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Norwich vs. Stoke Player Ratings

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Ruddy 10 - Faultless and a fantastic penalty save.

Naughton 9 - Good balls all round and looked very solid defensively.

Barnett 8 - Looked very impressive until the sham of a card though was caught slow on the ball.

Da Laet 9 - Very assured and superb goal.

Tierney 8 - Solid. No issues.

Crofts 8 - Broke up play well.

Bennett 10 - Outstanding full debut. MOTM for me. Always full on running and extremely quick.

Pilkington 8 - Much better than I thought he was a some impressive crosses.

Johnson 8 - Extremely assured debut and faultless as well.

Holt 8 - Well held up throughout the game and looks like he could be a menace this year.

Martin 7 - Superb shot but also one out for a throw. Much better than I remember him being last year.

Lambert 8 - Superb starting line up but removing Bennett seemed misguided as he was a pacy outlet.

Ref 3 - Disgraceful decision for that red. Got a lot right though but ruined the game for us with that decision.

Ayala 8 - Barnett may struggle to win his place back.

Jackson 6 - Lot of running and endeavour.

Surman NA

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Oh come off it, over rating or what!! None of our players played a 10 ffs!!

Ruddy 9 - Didn''t have the most to do, but was very quick off his line and very assured. 2nd half he made a good pen save and good save from a horrible cross.

Naughton 8 - Looked good down the flank, both defensively and offensively.

Barnett 7 - Was having a decent game for sure until he fell asleep. Was never a pen (miles outside of box) but his red card was deciding factor in the game.

De Laet 8 - Looks most solid defender for me and v.well taken goal, feel if we keep him fit he will be key for us this season.

Tierny 7 - Wasn'';t tested as much as I expected when Etherington switched sides, although handles him well. Quiet but effective display.

Crofts 7 - Quietest of the 4 mids today but done well, broke up play when needed.

Bennett 9 - MOM for me, looked very dangerous, good delivery''s never gave up chasing the ball and is now slouch.

Pilkington 8 - great feet, wasn''t affraid to take on players, lacks a tad bit of pace, but makes up for this with his decision making and ability to take on opposition.

Johnson 8 - Looked much more composed than I imagined, wasn''t affraid to get stuck in and played a few decent passed.

Holt 8 - Gave Stoke''s big central defenders a real tough time, backing into them and holding the ball up v.well. Stoke defenders will definately know they have been in a game in the morning.

Martin 6 - too quiet for me, one nice shot after best move of the game from us. Other than that he didn''t contribute as much as I would have hoped.

Subs - Ayala - 7 assured ad didn''t buckle under pressure

Jackson - 5 not enough time to really make an impression

Surman - 5 as above, prefer him from the start.

Lambert 8 - Many changes and some big suprises, however his decisions almost paid off.

Ref - Was never a penalty, miles outside of box, poss not even a red card. Other than that a decent game.

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Bennett MOM?

I didn''t think Bennett was half as effective as he could have been today, he put in a couple of decent balls, ran past the full back once, and that was about it, apart from general passing of the ball, which everyone else was doing just as well.

And i knew i would see comments like that about Martin. He did as much link up play/holding up the ball as Holt, ran around nearly as much as him, and had a really good shot on goal. Was very surprised to see him playing, and was quite pleased with his performance.

Pilkington looked very dangerous in the first half, its a shame he didn''t see more of the ball.

Johnson and Crofts did well in midfield, kept and passed the ball well, and before the red card, put lots of pressure on the Stoke players.

Defence was generally very good, definatly wasn''t a penalty from where i was sitting, De Laet looked very good defensively. Was almost impossible to stop Stoke from scoring in last 20 minuets when we didn''t hold onto the ball, they must have put the ball in the box at least 15 times in that period, and Jones can jump about 10 foot into the air.

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I thin an 8 is a bit generous for Naughton, backed off a bit too much at times in the 1st half.

Also I thought Pilkington looked better than Bennett. Both were great but Pilkington looked dangerous every time he had the ball, nice to have someone really looking to take on the defender whenever he can. Probably a 8 for both the wingers..

Also Martin was great in the 2nd half. Sure he was a bit quite in the 1st but grew into the game as Holt seemed to fall away. I''d give him and Holt a 7; 1 good half each.

