Newcastle Player ratings

[Kilworthfox]

Weale 7 OK

Nielsen 4 Awful

Brown 7 Good should have closed down Guthrie after Hobbs missed the challenge

Hobbs 5 Made mistakes & missed the challenge for the goal

Berner 7 Good

N'Guessan 6 Rarely beat his man

Wellens 8 Class again

Oakley 7 Decent

Gallagher 6 Out of position

Howard 8 Won the majority of aerial balls

Fryatt 6 should have scored, but not subbed

Waghorn 5 Anon

Dyer 4 Awful

Adams -

[Vlad The Impaler]

Weale - 6 - coped well with the weather.

Neilson - 6 - made some nice runs, was failed to be picked out though. Improving game by game.

Hobbs - 6 - didn't do too badly and I didn't think there was too much he could of done about the goal, it's easy to pick faults when your watching, thought he did ok.

Brown - 5 - Is a rock at the back, but didn't think this was his type of game, distribution was awful, reminded me of Kisnorbo. Tunchev in next game please.

Berner - 6 - Did alright, caught out of position a few times though.

N'Guessan - 6.5 - Thought he had a good game, faded towards the end though and I personally would of bought Adams on after 60 mins, caused a few problems early on for them and showed glimpses of quality, got a real prospect on our hands here

Oakley - 6 - Average performance, wish he'd stop trying to be clever and just make the simple pass, I think his mind is a bit too clever for his feet sometimes, wasn't too bad though.

Wellens - 7 - One of our best players, felt sorry for him as there was lack of movement in and around him resulting in him having to go sideways too much, think Fryatt and Howard are a bit too static for Wellens liking myself.

Gallagher - 5 - He is not a winger, did the best he could and had a nice free kick saved.

Fryatt - 6.5 - Played very well first half, should've buried his chance, he did well to get into that position in the first place though, plus he's a striker, ofcourse he is going to shoot. Made some nice passes.

Howard - 7.5 - Man of match for me, won everything, I do think though despite Howard winning everything and playing really well that the team may benefit from Howard not playing sometimes, we seemed a bit too one dimensional for me last night, and we have bought in players who like to keep the ball on the floor and pass it over the summer (Gallagher, Wellens, N'Guessan). Don't get me wrong, I think he's great, just thought that we may of benefited from him not being there at times as we were too predicatable and we had a distinct lack of options. You could tell he was desperate to score aswell Well played Stevie though.

Subs were crap.

I'm still very encouraged by our start though and we could of easily won last night, Pearson has a plan which is to get at them first half and hope we score a goal, then hold onto it second half while the opposition come at us, giving us the oppurtunity for us to hit them on the break, it could of so easily worked last night, we simply can't be running around like we were for the first 30 mins all game, it's not possible.

Despite the result i'm pleased with our start and feel very encouraged, remember, they've still gotta come to the Walkers yet

And I thought Neilson did alright

UP THE CITY

[JoeyB]

Weale 6 - Had a fairly comfortable evening, but for their goal, the ball went straight down his throat.

Neilson 5 - Bring back Gilbert. The only thing Neilson has is a throw, and that was shit.

Berner 6 - Got well stuck in and kept to his task well.

Brown 6 - Solid, without doing anything spectacular.

Hobbs 6 - See Brown.

N'Guesshit 5 - Started off well. Trips over the ball too many times, always seems to turn a good opportunity into nothing.

Gallagher 6 - Not a winger, and was rarely in the game, but at least he worked hard.

Oakley 6 - Cracking first half, poor second.

Wellens 7 - Tried getting things going, but not many people were on his wavelength.

Fryatt 5 - PASS. We would've been winning at half time. You know that Steve's gonna win most things, so gamble will you.

Howard 8 - Against a Premiership class defender, Howard was simply immense. Harsh treatment from the shit ref.

Dyer 5 - Guff.

Waghorn 5 - Too easily shackled, but looked promising again.

I would totally agree with that, only difference would be Wellens i would possibly bump up to an 8!

[Joe.]

