Coventry v Leicester - Player ratings

[ajthefox]

Kasper - 7.5 - Did what he had to do, couple of decent saves. Kicking occasionally a little sloppy but nothing to be worried about.

Peltier - 7.5 - Good finish for the goal and a solid performance generally. Could have done better if he had more of the ball when going forward imo.

Bamba - 8 - Very pleasing performance. Strong in the air and made some good tackles with no typical Bamba heart in mouth moments as a bonus.

Mills - 7.5 - Couldn't fault him. Him and Bamba were very solid as a pair and had similar games, I just think Bamba stood out a little more.

Konchesky - 7.5 - Maybe tried a little too hard with the passing on occasion but remained strong and his experience showed.

Abe - 7 - Didn't think too much to his first half but gradually improved and filled in well at right back

Fernandes - 8.5 (MOTM) - Absolutely bossed it. Used the ball brilliantly and was a defensive rock too. He commanded the midfield and was exactly what we've been missing

Wellens - 6.5 - Wasn't particularly impressed today. Set up the goal but not much else to brag about.

Danns - 7.5 - Always busy, some good movement and wasn't far off tapping a couple in. Had Vassell not got sent off I think he would have had a lot more opportunity to get forward, so I look forward to seeing him again.

Nugent - 7.5 - Was a nuisance for the Cov defence and could well have had a goal. Was quite isolated at times though and needs more support. I think having 10 men made his job a hell of a lot harder.

Vassell - N/A -

Kingy - 6.5 - Looked lively when he came on, made plenty of runs and nearly made himself a goal.

Gally - 6 - Not on for that long, didn't really have a chance to do too much because we were sitting back. Although it was a little harsh, the booking was still quite silly.

[lcfcsnow]

Peltier - 7 - Pleased with his performance, in my opinion, as good as Naughton. Good in the air, good going forward and good defending.

Not sure about that, whilst decent defensively he seemed to lack the confidence to go forward with the ball, almost always checked back. Although saying that hardly anyone ran with the ball today maybe it was a tactic. <_<

As for Vassell, he was shite even before the red card. Just runs into blind allies, frustrating. Nugent can play there when we sign a striker.

[Sutty]

Personally think Andy King is one of your better players. Maybe he just plays well against us but he looked dangerous again today. Fernandes and Bamba were excellent for you.

Good to see some of you think we were ok. Staying in the league will be a bonus for us. Your squad, if they gel properly, should be looking to compete with West Ham and the other top sides in the division.

[Haydos]

Personally think Andy King is one of your better players. Maybe he just plays well against us but he looked dangerous again today. Fernandes and Bamba were excellent for you.

Good to see some of you think we were ok. Staying in the league will be a bonus for us. Your squad, if they gel properly, should be looking to compete with West Ham and the other top sides in the division.

He is one of the most talented, just lacks a few midfield attributes that can turn him into a waste of space in the occasional situation.

[Bob Weasel Fox]

Personally think Andy King is one of your better players. Maybe he just plays well against us but he looked dangerous again today. Fernandes and Bamba were excellent for you.

Good to see some of you think we were ok. Staying in the league will be a bonus for us. Your squad, if they gel properly, should be looking to compete with West Ham and the other top sides in the division.

Cov were okay today, certainly not relegation material, i think mid table ish? i predict

[adam95581]

Kasp 7- did everything asked

Peltier 7- nice header, not confident like Naughton going forward

Bamba 7- solid performance

Mills 7- same as Bamba

Konchesky 4- disappointed in his perf, ok passing 3 yards but his long balls were poor. Did ok defensively

Abi 6- nothing outstanding

Vassell 3- needs to go back & read the rule book!!

Wellens 6- nothing really happened, very clever with the sending off

Fernandez 8- showed a bit of class, other midfielders take note

Danns 5- another disappointing performance, expecting alot more from him. Ok keeping it short but his long balls went wayward to many times

Nugent 6- being lone striker not being his strength ran out of puff. Sending off not helping him

Subs

Gally 5- not on for long but tried to keep the ball

King 7- done well when he came on

Sven tactics 5- Nugent up front on his own, not a positive formation & it seemed we stood off a poor side too much.

