Cardiff Player Ratings

[Jimmy]

Fulop - 6 not really a lot for him to do, his kicking was awful though

Stearman - 6 steady performance coped well given the lack of support from our supposed right winger

McAuley - 7 Hardly beaten in the air, rarely missed a header

Kisnorbo - 5 simply for his lack of composure on the ball, I've had enough now, time and time again he had a simple ball to his left full back but he panic and launched it to our 5' nothing strikers, learn to do simple passes or sell him to the highest bidder

Mattock - 6 Steady some good overlapping runs with Sheehan, why was he subbed, injured or the booking?

Newton - 4 completely bone idle, how many times did he just stand there instead of chasing a perfectly reasonable ball, tear his contract up now

Wesolowski - 7 covered lots of ground winning plenty of tackles some were harshly pulled back as fouls

Clemence - 5 learn to pass in a different direction to where your looking, you telegraphed many passes tonight and a better side would of punished you

Sheehan - 7 some fantastic crosses in open play and from free kicks, wasn't overly troubled when he dropped into left back either, corners were hit 'n' miss tonight

Hume - 7 some great hold up play and interchanges with Fryatt, that half volley from Sheehan cross was fantastic and deserved to nestle in the bottom corner not smack the post

Subs

Hayes - 5, 1 or 2 decent runs but didn't really have an effect on the game

A. Chambers - 6 some good touches and didn't look out of pace, maybe a little too unselfish

King - 5 Solid didn't really notice him TBH, except that he wasn't allowed to go up for set plays having to stay back so Clem could hover outside of the box, a waste IMO

[Bryn]

Fulop - 6 not really a lot for him to do, his kicking was awful though

Stearman - 6 steady performance coped well given the lack of support from our supposed right winger

McAuley - 7 Hardly beaten in the air, rarely missed a header

Kisnorbo - 5 simply for his lack of composure on the ball, I've had enough now, time and time again he had a simple ball to his left full back but he panic and launched it to our 5' nothing strikers, learn to do simple passes or sell him to the highest bidder

Mattock - 6 Steady some good overlapping runs with Sheehan, why was he subbed, injured or the booking?

Newton - 4 completely bone idle, how many times did he just stand there instead of chasing a perfectly reasonable ball, tear his contract up now

Wesolowski - 7 covered lots of ground winning plenty of tackles some were harshly pulled back as fouls

Clemence - 5 learn to pass in a different direction to where your looking, you telegraphed many passes tonight and a better side would of punished you

Sheehan - 7 some fantastic crosses in open play and from free kicks, wasn't overly troubled when he dropped into left back either, corners were hit 'n' miss tonight

Hume - 7 some great hold up play and interchanges with Fryatt, that half volley from Sheehan cross was fantastic and deserved to nestle in the bottom corner not smack the post

Subs

Hayes - 5, 1 or 2 decent runs but didn't really have an effect on the game

A. Chambers - 6 some good touches and didn't look out of pace, maybe a little too unselfish

King - 5 Solid didn't really notice him TBH, except that he wasn't allowed to go up for set plays having to stay back so Clem could hover outside of the box, a waste IMO

Tactical. Hard to understand I know, we've been bereft of a manager who knows how to use his substitutes for so long.

[Koke]

Not sure about Sheehan, still too slow and lazy for me to get 8s for a handful of corners but Jonathan Hayes put in the best cross I've seen in about four years from a Leicester player at the Walkers tonight.

Yeah that was sublime. It was literally begging for someone just to touch it and it'd have been in the back of the net. Unless Kasper produced his magic again.

That was one hell of a cross. I was sitting pitchside couple of yards away from Mr Hayes himself and I nearly wet myself.

[Flynny]

Not sure about Sheehan, still too slow and lazy for me to get 8s for a handful of corners but Jonathan Hayes put in the best cross I've seen in about four years from a Leicester player at the Walkers tonight.

Made one hell of a thumping noise that one did.