(From the television)

Weale 7

Neilson 6

Hobbs 6

Brown 7

Berner 6

N'Guessan 4

Oakley 4

Wellens 6.5

Gallagher 5

Howard 7

Fryatt 5

[Ozwin]

Weale 6

Nielsen 5

Brown 6

Hobbs 6

Berner 6

N'Guessan 6

Wellens 7

Oakley 7

Gallagher 6

Howard 7 - Won everything in the air but there was no one gambling (it's not a gamble really since he wins every header) for the flick ons. OUR MOTM

Fryatt 5 - Why didn't he just slot that shot in the bottom corner? Why did he sky it

[Fox92]

Weale: 7 Not called upon most of the time but when he was called upon, saved and did well. Not sure about the goal as I think his view may have been blocked and you can never blame a goalkeeper really.

Neilson: 7 Cannot see why people get on at him, yet again, good in the air, good throws, gets stuck in and steady. Most probably let down by N'Guessan coming inside to much if anything.

Hobbs: 7 Solid again, perhaps could of done better for their goal though as he just stuck his left leg out.

Brown: 7 Again, solid. Nothing got passed him. By the way, never hand ball. Same as Gallagher's as well.

Berner: 7 Wasn't good, wasn't bad. Probably didn't overlap as much as what was required, ecspecially with Gallagher being out wide infront of him.

N'Guessan: 5 As I expected when we signed him from a League 2 club; dissapointing again, went missing again and when he knew Enrique was better than him; came inside.

Oakley: 7 Don't think he was that poor. Had a lot to do with Alan Smith mainly and was ok, not special but not poor either.

Wellens: 7 Some good short balls and a great ball over the top again but didn't shine that much.

Gallagher: 6 Should of played on the right if anywhere on the wing and had nothing to feed on really.

Fryatt: 6 Should of passed and we perhaps would have scored. Other than that, did nothing wrong and read Howard's flick on's most of the time.

Howard: 8 Man of the match who won his headers and was let down by no crosses and lack of support.

Dyer: 5 Did very little again. Can't use his right foot and always comes inside. Can see why WBA released him at this level!

Waghorn: 5 Never got going to be honest, not sure if he could of come on earlier.

Adams: N/A Why bring him on that late

[Dr The Singh]

Weale 7

Nielsen 5

Brown 6

Hobbs 6

Berner 6

N'Guessan 6

Wellens 6.5

Oakley 6

Gallagher 6

Howard 7 -

Fryatt 6

Dyer 5.5

Waghorn 5.5

[Cobbo]

Just got back.

Weale - 6

Neilson - 4 - Poor. As has been said, the one part of his game that was meant to be good (throws) were even poor last night.

Hobbs - 6

Brown - 6

Berner - 6

N'Guessan - 5 - He can make an impact, but his ootballing talents are limited at the moment. Would prefer Adams or Gradel, to be honest.

Oakley - 6 - Didn't really get into the game too often.

Wellens - 7 - Wanted the ball all night and worked hard. Good performance.

Gallagher - 6 - Didn't really do much.

Fryatt - 6 - Pass, or at the very least, hit the target.

Howard - 8 - His usual high standards, first game back from injury too.

Subs:

Waghorn - 6 - Never really in the game

Dyer - 6

[Nod.E]

went to the match, and from what I could tell from 1/4 of a mile away:

Weale 6 - Kicking was generally good, but his communication must have been lacking. (Their right winger was free all match long. How they didn't score from it at some point is beyond me.)

Neilsson 5 - Unremarkable. Long throw-ins weren't particularly threatening, and everything down his wing seemed to result in a Newcastle opportunity.

Brown 6.5 - Solid, but his passing, bar one cross field ball, was woeful. Constantly gave the ball away.

Hobbs 6.5 - Didn't look exactly assuring, but must've been doing something right to restrict the magpies to the one solitary goal.

Berner 5 - MARK YOUR WINGER.

N'guessan 5 - Never looked like beating his man.

Oakley 5 - Didn't do an awful lot.

Wellens 7 - He never does the wrong thing. Always finds a blue shirt.

Gallagher 5 - Not a winger.

Fryatt 6 - Looked lively at times, but generally didn't support Howard or read his flick ons, and should've scored.

Howard 7.5 - won everything in the air, but sometimes looked to shoot when there was an easy ball to the winger in acres of space.

