa's goal.
Ulloa 9. An excellent striker's performance. Great hold-up play, exceptional ball control, super goal, strong on the ball, puts in a good shift to help the defense.

Subs:
Lua Lua 6. Didn't get that much of the ball. Seemed to be playing quite a central role. Strange.
JFC 6. Wasn't too involved.
March N/A. Didn't even get a touch.

I would go along with that.

 

[Bladders]

WB was just returning the sublime reverse pass he got from Kemy, in the first half.

KA, is a major part of Oscar's work in progress.
He needs to be fitter, but he was still plenty better than v Derby, and there's still plenty more to come.

I thought he was a good 7.5 today.
He allowed Crofts to be very industrious even though it didn't seem to be working for AC today, obviously taking the goal aside.

Really? I thought he was excellent today. Best I've seen him play since his return to us.

Have to agree with SB, Crofts looks like an average player in a good side to me. Works really hard but not much really goes through him of any quality.

Took his goal well though.

More concerned though about Spanish Dave, looked really pedestrian the last two home games.


Ince was joint MOM for me with Ulloa who looks really strong holding the ball up this year, he would have just hit the deck back in January when he arrived when being challenged.

 

[Icy Gull]

I wish Oscar had brought March on instead of Kazenga who IMO is a shadow of the player who used to terrorise defences. Maybe next time March will get the nod if we need a winger.

 

[stss30]

I wish Oscar had brought March on instead of Kazenga who IMO is a shadow of the player who used to terrorise defences. Maybe next time March will get the nod if we need a winger.

Agreed. I would have liked to see March get some more game time in a match we had effectively won at that point.

 

[Trigger]

Kuszczak - 7

Calderon - 7
Upson - 7
Greer - 7
Ward - 7

Agustein - 8 (Forster-Caskey 6)
Crofts - 7
Lopez - 6 (LuaLua 6)
Ince - 8
Buckley - 7 (March N/A)

Ulloa - 9