[Jimmy]

Tactical. Hard to understand I know, we've been bereft of a manager who knows how to use his substitutes for so long.

i thought he was playing well, the left side certainly wasn't the problem of the 1st half as Mattock and Sheehan were interchanging well

[The Reverend]

Fulop- Hardly a thing to do. 7

Mattock- Not great really, didnt think much to him today. 5

Kissa- Solid as ever.6

Big Mac- Reliable when called upon. 6

Stearman- Shoite. Simple as. Skinned twice, dont think he won a ball in the air, probably found a blue shirt twice in 50 efforts. Appalling. 4

Sheehan- Some great balls in, improving defensively, think he will blossom under Holloway. 7

Clem- Very average display from the skipper. We needed a leader, someone to rally the boys - and he fell short today. He will be dissappointed. 5

Weso- Neat play, caught in possession once or twice, but steady overall. 6

Newton- Kept the ball ok but not committed enough. That header was appalling - scared to put it where it hurts. 4

Hume- Off day today. That shot he had though where he hit the post - pure technique. But he was poor today. Some good bits of skill though. 5

Fryatt- Not robust enough to cope with the physical defenders in this league, simple as. Reasonable today considering he was running into brick walls. 6

Subs:

Hayes- Good cross, looked tricky, give him a chance. 6

Chambers- Did ok with the service. Still too lightweight though, nothing on him. 5

King- Steady eddie.6

[Finnegan]

Jonathan Hayes put in the best cross I've seen in about four years from a Leicester player at the Walkers tonight.

Absolutely. Refer to my previous post. Totally agree.

[Master Fox]

but Jonathan Hayes put in the best cross I've seen in about four years from a Leicester player at the Walkers tonight.

Absolutely. Refer to my previous post. Totally agree.

It does highlight further more the quality of the balls tonight.

[Alexikokopops]

It does highlight further more the quality of the balls tonight.

They were excellent balls.

[Ultra]

Fulop - 6 (kicking was wayward tonight)

Stearman - 6

McAuley - 7

Kisnorbo - 7

Mattock - 6

Newton - 5

Clemence - 6

Wesolowski - 6

Sheehan - 8*

Hume - 6

Fryatt - 5 (doesn't have the strength, pace or touch to be a quality centre-forward at Championship level)

Hayes - 6 (brilliant cross, but pretty much his only one)

Chambers - 6

King - 6

[Hullfox]

It's too late to rate....

But: Sheehan had the best 30 minutes I've seen him play. His first half was average and his booking was silly again. However, his delivery of dead balls was exemplary tonight and for the first time in ages we saw his real potential.

Mattock looks short of confidence to me.

Chambers looked lively without looking like he might score. For the time being I'd keep him as an impact player from the bench rather than give him a start as some are calling for. What a tale to tell his kids though in the future.

[Simon]

Not sure about Sheehan, still too slow and lazy for me to get 8s for a handful of corners but Jonathan Hayes put in the best cross I've seen in about four years from a Leicester player at the Walkers tonight.

Know exactly which cross you're talking about- if he hits more of those I'll be well happy.

Bemused by some of the ratings here tonight but here we go...

Fulop 7- Solid as a rock, I know this is getting repetitious but my word do we need to buy this guy in January!

Stearman 7.5- I've been one of his biggest critics but he had excellent game for me. Don't think he was helped by his inside centre back (McAuley) during the first half- he only got skinned because he was trying to track two men! Otherwise solid and dependable and excellent going forwards.

Kisnorbo 7- Barely a foot wrong all game, but the shirt pulling is getting beyond a joke- refs will begin to get the gist of what he's doing. Covered for Mattock and Sheehan well when necessary and barely looked troubled all game by Thompson all night.

McAuley 6- In the air he's excellent but along the deck I'm really not sure. Got sucked in too much during the first half, allowing Hasselbaink to make some neat inside runs and leaving Stearman with two men at times. I put this down to getting used to 4-4-2 again, but I still would prefer N'Gotty here.

Mattock 6- Did OK but wants to let his man come onto him a little too much for me- I want him to be tighter to the man more often. Looked a little lost for me.

Newton 5- Not as bad as everyone's making out- some really good stuff came out of him first half- but then so did some really bad. Jury's still out for me- when he can be arsed he can be bloody good. It just doesn't happen often enough though!

Wesolowski 5- I'm one of the lads biggest fans but he really disappointed me today. To me he just had a bit of the headless chicken syndrome- he was so intent on getting the ball that the positional discipline went out the window and he too often ended up occupying the same space as Clem. Also, he needs to learn how to find a forward pass. Too often there were forward passes on and he was making the easy sideways or backwards passes. I don't want to slate him too much but I feel he needs to raise the bar now. First half our midfield was almost non-existent.

Clem 6- He only gets a 6 for his second half performance as in the first half Cardifs's midfield played straight through us. Got things under control in the second and I feel he was given more time, largely due to King's introduction IMO.

