Player ratings v Palace ?

[multipack]

Weale 6 (Played ok. didn't really have much to do other than pick ball out net 3 times!!)

Nielsen 8 Played well, linked up with dyer, simple passes. great cross, quick throw set up howard to pass it to DJ. Some great tackles. Only made 2 mistakes i saw.

Hobbs 6 Got better as the game went on. seemed rusty at the start

Morrison 5 Same as Hobbs, both gelled better in the 2nd half.

Berner 6 Did his job but he was slow getting back for the 3rd goal.

N'Guessan 5 He is much better than this. just wanted him to cross it to Fryatt like he did last season v QPR. You could see the others were getting bit annoyed with him.

King 7 Worked hard and got involved

Oakley 6.5. Played fine i thought, got on the ball, passed it, tried to get others into the game. Great pass to set up Neilson for his cross

Dyer 9. You got a sense of excitement when he got the ball and was awesome when he was going past Palace players. goal of the season if the one that hit top of the bar went in

would have been 10 if he had not just hit the ball at Speroni legs. A quick throw in left him one on one with keeper.

Campbell 6. much better in 2nd half and could not miss the pass from Howard

Fryatt 4 Need to make more effort, pass it when it required and not fall over at slightest touch

Subs:

Wellens 6 Got involved physically and got the ball forward.

Howard 8 Played well, held the ball up and great cross for DJ. His heading down to other players needs improved

The 2nd half was great to watch, so much possession and passing, didn't see any long balls up front. We should have concentrated going down the right flank more, both goals came from that side.

First half, we were a bit confused to be 3 nil down, palace had 3 chances and took them.

[h1210]

Weale 6 (Played ok. didn't really have much to do other than pick ball out net 3 times!!)

Nielsen 8 Played well, linked up with dyer, simple passes. great cross, quick throw set up howard to pass it to DJ. Some great tackles. Only made 2 mistakes i saw.

Hobbs 6 Got better as the game went on. seemed rusty at the start

Morrison 5 Same as Hobbs, both gelled better in the 2nd half.

Berner 6 Did his job but he was slow getting back for the 3rd goal.

N'Guessan 5 He is much better than this. just wanted him to cross it to Fryatt like he did last season v QPR. You could see the others were getting bit annoyed with him.

King 7 Worked hard and got involved

Oakley 6.5. Played fine i thought, got on the ball, passed it, tried to get others into the game. Great pass to set up Neilson for his cross

Dyer 9. You got a sense of excitement when he got the ball and was awesome when he was going past Palace players. goal of the season if the one that hit top of the bar went in

would have been 10 if he had not just hit the ball at Speroni legs. A quick throw in left him one on one with keeper.

Campbell 6. much better in 2nd half and could not miss the pass from Howard

Fryatt 4 Need to make more effort, pass it when it required and not fall over at slightest touch

Subs:

Wellens 6 Got involved physically and got the ball forward.

Howard 8 Played well, held the ball up and great cross for DJ. His heading down to other players needs improved

The 2nd half was great to watch, so much possession and passing, didn't see any long balls up front. We should have concentrated going down the right flank more, both goals came from that side.

First half, we were a bit confused to be 3 nil down, palace had 3 chances and took them.

Was that not King?

[ian_marshall]

Weale - 6 - Pulled off a decent save towards the end from Ambrose but should have done far better with the second and third goals. Despite this I like the fact that Paulo seems to be encoraging him to adopt a sweeper role and comes off his line far quicker.

Neilson - 8 - I can't stand the bloke but credit where credit's due he put in a much improved performance. Lacks pace, but positional sense was far better and the cross for the first goal was sublime.

Morrison - 5 - Looked very prone to errors and distribution from the back was poor.

Hobbs - 6 - Not his best performance by any means but he showed signs of adopt Paulo's approach by occasionally bringing the ball out of defence. I think part of his problem, was that he was he seemed to have to cover for Morrison quite a lot, affecting his own game.

Berner - 6 - Disappointed me unfortunately, as he is usually a very solid and reliable player but looked a little off the pace. He got absolutely skinned for third goal, but did improve in the second half.

Dyer - 9 - Easily our best player by a country mile. He was unlucky not to score having hit the woodwork on several occasions. Full of energy and trickery and had the beating of his man all day long.