Subs

Adams 5.5 - Didn't have long, but looked enthusiastic.

Waghorn 5 - Barely got a touch.

Dyer 4 - Often positioned himself on the right hand side of centre midfield, when supposed to be playing left wing. Lost the ball most of the time he had it. All in all he did nothing to help us get the equaliser.

THE DAY - 8. I wanted to put 52 for the golden goal, but somebody had already picked that minute. Newcastle scored in that minute. Cock. The journey was entertaining, and the whole experience, including meeting someone there that i've known for 5 years, but never actually met before, was awesome.

[Southern Fox]

Weale 7 - solid and no chance with the goal

Neilson 5 - continues to worry me. No pace at all and terrible crossing technique. His long throws are nothing special either sadly

Berner 6 - Struggled last night and never looked happy with the surface

Hobbs 6 - Poor performance who also looked nervy with the long ball

Brown 7 - Most polished performance of the back four

N'Guessan 6 - Offered threat and was in the game quite a bit altho Enrique soon had him in his pocket

Gallagher 5 - Looked out of sorts and didnt get in the game

Oakley 7 - Busy but out number in midfield against Smith, Barton and Nolan

Wellens 6 - Was trying to find killer ball but stuggled with a lack of space and pressure on the ball by the Newcastle players.

Fryatt 5 - Offered little up top and messed up when at this level you cant afford to

Howard 8 - MOM - Superb performance and never gave up the fight. Will be disappointed that no one picked up his flicks and hard work

Dyer 5 - Didnt get in the game or on the ball

Waghorn 5 - No impact

Adams - Too little too late

Verdict: Newcastle were there for the beating with a weakened side but our composure and final ball was poor. Probably the poorest we have played this season but Newcastle pressured us when we were on the ball which led to sloppy passes and misplaced passes. In the final third our delivery was dreadful. Hopefully the team will learn from that.

[Guest]

Weale 7

Nielsen 5

Brown 7

Hobbs 6

Berner 6

N'Guessan 6

Wellens 7

Oakley 6.5

Gallagher 6

Howard 7

Fryatt 6

Dyer 5

Waghorn 5

[bigneville]

From the stadium;

Weale - 7 - Looked comfortable, no chance with goal, confidence in the goalkeeper is growing game by game.

Neilson - 6 - Really didn't think he was that bad, nothing special or bad to note.

Hobbs - 6 - Worst performance in a while, but still never seriously looked threatened by anything.

Brown - 6 - Didn't handle Ranger too well. If Wayne Brown could distribute, he would be a quality Premiership centre half.

Berner - 5 - Struggled with the physicality, couldn't handle the pace.

N'Guessan - 5 - Has no idea where the ball is at his feet, left Neilson exposed soo many times.

Oakley - 7 - Works very well with Wellens, a lot of Leicesters good stuff starts with Oakley.

Wellens - 8 - His vision and work-rate is fantastic.

Gallacher - 5 - Didn't do anything for me, was rightly substituted.

Fryatt - 6 - Blew lots of smoke, but never actually did anything. Really should have done better with that chance.

Howard - 8 - Lead the line very well, won lots of headers, and if Fryatt would have gambled, Howard would have looked world class at times.

Subs;

Waghorn - 5 - Struggled to get into the game.

Adams - 6 - Showed signs but didn't get enough ball.

Dyer - 5 - Please go back to being an out and out winger. You don't have the skills to make a third midfielder.

[TrickyTrev]

Weale 7

Nielson 5 Can't pass

Hobbs 5 Was badly at fault for the goal

Brown 5 Can't pass

Berner 6

N'Guessen 5

Oakley 7 Everything that we did well came from him linking up with people

Wellens 6

Gallagher 5

Howard 6

Fryatt 6 Bad miss but I was surprised to see him taken off, lumping it up to Howard seemed to be our only 2nd half tactic and he can at least play off them.

Waghorn and Dyer were both bad.

[Radovan's Caravan]

N'Guessan is your only instinctive first time passer. The continuous marking down of him on this thread shows up a woeful ignorance about the one touch game - a style that even the knowledgeable amongst you pay lip service to at best.