Sheehan 7.5- Much better going forward today and his set pieces, by and large were very good (although I think there's an element of hyperbole about them- there were some pretty awful ones too!). A lot of what was good about our play today, he was involved in. His heading has certainly improved no end and so has his defending. He got turned once or twice, but you generally have to expect that with him. And all but the once (when he was booked) Kisnorbo was covering.

Hume 6.5- At times his control was piss poor and he lost it by show-boating a bit, but never stopped running and created some nice interplay as well as a sizzling volley that really deserved to burst the net. Definitely needs to play on the right.

Fryatt 6- Greedy bastard. Just wanted to hold onto the ball a second too long for me. Some nice interplay and he seems to have found pace from somewhere but he needs to look up a bit more and find a player! His first touch was really quite poor today and if he's going to appeal for fouls- he actually needs to go down! It all got a bit impetuous for me.

SUBS

Hayes 7- Intelligent football brain. Made one or two mistakes (to be expected given his lack of first team action) but he was in the thick of things in the final half hour. Made some great runs and was at the centre of some really need interplay. Was full of running and always had his HEAD UP looking for the intelligent pass into feet on the edge of the box (if he wasn't whipping in an AMAZING cross). Was quite impressed.

Chambers 6.5- Didn't disgrace himself by any stretch. Looked more than accomplished, although he didn't really get some of the right balls. His runs off Fryatt were pretty good and he was getting into good positions. Would expect to see him get maybe a dozen games this season from the bench maybe or a loan spell now as I think this time next season he could be ready.

King 7- I'd be tempted to give him more if he didn't only play 30 minutes but I don't think I'm overstating when I say that this lad's introduction marked the start of our best passage of play (pretty much till full time) and I don't think it was a coincidence. His reading of the game was first class and he seemed to me to be a bit more positionally astute (or at least disciplined) then Weso was and thus he was more effective at breaking up the play and getting it moving again. He was always looking to play the thoughtful ball and got forward as much as he could. His play also seemed to provide the freedom for Clem to get himself into the game. Should be very proud of his contribution.

Ref 1- Bloody dire. Some absolutely bemusing decisions (for both sides). The less said the better.

[DanTheFoxBhoy]

Just finished watching. fooking frustrating. How many chances do we want before we sink the fooking thing?

Fulop 7 - Good.

Stearman 6 - Poor passing.

Mcauley 7 - Good stuff. Defence was the best part of the game.

Kisnorbo 7 - Solid as always.

Mattock 6 - Good but a tad messy.

Newton 5 - Needs to control the ball better. Sub was justified.

Clemence 5 - Midfield was woeful. Good ball control and pace up the field, but when it came to passing to strikers... fook me.

Wesolowski 6 - Solid enough.

Sheehan 8 - MotM IMO

Fryatt 7 - Alright, but it shits me to see him doing the work of a midfielder.

Hume 6 - Where was he??

SUBS:

Hayes 4 - Shit. If he's going to be in the box like that then he needs to improve his balance and ball control.

King 6 - Good pace.

Chambers 7 - Better midfielder. Probably the reason the second half went our way.

[teblin]

I thought fryatt was poor, although he start fairly brightly

Gave the ball away too much didn't work hard enough missed 2 chances.

I like the guy but thought he was poor tonight, if cort played like he did tonight he would be getting 3's and 4's from the ratings.

Last 20 mins clemance was the driving force, seemed to prefer playing with king, weso and clem doesn't work for me.

[Finnegan]

I think Simon's ratings are amongst the best I've read in this thread. Branding Hayes shit is comical, tbh and Ultra's remark about Fryatt was predictably attention seeking.

[SOCCERROO FOX]

My ratings on the player ratings thread is an 8 there was some solid work and quite accurate posting as most people were ethier at the match or watched on sky

[dandannieldanok]

Fulop 7 (Commanding presence)

Stearman 6.5

Kisnorbo 6.5

McAuley 5.5 (Beaten in the air too easily against Thompson)

Mattock 6

Newton 6.5 (Work-rate may not be as high as most others but some intelligent touches and passes)

Wesolowski 6

Clemence 5 (Has really disappointed me, ran around like a headless chicken and get losing the ball)

Sheehan 7 (On the whole good dead ball quality and plaed well in the 2nd half)

Fryatt 4 (1st touch was dreadful most of the time)

Hume 5.5 (Lots of endeavour, little quality)

Hayes 6.5 (Positive sub and it nearly paid off, some good runs and the odd good cross)

Chambers 6 (Not quite sure what Ollie was thinking by putting him up against Purse and Loovens, what chance did he have?)

