Player ratings v Palace

[scinnell]

Well said mate

cheers

[dandannieldanok]

Weale 6

Neilson 5 (Ok, but not better than Morrison)

Brown 6 (Fine defensively, should really learn to pass though)

Hobbs 8 (Won absolutely everything in the air, great display)

McGivern 2 (Dreadful, really slow and weak, never once cut a cross out, can't pass, not fit to lace Berner's boots)

Oakley 2 (I've defended him for far too long now, his pass completion must have been close to 0%, woeful all night long)

Wellens 4 (I hate Bolton, we were so close to getting Mark Davies but those bastards had to sweep in, instead 6 months later we pay double money for half the player)

King 5 (Should be more adventurous on the ball, his passing was accurate but never threatening)

Dyer 4 (Never a threat apart from one low cross)

Howard 2 (If he doesn't win headers what is he for?)

Fryatt 4 (Penalty summed up his night)

Gallagher 9 (Won us the game)

Waghorn & Campbell 5

[Ozwin]

Wellens in the 2nd half was great. He was ball winning like a bitch and showed Oakley how to do it. Oakley definately needs a rest though, he's having a hard time lately.

[smudgerfox]

Weale 8 - very accomplished did nothing wrong despite being ubnder severe pressure at times

Neilson - 6 not useless but erratic and will always be a weak link

Brown - 7 good leader and v effective

Hobbs - 8 excellent - barely a foot wrong

McGivern - 7 assured debut - excellent alternative to Berner

Oakley - 4 barely hit a true pass all night, late pass to Waghorn was almost unbelievable in its incompetence - I like him but Clemence must be threatening his place after a performance like that

Wellens - 6 okay but nothing to write home about

King 7 - a bit better than Wellens

Dyer 6 - some brave running but the final product is very erratic

Fryatt - 4 offered no threat whatever

Howard - 4 tries hard enough but his very presence changes the way we play. He and Fryatt are virtually immobile together, there's no clever running which creates space - it's like watching showreels of football in the 1950's

Gallagher - 9 everything that Fryatt is not, quick witted, intelligent, a threat from outside the box, links up play, offers a pass virtually all the time, instant control, difficult to shake off the ball

Waghorn - 7 no threat but his mobility, willingness to run into space and offer for the ball makes him a more potentl player than Fryatt or Howard

DJ - 7 always looking for a chance to score, adds pace, once he gets one, he'll get a lot, probably still best used as a sub

NFP - 7 are we doomed to only play well for a half of each match? does he know his best team?

[martyn]

Doing these not having read the thread

Weale 7.5 - Invariably catches everything and is an assured presence. Looks a great bit of business

Neilson 7 - Thought he was steady. Won a surprising amount in the air and was fully committed. Did his best going forward despite his limitations.

Hobbs 9 MOTM - Absolutely faultless and distibuted well. Getting better with every performance at this level

Brown 8 - Struggled to get to grips with Lee first 30 but after that dominated everything. Formidable alongside Hobbs and even made some storming breaks forward second half.

McGivern 6 - Looked nervy initially (understandably) but grew into it as the match went on as we improved and once he stopped hoofing aimlessly

Oakley 4.5 - We play in blue Matthew. Has been underperforming for a while but escapes scrutiny

Wellens 6.5 - Very quiet first half in keeping with the performance but improved second half. Was a game where he showcased his ability to win back possession rather than his intelligent distribution

King 6 - Quiet but decent game

Dyer 5.5 - Looked lively but Pearson was continually unhappy with his reluctance to offer an outlet for the Goalkeeper.

Howard 5 - Feel sorry for Steve but it's not working. McCarthy and Fonte shackled him and we looked 10 times better with more mobility up front

Fryatt 6 - Sharp on the half turn as always and worked hard. Straying offside slightly too much and again had the tendency to hold on to the ball for too long.

Subs

Gallagher 8 - Introduction changed the game as it enabled a forward outlet who could take the ball to feet and link play better. 2 goals and numerous on target efforts warrant high mark

Waghorn 6 - Not his best effort off the bench but worked the channels and helped with our change in approach

DJ 5.5 - Missed chance and not much else.

[Heart-Shaped Fox]

Weale - 7 - Solid

Neilson - 6.5 - Looked OK but still think he gets too far forward whilst his shooting is shit.

Brown - 7.5 - No one got past him and he has done well since the September blip he had.

Hobbs - 7.5 - Won every header and worked well with Brown.

Mcgivern - 7 - Got stuck in a fair bit but sometimes lost the ball easily, but a good debut.

Oakley - 6.5 - Didnt do much in the 1st half but picked up in the 2nd. Still prefer him in the centre.

King - 7 - Like Saturday did nothing wrong and now seems better than his first few games.

Wellens - 7 - Worked well defensively and had a solid game

Dyer - 6 - Not bad but could do better.

Howard - 6 - Won headers and thats it. Didnt get too many chances like Saturday but would prefer Waghorn or Gallagher there.

Fryatt - 6.5 - Quiet I thought. Bit like 2nd half against Derby. Penalty was poor, and would like someone else instead now.

Gallagher - 9 - Inspired sub.

