Player ratings vs Rotherham

[goldstone]

For a while this evening Albion played some really sublime football. After a shaky start we controlled the game for long periods, but Rotherham posed much more of a threat in the last fifteen minutes after our two most influential players (Knockaert and Murray) had been substituted. Says a lot for the strength of the squad that we can make three tactical changes from the team that played on Friday and still win comfortably.

Maenpaa 7. A couple of excellent saves and good distribution. Flapped at one cross late on, but apart from that a good game.
Rosenior 7. Strong defensively and going forward.
Bruno 8. Played like he had always been a central defender. Class.
Dunk 8. Very good game again.
Bong 7. Better than Friday. Hopefully getting back to his best.
Stephens 8. Good to have him back.
Norwood 7. Apart from a couple of poor balls I thought he had a very good game. Excellent addition to the squad.
Knockaert 8. Wow!
Murphy 6. Did OK.
Hemed 7. Well taken penalty. Decent enough performance.
Murray 9. What a player. We have needed a striker like him for a long time …. in fact, since he left.

Subs:
Baldock 6. Tough to ask him to take Murray’s place.
Lua Lua 6. Didn’t see the ball for the first 10 mins he was on the pitch. Then made one or two decent runs.

 

[Petee]

Maenpaa 7
Rosenior 7
Bruno 8
Dunk 8
Bong 5 - maybe a bit harsh but didn't have a good game
Knockaert 9 MOM
Norwood 7
Stephens 7
Murphy 7
Murray 8
Hemed 7

Baldock 6
Lualua 6

 

[clippedgull]

Maenpaa 8
Rosenior 7
Bruno 8
Dunk 8
Bong 6
Knockaert 8
Norwood 7
Stephens 7
Murphy 6
Murray 8
Hemed 7

Baldock 5
Lualua 5

 

[aolstudios]

We looked superb at times (against a truly terrible team) & controlled the game but took a foot off the gas far too often & had zero ruthlessness & aggression.
A disappointing 3.0! - could've been out of sight by half time

Maenpaa 6.5 confident
Rosenior 6.5
Bruno 7.5
Dunk 7.5
Bong 6
Knockaert 7.5
Norwood 6.5
Stephens 6.5
Murphy 6
Murray 7
Hemed 5.5 Good penalty, zero threat otherwise

Baldock 5.5
Lualua 6 at least he looked interested, no one else did by then

 

[Sheebo]

Maenpaa 8 - so solid crew. May have flapped at something I half saw on way back from piss break. Did everything asked of him.
Rosenior 8 - tireless. As good at left back as he is RB I'd say. Great cross for Muzza's goal.
Bruno 8 - Did everything right but still isn't a centre half for me. Just a brilliant adaption still however.
Dunk 10 - Dod everything right. Bossed it. Passed superbly. Came to meet ball & won it often. Class.
Bong 6.5 - Prefer LR at LB but Bong is still sound there.
Knockaert 8 - Took the piss at times. Nutmeg then quick feet round the other player was immense.
Norwood 8 - got a great pass on him. 2 40yard perfect passes with outside of boot says it all.
Stephens 8 - Bossed it.
Murphy 7 - Did well - offers more pace than Skalak.
Murray 8 - Another typical Murray goal. Class act.
Hemed 6.5 - Not quite going for him but a few nice turns & touches.

Baldock 6
Lualua 6

Hughton - 10. I was worried he's rested Kayal. Got everything right & rotated squad.

Fans - 9. Mainly very loud throughout. Lifted the team with the loooong North - East:West chant. One of those great moments where everyone joins in for a long time. Played our part in the team getting true 2 first half goals imo.

 

[Sheebo]

We looked superb at times (against a truly terrible team) & controlled the game but took a foot off the gas far too often & had zero ruthlessness & aggression.
A disappointing 3.0! - could've been out of sight by half time

Maenpaa 6.5 confident
Rosenior 6.5
Bruno 7.5
Dunk 7.5
Bong 6
Knockaert 7.5
Norwood 6.5
Stephens 6.5
Murphy 6
Murray 7
Hemed 5.5 Good penalty, zero threat otherwise

Baldock 5.5
Lualua 6 at least he looked interested, no one else did by then

If you can't give anyone over 7.5 tonight you are incredibly hard to please!

 

[Blue3]

Maenpaa 8 one outstanding save, came for crosses and for the most part controlled his box just one flap late on but from a player who plays few games I thought it was an outstanding display as such my MOM
Rosenior 7
Bruno 7
Dunk 7
Bong 6 not back to his best yet but better than Friday
Knockaert 8 what an entertaining player we have
Norwood 7 very good first game, well organised was directing others looks a leader, a couple of wayward passes is my only observation
Stephens 8 works so hard
Murphy 7 a quiet night
Murray 8 putting him out on loan to Palace appears to have done him the world of good
Hemed 8 goal was just deserve for such a wonderful team player

The subs changed the game and not for the better with no Kayal on the pitch taking Murray and Knockaert off was to much and allowed Rotherham to create several good chances

Baldock 7 ran around a lot
Lualua 6 falls over a lot

 

[aolstudios]

If you can't give anyone over 7.5 tonight you are incredibly hard to please!

Not usually!
We were so much better than them when we could be bothered tonight but we just didn't seem to care enough to really turn the screw.
A more ruthless team would've absolutely humiliated them with that level of superiority

 

[kevo]

Not usually!
We were so much better than them when we could be bothered tonight but we just didn't seem to care enough to really turn the screw.
A more ruthless team would've absolutely humiliated them with that level of superiority

I agree with this. All round, an excellent performance but I was disappointed we let our foot off the gas in the last 20 mins and let them create some good chances. We could easily have won 5 or 6-0, and we know how important goal difference could be.

