Southampton player ratings

[Thracian]

Schmeical 9 (How much is a guy worth that makes three point-blank stops to earn you two points when the pressure is at its fiercest?)

Pantsil 6 (Beaten cleverly for their first but needed to be much tighter in the first place).

Mills 6 (Lost his man too often leaving us far too vulnerable in the centre of defence).

Bamba 7.75 (So impressive at times, good to see him score, but almost wasted his good work by getting caught out on yet another dribble around the penalty area).

Konchesky 6.5 (Mostly okay but acooling mentioned his error for one of the goals and he still needs to communicate better. No way man of the match as Alan Young suggested)).

Wellans 9 (Picked his spot to score an excellent goal and controlled midfield in some style for an hour. When he faded we faded and were left with no-one showuing the energy to drive forward in support).

Danns 7.5 ( Another who, like Fernandex, showed so much energy and determination). l

Fernandez 8 (See above).

King 6.5 (Good shot just wide, a first half header he should have done better with and his first assist for the season. Lost his sharpness second half when, in any case, the passing options disappeared along with the movement).

Nugent (Injured)

Vassell 7.75 (Opportunist early goal, might have won a penalty and lots of involvement til he too faded like so many).

Schlupp 7 (Did well in the situation putting defenders under pressure and also having an assist and being very close to winning a penalty when breaking through dangerously. Understandably faded when asked to move wide and when his efforts at Bury were probably beginning to be felt.).

Gallagher 4 (I didn't see the point of him being there and would much sooner we'd had the option of using Dyer. He's just not suited to a battening down the hatches role.).

Abe n/a

[Heart-Shaped Fox]

Kasper 9

Pantsil 7

Konchesky 7

Mills 6 - At fault for the second goal with a shite header. Improved later on

Bamba 6 - The defence really does need working on. The organisation and communication is poor, like we arent working on basic things. Bamba himself was average today.

Wellens 7

King 6

Fernandes 8

Danns 7

Vassell 8 - Please play him up front all the time Sven.

Nugent N/A.

Schlupp 7 - Good until he was foolishly put on the wing.

Gallagher 5

Abe 5

[Daz93]

Kasper - 8 Wasn't at fault for their goals and amazing saves at the end.

Pantsil - 7 Solid defensively, in the air too, and decent going forward.

Mills - 6 Lacks confidence but some great blocks second half that I hope will pick that up.

Bamba - 6 Really needs to learn to get rid...

Konchesky - 8 Fair few saving tackles and good crosses when he got forward.

Wellens - 9 MOTM. Was behind everything we did going forward and picked up the pieces at the back. Great goal as well.

Fernandes - 7 Played well with good energy again with very committed tackles.

Danns - 7 Looked threatening going forwards and good crosses.

King - 7 Some very good runs behind the defence that weren't spotted/the ball to him was poor.

Vassel - 7 Decent running and did alright playing on his own but was out of steam by 60 mins.

Nugent - / Hope it's not a bad injury, missed his hold up play in the second half.

Subs:

Schlupp - 7 So dangerous first half when he ran at the defence, played out of position second half again.

Gallagher - / Looked more committed when he came on.

Abe - /

[Fox92]

Kasper 8 - Made some fantastic and vital saves

Pantsil 5

Mills 7- Decent. Made a fantastic tackle in the first half to deny a goal scoring opppotunity.

Bamba 6 - Scares me.

Konchesky 6

Wellens 9 - MOTM - Passing was accurate, finish was quality.

Danns 7

Fernandes 7

King 5.5

Schlupp 7 - Good first half, he took players on and claimed fouls. Was sadly moved out of position in the second half.

Vassell 7 - Chased everything again, and a good poaching goal.

[leicesterseddon]

Schmeichel - 9 Had nothing to do in the first half, won us 2 points in the second.

Pantsil - 6 Offered nothing going forward, was solid for most of the game.

Bamba - 6.5 Again was our best centre half, but every time he tries to play the ball with his feet I have a heart attack.