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[quote user="Mahogany"] Also I thought Pilkington looked better than Bennett. Both were great but Pilkington looked dangerous every time he had the ball, nice to have someone really looking to take on the defender whenever he can. Probably a 8 for both the wingers.[/quote]

Personally think it was the other way round. Bennett looked comfortable both trying to take the oppo player on down the wing and cut inside, whereas Pilkington would drive down the wing everytime, trying to cross the ball when it really wasn''t an option as he had two players on him. However, it is very encouraging to have players like this at the club and bodes well for the rest of the season.

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[quote user="Mervmeister"]

Martin 6 - too quiet for me, one nice shot after best move of the game from us. Other than that he didn''t contribute as much as I would have hoped.

Subs - .[/quote]I guess you missed the neat and tidy link up play and the dangerous runs, including one where his first touch took him past the Stoke defender and his second past the keeper?

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[quote user="Gareth"] I guess you missed the neat and tidy link up play and the dangerous runs, including one where his first touch took him past the Stoke defender and his second past the keeper?[/quote]Ignore this just read your follow up post and agree with it completley.

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I see the retards who don''t understand how Chris Martin plays are back in full force !

Ruddy - 10   Ok, I don''t like giving out a 10 but jesus christ !! He was Ruddy awesome. A couple of top drawer saves without even mentioning the penalty save. If he keeps this up we could well have teams trying to poach him !! Deserved man of the match as he was faultless !!Naughton - 8 Looked very sharp indeed and composed at the back. Also pushed up and linked with Bennett well.Barnett - 7 Sloppy passing but did not do much wrong. Shame the ref made a howler of a decision.De Laet - 9 This guy was for me in the running for MoM. Top rate Centre Back , if rumors are true would love to make this guy permanent in January. This seasons Henri Lansbury for sure !Tierney - 7 Did his job as expected but did not excell. I love it when someone beats him and he chases them down like a rabid dog ! Fantastic commitment as ever ! Johnson - 8 Good debut and supplied a peach of a cross for the goal. Very composed no nonsense midfielder. Like him already.Crofts - 7 Did what it says on the tin. Solid as ever.Pilkington - 7.5 Looked sharp and can use both feet. Very exciting :)Bennett - 7.5 Some tricky little moves and tenacious when off the ball. With some work this lad will get an England cap some day.Martin - 8 Has lost some weight and was chasing a lot more today. Still the best link up player we have got and played a delightfull back heel under pressure to release Pilkington. Might have been a contender for MoM if not subbed.Holt - 7.5 Looked like he did at the start of last season ,tired and not up to the task. His touch let him down a few times but his holding of the ball and pressence solid as ever. Relax, Holt still is first name on the team sheet and will deliver the goods !Ayala - 7.5 The Beanpole spainiard looks very solid. I dislike the idea of two "loan" centrebacks starting for us but he may give us no choice !!

Team - 9  Cant fault them to be honest. Good start to the season and very unlucky not to have 6 points in the Premier league !

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[quote user="Gingerpele"]Bennett MOM?

I didn''t think Bennett was half as effective as he could have been today, he put in a couple of decent balls, ran past the full back once, and that was about it, apart from general passing of the ball, which everyone else was doing just as well.

And i knew i would see comments like that about Martin. He did as much link up play/holding up the ball as Holt, ran around nearly as much as him, and had a really good shot on goal. Was very surprised to see him playing, and was quite pleased with his performance.

Pilkington looked very dangerous in the first half, its a shame he didn''t see more of the ball.

Johnson and Crofts did well in midfield, kept and passed the ball well, and before the red card, put lots of pressure on the Stoke players.

Defence was generally very good, definatly wasn''t a penalty from where i was sitting, De Laet looked very good defensively. Was almost impossible to stop Stoke from scoring in last 20 minuets when we didn''t hold onto the ball, they must have put the ball in the box at least 15 times in that period, and Jones can jump about 10 foot into the air.[/quote]Glad im not the only one confused by a couple of people saying Bennett was mom. He was ok though a couple of times he was out of position and didnt seem interested in getting back there quickly - made Naughton more involved than Tierney as i thought Pilkington did a better job all round attacking and covering back.Really impressed with Johnson. Strength, good passer and some quality set pieces.Ruddy and De Laet other stand out performances for me.And surprise surprise Martin gets some critism - some idiot sat behind me moaned about him all game long and nothing else - seriously what is the issue for some people? he was certainly no worse than Holt. Held the ball up well once we were down to 10 men, linked up with Pilkington and had a great shot well saved (as well as the throw-in shot).