King 4 (Some positive runs but looked lost most of the time in an already weak midfield)

[SOCCERROO FOX]

I thought Mc Cauley and Stearman spent too long on the ball too often and were just too slow to pass half the time

[Daggers]

As an ardent Stearman doubter I am going to wave a flag for this inconsistent little man. He played the sensible ball rather than the hoofball for the majority of the match. Which was nice.

I felt the young lads aquitted themselves well and Chambers showed some nice touches.

The team played for the shirt last night; what a welcome change. That last 20 minutes was superb and surely indicate that the near future is going to be better than the recent past.

[Hullfox]

As an ardent Stearman doubter I am going to wave a flag for this inconsistent little man. He played the sensible ball rather than the hoofball for the majority of the match. Which was nice.

I felt the young lads aquitted themselves well and Chambers showed some nice touches.

The team played for the shirt last night; what a welcome change. That last 20 minutes was superb and surely indicate that the near future is going to be better than the recent past.

It's a nice looking flag too Daggs.

[Fez of Mahrez]

King 4 (Some positive runs but looked lost most of the time in an already weak midfield)

That's just nuts.

[Manwell Pablo]

That's just nuts.

No it's not, it's Dan, his player ratings are always as wackey as his signing suggestions.

[Fat Ron]

After reading through some of the ratings on here, I refuse to give any as clearly I was watching another game.

I thought that it was one of the most entertaining and enthusiastic performances I have seen from City in years.

To rate any player other than Newton lower than a 6 is absolutely ludicrous and goes to prove once again how mind numbingly deluded our supporters really are.

The players all had belief and passion for the cause which has been missing for the best part of 3 years, King may have misguided a few passes on the night but it seems that nobody has noted that he jumped straight up off his arse to track down and battle for the ball again.. Bravo son, keep it up.

Compared to what we have put up with recently I am delighted with the collective performance of tonight's game and think that there is a definite platform to build upon for the next game.

[thybluefox]

I won't give proper ratings, as I'm at work, but;

I was relatively impressed. We can't expect miracles quite yet, as Ollie's only been there 3 days. Even so, we look better, especially when you compare that performance to the one against Burnley. Ok, passes went astray, but more of them were being made. Hume and Fryatt need to keep it simple, some of the show boating paid off and got the crowd excited, but I'd rather them keep the ball.

Personally, I'd put Hume back into right mid, he's a player that loves being in with the action, and I've always thought having him attack from midfield was effective.

Substitutes from Ollie last night were great, brought on exactly what we needed, and King and Chambers turned the second half around. Its a long time since a managers subs have done that. Hayes also deserves a mention, apart from the fact he looked 14, he performed well.

Fulop, as always was solid, did what was required without any drama, which is what you want from a keeper.

I look forward to Saturday

[breadandcheese]

Most of the ratings I agree with. Only things I'd say are:

- Mattock had a bad game, but then, the experience of coming up against a quick winger will do him good. He just wasn't close enough to Parry all first half. Definitely the right decision to take him off bearing in mind he was on a yellow card.

- Sheehan was excellent, so I thought it a shame that we had to pull him back to full back because Hayes wasn't as effective as Sheehan had been down that flank. As I said above, Cardiff would have gone at Mattock second half knowing he was on that yellow so Sheehan's attacking abilities had to be sacrificed.

- Clemence was infuriating last night. One minute he'd produce a nice bit of skill, the next slip over or lose the ball cheaply.

- Newton even more infuriating. Again, one minute he dives into a tackle or produces a moment of good skill, the next (and more frequently) he's happy to watch the ball go past him or plays a lazy pass.

- Fryatt was excellent first half with neat touches and good link-up play with Hume. He faded in the second half, but then we were playing more long balls than in the first so it's no surprise as he can't thrive on that. It was a shame.

- Cardiff's passing was excellent and their players were very comfortable on the ball. I hope we can play like that in the future.

- I was impressed with the way Holloway was on the touchline driving the players on, particularly with respect to the midfield and urging them forward so that we didn't drop deep and invite Cardiff onto us when they were enjoying large swathes of possession.

- Chambers showed some neat touches, but suffered like Fryatt with the type of service second half. Purse was always going to eat up any long balls that came his way.

- I'm still not sure how we didn't win last night. We had the chances.

Still, happy with the performance and looking forward to Southampton.