Watford Player Ratings

[dmayne7]

Great win and a clean sheet! Probably gone a bit overboard because of that but we were so well disciplined.

 

Kasper - 7 - Couple of good saves. Mostly untroubled.

 

Moore - 9 - Fantastic. Supported well going forward but defensively; spot on. Always in the right position, numerous vital interceptions. Either him ro Drinky for MOTM.

 

Was - 8 - Looks very good. His experience is a big asset.

 

Wes - 8 - Usual. Very good.

 

Schlupp - 8 - Caught out a few times but its the first game where I've been geniunely convinced about him at full back. Made several good tackles, interceptions and a magnificent assist.

 

Knocky - 8 - Changed player. Works hard and made lots of interceptions defensively. Decision making much improved. Made some good runs and a really well taken goal. So happy for the lad.

 

Drinky - 9 - Again, For all his form in the first half of last season, he's a step above that and looks very, very good. All action performance and even did a good job on the wing to double up on Anya.

 

King - 8 - Typical steady performance but then when he moved further up, his link up play with GTF and hassling was fantastic especially at that stage of the match.

 

Dyer - 8 - Tidy on the ball. Good link up play with Jeff and a well taken goal. Even took the first touch with his right foot and it was perfect!

 

Nuge - 7 - Decent enough. Probably should have scored but he contributed well to the team performance.

 

Wood - 7 - Won't see many better finishes than that  . Thought he showed a lot of fight and put the effort in.

 

Subs: 

 

James - 7 - Helped to shore up the midfield.

 

Hammond 6 - Decent.

 

GTF - 8 - Only on the pitch for 15 mins but his hold-up play and passing was fantastic. Nice to see that we have a real strength in depth.

 

Fantastic effort all round.

[martyn]

Kasper 7

Moore 7.5

Morgan 7

Wasilewski 8.5

Schlupp 7.5

Knockaert 8

Drinkwater 9

King 7.5

Dyer 8

Wood 7

Nugent 7

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

I thought Jeff made the odd solid tackle and interception and looked great going forward, but virtually everything Watford made came down our left, he found himself flat footed or ball watching every now and then. Whether or not Lloyd should've been helping him more when he was clearly being targeted by Watford is a different matter, but I'm still not 100% sold on him as a full back, yet.

 

Don't want to do a disservice to anybody that played today though, terrific performance.

[Knocky_Knock]

Think the OP's ratings are spot on really. Agree about Jeff though but just felt that he did a lot of good defensive work and probably needed a bit more cover.

[Fox92]

Kasper 7

Moore 8
Morgan 8
Wasilewski 8
Schlupp 7.5

Knockaert 8
Drinkwater 9
King 7.5
Dyer 7.5

Wood 7
Nugent 7

 

---

 

Excellent performance today. Pleased with all our players.

 

A note on Taylor-Fletcher as well, he was excellent when he came on. Experience was vital, and he held the ball up so well, especially for the third goal. 

[sdb]

8's all round, maybe 8.5 for Drinkwater and Knocky.

 

Love it. 

[Aus Fox]

The OP is spot on, I think you have to go along way to get a 10 but Drinkys performance today was as close I have seen to a perfect performance for a long long time.

[Swarles Barkley]

Kasper was a odd one today. Made some good saves but christ scared me running out of the box a couple of times. 6.5/7 seems fair imo. Drinks wad a 10 for me. Was simplyly fantastic as was moore, wasilewski and knocky

[sdb]

Kasper was a odd one today. Made some good saves but christ scared me running out of the box a couple of times. 6.5/7 seems fair imo. Drinks wad a 10 for me. Was simplyly fantastic as was moore, wasilewski and knocky

 

Fair point actually, forgot about Kasper's rush of blood...not unlike his there last season.

 

Drinkwater was class yeah, as were the others you mention.

