Southend Player ratings.

[Webbo]

Martin 8 Faultless

Gilbert 6.5 Seemed reluctant to take anyone on and get forward.

Hobbs 7.5

Tunchev 7.5

Powell 7

Oakley 7.5

Berner 6 Clumsy

King 7

Dyer 7

Fryatt 9

Howard 7

Subs

Morrison 7

Davies 7

Dickov N/A

[Bert]

Martin 7 - Made a very good save at 1-0 to keep us ahead.

Gilbert 7 - Although Edworthy played well, I'm glad Gilbert's back, with Oakley drifting in, Gilbert was effectively playing as a wing back, supported whenever he could and defended well.

Powell 6.5 - Tried to support as much as he could, sometimes gave their winger a bit too much space.

Tunch 7 - Some sloppy passes, but still solid.

Hobbs 8 - The difference of him playing at right back, to centre back is immense, won everything today.

Oakley 8 - Had a very good game, worked very hard, good passing supported the attack well.

Dyer 6 - Another quiet game for Lloyd, doesn't seem to turn it on as much at home.

Berner 6 - A bit sloppy today.

King 7.5 - Got well stuck in, neat and tidy passing, a bit wasteful with long shots.

Fryatt 9 - A hat-trick says it all. Worked hard, and won his fair share.

Howard 6 - Never really got going, harshly treated by the ref at times.

Morrison 6 - Didn't really have long enough, but looked solid enough.

Davies 7 - Looked excellent when he came on, could've scored after winning the ball in their box.

Dickov - N/A

[Tilley]

Martin 7 - Some good saves.

Gilbert 7 - Lovely to see him back.

Powell 7 - Solid

Tunchev 7 - Hope his injury isn't too serious.

Hobbs 8 - As Bert says, much better at centre back.

Oakley 8 - Impressed.

Dyer 7 - Defenders had him sussed, still very lively.

Berner 6 - Not good.

King 7 - Solid as always.

Fryatt 9 - Sign him up!

Howard 6 - Pfft.

Davies was impressive when he came on.

[Legend_in_blue]

Very impressive performance today, especially so in the first half.

Martin - 8 - Commanded his area well. Covered all shots on and off target well.

Gilbert - 8 - Breath of fresh air seeing him again. Well on the pace, got forward, did very well. Defensively sound.

Hobbs - 8 - Very comfortable afternoon for him. Played the ball around well.

Tunchev - 8.5 - One misplaced pass. Unusual for him. Our best player in the squad imo.

Powell - 8 - 750 league appearances and as impressive as ever. Mattock, take note.

Oakley - 8 - Looks good in this new position. Used the ball well. Linked up well with Gilbert.

King - 8.5 - His best performance ever imo. Very assured. Looked very good today.

Berner - 8 - Clever player. Very steady, does the easy things well.

Dyer - 7.5 - A little quiet at times. To be fair, Southend defended against his runs quite well.

Howard - 8.5 - Another good game from Howard. As usual the ref gave him nothing. But he took it on the chin and got on with it. The partnership with Fryatt gets better and better.

Fryatt - 9 - His deal must be sorted out asap. Took all his goals well. Linked up very well with Howard.

Subs:

Davies - 7 - Tidy player.

Morrison - 7 - Just got on with it. No problems.

Dickov - n/a.

Pearson - 9 -

The referee and his clowns - 1 - Abysmal.

Credit to Southend for having a go at us. When the opposition does this though, they get beat and beat easily. Southend, Tranmere, MK Dons, ... . If we can continue to find our way past teams playing 4-5-1 and take our chances against 4-4-2 formations, we will be comfortable by March.

[Stuliasz]

Don't forget to leave your ratings at www.player-ratings.com/rate if you went to the game.

[Bluefoxtim]

I've not been Howards biggest fan, but I thought he was great today. Held balls up and laid them off, and it was his great flick-on that led to Fryatt's second goal.

[Thracian]

Martin 7.5 (Two excellent saves and reliable all round).

