[Albion] Player ratings

[One Love]

Ryan -5 good save towards the end but distribution was poor
Montoya -5 had a hard evening up against Redmond and sold himself too much going in for challenges
Duffy -7 couple of trademark diving clearances , poor back pass but got on the scoresheet
Dunk -5 poor by his standards , no diagonal balls
Bong - 4 gave away the penalty and didn't challenge to give Saints winger a free header
Knockaert -8 MOTM our most creative player , could have played Solly in though
Stephens -4 really poor game from him , passing was terrible
Propper - 5 got bossed by saints midfielders
March -5 didn't offer much going forward , look before you cross it ??
Bissouma -4 poor performance, was wasteful and didn't get up to support Murray
Murray -7 calm for the penalty, didn't get any service

Locadia -4 that stepping on the ball
AJ - 6 looked promising , half chance nearly went in

These for me

Plus

Standing low in the stand gave me a chance to see Stephens at pitch level and I cannot believe his passing forwards. It is frightening. He is so out of touch and a shadow of the player that finished last season. Typically the one position that we have no replacement for.

Has Dunk come back too early from injury because he really doesn't look himself?

March shows glimpses of his true potential which makes the rest of his game so frustrating.

Why are we starting games so poorly? The key to our performances is tempo. Without it we are a very poor side. It's that easy.

 

[Lurker]

Ryan 6 - One good save but appalling distribution which could have hurt us.

Montoya 5 - Redmond had him on toast in the first half. Needed AK to help him out which reduced our (admittedly non-existent) attacking power in that half. Big improvement 2nd half.
Dunk 6 - Not one of his better games, but he wasn't poor either.
Duffy 7.5 - Scored good header, earned us a penalty and defended well. Easily the best of our defenders.
Bong 3 - Stupid challenge for the penalty. Poor defending all night and crossing was dire. Time for a rest, give the Brazilian another go.

Knockaert 8.5 - MOM. Head and shoulders our best player tonight.

Stephens 5- Poorest display for a long time, but continued to show for the ball the entire 90 minutes and stay involved despite knowing his touch was off.
Propper 4.5 - Abysmal 1st half, but improved 2nd, although in complete contrast to Stephens he went missing in action too often.
Bissouma 4 - Little boy lost tonight. Looked like a schoolboy playing in an adult's game by mistake. Has talent, but needs to get to the pace of the EPL quickly.

March 5 - Flatters to deceive. Looked capable of skinning anyone on the Southampton team tonight, but didn't look capable of any end product. I would suggest his position might be under threat?

Murray 6.5 - Fed off scraps all game, but still managed to look a threat at times. Big gonads to score that Pen in the 89th minute.

Locadia 3 - Not sure it's fair to mark his performance for such a short time on the pitch, but oh dear...........
Jahanbakhsh 5.5 - Looks to have potential, but still to see anything golden from him.


We deservedly lost the 1st half and deservedly won the 2nd half so a draw was probably the right result, but Southampton looked pretty poor and if we can't beat a team like that we are probably destined to struggle again this season.
I hope I'm wrong!

 

[The Camel]

Surprised at the very low mark for Bissouma.

I thought he was decent. Definitely the brightest of the 3 midfielders. Great run in the first half and a couple of exquisit passes to March which set up chances.

I would have taken off Stephens or / and Propper before him if I was manager.

 

[Nixonator]

Stephens scoring higher than Propper? Incredible.

Not too surprising since, bar Locadia's Ali Dia cameo, Propper was the worst player on the pitch by a country mile, which is saying something. He would be off the pace in a L1 game based on that.

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

Ryan - 6;

Montoya - 6;
Dunk - 6;
Duffy - 9;
Bong - 7;

Knockaert - 8;
Stephens- 7;
Propper - 6;
March - 6;

Bissouma - 7;

Murray - 6,

AJ - 7;
Locadia - it seems unfair to rate him.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

Surprised at the very low mark for Bissouma.

I thought he was decent. Definitely the brightest of the 3 midfielders. Great run in the first half and a couple of exquisit passes to March which set up chances.

I would have taken off Stephens or / and Propper before him if I was manager.

I agree with that, though it seemed he wasn't playing in the Gross role which is where he should have been. Whether that was his poor positioning or a tactical decision isn't clear. He can do more damage in the final third than any other central midfield player IMO

 

[Silverhatch]

The middle three were appalling tonight. Time to get Kayal back in the mix.[/QUOTE]

Kayal really does need to be more used, especially away from home

 

[neilbard]

M Ryan 6
M Montoya 5
S Duffy 6
L Dunk 6
G Bong 5
A Knockaert 7
D Pröpper 6
D Stephens 6
S March 7 (A Jahanbakhsh 71) 6
Y Bissouma 5 (J Locadia 76 ) 4
G Murray 7

 

[BN41Albion]

Let's not sugarcoat what was another poor performance.

