player ratings v wolves

[ZLF 335]

We got slaughtered 1-1 - how we ended up with a point from that I will never know - but I guess it shows a new found ability to grab something from nothing.  We were second rate and second best in every aspect of the game in every position against a physically stronger and hungrier wolves side who will have left carrow road feeling mugged.

Either way the central midfield has to change - Patty and Rusty can harry all they like but whats the point when neither want possession when we have the ball nor can find another yellow shirt when they have the ball?  One only of those two for scunny...  and pray that fozzy is back coz he was even more painfully missed than against charlton.

Marshall 6 - a couple of superb saves kept us with a point but has to start coming for those crosses in the 6 yard box - contributing to their goal.

Otsemobor 6 - did ok.

Shax 6 - woeful for their goal and while did make some last ditch blocks was usually as a result of his own errors.

Doc 6 not as good as recent games but only city player to actually stand up and compete against the physical challenge wolves provided.

Camara - 6 Not as good as  against charlton

Smith 5 - not a right winger,  anonymous for too long but the one midfielder to support the attack.  Try him in the middle with Patty and we may at least crate something.

Hux 5 - faded so badly in the second half having had a poor first half.

Rusty 6 - MOTM?  With patty sat too deep and brought wolves onto us;   did tackle but was usually second best on any 50/50 and too easilyt outmuscled - where was the desire?  Not a thing just to be aimed as crusty today though.  Didnt make himself available for a pass and when he did have the ball at his feet simple did nothing to penetrate the defence.  Did not make one run to or beyond the strikers.

Patty 6.5 My motm - see Rusty but firmer in the tackle, greater desire and slightly less wayward passing,  still no penetration though.

Evans 5  No movement,  but little service.

Cureton 5 No movement,  found offside again, no confidence he would finish the chances he did get - an nearlyu didnt.  Worse than evans but did score.

  Subs

Croft - 5  ran hard, but so little output;  defended poorly and gave a performance to keep himself on the bench.  Had time to look and put crosses in only to hit no one...

Dion 5 so much clamour for him to come on - yet rarely won a header and generally link up play was poor.   Saving grace was a route one goal where he did flick on to cureton;  but beyond that was no better than any other striker.

Brown 4 - was he on the pitch?  as a winger?  even less impact that dion and croft

[Gingerpele 0]

it was a bad preformance overall, the players have no idea what there jobs are,cureton and evans run around the pitch trying to supply them selves?there was only ever one player in the box, hux got worn out running back and fowardsdefence is too slopykepper cant move off his line

[Mister Chops 7]

Agree with much of what you say, Zipper, but 2nd half we were much better than 1st half.  How can you give Shackell the same mark as Doherty?

We need a player who can control the tempo and passing of the ball from centre-mid.  It would worry me if Pattison goes back wide left if (when) Hux leaves and Fotheringham comes back into the middle as then we''ll have nothing but "work rate" through the midfield.

Anyway:

Marshall 7 -outstanding saves 2nd half

Otsemobor 5 - Poorest game I''ve seen him have for City since he signed

Shax 5 - Calamity - booking summed it up

Doc 7 - agricultural but effective and one of the few who didn''t get bullied

Camara - 5 Why do some loan players who get worse with every game?

Smith 5 - if you can''t say anything nice, don''t say anything at all

Hux 4 - California Dreaming

Rusty 6 - Nice gloves/short sleeves combo there, Mr. Russell

Patty 7 - got stuck in, enjoyed watching him 

Evans 5  - didn''t win much in the air considering he''s bigger than Cureton

Cureton 7 - MoM - ran his heart out, won a few headers against the colossus marking him, took his goal well and showed surprising pace.

Subs

Croft - 5  - probably personal prejudice, but I can''t stand him.  He played okay, I guess, if running around a lot is "okay".

Dion 5 - didn''t make the most of his physical presence

Brown 5 - what I like about Brown is he will play anywhere for the manager and have a go. To be fair, I''m not sure he touched it.  Note ye doubters, where was Strihavka?

 

[DONT REMEMBER YOUR TENURE AS ENGLAND MANAGER 0]

What is it with the anti Croft stance. I thought he played well when he came on and at least provided a threat that Wolves then had to deal with. It was down to Croft and Dublin coming on that changed the game. I agree that his end product does need to improve but i feel he tries too hard when he comed on thus trying to get a starting position.