Mills - 5 Right. Why the **** is this guy our captain? This is a stupid decision by Sven...how on earth can he be expected to mouth off and tell players what to do when he's only be an employee at the club for a month? He said nothing today - there was no shouting, no organisation, nothing. And can you blame him? You wouldn't go into any other job and with only a month with your feet under the desk start telling experienced employees what to do. In my view Sven has severly hampered his performances by burdening him with the position of captain over a team he barely ****ing knows anything about. He was poor again today but I know he can do better. Sven has made the wrong call.

Konchesky - 6.5 Got forward, but did little. Same as Pantsil really.

Fernandes - 7 Chased the ball down, looked busy.

Wellens - 8 Again for long periods of the game he was the only player who could create a goal. Again. It was madness to take him off IMO. Should be captain.

King - 6 As can be expected, another anonymous performance. And no goal to justify his place in the team...

Danns - 6.5 Busy. Not as effective as he should have been.

Nugent - N/A

Vassell - 6.5 Did a job. We really need more pace up front though.

Schlupp - 7 Did vey well. Kept the ball well, obviously has potential. BUT was badly out of position at the start of the 2nd half. I think we played 4-4-2 but he drifted because he wanted to become more involved in the game. I really do. Sven should have been shouting at him to play higher up the field....

[RowlattsFox]

Kasper -9- world class saves, good keepers win you points.

Pantsil -6- improved second half.

Mills -7- improved as game went on.

Bamba -7- scary but was atleast same level as mills.

Konchesky -7- best game for us.

Fernandes -8- excellent work rate and tackling.

Danns -8- getting better with each game. Wellens -7- kept us ticking over.

King -6- assist but quiet.

Vassell -7- always a threat.

Schlupp -7- some good strength and hold up play.

[okie fox]

Schmeichel -8- Tremendous saves near end

Pantsil -6- Got skinned by Lalana for first goal

Mills -6- Still not convinced by his play

Bamba -8- Very good apart from when he tried to dribble the ball out of the area

Koncheskey -7- Thought he played a lot better

Fernandes -8- Covered a lot of ground

Wellens -8- Sprayed the passes around well until he faded (or got injured?)

King -6- Improved display in first half

Danns -7- Worked hard

Vassell -7- Worked tirelessly without much support

Nugent -NA- Injured after 5 min.

SUBS:

Schlupp -6- He did OK

Gallagher -6- Better effort than last game

Abe -NA- Not on for long

[Horibbly Wrong]

How can King disappear when he plays central midfield? (genuine question)

Going on the ratings given this season and last it seems as though its a fine line between a 5 or a 9 for him..

I wonder whether its a case of bad passing by others when he makes the runs - if the ball doesnt reach him he 'disappears', if they do he's MOM potential

[Corky]

Schmeichel- 8

Pantsil- 7

Mills- 6

Bamba- 6

Konchesky- 7

Fernandes- 7

Wellens- 8

King- 6

Danns- 6.5

Vassell- 7

Nugent- N/A

Schlupp- 7

[Karljohn]

Mills - 5 Right. Why the **** is this guy our captain? This is a stupid decision by Sven...how on earth can he be expected to mouth off and tell players what to do when he's only be an employee at the club for a month? He said nothing today - there was no shouting, no organisation, nothing. And can you blame him? You wouldn't go into any other job and with only a month with your feet under the desk start telling experienced employees what to do. In my view Sven has severly hampered his performances by burdening him with the position of captain over a team he barely ****ing knows anything about. He was poor again today but I know he can do better. Sven has made the wrong call.

He's also carrying the weight of that ridiculous fee we paid, the thing what worries me most is on several occasions today, under no pressure, he found a saints player with a wayward header or pass, I hope he recovers but at the moment he's offering no more than what Jack Hobbs did, the guy never looks like he's in control of the football, and with Sol alongside him I doubt very much we'll withstand the sort of onslaught we faced second half when we go away from home and find ourselves up against it, we need a cool head in Tunchev, there is absolutely no way that Mills or St Ledger would have started ahead of Vitor had they been at the club at the same time, and it looks like its going to be an expensive way of finding out that they are not the answer.

[Finnegan]

Abe 10

[whitlock]

(sitting at the opposite end) but it looked like Pantsil put in atleast almost 2 goal saving challenges towards the end of the game? Even if he didn't, I think the bloke is a bloody hero!!