Atmosphere 9- good all round performance by the 6000 + fans

Coventry 5- looked a better side than us in the 1st half but I think that was down to us standing off them.

Cov fans 1- shocking turn-out for a local derby

Clueless.

Konc was solid and formed part of a defensive unit that restricted 'chances' to long range shots!!! And his long balls went like bullets almost always to feet or chest. Good signing

How positive can you be when going down to 10 men? Nugent hit the post and hustled the defender to win the free kick resulting in our goal!

Abe wasn't outstanding but that isn't his game, when he went to right back he coped perfectly well!

:scarf: :scarf:

[Sutty]

Cov were okay today, certainly not relegation material, i think mid table ish? i predict

I really hope so mate. Staying in this league would be a good achievement considering we've significantly weakened our squad.

[Thracian]

I still find it extraordinary that anyone could rate Konchesky a 4 because the guy played his part in what I thought was one of the best collective defensive performances I've seen from our side in the Championship.

JS had a couple of fairly speculative shots from distance to deal with but I'm stuggling to think of one occasion when our defence was taken apart down the flanks or anywhere else to leave any sort of clear chance in or around the box.

On the rare occasions any of Coventry's players tried to take a defender on, and perhaps even evade him, not only did the beaten man recover quickly but the banking up of players in close support was excellent - and combative right across the line.

Gone were the careless mistakes, the moments of lost concentration of ill judgement and, more than anything, the sense that people were lost within the system or didn't know where to find their team-mates or what to expect from them.

Apart from Coventry's last curling free-kick which I knew might be hard to defend for any team given the position it was taken from- I never felt worried about anything Coventry attempted because I felt that our collective positioning was excellent and Konchesky's along with everyone else.

Yes, the guy overhit a couple of ambitious passes but he remained constructive and controlled throughout and that represented a massive improvement on what we've been used to.

I don't consider us a good side by any means yet. We've got far too many limitations and I still worry about the various components we lack in midfield, out wide and in attack generally.

But I'm quite sure we will concede fewer goals this season and that we have a more professionally solid defence both individually and collectively.

I like "nil" conceded and can see now way Konshesky failed to contribute significantly to that.

[Corky]

Schmeichel- 7

Peltier- 8

Bamba- 8

Mills- 7

Konchesky- 7

Abe- 8

Fernandes- 8

Wellens- 7

Danns- 7

Vassell- 1

Nugent- 6

[Tomassi]

that Birighima for Coventry was there only decent player... can see him getting a move to the prem in a couple years... only 17 !!!

[Topman]

that Birighima for Coventry was there only decent player... can see him getting a move to the prem in a couple years... only 17 !!!

Was he the one that looks like max gradel?

[Tomassi]

Was he the one that looks like max gradel?

Yep... absolutely stood out for them from the first minute, was impressed and he was totally not over-awed... also vital block on Danns on half way line. impressive at 17 playing in the most demanding position on the park

[dannythefox]

most people are probably right but I thought Abe was very good today my man of the match!

[Bettsj2]

Schmeichel- 8 Couple of good saves and massively confident.

Peltier- 8.5 - Solid defending and a good goal. Shame about the injury

Bamba- 8 - Big Sol was......well Big Sol

Mills- 8 - Excellent partner for Bamba and led by example. Getting in that guys face at the end when he pole axed Schmeichel is exactly what you want from a Captain

Konchesky- 7 - Nice and solid performance.

Abe- 7 - Did well in midfield and filled in well at RB

Fernandes- 9 - G-Funk on a whole new level. This bloke looked every inch a Premiership player.

Wellens- 7.5 - Could maybe have rolled around a bit more for their blokes sending off!!!

Danns- 7.5 - Good player and showed willingness to get into the box.

Vassell- 3 - Looked good until he decided to become the black Vinnie Jones.