Oakley - 6 - Same old performance from him I'm afraid. Didn't really stamp his authoriity on the game and often gave the ball away far to easily.

King - 8 - Looked to enjoy playing in the new system linking the midfield and attack very well indeed and always looking to pick out a killer pass. I think as soon as he and Campbell manage to form a bond together the goals come thick and fast.

N'Guessan - 6 - Ok performance, but really needs to learn how to use his size to his advantage if he wants to push on as a player. Shame Fryatt didn't tuck away his cross in the first half following an excellent turn.

Fryatt - 5 - Not his usual self I'm afraid. Looked off the pace and never really threatened. Seems to be lacking in confidence although i'm not sure if it's down to a lack of goals or Pearson's departure.

Campbell - 9 - Looked very lively, and worked his socks off all game. Very pleased that he managed to get on the scoresheet as he thoroughly deserved it.

Subs

Wellens - 6 - Got involved in the game as soon as he came on but often tried to be far too clever with back heels and filcks instead of just playing the simple pass. This became more of a problem as we pushed for an equaliser and we needed to capitalise on our opportunities.

Howard - 9 - Was a real handful for the Palace defence as soon as he came on. Great pass into space for Campbell to score the second goal.

[multipack]

Was that not King?

Yeah your right.

Dyer did the throw in!!

king was the one that missed it.

[multipack]

Wellens - 6 - Got involved in the game as soon as he came on but often tried to be far too clever with back heels and filcks instead of just playing the simple pass. This became more of a problem as we pushed for an equaliser and we needed to capitalise on our opportunities.

Spot on with above comment. He did that a few times but didn't really come off.

[Guest Mee-9]

Weale - 6

Neilson - 7 -

Hobbs - 5 - Looked very nervous in the first half, as did Morrison.

Morrison - 5

Berner - 8 - Quality, picked up where he left off last season

N'Guessan - 5 - Very lazy.

King - 8 - Quality again, Can see him getting 10+ goals again.

Oakley - 6

Dyer - 7 - Think he played well.

DJ - 6 - In the first half it was Hoofball, You simply cannot play hoofball, if you are playing Fryatt and DJ up front.

Fryatt - 5

Subs :

Howard - 9 - This is his season, to win over all his doubters.

Wellens - 6.5 - Didn't do much, but a step up from Oakley.

[C-man]

How on earth was it hoofball in the first half?

[marbelladave]

I'm generally reluctant to give individual marks, I find they reflect the posters prejudices more often than not...

So I am going to use this section to have my say on how each player performed, put in your own scores if you must.

Weale. A typical performance, some decent saves and a few decisive interventions without ever looking totally in command of his area. He and his central defenders really need to work this out. Ambrose's goal was all to familiar, Weale seems to pick up long shots late and lets in more than he should, not sure what can be done about that. On a positive note I though his distribution was much improved.

Neilson. A solid performance within his obvious limitations, did well even when Ambrose and Bennett(?) tried to double up on him first half. His lack of pace means that he is unable recover quickly so he can get caught out of position on occasions. Got forward a bit second half and had a hand in both goals, the cross to King was excellent.

Morrison. Looks a couple of weeks short of match fitness to me, one of the poorest games I have seen from him. Hopefully he will be back to his best when he sharpens up fitness wise, but if Vitor is as good as we hope, I can see Morrison spending another season at fullback.

Hobbs. Nothing like his usual commanding self, his failure to attack the long ball left Morrison exposed for the second goal. Looked uncomfortable throughout, whether that was do to playing on his weaker left side or some new methods brought in by Sousa I am not sure. Hopefully he will be back to his best shortly.

Berner. Another who looked a bit short on fitness, but having missed a week or so of pre-season, it is perhaps understandable. Combined well with N'Guessan going forward and they both got in some decent crosses. Not at his best in defence but as much of Palaces attacking play was down our right, it barely mattered.

Dyer. His best game so far as an 'inside out' wide man. I know this approach is currently trendy, but Dyer was very effective coming inside and attacking the box, could easily have scored a couple first half. On the odd occasion he went for the cross his delivery was not great, but in a three man attack this would not be a big issue. Probably our man of the match, certainly our best attacker.