There were a number of occasions that I noticed that Leicester players' lack of movement off the ball either prevented the creation of passing triangles or a one-two cut through. English players too often either delay the obvious pass in ths misplaced belief they can find a colleague in a better position or because they just want a little headless chicken run with the ball because they imagine that the defence will melt away in front of them.

I don't want to be too hard on you because the condtions were terrible, you were away from home and your team visibly wilted as a result of their exertions. Any foreign neutral watching this for any length of time would have assumed that Leicester were the recently relegated EPL team.

Newcastle were fortunate - hopefully they will soon be found out and this most corrupt, narcissistic band of border reivers posing as a football club will be consigned to the dustbin of sports history.

[shen]

N'Guessan is your only instinctive first time passer. The continuous marking down of him on this thread shows up a woeful ignorance about the one touch game - a style that even the knowledgeable amongst you pay lip service to at best.

Enrique had him in his pocket after the first 10 minutes. The marking down is mostly a reflection of the ineffectivity he had in the game after those opening minutes. That said, N'Guessan himself was guilty of mazy runs with the ball into cul de sacs, and this was not do to a lack of movement from others (Neilson would come on the overlap, Oakley would be available while Fryatt was constantly on the move, especially in the first half). That could be down to a lack of communication, poor decision-making on his part or simply the fact that the players haven't gelled (yet).

By the way, how did you end up on a Leicester forum anyway? You don't seem to support them

[Radovan's Caravan]

Enrique had him in his pocket after the first 10 minutes. The marking down is mostly a reflection of the ineffectivity he had in the game after those opening minutes. That said, N'Guessan himself was guilty of mazy runs with the ball into cul de sacs, and this was not do to a lack of movement from others (Neilson would come on the overlap, Oakley would be available while Fryatt was constantly on the move, especially in the first half). That could be down to a lack of communication, poor decision-making on his part or simply the fact that the players haven't gelled (yet).

By the way, how did you end up on a Leicester forum anyway? You don't seem to support them

That is a vacuous, meaningless expression of the type that passes as 'analysis' by half brain dead pundits in English TV studios.

N'Guessan operated in a more central position in the second half and too often colleagues did not make themselves available to receive passes from him or were too slow to read his flicks and lay offs.

If you want to know why I am here you can waste your own time and scroll through my posts - I am not going to repeat myself for the umpteenth time on this matter.

[shen]

That is a vacuous, meaningless expression of the type that passes as 'analysis' by half brain dead pundits in English TV studios.

N'Guessan operated in a more central position in the second half and too often colleagues did not make themselves available to receive passes from him or were too slow to read his flicks and lay offs.

If you want to know why I am here you can waste your own time and scroll through my posts - I am not going to repeat myself for the umpteenth time on this matter.

Enrique did have the upper hand on him though. You say yourself he moved inwards as a result in the second half, and just added to an already congested midfield. In fact, it was almost left to Neilson to handle the right wing entirely on his own. But of course you're right that none of our players are especially quick at anticipating clever passes. I can't remember a time when we ever were

[Thracian]

From the stadium;

Weale 6.5 (Okay but seemed mesmerised by the winning strike).

Neilson 5.5 (Again unimpressed. He defended well enough but offered nothing going forward. I have stressed before that in this division we need fast, attacking rull-backs and speed up front. We were missing both).

Hobbs 6 (He and Brown were like labian sentries at times and, while they barely stirred, Newcastle were able to thrust straight through the golden gateway like rampant stallions. Newcastle didn't need foreplay when they could home in on the central sweet spot unhindered).

Brown 6 (Apart from the above his questionable distribution was again exposed and that'll be the more serious the greater our ambitions).

Berner 5 (Like Neilson offered little going forward meaning out attacks lacked pace, options and numbers. Not great defensively either).

N'Guessan 5 (Played about 10 minutes at the start of the first half and was little threat in the second half either. Seems to ignore the simple pass and play for himself first. I did think Gradel would be used as competition for him but the youngster seems to have slipped further and further off the scene which is a pity because he does make things happen and he does pose a threat for longer than N'Guessan seems to).

Oakley 6.75 (Helped us pass the ball well at times, particularly in the first half, but he doesn't carry the goalscoring threat of King and neither, it seems, does Wellens. So for all their abilities we are already likely to be too short of goals to be a serious threat for promotion).