Ryan 6- Some good saves but some appalling distribution which nearly cost us.

Montoya 5- Got skinned relentlessly in the first half. Didn't offer anything going forward that I can remember.

Dunk 5- Pretty poor all-round tonight, again. Starting to become a concern and I wouldn't be against Balogun coming back in.

Duffy 6- Great header for the goal, but looked shaky at times. Needs to cut the aimless hoofs.

Bong 3- Poor defensively (the Elyounoussi free header in particular), ponderous and wasteful going forward. Stupid challenge for the penalty.

Knockaert 8- Our best defender and best attacker tonight. Great shift and great ball for the first. Loved the determination.

Stephens 4- Couldn't pass, couldn't tackle...

Propper 4- As above, but with less intent.

Bissouma 4- Clearly has ability but lacks discipline and football intelligence. I'm sure it'll come with time but he didn't have a clue what he was doing at times tonight. Shouldn't be given any defensive responsibilities.

March 5- Is it so hard to look up before you cross? Found some good positions but couldn't deliver.

Murray 6- Typical Murray performance. Worked hard, some lovely touches as always but could only be so effective when the players behind him were so poor. Fed off scraps all game.

Locadia- Akpom/10

Jahanbakhsh- 6 looked bright. Needs a start.

The middle three were appalling tonight. Time to get Kayal back in the mix.

This. It's really worrying how sometimes we have the ability to collectively look like a team that is completely new to the game. What was that first half!? Incredible.

Would really like to see Jahanbaksh given a start. Can't wait for Izqueirdo to be back in the mix, too. What worries me though is before the game when we learnt that Gross was only out due to not shaking off an injury. So we were planning to set up yet again exactly as last year away with a system and personnel that completely failed. Einstein: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results...

 

[bluenitsuj]

If you start at 0 and work upwards (as opposed to starting at 6/10 and adding/taking off points), I genuinely struggle to think what you would give him a point for. He managed to put his shirt on the right way round I suppose. 1/10

Allegedly. Rumour has it that a fan helped him put it on.

 

[Marshy]

Ryan 6

Montoya 5
Duffy 8
Dunk 6
Bong 4

March 5
Propper 4
Stephens 6
Bissouma 5
Knockaert 8 MOTM Again, dragged us back into this one with his own passion and will to get a result.

Murray 6



Locadia 3 - Great save from his header, but general play very poor
AJ 7 - Did very well when he came on

 

[Mo Gosfield]

Ryan 6.5
Montoya 4.5
Duffy 6
Dunk 5.5
Bong 3
Stephens 4
Propper 4
Bissouma 5
March 4.5
Knockaert 7
Murray 6.5
Subs
AJ 6
Locadia....now let me think....still thinking....no...still can't decide....1 or 2....ok.....1.5

CH...5....and only cos we stole a draw. Too loyal to too many who flatter to deceive away from home. That first half was unforgiveable. It was a shambles and against moderate opposition. The whole mindset is wrong away from home. A lot harder away games to come.

 

[Napier's Knee]

From the TV
First half: Knockaert 7, Duffy 6, Bissouma 5. The rest 3

Ryan 6. no chance with the goal but some weird decision making and poor clearances. Not his best night
Montoya 6. goes about his business quietly. Not as flairista as Bruno but probably more reliable over 90 mins
Duffy 8. some way ward passing but decided to be the one man defence. Has learnt how to score from set plays too
Dunk 5. Something not right with Dunky since his return from injury- still carrying a knock?. If Duffy has progressed Dunk has gone backwards - Dunky is a very very long way from an England squad right now. I'd prefer Balogun at the moment
Bong 5. Oh dear. He does some good things but the penalty tackle was stupid and he can't cross
Knockaert. 9 One man team. Exceptional energy and commitment. He has had a lot of psychological intervention I reckon and it has worked. MoM
Stephens 6. Got better as game went on - surging runs. But wayward passing and needs to keep a watch on bookings
Propper 6. Very good second half further forward
Bissouma 6. Still raw but there is a hell of a player in there. Needs to keep concentration levels, but that run in the first half was excellent
March 5. one day he might look up when making a cross. Does some hard work but a weak link. I won't be sad to see him on the bench.
Murray. 7. Anonymous for lots of the time and feeding on scraps but always closed down Southampton, does the niggly stuff and nerves of steel.