Oakley. Calm and composed when what was actually needed was fight and determination. Easily bypassed first half, better second half but we were in control and he was under little pressure. Frankly both he and King were left exposed by the system we played first half, I doubt anyone could have done much better in the circumstances.

King. Tried hard to plug the gaps defensively but had no chance, looked decent going forward but our defensive frailties were really the issue. At the start of the second half, Palace sat back and we took control, by the time we scored King was practically running the show. his goal was taken with his usual aplomb, which made his later miss, when he could only play the ball into Speroni's legs, all the more inexplicable. Tough chance but King usually converts such opportunities.

When Wellens came on he took center stage which tended to squeeze out King who was less effective the longer the game went on.

N'Guessan. Nowhere near his best but not bad. Helped keep our shape and combined well with Berner, several decent crosses at least one of which really should have been converted. Had some trouble coming inside as both Fryatt and Campbell favour that side and space was limited.

Campbell. Innocuous first half but then the service was poor. Ended up leading the line at times which really does not seem to suit his game. Took quite a lot of our free kicks and corners to almost zero effect, a problem we have had for ages (not just DJ), surely someone in our team can strike a dead ball?

Fryatt. Looks like a player who has played very little football in the last six months, which is of course the case. When put under pressure he took far too many touches and in any case they were invariably too heavy, rarely brought his team mates into the game which is something he can get away with when he is scoring regularly, but not otherwise.

Howard. Typical beligerent performance, heavily involved at all times, though equally typically failed to create any real chances from his prodigious work around the box. I do not, for one moment, question his effort and involvement, just his productivity, be interested to hear what the rest of you think on that.

Wellens. Gave us equality of munbers in midfield but by the time he came on we were well in control anyway. Tried to take on the playmaker role but with little success, I thought we were less effective with him on the pitch than we were for the fifteen minutes of the second half before he came on. His fiesty play gave us some bite but he took away a lot from Kings game which hurt us going forward.

All in all not a great performance but on another day we could easily have come away with a result, as I said elswhere not gutted, but not best pleased either.

[Ash]

Weale - 6

Neilson - 5 - Never been a fan, didnt do much wrong but looked slow and off the pace!

Hobbs - 5 - Not the normal Jack Hobbs we know, but cant be brilliant everyweek

Morrison- 5- Jurys still out on him at centrehalf at this level

Bruno- 6- Steady

NGuessan - 6- Didnt do enough

Oakley- 6- Looked alright at times, then back to bad at others

King- 7 - Took his goal well, always looking to create and making good off the ball movement, maybe could of done better with the quick throwing one on one

Dyer- 8- Our best player, looked good when running with the ball, unlucky not to score a couple

Campbell-7 - Great movement, looks confident, but needs the service

Fryatt- 5 - Played like Rooney in the worldcup!

Subs -

Wellens - 6 - Steady

Howard -8 - Changed the game for us, strong,won alot in the air, great assist

[Guest ttfn]

Weale seems to pick up long shots late and lets in more than he should, not sure what can be done about that. On a positive note I though his distribution was much improved.

This is an interesting point I was thinking about last season. Weale seems to be excellent from shots in and around the box but he is VERY questionable with shots from long range. I doubt any other keeper in the league has been beaten from 25 yards plus as much as him in the last year. Off the top of my head:

Whittingham in the play-offs

Ambrose yesterday

Guthrie against Newcastle

Dorrans and Jara against West Brom (home)

Morrison (?) against West Brom (away)

Clingan against Coventry

At least one goal against Bristol City (home)

I'm sure there's more. This can't be normal.

[Narborough_fox]

This is an interesting point I was thinking about last season. Weale seems to be excellent from shots in and around the box but he is VERY questionable with shots from long range. I doubt any other keeper in the league has been beaten from 25 yards plus as much as him in the last year. Off the top of my head:

Whittingham in the play-offs

Ambrose yesterday

Guthrie against Newcastle

Dorrans and Jara against West Brom (home)

Morrison (?) against West Brom (away)

Clingan against Coventry

At least one goal against Bristol City (home)

I'm sure there's more. This can't be normal.

Half of them were unsaveable, but Ambrose, Dorrans, Jara and Whittingham were all save able.

[Guest ttfn]

Half of them were unsaveable, but Ambrose, Dorrans, Jara and Whittingham were all save able.