As for the centre half pairing, both were shocking yesterday. I don''t know what game people were watching but some The Doc was very very lucky to get away with some really bad decision making, and Shacks had a stinker. In my opinion they both need to be replaced. The Doc appears to be an intelligent guy but his concentration levels are shocking

[bigbear 0]

Marshall - 7 unsure about the goal due to angle i was for it, but apart from that, very good

Camara - 5 not a great game but always looked to get forward

Shackell - 3 dreadful, passing way off, control pitiful, decision making inept, won a few in air though, which then usually went to a wolves player

Docherty - 7 got shackell out of a lot of bother, apart from his usual holding of his man, very solid

Otsemobor - 5 looked lost with Smith, due to where smith was playing.  Improved when croft came on

Hucks - 4 started quite well, but again didn''t get the ball enough.  Players are still scared of him and back off, but his crossing has been awful this season.  But then there was no-one to actually cross to half the time anyway

Pattison - 6 looked solid and got stuck in but he is never going to run with ball and make a defense splitting pass

Russell - 8 MOM same as above with Pattison, but looked to get forward when he didn''t have ball and got stuck in more than anyone else on pitch.  Had to try to make up for smith being on pitch

Smith - 2(being generous) yet again, can''t understand why he is playing wide right.  he is supposed to be a central midfielder, who spent most of the time he was on the pitch, in his right position leaving Otsemobor exposed and having nothing going down our right.  When in the middle, he did absolutely nothing.  he must do special things in training to get a game because he hasn''t had a single good game for our 1st team.  What he did at QPR and for Chelsea to keep hold of him remains a mystery.  Maybe he will show us what he can really do, but at present he certainly isn''t

Evans - 5 Due to no creativity in midfield, had little oppotunities, tried very hard though and had to keep trying to make things happen out of nothing

Cureton - 6 same as above but managed to get a few more chances and finished well for his goal.  neither strikers seemed to spend a great deal of time in the box

Subs

Croft - 5 helped Otsemobors game as he knew where croft would be to help out if necessary.  Croft made a few runs down right, messed a couple of crosses but at least got in the positions to do so, yet again crossing to no-one in the middle

Dublin - 5 played better than he has done in last couple of games coming off bench.  Won a few headers and not as many mis-placed passes

Brown - 4 think in the time on the pitch, he touched the ball once, where he flicked the ball on to the nearest defender!  seemed to be out a bit wider than he should though.  Maybe shouldve played more central where he couldve done more

 

Glenn Roeder -5 Very strange seeing Smith on right wing again after an inept performance against Charlton when everyone else played well.  Then just like Boxing Day, not making the change to bring him at half time, and waiting.  At least we only had to wait 5 mins.  Strabge to see Brown and Spillane on bench after what has been said in the papers recently  about certain players possibly never playing for this club again

[Buncey 1]

Marshall - 7 - Some great saves. Kept us not only in the game, but from getting hammered. Should have done better with the goal, he just doesn''t impose himself enough in the air.Semmy - 6 - Saw sweet nothing of the ball but when ever he does he looks very dangerous. Didn''t have much to do down his side, wolves didn''t seem to want to attack him much even though doc left out to die quite a few times in the first halfDoc - 5 - Simply because of the two CB he was the better. His movement is awful. He lost Keough so many times yesterday it was untrue. Was nowhere near him for the goal and left semmy exposes far to often. His distribution is awful but he made some good tackles and headers. Generally though he is not good enough.Shax - 4 - Awful. Was worse than doherty in everything. Albeit boothryod is a superior player to keough but that doesn''t matter. He let him have a field day. The mistake at the back wasn''t really at fault, the doc thought it''d be good to pass the ball to him when he had 3 players on him. But apart from that really he caused his own problems. Sometimes he looks great, most of the time he is awful. Not good enough.Camara - 6 - Quiet. Doesn''t let the cross come in 90% of the time.Smith - 4 - Send him back.Pattison - 7 - Dynamo in the midfield. Just ran around tackling everyone. Shame that two holding defensive midfielders don''t make a good partnership as we would have walked it yesterday. He isn''t really the creative midfielder we need, but his tackling and effort are holt like.Rusty - 6 - Harsh perhaps. Was too deep too often and let wolves swamp us. Him and patty are too similar and I''d have to say Patty shades it.Hux - 5 - Looked unfit and a bit overweight, looks like he enjoyed his turkey too much. Didn''t get the ball very often, always looks dangerousEvans - 4 - Very quiet. Poor movement. Didn''t get the ball. Cureton - 7 - MOTM - He scored another vital goal. He is our most talented player at the moment and the only player with any spark. He caused the wolves back 4 mayhem in the 2nd half. He was quiet and poor in the 1st. But his running and movement and skill were the only way we were gonna scored yesterday. Should have gone down for a penalty late on when he was through and got crunched. But breavely he still tried to score and just missed.Subs Dion - 6 - True quality. Set up the goal. Some great headers down to feet and his head and shoulders above brown. He looks tired and unfit though and the game went on he was increasingly out of position.Croft - 6 - Why does he not start? He is so much better than smith. Oh well, another tidy and good performance from the super sub man. Deserves a 1st team place.Brown - 4 - Why? He touched the ball all of 3 times in 10 minutes.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Marshall 6.5 -outstanding save in each half but needs to be more commanding coming off his line.