Gilbert 6.5 (Looked rusty to start with but improved to give a solid display. Glad he's back).

Hobbs 7 (Looked a lot more comfortable in central defence but he wasnt't asked many questions).

Tunchev 6.5 (Careless mistake almost gave a goal away but for Martin's alert save but alongside his couple of errors were some timely clearances and his typically intellgent reading of the game).

Powell 6.25 (First he deserves congratulations on his 750th game because that sort of record deserves respect from anyone. Frustrated me first half by constantly floating 25 yard passes into the inside-left position which were almost all intercepted. Did better later and offered reasonable support to Dyer).

Oakley 7 (Decent return. Made the first goal and stayed constantly involved).

Berner 5.5 (Understandably taken off. Nothing seemed to come off for him and his control looked poor at times.)

King 7.5 (Mr Reliable as our fulcrum in midfield. So often available when needed. Passed quickly and mostly on target. Covered with discipline and broke up so many Southend moves before helping to launch what were sometimes encouragingly rapid counter attacks that sometimes ended in goals).

Dyer 6.5 (Found it hard to produce an accurate final pass but his pace still caused Southend problems.)

Fryatt 10 (Successive hat-tricks two days running, 22 goals for the season, City 4 points clear, you run out of superlatives to describe the value of his contribution. Made two of his goals look mujch easier than they were. Terrific).

Howard 8 (Fryatt might have been the star but Howard was a worthy labourer. Apart from his flick-on assist for the second he played the textbook holding role and was so important to City's performance).

Subs

Morrison 6 (Sound enough)

Davies 6 (Might have scored but fitted in fine)

Dickov 2 (Disappointing in the admittedly short time he had).

[Simi]

So glad to see that Howard's work is being noticed, he was class today I thought. Although some people won't realise I feel.

Martin - 7

Gilbert - 7.5

Tunch - 7

Hobbs - 7.5

Powell - 7.5

Oakley - 8

King - 7

Berner - 6.5

Dyer - 7.5

Fryatt - 9

Howard - 8

Subs

Davies - 7

Dickov - N/A

Morrison - 6

[Jimmy]

Martin 7

Gilbert 7

Hobbs 7

Tunch 8

Powell 6

Oakley 8

Berner 5

King 7

Dyer 7

Fryatt 10

Howard 8

Davies 6

Morrison 6

[Thracian]

Very impressive performance today, especially so in the first half.

Martin - 8 - Commanded his area well. Covered all shots on and off target well.

Gilbert - 8 - Breath of fresh air seeing him again. Well on the pace, got forward, did very well. Defensively sound.

Hobbs - 8 - Very comfortable afternoon for him. Played the ball around well.

Tunchev - 8.5 - One misplaced pass. Unusual for him. Our best player in the squad imo.

Powell - 8 - 750 league appearances and as impressive as ever. Mattock, take note.

Oakley - 8 - Looks good in this new position. Used the ball well. Linked up well with Gilbert.

King - 8.5 - His best performance ever imo. Very assured. Looked very good today.

Berner - 8 - Clever player. Very steady, does the easy things well.

Dyer - 7.5 - A little quiet at times. To be fair, Southend defended against his runs quite well.

Howard - 8.5 - Another good game from Howard. As usual the ref gave him nothing. But he took it on the chin and got on with it. The partnership with Fryatt gets better and better.

Fryatt - 9 - His deal must be sorted out asap. Took all his goals well. Linked up very well with Howard.

Subs:

Davies - 7 - Tidy player.

Morrison - 7 - Just got on with it. No problems.

Dickov - n/a.

Pearson - 9 -

The referee and his clowns - 1 - Abysmal.

Credit to Southend for having a go at us. When the opposition does this though, they get beat and beat easily. Southend, Tranmere, MK Dons, ... . If we can continue to find our way past teams playing 4-5-1 and take our chances against 4-4-2 formations, we will be comfortable by March.

You might get a Christmas card from the ref. for being that generous!