[kingfox]

Schmeichel 6 - Some good saves, but distribution was poor

 

Moore 7 - Solid performance

Morgan 7 - Solid performance

Wasilewski 7 - Loves putting his body on the line, some great blocks today

Schlupp 7 - Thought he was good first half, but shaky in the second, great assist though

 

Knockaert 7 - Wasn't really in the game first half, but came to life in the second

Drinkwater 8 - Another controlled performance in midfield, class

King 8 - Covered most of the pitch, key in a defensive & attacking sense

Dyer 8 - Constant threat again, how can you not love this guy

 

Wood 7 - Freak goal, some good lay offs, but don't think he was that impressive

Nugent 6 - Didn't do much in my opinion

[nlukka]

Kasper 8 - two good reflex saves first half and a big one to keep it at 2-0. Kicking was a bit wayward

Moore 8 - looked just as good at RB than CB. He's coming of age.

Morgan 8- great positioning and heading. dominated Deeney

Marcin 8 - attacked the ball well, strong in the air.

Schlupp 8- some great tackles, got caught out a little bit in behind but that was to be expected when they pushed Anya further up.

Knocky 8 - not just for the goal but for how hard he worked for the team. he had a point to prove today

Drinkwater 9.5 - sublime.

King 8 - excellent defensive work, had licence to go forward when GTF came on

Dyer 8 - pace, width, tracked back and a goal. superb

Wood 8 - won lots of headers and good link up play. good closing down for the goal

Nugent 7 - worked very hard, helped the midfield out by playing deep

GTF 8 - showing why we signed him: experience. top link up and hold up play

Hammond and James 7 - did the knitty gritty and helped to see out the game

Pearson 10 - tactics were spot on, subs were timed well and exactly what we needed. he set the team up to attack and play our game and it paid dividends for him. happy days!

[XLM]

Absolutely loved Wasyl throwing himself in front of McGugan just as the whistle blew! 

[Bert]

Kasper 8 - Made some very good saves. Kicking a bit iffy but he did everything asked of him today.

Moore 8 - His progression in such a short space of time is phenomenal. Great performance.

Wasyl 8 - Starting to get a good understanding with Wes. Busts a gut to get back in shape after being in attacking positions.

Wes 8 - Solid as ever. Just defended for his life and not much got by him.

Schlupp 7 - Fantastic play for Knocky's goal, our weakest link at the back but got stuck in and didn't shirk any battle.

Knocky 9 - So pleased for him. One piece of sublime skill during a mazy run that nearly ended up a goal, not to forget his goal. What an end.

Dyer 8 - Going through a right purple patch. His pace was fantastic all day and he deserved his goal.

Drinkwater 9 - Another sublime performance. Running our show at the minute.

King 8 - The perfect foil for Drinkwater. Picked up the scraps and knocked it off nicely. Got stuck in when he had to.

Nugent 7 - Worked very hard and his usual endeavour was there. Looks knackered at the minute.

Wood 8 - He's deserved some luck, and duly got it. Put himself about and created space for others. The player we signed in January.

James 7 - Did Kings job as his legs went and got tired. A great player to have come off the bench.

Hammond 7 - Just what we needed at the time. A calm experienced head not afraid to get stuck in.

GTF 7 - Great little cameo. Held the ball up well and brought others into play.

[Daz93]

Kasper 7 - Largely untroubled, dealt with what came at him.

 

Moore 7 - Better in the middle but still very solid.

Wes 7 - Usual Wes, kept Deeney and Forestieri quiet.

Was 8 - Absolute tank. Stuck his body on the line a few times, complete dedication. Reminds me of when Pearson signed Wayne Brown. Just has that extra bit of class. Could have scored as well.

Schlupp 7.5 - Superb work with Dyer all game and his defending has come on a lot. Put under a lot more pressure last 20 minutes but still coped quite well.

 

Knocky 7.5 - Approached the game superbly, and got the goal he wanted and deserved. He's being handled by Pearson very well.

King 7 - Did more of the mopping up today, but linked up quite well towards the end of the game. Part of a solid team.

Drinky 8.5 - MOTM. Pure class today. Seems like he's got that extra yard of pace and the eye for a positive pass now. Was spraying the ball out everywhere.

Dyer 8 - The pace on the left is frightening. Made a lot of positive runs and attacked the defender. Love this guy on his day.

 

Wood 7 - Played well by all accounts, think he'll take a ball to the face to get his league campaign off and going!

Nuge 8 - Great tactical play by Nige to stick him in the hole. Whenever we had the ball he was there to receive and when they had the ball he dropped back and made it impossible for them to go through the middle.

 

James 6 - Came on and did a job, it's great the strength we have on the bench.