[ajthefox]

Schmeichel - 9 - Not at fault for the goals and some top class saves that won us the points

Konchesky - 7.5 - Solid defensively again but a little wasteful in posession

Mills - 7 - Building in confidence and showing signs of why we payed what we did. One brilliant tackle in the box in the second half. Passing is poor though.

Bamba - 7 - Fairly solid but took his dribbling to a ridiculously dangerous level at one point.

Pantsil - 8 - Costly slip lead to their first but otherwise played very well. The lap of honour...

Wellens - 8.5 - Very good game today. Cleared up in defence and was a big part of going forward. Very nice goal too. Shame he doesn't shoot more often, always seems to score good goals.

Fernandes - 8.5 - Absolute class. So much energy it's unreal. Like Wellens, he helped drive forward and was a bit part of the defence as well.

King - 6.5 - Decent first half, but faded.

Danns - 7.5 - Industrious performance, used the ball well and played a part in pushing forward.

Nugent N/A

Vassel - 7 - Bagged a goal and got at the southampton defence. Made some decent runs that could've proved fruitful but were either unnoticed or ignored.

Schlupp - 6.5 - Really good footwork and posed a threat, but similar to the Bury game I thought he faded in and out. Is getting better though and has a future here, no doubt about it.

Gallagher - 6 - Put himself about quite well and helped see out the game.

Abe - N/A - Not really on long enough

[Trav Le Bleu]

Can I just make this quite clear - Bamba didn't score.

[Father Ted]

Schmeichel 10 - Won us the game and saved the blushes of the inept Sven.

Pantsil 8 - Top class.

Mills 7 - Solid, don't see why people are hating him...

Bamba 6.5 - Heart attack time.

Konchesky 6.5 - Done his job.

Wellens 8 - One of the best games I've seen him play for us but had a couple of sloppy moments when he got tired quite visibly towards the end.

Fernandes 8 - Like a rash, he was everywhere.

King n/a - Had to think for about a minute who our other midfielder was.

Danns 6 - Did what he had to do.

Schlupp 7 - Exciting. Great hold up play to set Wellens up. Great pace and actually runs at defenders with the ball! Won some good free kicks as well and should have had a penalty. Unfortunately, I have a feeling he will never warm to the braindead Leicester fans who hated Yakubu (11 goals in 20 games - remember this) because he doesn't chase the ball around the park like a rabid dog for 90 minutes. But you've got my vote son

Vassell 7.5 - Complimented Schlupp very well. Energetic and put a good shift in. 2nd half - believe it or not He was completely isolated.

Nugent n/a

Gallagher 6 - Did a job when he came on.

Abe 6 - See above.

Sven 0 - It's as if he wanted us to lose the game. Just as I thought we had finally turned a corner, we were all reminded why we will make real hard work of this season.

[Father Ted]

(sitting at the opposite end) but it looked like Pantsil put in atleast almost 2 goal saving challenges towards the end of the game? Even if he didn't, I think the bloke is a bloody hero!!

From what I remember Bamba, Mills and Wellens put in 3 good blocks between them.

[Thracian]

Thought Schlupp had a good game, especially 1st half. Ran at defenders and tried to take them on which no-one else does (except Bamba )

Didnt work for him when he was pushed out of his natural position but cut him some slack, this was a tough game for us, he's 18 and a great, great prospect for seasons to come, lets not knock him too early. He won us some vital free kicks near the end which helped run down the clock and set Wellens up for his goal. He was a damn sight better than Vassell in the 2nd half too!

Couldn't agree more. The lad shouldered a great weight when Nugent went off and he never stopped trying to make his presence felt.