Otsemobor 6 - But often had nothing in front of him except two Wolves players so his potential was nullified by the tactics.

Shax 5 - Can''t pass, can''t even hoof properly, looked nervy.

Doc 7 -  Had no choice but to launch it but did look for alternatives wherever possible. EfforT, application and.............improving under Roeder.

Camara - 5.5  Unlucky to have Huckerby in front of him and just needs to put the clearence in the stands because Hucks never looks to pick it up when played to the obvious place.

Smith 6 - Does a decent team job but is out of position - not his fault - but still going to be a Premiership player.

Hux 4 - Where was his head? He makes poor decisions these days and has not matured as a player in that he could do much better if he adjusted his game.

Rusty 8  - Needs a creative partner but played like the Club mean everything to him.

Patty 7 - Protects the defence superbly but is surely capable of better passing. Wasn''t suited to a three man midfield. I hope we go on to sign him.

Evans 6  - Young player - working his socks off with little service I hope he doesn''t lose heart.

Cureton 7.5 - A heart on his sleeve player who salvaged us a point. Jamie''s running and deeper collection of the ball is improving game on game.

Subs

Croft - 6  Great attitude, looks quick and is clearly doing his best - however, his final ball, decision making and most of all responsibility taking need to improve markedly.

Dion 6.5 - Oh! For a 90 minute younger version. He almost won us the game.

Brown 5 - Looked lost and compared to Dion didn''t make a difference.

Looking at it realistically - we are playing 5 games in 15 days and all sides struggle with numbers. Roeder has continued to pick up the points and it should have been 4 from the two home games against two of the best teams we will face in Roeders rest of season. Glenn has rotated his squad well as he tries to establish a passing style and we need to support these aspirations rather than call for a return to hoofball. January will tell us if he can bring in players to suit his style but I expect he will be looking to keep us up this year and go for it moreso next season in terms of squad investment and development.

 

[Bovril 264]

completely agree with everything ''fellas'' has put.. thats exactly how i saw the game, though i have to disagree with boothroyd being a ''superior'' player to keogh.. i thought keogh was excellent for wolves yesterday and you can see him and kightley (thank god he wasnt playing by the way) really linkin up well.. keogh almost reminds me of a slightly shorter dirk kuyt for liverpool, both in appearance and his playing style, he was constantly on the move looking for the ball unlike ours

i think eveyrbody can see how weak we are on the right when jimmy smith plays there, i feel sorry for the lad cause he does undoubtely have quality, its just he really isnt a winger and clearly didnt wanna be on the right

Shopping List:

Centre-Back - to play alongside Doherty (Shackell when not alongside taylor has had an awful season)

Striker - An imposing striker who can link up play, obviusly ameobi would be great

Creative Midfielder - In Pattison, Russell, Fotheringham we have hard-workers and never give up but for me sit far too back and with the exception of fozzy perhaps, no-one linked the play forward for the strikers

Winger - Huckerby is clearly getting towards his sell-by date, nowadays losing his pace but still an assest, so we need a winger

[KCASN 0]

I think we played better than you think. O.K we had a dreadful first half but we didn''t concede even when the pressure was immense. My ratings would be-

Marshall-8- Two top quality saves.Played well, couldn''t see the goal to well from the N + P Stand, but I thought done well.

Otsemobor-6- Couldn''t get forward as much with Smith. But defended well.

Camara-6-sometimes chose the wrong pass, but did well.

Shackell-5- Poor even for his standards, I think he justs likes pumping the ball up field no matter who is there.