Hammond 6 - A very calming personality to bring on, settles everything down and organises.

GTF 6 - Showed some really good flicks and touches when he came on. Again, another great player to have in your squad.

[Nod.E]

Nobody else notice Schmeichel's great kick for our second goal then? Switched it to the opposite side of the pitch where nobody was expecting it, right to the feet of Schlupp. 10-15 seconds later we were 2-0 up.

Absolutely mind boggling distribution. But of course, people will remember his one kick that didn't get off the floor. Wish everyone could see things from a goalkeeper's perspective more often.

[Dickov22]

Watched on tv, so may have missed some bits but.....

Kasper 8 Great double save

Moore 8 Defensively sound, you can just tell how much it means for him to play for us. Did better going forward too today.

Wasilewski 8.5 Absolute brick wall- we look so solid with him in the back 4

Morgan 9 Back to his best- just knows where to be and won everything. MOTM

Schlupp 6.5 Best and worst of him today. Got forward so well- so strong to brush off the full back for our second goal. However, defensively all over the shop- countless times the ball came down his side and he was nowhere to be seen

Dyer 7.5 Didn't let us down as usual. Dangerous, busy, and a goal. Can't ask for more

Drinkwater 8 Didn't think he was great first half, but second excellent. Everywhere. Such effort.

King 7 Did his job as usual. Would have loved him to score his chance near the end

Knockaert 8.5 What a character. I love him- Pearson is getting the very best out of him. Worked hard, created things, took his goal excellently. He's different to anything any other team in the division has.

Wood 6.5 Like I said, I watched on tv so may not have seen some of the runs he made. To me he looked lacklustre. Don't think Vardy will struggle to get back in. Fair play to him on the goal though

Nugent 6.5 Looked tired but did ok.

GTF 8. Experience was great for us today- held the ball up well and did well for Dyer's goal, and King's chance.

James 7.5 Busy, gave us the protection we needed. Such a skillful player too

Hammond 6- barely noticed him.

[chris_lcfc_85]

Everybody deserves at least a 7. Drinky again superb as was Morgan and Wasilewski. Credit to Schlupp for Knocky's goal too and I also felt all 3 subs made a good impact

[peterborofox]

Kasper 7

Moore 7
Morgan 8
Wasilewski 7
Schlupp 7

Knockaert 8
Drinkwater 9
King 8
Dyer 8

Wood 7
Nugent 7

[The Blur]

Kasper 7- a great double save in first half and couple of crucial saves in second. Kicking was bit iffy.

 

Moore 7.5 Defended very well. He made me laughed in second half when he shaped to take a throw in and suddenly ran back to his half to cover for Morgan who had came forward. Watford players was going crazy until they realised he was covering for Morgan and Schlupp was on his way to take the throw in.

 

Was 8.5- A beast- blocked everything in his end and he even had a chance in the other end.

 

Morgan 7.5- One error otherwise ice cool.

 

Schlupp 7- Bit erratic but an excellent assist

 

Knocky 8.5- Quiet first half but brilliant second half in geeing everyone up and he did his bit by scoring and chasing players down

 

DD 8.5- Controlled the game

 

King 7.5- Willing assistant and came in his own in last 15 minutes

 

Dyer 8- Watford can't handled his pace at all

 

Nugent 6- Good linking but he seem off the pace at times. There was an incident where Knocky won the ball and made the run down the wing but Nugent stayed back which annoyed Knocky as he doesn't have anyone to pass to.

 

Wood 7.5- Great lay offs and looked threatening. 

 

 

I would actually drop Nugent for next game and start Vardy/Wood.

[Guest ttfn]

From the away end...

 

Schmeichel 7 - DId what he had to do, not that there was much of it. Some odd kicking and strange dashes from goal which would have been concerning on another day.

 

Moore 8 - Very solid and showed good willing to get forward.

Morgan 7.5 - Not performing at the same level as last season but decent enough.

Wasilewski 8.5 - Absolute beast. 

Schlupp 6.5 - Decent going forward but was repeatedly beaten by the ball inside him. I've never seen him as a left back. Today he did fine but no better.