[LCFC_DAN]

SCHMEICHEL - Was fantastic as usual , made terrific saves which kept us in the game as we would have lost without him . ( 8.5)

PANTSIL- His defending was solid , was a bit shaky at times though( slipping over ) , showed tons of passion . (8)

MILLS- Was shaky when he had the ball at his feet , but was better than usual , and made some very crucial blocks towards the end . (7.5)

BAMBA- Is a very solid defender and played well , but has to clear it as soon as he can rather than taking on 2 or 3 players , as this could have cost us today . (7.5)

KONCHESKY- Was very solid at the back and played very well when going forward , doesn't deserve that stick that people give him , so far he has been one of are best players this season . (8.5)

WELLENS- Worked brilliantly in the midfield as usual , got stuck in and scored a wonderful goal . (8.5)

FERNANDES- Had brilliant work rate , bossed the midfielder with Wellens , was very unlucky not to score from the header. (8.5)

DANNS- Had brillaint work rate today , worked his socks off , and commited himself to tackles on many occasions. (8.5)

KING - 1 assist and then didnt really see much him , needs to show himself a lot more . (6.5)

NUGENT- N/A

VASSELL- A beautiful finish for the goal , has a wonderful touch , but tired towards the end , didnt look like he had 90 minutes in him . (7.5)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCHLUPP- Played ok , not are STRIKER answer yet , didnt use his pace as much as I fought he would , but held the ball up brilliantly to set up Wellen's goal. (7)

GALLAGHER- Played some great passes and got stuck in a lot more than usual , would get the best out of him though if he played more . (6.5)

ABE- N/A

[kingfox]

Time to get my breath back from the amazing cricket and dramatic football match.

Schmeichel 9 - If it wasn't for him they would of won, crucial saves again

Pantsil 5 - Thought he was poor all round, Lallana tore him apart in my view

Mills 6 - Very good first half, shaky in the second

Bamba 6 - Very good first half, bit hasty in second, but yet again got away with things

Konchesky 7 - Consistent game from Konchesky again

Wellens 8 - All round today I thought he was one of our better players

Fernandes 6 - Gave the ball away a few times, looked a bit slow mediocre performance

Danns 7 - Played his part in some stages, nothing special but better than most players

King 8 - Very influencial today, played his part very well in the goals

Vassell 7 - Yet again as a 4-4-2 he was sublime, change formation he plays terrible

Nugent 0 - Of course injured

Schlupp 6 - Looked very good in a 4-4-2, out wide in second half he was quiet

Gallagher 6 - Not that good again, got stuck in though a few times which was good to see

Abe 5 - Not on long enough, but sat in that deep whole and bashed it away quality

[He's not bald]

Kasper 9 - 3 crucial saves, makes up for last week, just imagine if Weale was in goal.

Pantsil 8 - defending was solid, supported well. One crucial block.

Konchesky 7 - had a superb second half as well as his best game for us so far.

Mills 8 - he's amazing at defending when we have backs to the wall. One crucial block late on.

Bamba 6 - defended well, but his confidence could've put us in a hell of a lot of trouble.

Wellens 7 - kept things ticking over, scored with a lovely goal, touch let him down a few times.

King 7 - got in some great positions, unlucky not to score, better work ethic today.

Fernandes 7 - awesome work rate, hassled well and bar a great save, unlucky with a good header.

Danns 7 - tricky, always seemed to offer himself, a great player to have.

Vassell 8 - looks a different player up front, nice finish, very busy. Great first touch.

Nugent N/A.

Schlupp 7 - had a great 40 minutes after GE found his feet. Gonna be a top player.

Gallagher 6 - got more stuck in today added some composure.

Agree with all this apart from Mills...watched him closely today and I just don't get him, seems to dither too much for that split second and will cost us vital points over a season..please don't get me wrong I can see why he's here but he still has a lot to prove as far as I'm concerned

[bigneville]

Schmeichel - 9 - Superb. His 3 saves were enough to give us the 3 points. Absolute quality goalkeeper.

Pantsil - 7 - Thought he did alright, had a torried time against Lallana at times, but made a vital block late on. Needs to improve to win the longer term battle against Peltier though.

Mills - 6 - Did ok, needs to communicate with Bamba more. Made one excellent tackle at the end of the first half.

Bamba - 6 - Over-confident with the ball at his feet today. Needs to work on concentration and communication.

Konchesky - 7 - Solid. Got forward well, and worked hard. Struggles with ball at feet, but defensively sound.

Wellens - 8 - Thought he moved the ball so well today. Was at the heart of everything good we did today. Ran out of legs towards the end of the second half.

King - 5.5 - Absent for long periods again. At the top of the diamond you need to keep there defensive midfield busy, this just didn't happen. Will find himself out of the team shortly if this continues.