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Why do I sense this is turning into a Chris Martin bashing session. On todays evidence if Chris Martin is as bad as some of you making out that does not say much for a lot of our other players. Not really sure what else Martin needs to do. He was given a standing ovation when withdrawn so a lot of people were very hypocritical if you joined in and did not boo. Or was it that you drew your comments from watching his every move on radio Norfolk.

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People see what they want to see. Personally I thought he was one of our better players today, took up a lot of good positions and was crisp and accurate with his passes. A good all round performance in my opinion.

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I thought holt was poor today, a 7 at tops! Solid back four and was a major setback when we lost barnett as he was playing brilliantly, his replacement ayala was good but i don''t think he''s ready for the prem yet. Surman looked lazy and like he couldn''t be bothered when he came on/

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Heartening to see a really solid performance from the team today.

 

Lambert made a lot of changes from Wigan, and proved fully justified in making them.

 

The two debutants who particularly impressed me were Johnson and Pilkington.

 

Johnson had looked woeful pre-season versus Parma and Zaragoza, but today was effective in breaking up play, passing and at set pieces. Looks like a rugby player in build, but certainly played well.

 

Pilkington looks a very classy player with a good physique, who, I''m sure, will be one of our star men this season. Probably still not quite fully match fit.

 

I''m a bit mystified by those who felt Bennett was MOM. I thought he was pretty average and looks a little lightweight in physique.

 

De Laet looked extremely assured again, and C. Martin put in 100% effort all game.

 

In fact, not one weak performance in the team.

 

Well done, Lambert for picking the right team, effectively nullifying the opposition. The midfield that played Wigan would probably just have been overrun by a very physically strong Stoke side.

 

My only question mark about Lambert today was why bring on Surman, a touch player, when we had our backs to the wall in the last quarter of the game. Surely R. Martin, even played out of position at LM, would have shored up the defence a bit more in the dying minutes.

 

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[quote user="Lambert is god"]

My only question mark about Lambert today was why bring on Surman, a touch player, when we had our backs to the wall in the last quarter of the game. Surely R. Martin, even played out of position at LM, would have shored up the defence a bit more in the dying minutes.

 

[/quote]

Yeah, most curious. Martin could have slotted into a defensive midfield position (right or centre) with Johnson on the left. Might have been easier to get on the ball and play it out with him there instead of hoof and hope.

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I''d have had Wes on instead of Surman.  He can keep the ball and bring others into play to take the pressure off a bit.  Surman''s not really suited to being brought on in the situation we were in.  Ulitmately our failure to keep possession, as well as sitting far too deep for the last fifteen minutes or so has cost us two points.

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game was live here on bulgaria so i watch and also recorded and seen again so some remarks from my point .

First a bit shocked seen so many changes and PL never do that last 2 years for lig game so a bit new for him

Over all team look very sharp and impressed during first half Stoke have only Ethrington shoot after beat 1 on 1 Naughton and we outplayed them totally but must say that Stoke start push strong in secund half and even 11-11 seems different game this half.

faul for penal was 3 yards outside penaltyarea huge wrong decision secund week in a row against us.

We deffend too deep last 20 minutes and if penalty was score we can be lucky to hold 1 pt.

At all very please from what I saw but must remark that not be easy to win in this lig many draws i see.

Ruddy -outstanding today very cool with no any mistake.8.5

Naughton-after seen last week RUss Martin make Viktor Moses better than leo messi was must to be bench today so Naughton preform good -7

Tierney-Good game for him loked on his place on premiere lig qucik and never doubt to tackle against bigger oponent-7

Barnett-I belive he is best partner de laet but and pity now come ban ofc this mistake for never penalty cost him and team much-7

De Laet-class lad very quick must play evry game -8

Bradley Johnson-when i read leeds fans coments i was much doubt why we need him but amaizing confident performence all around today -8.5

Crofts-good game not shine but play good enough-7

Pilkington-first half very good control quick but sec half disappear no doubt at this age look promising player 6.5

Bennett -Impressed frm him wonder how Brighton lost this player with his ambitions-7.5

Martin-good game for him after missed so many games not look out of place goold hold good shoot ofc goal is far from him.

Holt-Fight huge with this Rugby team and was very very tired last 20 minutes.We need some one around him who can score enough goals coz I doubt Holty with his style will have enough chanses in this league.

Ayala-not like what I see but for 30 min is too ealry to judge him hope if need play against chelsea to be more accurate.

Surman and Jackson come to hold ball more but we struggle realy big in this minutes so hardly to judge them may be not do the job.