[stevie909]

Martin - 7.5 (Caught confidently, kicking first half was superb)

Gilbert - 6.5 (Supported play well in a wingback role, in addition to being solid at the back)

Tunchev - 6 (Not much to do, but look strong and composed apart from one minor mistake)

Hobbs - 7 (Solid defensively and had a fine attacking spell late on)

Powell- 6.5 (Started the first half very well, but faded late on and resorted to the long ball too often)

Oakley - 7 (Once again a good performance, although often seemed to forget he was playing on the wing)

King - 7 (Marshalled the midfield well, and broke up many Southend attacks)

Berner - 6 (Looked better than he really was with good players around him, final ball was often woeful)

Dyer - 7 (Had a good chance early on, and had the beating of the full back all day. Looked tired late on though, and i would have liked to have seen Levi)

Fryatt - 9.5 (Apart from the three excellent finishes, was always available and brought others into play well.)

Howard - 7 (Performed his role well, winning nearly all aerial challenges. Would have been a higher rating had it not been for that donkey in the black)

Subs:

Davies - 7.5 (More penetrating than Berner and spread the play well)

Morrison - 7 (Looked shaky after coming on, but solid late on)

Dickov - N/A

Referee - 0 (Countless terrible decisions. A disgrace to the fa.)

[Koke]

The backpass rule is one of the simplest rules in football, and he ****ed it up.

[Milky]

Martin 7

Gilbert 7

Hobbs 7

Tunch 7

Powell 6

Oakley 8

Berner 6

King 7

Dyer 7

Fryatt 9

Howard 7

Davies 7 - This lad can play.

Morrison 6

[Webbo]

Personally I blame the linesman, he bottled out of that backpass decision and when the ref awarded that foul against Howard the linesman could clearly see Howard had both feet well inside the box and yet he didn't flag for either.

[The_Seer]

Martin - 8

Gilbert - 7

Powell - 6

Hobbs - 8

Tunchev - 7

Oakley - 7

Dyer - 5 - didn't run the defence and can't pass!

King - 6

Berner - 6

Fryatt - 9

Howard - 7

[Guest ttfn]

Martin 5 - One good save but kicking was absolutely AWFUL. Furthermore, one of the 'great saves' people are talking about was a comfortable stop which he spilled into the centre of the box and was bailed out by one of the defenders.

Gilbert 8 - Decent defensively but superb going forward. We've missed him.

Tunchev 6.5 - Didn't look particularly interested, but made a couple of good headers

Hobbs 6 - Not very good. Looked shaky and his distribution is dire.

Powell 7 - Solid as usual.

Oakley 7 - Looked busy

Berner 5 - Tried hard butnNot good enough today, kept getting in the way and making poor passes.

King 8.5- I am by no means his biggest fan but today he absolutely ran the midfield.

Dyer 5 - The worst I've ever seen him play. Kept running into people.

Howard 7 - Good flick on for Fryatt's second. Tried hard.

Fryatt 9 - Was quiet for most of the game, but you really can't argue with a hat trick!

[SamL]

Martin - 7

Gilbert 7

Tunchev 7

Hobbs 7

Powell 6.5

Oakley 8

Berner 6

King 7

Lloyd 6.5

Howard 8

Fryatt 9

[Lovejoy]

Martin 8

Gilbert 7

Hobbs 7

Tunchev 7

Powell 7

Oakley 8

Berner 6

King 8

Dyer 7

Fryatt 9

Howard 6.5

Morrison 6.5

Davies 7

Dickov -

[lildave3]

Howard and Fryatt is really developing into some partnership.

Howard played the perfect target man today, quality.

[RowlattsFox]

Martin -7- Had no real saves to make I don't think but catching was good.

Gilbert -6.5- I like his pace but i feel he can use it a bit better when hes going forward, too many times first half he had opportunity to run at the defended but turned back.

Hobbs -7- Won almost everything in the air.

Tunchev -6- Thought he was a little bit complacent at times today.

Powell -7- Solid.