AJ 7. Needs to start instead of March. He will trouble defences
Locadia 4. Good header but... I've been supportive of him up to now but am beginning to think that - for whatever reason - it isn't going to happen for him with the Albion

CH: 6. Really needs to rethink away tactics and motivation - this is his weak spot and it needs to be addressed. The first half was totally unacceptable from professionals going about their business - it was incompetent

Ref: 8. Good and largely anonymous which is how it should be. Got both pens rights.

Hughes: 4 Awful manager. Classless

 

[RM-Taylor]

Surprised at the very low mark for Bissouma.

I thought he was decent. Definitely the brightest of the 3 midfielders. Great run in the first half and a couple of exquisit passes to March which set up chances.

I would have taken off Stephens or / and Propper before him if I was manager.

Sky commentators commented that Bissouma struggled all game and looked completely off the pace when he was substituted off.

I agree with that, though it seemed he wasn't playing in the Gross role which is where he should have been. Whether that was his poor positioning or a tactical decision isn't clear. He can do more damage in the final third than any other central midfield player IMO

Hughton said afterwards that we started with a 4-3-3 where as we usually play a 4-2-3-1 formation.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

Sky commentators commented that Bissouma struggled all game and looked completely off the pace when he was substituted off.



Hughton said afterwards that we started with a 4-3-3 where as we usually play a 4-2-3-1 formation.

I watched it in Turkey with Turkish commentators so couldn’t understand a word. So without outside influence I thought he looked like the only central midfielder who looked like he could create something. Propper was absolutely awful - he lost the ball every single time he touched it in the first half, and only got marginally better in the second.

 

[n1 gull]

I watched it in Turkey with Turkish commentators so couldn’t understand a word. So without outside influence I thought he looked like the only central midfielder who looked like he could create something. Propper was absolutely awful - he lost the ball every single time he touched it in the first half, and only got marginally better in the second.

I think the whole midfield looked awful. Stephens could not pass the ball forward, Propper was just dreadful and Bissouma first touch was abysmal. At least Bissouma was more forward looking but on the whole it was not good and that's being generous

 

[Seasidesage]

Ryan 6- Good stop at the end but distribution poor. No chance with the goals

Montoya 5 - Struggled 1st half (who didn't?) better in the 2nd period but worst game so far.

Dunk 6.5 - Thought he did well 1st half under severe pressure. Passing was poor and made a couple of errors as we pushed forward.

Duffy 7- Great header for the goal. Received no protection and it showed.

Bong 3- Worst game for some time. Did the booing get to him? Hard to think of a positive contribution that he made. Trip for the Pen was sunday morning stuff.

Knockaert 8.5 - Looked back to his best.

Stephens 5 Awful 1st half. Better as the game wore on but will need to offer more if we are going to get much on the road.

Propper 3 - If Proper has had a worse game for the Albion, I haven't seen it. Surprised he came out 2nd half. Terrible.

Bissouma 4- Not sure what we have here. Can look great and worse than me all in 60 secs. Struggling with the pace and intensity. hopefully given time that will come.

March 5- Been a defender of his, works hard, but starting to look like he is short of PL class. Needs to improve his output and fast.

Murray 7 - Service was shocking and he struggled to get in the game. Unlucky with the header and balls of steel for the pen.

Locadia 3 - What to say here? Hard to come on as a sub, but looks out of his depth. Couldn't trap a dead rat, can't get his head up, panicks near the area. He seems to be carrying a bit of timber too. Not sure what the problem is but his PL career has about 10 months left on this evidence.

Jahanbakhsh- 6 Some nice touches, made a difference. Promising.

 

[Withdean11]

Ryan 6 - Nothing he could do about the goals, one great save at the end. Poor kicking
Montoya 6 - His worst game for us yet.
Duffy 8 - Having a great season. Solid, and finding the back of the net.
Dunk 5 - Contrast to Duffy, he has had a terrible start to the season. Balogun deserves his place at the moment.
Bong 5 - One to forget. Not up to it going forward, seems a waste of time him crossing the ball. Cheap penalty to give away.
Knockaert 8 - Great delivery, huge work rate. Back to his best?
Bissouma 6 - Still adjusting to our game. I like it when he runs through the middle, want to see more of that. But gave it away too often
Stephens 6.5 - Decent off the ball, not so great with it.
Propper 5.5 - Horrible in the first half, improved ion the second.
March 5.5 - Looks nervous to beat his man. Struggled to get a cross in. I'd start Ali on Saturday.
Murray 7 - wasn't always in the game, but produces when it matters.

 

[BevBHA]

Interesting to read nobody thought Dunk was good and some surprisingly low ratings for Duffy. Other than Knockaert I thought our centre backs were our best two players, especially Duffy who was superb. Yes we conceded two, but they were from 35 yards and the penalty spot. Not much your central defenders can do about either.

 

[Rogero]

Kayal needs to play.