Wellens 7 (Well involved, probably our best player but never a goal threat and we need goals from places other than centre-forward).

Gallacher 5 (Looks increasingly like he flatters to deceive. Like Fryatt he doesn't seem to have sufficient genuine strengths at Championship level to make a notable impact. He's not especially tall to be aerially dominant, he's not especially quick, he doesn't threaten the near post, he's not an instinctive poacher and he's not a Rooney type. Just a guy who'll perhaps net the odd memorable goal and supply few clever passes which is hardly likely to make our season)

Fryatt 6 (Indifferent as so often at this level. Missed his one great chance and, while clearly trying all he knew, just did not have the keys to the Newcastle lock. We badly need speed and stealth in our box. Someone to really pressure people and force them to make mistakes).

Howard 7.5 (Decent game. The one player Newcastle found hard to combat. But we never supported him with enough pace or in sufficient numbers. For all our first half promise we lacked potency almost throughout).

Subs.

Waghorn 5 (Hard to think of a significant contribution of any sort).

Adams - 5 (Used far too late which was disappointing and diffficult to understand).

Dyer 5 (Wasted as a supplementary central midfielder, a role King plays far better given the chance. We needed to stretch Newcastle and have people driving into the gaps but we increasingly allowed the home side to stay compact and never really asked them serious question when they'd scored).

[Father Ted]

From the stadium;

Weale 6.5 (Okay but seemed mesmerised by the winning strike).

Neilson 5.5 (Again unimpressed. He defended well enough but offered nothing going forward. I have stressed before that in this division we need fast, attacking rull-backs and speed up front. We were missing both).

Hobbs 6 (He and Brown were like labian sentries at times and, while they barely stirred, Newcastle were able to thrust straight through the golden gateway like rampant stallions. Newcastle didn't need foreplay when they could home in on the central sweet spot unhindered).

Brown 6 (Apart from the above his questionable distribution was again exposed and that'll be the more serious the grater our ambitions).

Berner 5 (Like Neilson offered little going forward meaning out attacks lacked pace, options and numbers. Not great defensively either).

N'Guessan 5 (Played about 10 minutes at the start of the first half and was little threat in the second half either. Seems to ignore the simple pass and play for himself first. I did think Gradel would be used as competition for him but the youngster seems to have slipped further and further off the scene which is a pity because he does make things happen and he does pose a threat for longer than N'Guessan seems to).

Oakley 6.75 (Helped us pass the ball well at times, particularly in the first half, but hedoesn't carry the goalscoring threat of King and neither, it seems, does Wellens. So for all their abilities we are already likely to be too short of goals to be a serious threat for promotion).

Wellens 7 (Well involved, probably our best player but never a goal threat and we need goals from places other than centre-forward).

Gallacher 5 (Looks increasingly like he flatters to deceive. Like Fryatt he doesn't seem to have sufficient genuine strengths at Championship level to make a notable impact. He's not especially tall to be aerially dominant, he's not especially quick, he doesn't threaten the near post, he's not an instinctive poacher and he's not a Rooney type. Just a guy who'll perhaps net the odd memorable goal and supply few clever passes which is hardly likely to make our season)

Fryatt 6 (Indifferent as so often at this level. Missed his one great chance and, while clearly trying all he knew, just did not have the keys to the Newcastle lock. We badly need speed and stealth in our box. Someone to really pressure people and force them to make mistakes).

Howard 7.5 (Decent game. The one player Newcastle found hard to combat. But we never supported him with enough pace or in sufficient numbers. For all our first half promise we lacked potency almost throughout).

Subs.

Waghorn 5 (Hard to think of a significant contribution of any sort).

Adams - 5 (Used far too late which was disappointing and diffficult to understand).

Dyer 5 (Wasted as a supplementary central midfielder, a role King plays far better given the chance. We needed to stretch Newcastle and have people driving into the gaps but we incresingly allowed the home side to stay compact and never really asked them serious question when they'd scored).

[ACF]

Did Waggy do anything?

[Guest]

Did Waggy do anything?

Not a great deal to be honest. Still looks like he could be good but by the time he came on the team looked a bit flat and had nowhere near the energy and desire displayed in the first half