Doherty-6- Won some crucial headers looking younger by getting down low to win tackles. Impressed.

Smith-0- I gave this boy grief every second he was on the field. He is not born to play right midfield. Poor old Semmy couldn''t do anything. Croft needs to start!

Huckerby-5- Getting tired legs I think, past his best?

Russell- My MOTM- 9- He played like Ronaldinho and times, skill and tackling, his runs forward I would like him to be Captain for Norwich, even when fozzy gets back.

Pattison-7- Again I think worked well with Rusty, gave the ball away sometimes a bit cheaply but did well to cjase back.

Evans-6- Didn''t really get into it did he. Still too young. But a good prospect for the future.

Cureton-7- Well taken goal, maybe should of bagged a hat-rick. Chased the ball endlessly. Gettingalot better.

Subs-

Croft-8- Superb as soon as he came on he was a threat. And he plays in his position! Smith needs to go back to Chelsea. Sorry.

Brown-5- Didn''t see much of him, should have gone at his headers more.

Dion-7 Great impact on the game and helped out Jamie alot up there. Should Start

Not used-

Arnold

Spillane

[Mister Chops 7]

[quote user="Frinton-on-sea Canary"]

I think we played better than you think. O.K we had a dreadful first half but we didn''t concede even when the pressure was immense. My ratings would be-

Marshall-8- Two top quality saves.Played well, couldn''t see the goal to well from the N + P Stand, but I thought done well.

Otsemobor-6- Couldn''t get forward as much with Smith. But defended well.

Camara-6-sometimes chose the wrong pass, but did well.

Shackell-5- Poor even for his standards, I think he justs likes pumping the ball up field no matter who is there.

Doherty-6- Won some crucial headers looking younger by getting down low to win tackles. Impressed.

Smith-0- I gave this boy grief every second he was on the field. He is not born to play right midfield. Poor old Semmy couldn''t do anything. Croft needs to start!

Huckerby-5- Getting tired legs I think, past his best?

Russell- My MOTM- 9- He played like Ronaldinho and times, skill and tackling, his runs forward I would like him to be Captain for Norwich, even when fozzy gets back.

Pattison-7- Again I think worked well with Rusty, gave the ball away sometimes a bit cheaply but did well to cjase back.

Evans-6- Didn''t really get into it did he. Still too young. But a good prospect for the future.

Cureton-7- Well taken goal, maybe should of bagged a hat-rick. Chased the ball endlessly. Gettingalot better.

Subs-

Croft-8- Superb as soon as he came on he was a threat. And he plays in his position! Smith needs to go back to Chelsea. Sorry.

Brown-5- Didn''t see much of him, should have gone at his headers more.

Dion-7 Great impact on the game and helped out Jamie alot up there. Should Start

Not used-

Arnold

Spillane

[/quote]

 

I think I just wet myself laughing.

Yep. I did wet myself laughing.

You just said Russell "played like Ronaldinho".

Oops.  I just wet myself laughing again.

Enough.

[Jim Smith 2,610]

Think people are being a bit harsh on Evans for his efforts yesterday. I thought that whilst he was on the pitch he put a hell of a lot of effort despite getting no service at all. What we did create in the first half came from him and Curo doing it all themselves. It cannot be easy being a striker up against considerably taller centrebacks when you midfield have decided to all sit back and your only supply of the ball is 50 yard hoofs from the doc or goal kicks from Marshall!

[lucky green trainers 0]

Marshall 5 - hot on the heels of allowing the ball go under him last match - this time marshall stays rooted to his line, rather than coming out to challenge the goalscorer. time for gilks to have an outing???

Otsemobor 6 - has better positioning these days, but is prone to being done every now and then.

Shax 5 - lost keogh, and made no challenge for their goal.  prone to mistakes.

Doc 6 - not his best game of late - was reactive rather than proactive, meaning he couldn''t dominate his man. 

Camara - 6 - ok.

Smith 5 - got foward into the box first half, but not found by crosses - most were into the 6 yard box but devoid of yella shirts.

Hux 5 - is looking human rather than a god these days.  seems to make the wrong choices as well in recent matches, choosing to shoot when others are in better positions, and making passes when he should be shooting.  lacking a goal and failing to make goal scoring chances is sapping his confidence imo. 

Rusty 6 - plenty of energy, but was matched in midfield by wolves today, especially first half. 