Well exactly. Every keeper lets in shots from range - more often than not you've got to give the striker credit. But as I say, this has happened rather too often.

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

Didn't think much to our support at Palace. Hate to say it, but a fair result. I did vote for a loss in the pole.

[Corky]

Well exactly. Every keeper lets in shots from range - more often than not you've got to give the striker credit. But as I say, this has happened rather too often.

It has, but you also have to question the lack of closing down from the defence. It's a combination.

[dandannieldanok]

It has, but you also have to question the lack of closing down from the defence. It's a combination.

Yes, closing down (the lack of it) does seem to be a bit of a problem for us. When I play in goal in 6-a-side matches one of main irritations is lacklustre closing down when it's pretty obvious someone is going to shoot. Chris Weale really needs to get onto the players backs about it both in training and in the match. We need to sharpen up simply, and before anyone ridiculously pins it against Paulo Sousa it's always been a problem no matter what manager we have.

[Karljohn]

Half of them were unsaveable, but Ambrose, Dorrans, Jara and Whittingham were all save able.

He had a good sight of Treacys goal at Bramall Lane in August 09 which was hit from 25 yards, got beat by Guthrie from similar distance a week or so later at Newcastle.

Despite this for me he had an 8 out of 10 season, although I thought he was woeful at times in the play offs against Cardiff both home and away.

[Fox92]

Weale - 5 - At fault for the second goal.

Neilson - 6.5 - He is our weak link, but give him credit, he does sometimes come forward. Good cross for King's goal although the rest were poor! Would like a new right full back though.

Morrison - 6 - Looked shaky. The same sided player as Hobbs though, and that may be why.

Hobbs - 8 - Good job we have him in the side. Fantastic again.

Berner - 7 - Quite solid and assured. Shame he doesn't play with a good left winger.

Dyer - 9 - One of the better players. Threat all game for the full back. Showed pace and power. Like him on that side better than the left.

Oakley - 6.5 - Didn't get stuck in at all, but a better performance than before,

King - 8 - Fantastic again.

N'Guessan - 3 - Play me Paulo!

Fryatt - 6 - Holds the ball up well but fails to distribute at times.

Campbell - 9 - Looked very lively, and worked his socks off all game. Deserved the goal. Held the ball up very well and came deep to get it at times.

Subs

Wellens - 6.5 - Should have started but did look lost after coming on from the bench.

Howard - 9 - Was a real handful for the Palace defence but was getting picked on by the ref. Would start with Howard -- Campbell.

[Bert]

Weale 5 - No chance with the first, but you can't get beat at your near post from range, and should've held on to the third.

Neilson 5 - How he's a pro, I'll never know. FANTASTIC cross for King's goal but the man has no brain when it comes to anything else.

Berner 6 - Composed, but looked very short of fitness.

Morrison 5 - At fault for the first, didn't look comfortable all game.

Hobbs 7 - Just a matter of time before he leaves, top class again.

N'Guessan 5 - Blows hot and cold, cold day yesterday.

Dyer 8 - Easily our best player yesterday, Palace couldn't deal with him.

Oakley 6 - Some good things, some poor things, should've done better with their third.

King 7 - Quality, and always looked to break forward, gonna be a key man this season.

Fryatt 4 - Utter guff, missed an open goal, greedier than a fat kid that's been starved for a day. PASS THE FUCKING BALL.

Campbell 7 - Slow start, but got into the game as it went on, showed decent work rate and finished well.

Howard 7 - Made the difference, we looked fearsome when he was on.

Wellens 6 - Gave us that bit extra what we seemed to be lacking from the start.

[Lillehamring]

....Can see a pattern emerging here, seems like Oakley is more of a hinderence then a help

i think, from comments made here, that you can probably go as far as applying that to wellens, too... i know everyone was bumming him last season, but my general impression was that he was a bit inconsistant.

perhaps this is why sousa has gone for Moreno - to be the ball winning defensive rock (a la neil lennon) to allow king to push forward?