Oakley -7- Excellent first half but didn't see much of the ball second.

King -6- I thought he was a bit quiet.

Berner -6- Sloppy.

Dyer -6- As always he was a threat but was clumsy in possesion.

Howard -7- Good first half, some sloppy touches but overall was good.

Fryatt -9- Man oozing confidence at the minute.

Davies -7- Impressed me today.

[samuel]

Fryatt 10 (Successive hat-tricks two days running, 22 goals for the season, City 4 points clear, you run out of superlatives to describe the value of his contribution. Made two of his goals look mujch easier than they were. Terrific).

Of who?

[escape2victory]

Was only my 2nd game of the season as now live away from leics, and something which is quite noticeable from the past few seasons is the willingness to play from the back. Whenever Martin had the ball he was always looking for the full backs or the centre halves, and they in turn often look for the simple pass to the midfielders or to the strikers feet, and they are not afraid to go backwards or sideways to retain possession. Makes a refreshing change to a Kisnorbo or a McCarthy hoof.

Martin - 7 - The few things he had to do, he did well

Gilbert - 7 - Solid defensive display, would have liked to have seen him attack their full back a bit more

Tunchev - 7 - Looks classy. 1 or 2 sloppy passes though

Hobbs - 8 - Pretty much won everything in the air, and good distribution

Powell - 7 - Professional

Oakley - 9 - Thought he was our best midfielder today. Won possesssion for us high up the pitch on numerous occasions, and showed some lovely touches

King - 8 - Nice and tidy and was always available for a simple pass

Berner - 8 - Thought he did well. Knows his limitations, but seems to do an important role for the team in breaking up the oppositions play and keeps it simple

Dyer - 6 - Had their full back 1 on 1 on quite a few occasions and didnt fancy it.

Fryatt - 10 - Great finishes. Is so sharp in general play. always looking for little give and go's around the area

Howard - 9 - Won so many flick on's and free kicks for us. Great hold up play and does an important job for the team

[Bert]

I likw how Howard is getting an extra mention but Fryatt isn't. Can't say I'm too surprised. Maybe I was a tad harsh on my rating of Howard so will knock it up to 7.

[Corky]

Martin- 7.5

Gilbert- 7

Tunchev- 6.5

Hobbs- 8

Powell- 7

Oakley- 7.5

Berner- 6.5

King- 7.5

Dyer- 7

Fryatt- 10

Howard- 8

Subs:

Morrison- 6

Davies- 6

Dickov- 4

[Cobbo]

Martin - 8 - couple of sloppy kicks but everything else was great. So active at getting the back 4 out quickly and keeping them out of the box on free kicks etc.

Gilbert - 7 - Bombed on well and his recovery pace is a great asset.

Hobbs - 7 - Lost out in the air a couple of times but did a general centre halves job.

Thunchev - 6 - not his best today, sloppy passes nearly caused us to concede. Defensively was solid mind you. We'll see better from him no doubt.

Powell - 7 - this was his 750th game, in case you somehow missed that. Was his general self, good defensively and so calm in possession.

Oakley - 8 - really was freed up today and kept us ticking along very well. Plays some lovely football.

King - 7 - When he's on the ball he looks some player and can knock it around well. It's just off the ball I see an issue at times, a bit weak in the challenge.

Berner - 6 - His touch let him down a few times leading to him losing possession. Did not stamp his authority on the game as he has been doing.

Dyer - 6 - Had a few runs at the defence but it was always coming inside onto his right, which he cannot use too well and so the moves broke down.

Howard - 8 - Did his usual job with the longer balls and brought so many players into the play. Some good one touch stuff with Oakley and Fryatt.

Fryatt - 9 - on fire. Two good finishes and still ran about like a mad man after the hat trick. Really has upped his game this season and is a lot fitter.

Subs:

Davies - 7 - Hungry for the ball and again, a willing worker. Looks like he would be an asset if we can somehow hang onto him.

Morrison - 6 - Did what he had to do really. Nothing major to note.