Patty 7 - was everywhere today, especially when they threatened, often you''d see matty arriving late and snuffing out the danger, much like holt used to - has a found a 3rd lung from somewhere???  matty patty could be very good for us in coming years, much as holt was.

Evans 5  tenacious, and battled well against tough wolves defenders.  didn''t gamble and make runs into 6 yard box, where most of our crosses were aimed at first half.  no goal chances.

Cureton 6 scored, despite scuffing his shot this may have been a blessing - you get the feeling if he made a sound contact the ball would have been high, wide and handsome!!! some good link up play,especially 2nd half with dubs.

  Subs

Croft - 5  again crofty gives 100% for the cause, but needs to discover how to make chances.

Dion 5 - put himself about, came deep to collect and his arrival seemed to lift the team.  we looked more convincing. 

Brown 4 - no impact

[Graham Humphrey 13]

Marshall - 5 - Some good saves but awful distribution

Otsemobor - 3

Doherty - 4

Shackell - 2 - A total joke, beyond bad

Camara - 3

Smith - 3

Russell - 4

Pattison - 3

Huckerby - 3 - Very quiet yet again

Evans - 5 - Unlucky to be subbed, quite lively in the first half

Cureton - 5 - Poor first half, much better second and scored

Subs:

Croft - 5

Dublin - 5

Brown - not enough time on the field and why the hell was he playing left wing?

[Robert N. LiM 6,291]

We did indeed get slaughtered 1-1. But a month ago we would have lost that game comfortably, and credit to the players for fighting it out in the second half even though there was very little quality. A creative presence in the centre of midfield is essential, whether it''s Fozzy, Smith or a new signing. I thought Rusty and especially Pattison had good games, but with Hucks dreadful and Smith a fish out of water, we had no intelligent prompting from midfield.

Had we beaten Charlton and lost to Wolves we''d have one more point, but in a sense I think the continuation of an unbeaten run might be more valuable. Having said that, we''re at Selhurst Park next...

Ratings in broad agreement with Zipper and Mister Chops.

Marshall 7 - kept us in it, to be honest. Great shot-stopper; much to learn in terms of commanding his area.

Otsemobor 5 - poor game, I thought. Couldn''t rely on his pace against an equally speedy opposite number, and his shaky positional sense was exposed, not least in his astonishing laziness in marking for the throw that led to Wolves'' goal.

Shax 5 - made the Doc look like Bobby Moore.

Doc 7 - the Doc''s in good form at the moment and hardly put a foot wrong.

Camara - 6 Defends very high up the pitch and often gets away with it, but he scares the hell out of me to be honest.

Smith 6 - continues to struggle on the right. But gives a solidity which is underrated. I''d like to see him in the middle.

Hux 5 - I don''t enjoy criticising a City legend, but it is clear he no longer has the scorching pace to destroy teams, and he needs to adopt his approach and bring others into the game if he is to be an asset to us. Any anticipation when he got the ball was based on former glories than on anything he did in yesterday''s game.

Rusty 7 - Worth only a 6 in the the first half, but, remarkably given his outstanding performance on Boxing Day, got better as the match went on and was instrumental in us holding out in the last few minutes. Not particularly creative, but we know that. Finally looking like the player we hoped we''d bought in July.

Patty 8 - My MOTM. Out of the game in the first 30 minutes, but provided the desire and aggression the whole team (and the fans) lacked at the start. He must be signed. But I agree that a central midfield with him and Rusty is not creative enough. That''s not their fault, though.

Evans 6 - He is a special player. One drag-back while he was practically sitting down brought gasps of admiration from those around me. Very little decent service. Another one who I would like us to keep - a season loan is the best we can hope for.

Cureton 7 - He scored. That''s what he''s in the team for.

  Subs

Croft  5  Promises much, but delivers virtually nothing. One cross from an unpressured position in acres of space was simply scandalous. Needs a long hard look at himself - is being kept out of the team by a barely-fit kid playing out of position - and rightly so.

Dion 6 - a couple of decent flicks, but suffered from poor service just as much as Evans

Brown - no real time to assess. Bet he was delighted to get 2 minutes on the left wing to prove his worth before the window.

[sam 0]

Marshall 6

Otsemobor 5

Doherty 6

Shackell 5

Camara 5

Smith 4

Russell 6

Pattison 6

Huckerby 5

Evans 5

Cureton 5 (6)- cos he saved us a point!!