Over all we have realy strong squad but need back many inj players and start win at home against teams like wba blackburn wigan swans qpr wolves etc ...

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I agree with a previous post about the introduction of Surman. It looked to me that Tierney had an awful lot more to do with Surman on the left than when he had Pilkington on the left. Surman just didnt close down and looked a little out of his depth, but can you blame him! Imagine getting thrown on in the middle of that intense second half!

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Ruddy 10

Tierney 7

Barnett 6

De Laet 8

Naughton 7

Crofts 7

Johnson 8

Pilkington 7

Bennett 7

Holt 7

C Martin 7

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[quote user="Nexus_Canary"]>Ayala - 7.5 The Beanpole spainiard looks very solid. I dislike the idea of two "loan" centrebacks starting for us but he may give us no choice >[/quote]

we bought him its not a loan player

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Bennett needed to take players on more and knock the ball past them, I''m a critic of Ruddy but got to admit he has been very impressive the first two games, surprised at how Tierney has coped aswell, and if De Laet keeps up this form we need to sign him long term, Chris Martin didn''t look out of place and Pilkington had some nice dribbles and good balls in.

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I thought Martin was superb in the first half, ran a lot and linking up really well. We have so many options. I think if Morison was fit, Martin wouldn''t have played, so my theory in bringing on Morison for Holt is a little bit off.

Thought De Like was good, impressed by the wingers we had today.

Very annoyed that Barnett got sent off and thus conceding the goal.

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My view on Bennett may have been a bit harsh, the bits of his play on MOTD did look quite good.

I still wouldn''t have him as MOM though.

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Bit late to the races, but here''s the scores based on 5 being average!

 

Ruddy - 9 - Couldn''t really ask him to do anymore, maybe the only reason its not a 10 is that it was an easy''ish penalty save

 

De Laet - 8 - Couldn''t do much more either, but there were one too many balls not dealt with in our 6 yard box

Barnett - 7 - Unlucky, mad sending off

Naughton - 7 - Good debut, didn''t do much much wrong, but did back off too often

Tierney - 7 - Solid, but unspectacular, maybe we should try De Laet there?

 

Johnson - 7 - Good enforcer, but not a great footballer

Bennett - 7 - Really good debut, hopefully just the start of things to come, ''could be the next Ashley Young''

Pilkington - 7 - Much better than I expected, think he will fit right in, in the Prem

Crofts - 7 - Solid again

 

C. Martin - 5 - Sorry chaps, and I know I will get bashed, but will never be a Prem player. A few good bits, but not in the game enough

Holt - 6 - Full of endeavour and if he was a midfielder he would prolly have got a 7, but he''s a striker and was never really in much of a position to score

 

Ayala - 7 - Looked good when he came on, only critical comment is he looks slow, but had a really lovely timed challenge within his first 5 or so mins

Jackson - Won''t score because we were mainly defending by the time he came on

Surman - Not enough to go on

 

Ref - 0 - What a pile of crap. I''m not convinced it was a even a foul, let alone a sending off. And then to give a penalty 2 yards out of the box. One might have thought he had taken a bribe.

 

Overall - A solid 7 - These are the games we need to win if we are to stay up and to be fair, it wasn''t the players faults, it was the refs. However, in giving the attack to the wings we lacked a lot of quality in the middle of the park, who were obviously asked to defend to give the wingers more licence. I don''t want to see Wes miss too many games at home where we should look to win every match if we can. I''m not Jackson''s greatest fan either, but surely with the run he was on last season he should have started today if we were trying out the other players. He is clearly a better player than C. Martin and I don''t think this sends out a good message to Jackson. One striker holding up the ball is fine, the other striker needs to be on the last man''s shoulder with a turn of foot. Clearly crossing the ball isn''t the only way of opening up a defence and if Wes and Jackson would have been on you never know what could have happened, afterall we had a lot of possession in the first half.

 

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I thought our changed midfield worked very well - strong in the middle and creative on the wings, Bennett linked up well with Naughton and Pilkington isn''t afraid to take people on and is confident with both feet which is a bonus; after only recently started playing after such a long spell out and not a full pre-season under his belt, I think there will be even more to come from him, a very promising player.

 

The other stand out players for me were Ruddy, De Laet and Johnson. I also thought C.Martin had a good game, he battled hard, good link up play, and had a decent shot in the second half; his performance for me was better than many of his later performances in the Championship, more reminiscent of the earlier games.

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