 

Knockaert 8 - First half ineffective but the first 20 minutes of the second half he was absolutely fantastic. If he'd buried that first chance he had it would have been the stuff of City folklore. As it was, we'll have to settle for the goal he did score 

King 7.5- Seemed a bit sloppy in possession in the first half but linked up brilliantly with Taylor-Fletcher in the latter stages to help take some of the pressure off at the end.

Drinkwater 9 - Absolutely brilliant. I've given him a lot of stick on here and stand by the fact that he was absolutely woeful in the second half of last season but today he was everywhere, played simple passes well, spread the play nicely and got up in support of the forwards.

Dyer 8 - Scored and was a constant threat on the counter, albeit wasteful.

 

Wood 8 - This is the player we signed. Scored a freak goal but put himself about well and made some intelligent runs.

Nugent 7.5 - Again had a role slightly off the front man which he played intelligently. Ran himself into the ground.

 

subs:

James 7.5 - Very busy and unlucky not to score on at least one occasion.

Hammond 7 - Less busy but quietly effective.

Taylor-Fletcher 7.5 - Having not seen him close up before I couldn't believe what I was looking at. He looked like a competition winner but played like Berbatov. Great touch and pass set Dyer away for the winner.

[AKCJ]

Schmeichel - 7 - Didn't have a lot to do despite their chances, but he made a few smart saves at vital times. His distribution (aside from the 2nd goal) and positioning was a bit off though.

 

Moore - 8 - Can't remember them having any sort of attack down that side. He's a beast and someone I think we'll do well to hold onto. Give him a contract!

 

Wasyl - 8 - Thought he was superb. Won every header and made every tackle. Only qualm is that he should have scored, not once but twice.

 

Wes - 7 - Doesn't shine as much with Wasyl but plays just as well. His touch and passing has improved.

 

Schlupp - 8 - Very impressed. Only his positioning let him down for me today. His assist was very good and he made a few great tackled. Links with Dyer well.

 

Knockaert - 8 - <3 I just love him. Made up for the lad, he wasn't on the ball much but whenever he was he made something happen. Great composure for the goal.

 

Drinkwater - 9 - MOTM for me. The near-perfect midfield display.

 

King - 7 - Didn't go missing but was outshone by DD. Was unlucky not to score in stoppage time. He kept going all game.

 

Dyer - 8 - Him and Schlupp were very good against, in my opinion, Watford's best player in Anya. Good run for the goal, made some dangerous crosses.

 

Nugent - 7 - Pretty average from Nugent today, but his work rate was excellent again. Should have scored. Made some excellent runs.

 

Wood - 7 - Goal of the season. Thought he won more headers than he usually does. Made a nuisance of himself. Good celebration too.

 

James - 7 - Feel sorry for him, he'd get into most midfields in the league. But DD and Kingy's form is irresistible. Can't drop either. Played well though. Got stuck in.

 

Hammond - 6 - Didn't notice him really. But he was in a midfield with 4 CMs.

 

GTF - 8 - Only had about 10 minutes, but if he can do exactly that every week then we'll be chuffed. Excellent assist and the ball stuck to him. Changed my opinion of the lad.

[filbertboy]

I thought we played very well today, great all round team effort. Very pleased for Knocky who deserved that goal so much. Absolute bonus was GTF coming on and doing a great holding job, lovely touches and a great ball to Dyer for the third goal. Come on the Foxes !!

[Corky]

Schmeichel- 7

 

Moore- 8

Morgan- 8

Wasyl- 8

Schlupp- 6.5

 

Knockaert- 8

Drinkwater- 9

King- 8

Dyer- 7.5

 

Nugent- 7

Wood- 8

[theessexfox]

From TV...

 

Kasper - 7 - Some brilliant saves, dodgy kicking

 

Moore - 8 - Did well in both defence and attack

Wes - 7 - Solid

Was - 7 - Solid, poor attacking headers

Schlupp - Looked good, kept getting beaten in the second half

 

Knocky - 8 - Dangerous

Drinky - 9 - Instrumental

King - 8 - Did the unseen work, looked good going forward in last 10 minutes

Dyer - 8 - Pace to scare anyone

 

Wood - 7 - Did fairly well

Nugent - 7 - Did ok

 

James - 7 - Did his job when he came on

Hammond - 7 - Likewise

GTF - 8 - Very impressed with his winning fouls and flick ons to run the game down