DJ - 5

Waghorn - 5

[Father Ted]

Weale - 7

Nielson 5.5

Hobbs 7.5

Brown 7

McGivern 6

Oakley 6

Wellens 8

King 8 -

Dyer 6

Fryatt 6

Howard 6

Campbell 6

Waghorn 6

Gallagher 9

[bigneville]

Weale - 7 - Didn't have a great deal to do, but what he did he did with confidence. Never looked like conceding

Neilson - 6 - Looked nervous in the first half, but second handled everything they offered at him.

Hobbs - 7.5 - Looked confident but really struggled aerially with Alan Lee

Brown - 7 - Looks like Wayne's earlier season form is returning.

McGivern - 7 - Solid debut, nervy start, but added a bit of extra pace to the back line. No faults.

Oakley - 5 - Just wasn't his night. Couldn't pass the ball at all. Wasted out on the right hand side.

King - 6.5 - Did Ok, nothing major to note, still find the game passes him by at times.

Wellens - 7.5 - Always looked for the ball, worked hard, and always tried to create.

Dyer - 6 - Didn't do anything at all, game completely passed him by.

Howard - 6.5 - Did nothing of note with the ball, but worked really hard to try and build some momentum for the team

Fryatt - 5.5 - No movement or anticipation. Waits until the ball is played before making his run. Such an easy striker to mark.

Subs

Gallacher - 9 - A breath of fresh air, a constant threat to the Palace defence. Surely earnt a starting spot with that performance

Waghorn - 6 - Works hard, and is a great player to bring on to keep tired defenders working.

Campbell - 6 - Missed a great chance, but his pace made Palace think twice about everything at the back, looks like he wants to be here again.

[davieG]

Weale - 7

Nielson 5

Hobbs 7

Brown 8

McGivern 5

Oakley 5

Wellens 6

King 7

Dyer 7

Fryatt 6

Howard 5

Campbell 6

Waghorn 6

Gallagher 9

[Sparky]

Weale 7

Nielson 6

Hobbs 7

Brown 7

McGivern 6

Oakley 5

Wellens 6 (Distrubution was awful)

King 6 (Does the simple things well and works hard but goes missing too often)

Dyer 7 (Most likely player to make something happen 1st half)

Fryatt 5

Howard 5

Campbell 6

Waghorn 6

Gallagher 9

[CosbehFox]

I am not qualified to add to this thread because I listened to the commentary but I think that the defence as a whole did well. Neilson in particular made several crucial tackles. No way of nowing how his alround game was.

He made numerous errors and gave a lot of needless free-kicks in the first half but his marking was much better second half. If he wants to succeed for us, then that's what he's got to do. He hasn't got the pace, so he's got to compensate for it.

McGivern 2 (Dreadful, really slow and weak, never once cut a cross out, can't pass, not fit to lace Berner's boots)

Whilst harsh, I can not see this defensive solid debut everyone else is making it out. His distribution was terrible.

Weale 6

Neilson 5.5

Hobbs 7.5 - His reading of the game is superb. There's areas to work on but he could be an excellent player for years to come.

Brown 7

McGivern 5.5

Oakley 5

King 6 - I am sorry but he goes disappearing too often. The amount of times that Palace had two centre midfielder charging down the centre of the pitch in the first half.

Wellens 6.5 - Got his arse into second half but his passing has gone away recently.

Dyer 6.5 - Harsh sub. Been decent two games on the trot now

Fryatt 5

Howard 4

Gallacher 8

Campbell 5

Waghorn 4.5 - As much as everyone loves his running, he didn't touch the ball all night.

[Lichfieldfox.]

Weale - 7 Very impressive

Neilson - 6 Worries me but one of his better games, made some good tackles however poor distribution and gets out of position too often. Morrison better by miles.

Hobbs - 7 Best defender on pitch

Brown - 6 Solid apart from header against own post

McGivern - 6 Did ok in first outing but saw nothing here to warrant displacing Berner

Oakley - 4 Awful loss of form, possibly as out of position. Gave the ball away far too often all game. I would have subbed him at half time

Wellens - 6 Does the simple things well, battled well

King - 6 Fairly anonymous but solid. I like him a lot but played much better vs Derby as Palace gave centre MF no time on ball

Dyer - 6 Best player in first half for City

Fryatt - 4 Poor game, offside so often and woeful penalty. I am a fan of his but really looked out of sorts

Howard - 5 Another poor performance. Lots of effort, no end product

Subs:

Gallagher - 9 Changed the game and looked better on left than right or top of diamond. Must start next game

Waghorn - 5 Made no impact

DJ - 6 Hurried Palace into making mistake that led to second goal, seemed up for it. fair play to the guy

[Thracian]

King 6 - I am sorry but he goes disappearing too often. The amount of times that Palace had two centre midfielder charging down the centre of the pitch in the first half.

Strange but he seems to be the one guy who keeps appearing. Whenever someone makes a mistake, gets out of position, gets skinned or breaks forward...there is Kingy plugging the gap or stepping in to regain control for us. Both in defence and in the central midfield.

Even when he was closed down on the outside edge of our penalty with not a colleague around in a position to offer him a pass, Kingy still retained his composure and showed himself prepared to concede a corner rather than make a rash pass. As it happened he stole a goalkick.

Funny we are conceding half the goals we let in before his re-appearance as a starter in the side - and in fact have let in just one goal in the last four games - when he's played full-time. We've not had a sequence like that all season - when Kingy was largely absent from the side.