Monday 22 November 2010

Fulham player ratings

Hart Not too much to do, really. Fulham's threat was primarily aerial and Hart did well with it. Distribution targeted towards Jô, with some success. 7

Zabaleta Clearly enjoying his football at the moment, here he combined the usual defensive solidity with real contribution in shooting positions. Not only did he score his second ever goal for City from a similar distance as his first ever, his second half shot was flicked in by his compatriot and mate Tévez. 8

Kolo Touré Another lesson in calm competence. Kolo won six tackles and did not misplace a single pass. After a brief return to his form of last seaon his partnership with Vincent Kompany feels as good as ever right now. 7

Kompany His performances are of such a consistent high level that you almost take them for granted. He was very good, as usual, winning headers and making one crucial block from Andy Johnson in the second half. Unlike Kolo, he misplaced one pass. 7

Kolarov Best performance yet for City. Clearly a very canny defender but a real threat in the final third. His runs down the left and his crossing were both useful and he nearly scored on the break in the first half. Knows how to take a corner, which makes a nice change. 8

de Jong As usual, indispensable in these sort of games. I can't conceive of an away win without him. He is so important, not just with his breaking up of play (four interceptions, four tackles) but his ability to retain possession in difficult positions just by turing and playing the simple pass. He completed 45 from 48 attempted passes, and is always at the pivot of those long spells of possession we enjoy when ahead. 8

Yaya Touré Has an important job as a link between the defensive seven and the attacking three, and he got forward well. Took his goal calmly. Not quite on the same wavelength as team-mates but that will come. 7

Barry Much better than for England in mid-week. Top of the passing stats, again, with 53 completed from 56, including that smart ball to Tévez for our opening goal. So important, alongside de Jong, at keeping the ball but also adept at moving it forward when required. Good stuff. 8

Silva Not just creative and surprising - but both of those, as ever - but also hard working defensively. Any suggestions that he was the new Robinho have been shown up as absurd. Did not score or create but still confused Dickson Etuhu will his ability to appear where least expected. 7

Tévez Probably his best performance of the season. Scored two and could have had a few more, Fulham just had no way of stopping him. His movement, strength and drive - what makes him such a compelling footballer - were all on show. Dropping back into the inside right channel and running at defenders was thrilling. The fact that we played the ball to his feet rather than over his head was not unconnected with this. 8

A surprise pick on the left wing, he was useful at winning the ball in the air and his all-round play wasn't too bad. Could have scored had his captain not taken the selfish option and refused to square the ball. 6

Subs:

Johnson One run or two, and some hard defensive work. 7

Milner Too late to mark n/a

Vieira Too late to mark n/a

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jack, think you're slightly unerplaying what a great win it was. Surely Jo was worth more than a 6, contributing as much as he did to the balance of the side. And to give him a 6, and Johnson a 7 I think is wrong. Good review of individuals, but I think each could have gone up a mark, especially Kompany.

Scragg said...

Viewfromablue; it was a great team performance but there were no massive individual standouts, therefore not deserving of a 9. I think you can often be too generous with you ratings anyway mate.

Anonymous said...

Scragg; there were no massive individual standouts, but Jo, without doubt, deserved more than a 6. Just because not one indivdual stands out, it doesn't mean that you can't give a high rating. The whole team did very well.

Anonymous said...

Giving Jo a 6 is laughable.