 

[Triggaaar]

Fans - 9. Mainly very loud throughout. Lifted the team with the loooong North - East:West chant. One of those great moments where everyone joins in for a long time.

We didn't start the game well, and not a lot was happening. Suddenly in the ESU I was being deafened by the West stand! I couldn't believe the noise they, and the North, were making, even with just the one stand singing at a time. I didn't hear a peep from the East.

Played our part in the team getting true 2 first half goals imo.

Yep, I was very impressed with the volume of the weird chant we have.

We had a couple of other songs that would usually cover 10 minutes game time, but they were sung so fast they barely covered a minute.

 

[The Brighton Buzz]

Maenpaa 8 Some good saves after we took our foot off the gas. Difficult to drop after this performance.
Rosenior 7 Another steady performance
Bruno 9 Seems to have settled in well at Centre Half and a Skippers performance.
Dunk 8 Looks even better defensively this season, but another silly booking
Bong 5 - Still not back to the form of early last season and when Goldson back would like to see Bruno right back and LR left
Knockaert 9 This man is absolute class and glad that he loves the club and hopefully stays to help us gain promotion.
Norwood 7 A couple of errors, but always available and when you are on the ball this amount of time you will make some.
Stephens 7 Good to see him back. Started well and tired towards the end
Murphy 6 Disappointed in him tonight, had an opportunity to cement a regular place but didn't take
Murray 8 Great centre forward play and if we had had Murray last year we would be playing in the premiership now.
Hemed 6.5 Nothing seems to be going for him at the moment, playing alongside Murray shows his limitations.

Baldock 6 A good substitute but never got into the game
Lualua 5 Can't see him starting many games as defensively he fails to track players and struggles against championship defenders.

Baldock and Lua Lua starred against Colchester, but wonder if that is their level.

 

[Uh_huh_him]

Maenpaa 7.5 - Did everything that was asked of him - one particularly fine save in the second half .
Rosenior 7.5 Great cross for Murray's goal. Secure in defence
Bruno 8 He's doing well with this centre half mularkey. But I do miss seeing him in his majestic pomp in his preferred position.
Dunk 8 he is getting better and better. Slightly annoyed by his booking, otherwise he would have got at least 8.5
Bong 6 - average - made several unforced errors in the first half.
Knockaert 8.5 Not quite as good as Friday, but still an incredible performance. He does everything so well, and he is going to get better. We mustn't lose him.
Norwood 7 Grew into the game after his initial appalling first half pass to no-one. One particularly good corner in the second half caught my eye.
Stephens 7.5 Nice to see him play a whole game - Typical performance did everything well.
Murphy 7 Decent enough, but didn't do enough to take the place off Jiri IMO
Murray 8.5 Great goal, great positioning and runs off the ball. Won the penno, I assume he dived did anyone get a good view of it?
Hemed 7 Great penalty - hopefully he doesn't lose any confidence playing second fiddle to Muzza

Baldock 6 Didn't have the opportunity to shine- with Muzza and Knocky off , our forward play became less effective
Lualua 6.5 Tried his tricks and actually did really well, a year ago he probably would have got a 7.5, but the bar has been moved up several notches now.

 

[sllugaes]

Maenpaa 7
Rosenior 7
Bruno 8
Dunk 8
Bong 5 - maybe a bit harsh but didn't have a good game
Knockaert 9 MOM
Norwood 7
Stephens 7
Murphy 7
Murray 8
Hemed 7

Baldock 6
Lualua 6

How on earth can you give bong a 5.

Sent from my G7-L01 using Tapatalk

 

[spence]

Bruno was outstanding tonight

 

[big nuts]

Maenpaa 7
Rosenior 8
Bong 7
Dunk 9
Bruno 8
Norwood 7
Stephens 8
Murphy 6
Knockaert 9 MOTM
Murray 9
Hemed 6

Lua Lua 6
Baldock 6

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

We didn't start the game well, and not a lot was happening. Suddenly in the ESU I was being deafened by the West stand! I couldn't believe the noise they, and the North, were making, even with just the one stand singing at a time. I didn't hear a peep from the East.

Yep, I was very impressed with the volume of the weird chant we have.

We had a couple of other songs that would usually cover 10 minutes game time, but they were sung so fast they barely covered a minute.

Was in the South for this one and bizarrely it sounded it like the '..stand Brighton boys' was just an exchange between the North and the South, with nothing from the West at all. That said, the noise from the WSU that went up in the second half was something to behold.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

How on earth can you give bong a 5.

Sent from my G7-L01 using Tapatalk

He was our weakest link, even if a 5 is a bit harsh.

 

[Bakero]

Bruno was outstanding tonight

He was. He won so much in the air; not by challenging the forward but by anticipating the flight of the ball and stepping out to win it. My favourite moment was the dummied header when he climbed to clear it then left it to go behind to Dunk. So calm, cool, collected. It's like having Shaft at CB.

 

[Justice]

Maenpaa 7
Rosenior 7
Bruno 8
Dunk 8
Bong 5 - maybe a bit harsh but didn't have a good game
Knockaert 9 MOM
Norwood 7
Stephens 7
Murphy 7
Murray 8
Hemed 7

Baldock 6
Lualua 6

Murphy a 7 is questionable thought he had a poor game. Skalak back in for Reading.

 

[Diablo]

A good workmanlike performance by all, especially impressed with Maenpaa however hard to judge against what was a very poor opposition..It`s when playing against the championship contenders we need our players to perform.