Nugent- 8 - Did everything you'd want of a lone striker when down to 10. Unlucky not to score.

Subs:-

King - 7 - So he's Maradona now? What's with the taking people on? G'won Kingeh

Gally -6 - Didnt do much apart from waste time in the corner.

Sven - 10 - Adapted the team well after such an early sending off. Proved that despite King and Gally being 2 of the most talented squad members, no individual is greater than the team. Well done Sven.

Cov - 7 - Better than I thought they'd be actually.

[Fox92]

Not sure about that, whilst decent defensively he seemed to lack the confidence to go forward with the ball, almost always checked back. Although saying that hardly anyone ran with the ball today maybe it was a tactic.

Initially, I thought he lacked confidence at the back, but he grew as the game went on. I thought he was decent going forward, he did check back a little, but he did get into Coventry's box several times I think.

[accessory]

Schmeichel - 8. Commanded his penalty area and dealt well with Cov's long-range shots.

Peltier - 8. Defended well and converted his chance superbly - shame about his injury.

Mills - 8. Was troubled at times by Jutkiewicz but played vital role in a physical battle.

Bamba - 8. Back at his best, read the game well and snuffed out what attacking force Coventry could muster.

Konchesky - 7. Solid rather than spectacular, creating one gilt-edged chance Nugent could have done better with.

Danns - 7. Struggled to settle, but that was understandable given chaos around him. Improved in second half though.

Wellens - 7. Was involved in game's main incidents, creating winner and securing dismissal of home side's Carl Baker. Not quite at full peak though.

Abe - 8. A subdued start but flourished later on - adapted well to right-back in closing stages.

Fernandes - 9*. One of the most accomplished City debuts for some time - dominating midfield exchanges and providing a formidable physical shield to the defence.

Vassell - N/A. Wasn't on long enough to secure rating, but rush of blood could have cost us dearly. May struggle to reclaim place after 3-match ban.

Nugent - 7. Led the line well, could easily have had a goal or two. Still lacks match-fitness though, so not yet at his best.

King - 7. Made immediate impact, winning challenges and even running at defenders, showing clear determination regain a starting slot.

Gallagher - N/A. Kept possession well in closing minutes, though also collected one of game's more needless bookings.

[bigneville]

Schmeichel - 8 - Filled the defence with lots of confidence with his communication skills behind them. Distribution was an improvement from Weale. Couple of good save. Pleased.

Peltier - 7.5 - For his first game at this level, I thought he did extremely well. Looked composed defensively, and offered something going forward.

Bamba - 8.5 - Superb. Made vital tackles at key moments, and handled Coventry's best player (Jutkiewicz) well.

Mills - 7.5 - Did well, but looked a little nervous at times. Went too long with the ball too often, but defensively did ok. He seemed like he had the Paddy McCarthy disease (where you need to get the ball of the striker ASAP, even when his back is to goal). However, saying that, he did well, and lead the team well.

Konchesky - 7 - Solid. Found things very tough without his outlet ball when Vassell got sent off.

Fernandes - 9 - MOTM - Didn't put a foot wrong. Kept it simple, and covered every blade of grass. We've got a Premiership player here.

Abe - 8 - Full of energy, made vital tackles and interceptions and used the ball well when he had it. Also looked comfortable at right back.

Wellens - 8 - Pulled all the strings. Gave the midfield the driving force forward, which was vital with two more defensively minded partners in midfield.

Vassell - 4 - Started poorly by running down blind allies, and then that horrible tackle. With competition for places high, has done himself no favours.

Nugent - 7.5 - Ran his socks off, was unlucky with the header and got himself into decent positions. Will score goals.

Danns - 7 - Decent start, his position was sacrificed due to the sending off. We will see a lot more from him when we can play with 11 for 90 minutes.

Subs

King - 7.5 - Played well when he came on, kept the ball well in final third, and should have scored after that mazy dribble. Gave Nugent some much needed support in the second half. Is he fit though, was really strugging at the end?

Gallacher - 6.5 - Didnt get chance to make much of an impact.