[cityfan94]

Weale - 6 not much to do apart from getting the ball out of the net. couldnt do anything about the goals

Berner - 6.5 he was quite good, very good getting forward but wasnt as effective as he was last season hopefully he improves

Hobbs - 5 easily the best defender last season but wasnt at all the best yesterday, very shaky performance and i couldnt remember him heading one ball clear, he will get better as season goes on.

morrison - 4 he is very good young player, but he wasnt anywhere near his usual standards, wasnt committed to tackles as he could of prevented the 3rd goal easily by tackling the palace player who had the first shot on goal.

Neilson 7 suprisingly the best defender yesterday for me anyways, made a great last ditch tackle in the 2nd half and was very good getting forward down the right with dyer superb cross for kings goal

Oakley - 6 good at keeping the ball but was too slow when trying to push on the counter, although did a few good long balls to dyer in space.

king - 7 come to life in the second half and controlled the midfield and was excellent going forward, brilliant header to pull a goal back aswell.

DNG - 5 not even exist to be honest, unlucky that his cross didnt finish with a goal from fryatt.

Dyer - 9 my man of the match, brilliant all game even tho i couldnt understand why he was playing on the right wing, great skill and unlucky not to get one if not, two goals.

fryatt - 5 didnt show up on the day, kept the ball too long and lost it easily, should of scored from 4 yards out aswell.

campbell - 6.5 second half was brilliant, great movement and pace and a capped it off with a goal.

subs

wellens- 6 didnt really make much of an impact on the game and tried to be too clever with a few backheels when it wasnt needed.

howard - 8 make a excellent impact on the game, was a great target man in the air, headed the ball down the players around him, and brilliant pass to DJ for his goal.

[marbelladave]

Yes, closing down (the lack of it) does seem to be a bit of a problem for us. When I play in goal in 6-a-side matches one of main irritations is lacklustre closing down when it's pretty obvious someone is going to shoot. Chris Weale really needs to get onto the players backs about it both in training and in the match. We need to sharpen up simply, and before anyone ridiculously pins it against Paulo Sousa it's always been a problem no matter what manager we have.

OK. The issues are quite clear cut, and for once, quite simple...

Firstly, our back 4 always allow themselves to be pushed too deep, so instead of holding the line 18-20 yards out they are holding inside the box.

Secondly, none of our midfield players form an effective shield in front of the back 4, the opposition have time and space to play around 25 yards out.

Thirdly, Weale seems slow to pick up shots from that range, he is beaten more often than he should be from this distance...

Admittedly this assessment is based mainly on last season, but the second goal on saturday was a perfect example.

[Simi]

Weale - 6

Neilson - 7

Morrison - 6

Hobbs -6

Berner -6

N'Gussan - 6

Oakley - 6

King - 7

Dyer - 7 - hit bar 2 or 3 times which at least means he's getting in the game from time time.

Fryatt - 2 - gave us nothing. Selfish and ineffective.

DJ - 7.5

Subs.

Wellens - 7.5 - needs to start. Great mover of the ball and his gritty determination is needed to complement Sousa style.

Howard - 8 - came on and nailed there keeper within a minute. Exactly what we needed. Proceded to hype up the crowd and start our comeback. Held and used the ball well and bought many others into the game. Fantastic ball for DJ a must start ahead of Fryatt.

[shiv]

Weale 5 - No chance with the first, but you can't get beat at your near post from range, and should've held on to the third.

Neilson 5 - How he's a pro, I'll never know. FANTASTIC cross for King's goal but the man has no brain when it comes to anything else.

Berner 6 - Composed, but looked very short of fitness.

Morrison 5 - At fault for the first, didn't look comfortable all game.

Hobbs 7 - Just a matter of time before he leaves, top class again.

N'Guessan 5 - Blows hot and cold, cold day yesterday.

Dyer 8 - Easily our best player yesterday, Palace couldn't deal with him.

Oakley 6 - Some good things, some poor things, should've done better with their third.

King 7 - Quality, and always looked to break forward, gonna be a key man this season.

Fryatt 4 - Utter guff, missed an open goal, greedier than a fat kid that's been starved for a day. PASS THE FUCKING BALL.

Campbell 7 - Slow start, but got into the game as it went on, showed decent work rate and finished well.

Howard 7 - Made the difference, we looked fearsome when he was on.

Wellens 6 - Gave us that bit extra what we seemed to be lacking from the start.

Hobbs was not top class on Saturday, and I don't really rate Neilson but he had a decent game.

Apart from that I agree