Fernandes - 7.5 - Works so hard, and keeps it so simple. Will be a very key player for us this year.

Danns - 7 - Worked hard, and tried to get involved when he could. Was an improvement on Andy King when he went to the advanced centre midfield position.

Nugent - N/A - Went off early on and was missed in the second half for his work-rate.

Vassell - 6.5 - Took his goal well, but was lazy in the second half when he needed to lead from the front. Could tell it was his first 90 minutes.

Subs

Schlupp - 6.5 - Looked lively in the first half. Clearly has talent, just not quite ready yet for a starting position. Needs to keep getting cameo appearances to get used to the standard.

Gallacher - 6 - Never got a chance to get hold of the ball as he likes. However, he did work hard defensively.

Abe - 6 - Not enough time to make an impact, but his legs where needed to replace the tired Wellens.

[LCFC_FAN_1995]

Mills - 5 Right. Why the **** is this guy our captain? This is a stupid decision by Sven...how on earth can he be expected to mouth off and tell players what to do when he's only be an employee at the club for a month? He said nothing today - there was no shouting, no organisation, nothing. And can you blame him? You wouldn't go into any other job and with only a month with your feet under the desk start telling experienced employees what to do. In my view Sven has severly hampered his performances by burdening him with the position of captain over a team he barely ****ing knows anything about. He was poor again today but I know he can do better. Sven has made the wrong call.

Was you even at the game?! The ammount of blocks he made saved us the game, as well as Kaspers saves. Also Sven made him captain because he has captain experiance, who else can he make captain?! apart from Wellens who i think deserved to be

[volpeazzurro]

Might get slated for this but its what I think:

Schmical - 9 - Quality. Saved us on more than one occasion.

Pantsil - 4 - Pants, Poor control at times, God knows how he coped (or not) in the Premiership. Passing also poor at times. Gets a nosebleed near the halfway line.

Mills - 5 - Committed and heads the ball reasonably well but thats it. Gets caught out of position, distribution poor (a mere hoofer), absolute waste of £5m, Sven and his scouts should be ashamed, particularly when we got rid of Hobbs. What idiot made this donkey captain instead of Wellens!

Bamba 7 - Fairly solid with the occasional misjudgement.

Konchesky - 6 - Seemed to be carrying a slight injury at first but control lets him down at times.

Fernandez - 7 - Thought he actually improved in the second half and showed a lot of determination, worth his place.

King - 4 - Lives in a dream world, runs around to no real effect, not worth his place at the moment.

Danns - 6 - Clearly not comfortable where he was asked to play but gave of his best I felt.

Wellens - 7 - Solid and did a lot of graft and work that can sometimes go unnoticed.

Schlupp- 6 - First half caused problems for Southampton and did well for his age, an exciting prospect, shouldn't be criticised but encouraged, Second half performance totally down to Sven for playing him where he did.

Vassell - 6 - Steady game and well taken goal. Could have been of more use swapping positions with Schlupp in second half but thats not down to him.

[hornyhollthefox123]

Mills was impressive today. Can't believe some of the criticism he's still getting. Marking Lambert and winning the majority of headers against him. Barely remember Lambert threatning, and yes some vital blocks towards the end. Konchesky and Schmeichel were outstanding, with Mills not far behind. We were outplayed completely in midfield for 75minutes of the game and if it wasn't for the back 5 we wouldn't have come away with anything.

[kingfox]

Mills was impressive today. Can't believe some of the criticism he's still getting. Marking Lambert and winning the majority of headers against him. Barely remember Lambert threatning, and yes some vital blocks towards the end. Konchesky and Schmeichel were outstanding, with Mills not far behind. We were outplayed completely in midfield for 75minutes of the game and if it wasn't for the back 5 we wouldn't have come away with anything.

Don't think he was impressive, he was quietly impressive in the first half, in the first 45 he played very well but in the second half he looked shaky.

Lambert and Lallana were tearing us apart especially Mills and Pantsil, Mills got in some crucial blocks but his performance dipped they cut through him at times with ease, and if Schmeichel wasn't inbetween our sticks we would of lost.