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Player Ratings v Middlesbrough (h)



Acker79

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Nov 15, 2008
31,765
Brighton
I don't know how easy it is to rate the players in this game. Not just because there's the disappointment of the loss, but mostly because it felt like every player was negatively impacting each others' performance.

I was frustrated by Greer's lack of any attacking intent whenever he had the ball, but is it fair to blame him when there's no movement up front providing options for him?

I was frustrated by Kayal and Bruno running into blind alleys, but what choice did they have when Murphy refused to make the overlapping run they kept begging him to make?

Generally, I thought we put in a very poor performance pretty much all over the pitch. I remember a minority of fans criticising the football under Gus and to a lesser extent under Oscar, 'sure, we've had lots of possession, but it's all in our own half and we have no attacking threat'. Under Gus and Oscar I felt that patient possession had purpose. Today it felt like we were completely lost. No attacking intent, no movement, no creativity. It felt like it was the sort of football all those critics were claiming we played under Poyet.

Our defence need to learn from their mistakes. Too often at set pieces they are so interested in grappling opponents, they leave a massive gap - something Austin took advantage of on Tuesday, and Boro took advantage of today.

Today, I didn't feel like our players were playing for each other. It feels harsh to be criticising the players, given we're missing our first and second choice left backs, our first and second choice wingers, one at the start, now two of our first chocie centre backs, and a first choice striker, but aren't these the circumstances when the remaining players should be coming together?

While we could dream of an invincible season of undefeated football, most of us expected the run to end. I thought it would either be against a poor side thanks to an individual error or refereeing mistake, or would be in a tight affair against a top side where we just run out of time to get that equaliser and save our streak. I didn't really see us capitulating the way we did today.


Stockdale - 6.5 He has made some great saves this season, and has generally had good distribution, but today seemed to be another example where goals are being conceded and it feels like he isn't commanding his area enough.
Bruno - 6
Greer - 5.5
Huenemeier - 5.5 I felt more comfortable in his general play, shame about his injury
Calderon - 6 So often was available on the wing and ignored. I'm used to Greer refusing to pass to him, but it seemed everyone else was reluctant to use him, too.
Stephens - 6.5
Kayal - 6.5
Murphy - 4.5 Ignored instructions from team mates, more interested in doing his own thing, gave up the chase on too many balls though he did have our only shot that looked like it might trouble their keeper
Van La Parra - 4.5 Terrible first touch, not very strong in defence, exposed for the first goal, delivery found the first man too often
Hemed - 5.5
Wilson - 5.5

Goldson - 5
Zamora - 4
Crofts - 4
 






One Teddy Maybank

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Aug 4, 2006
21,483
Worthing
Some good observations [MENTION=12595]Acker79[/MENTION]

For me:

Stockdale - 6.5 some good saves
Bruno - 6 - did okay but nothing more
Calderon - 7
Greer - 4 - so poor for the second, any sort of movement leaves him exposed
Hunemeier - 6
Stephens - 7.5 - pick of our players for me.
Kayal - 7
Van la Parra - 5 - flatters to deceive, not so good today
Murphy - 4 - really disappointing, ducked out of a couple of challenges, which always irritates me.
Wilson - 5.5 - Looked willing, but just no service
Hemed - 5 - Did little, poor first touch

Crofts - 6
Zamora - 6
Goldson - 6 - Pleased he's got some game time.

Crowd - Well done to everyone who stayed until the end and cheered the players off. The run we went on was nothing short of amazing and I doubt whether we'll replicate it in my lifetime.

Middlesboro were well organised and the first goal was very well worked, I felt we all looked quite jaded after two biggish performances away from home.
 


BUTTERBALL

East Stand Brighton Boyz
Jul 31, 2003
10,255
location location
Only players who i thought were okay today were Bruno, Kayal and Van La Parra. Bobby offered us missing physical presence when he came on but game had gone by then.

Hemed, Murphy and Hunemier were way off the pace.
 




seagulls4ever

New member
Oct 2, 2003
4,338
Stockdale - 6
Bruno - 6
Calderon - 6
Greer - 4
Hunemeier - 5
Stephens - 6
Kayal - 6
Van la Parra - 3
Murphy - 4
Wilson - 6
Hemed - 4
 


sydney

tinky ****in winky
Jul 11, 2003
17,736
town full of eejits
I don't know how easy it is to rate the players in this game. Not just because there's the disappointment of the loss, but mostly because it felt like every player was negatively impacting each others' performance.

I was frustrated by Greer's lack of any attacking intent whenever he had the ball, but is it fair to blame him when there's no movement up front providing options for him?

I was frustrated by Kayal and Bruno running into blind alleys, but what choice did they have when Murphy refused to make the overlapping run they kept begging him to make?

Generally, I thought we put in a very poor performance pretty much all over the pitch. I remember a minority of fans criticising the football under Gus and to a lesser extent under Oscar, 'sure, we've had lots of possession, but it's all in our own half and we have no attacking threat'. Under Gus and Oscar I felt that patient possession had purpose. Today it felt like we were completely lost. No attacking intent, no movement, no creativity. It felt like it was the sort of football all those critics were claiming we played under Poyet.

Our defence need to learn from their mistakes. Too often at set pieces they are so interested in grappling opponents, they leave a massive gap - something Austin took advantage of on Tuesday, and Boro took advantage of today.

Today, I didn't feel like our players were playing for each other. It feels harsh to be criticising the players, given we're missing our first and second choice left backs, our first and second choice wingers, one at the start, now two of our first chocie centre backs, and a first choice striker, but aren't these the circumstances when the remaining players should be coming together?

While we could dream of an invincible season of undefeated football, most of us expected the run to end. I thought it would either be against a poor side thanks to an individual error or refereeing mistake, or would be in a tight affair against a top side where we just run out of time to get that equaliser and save our streak. I didn't really see us capitulating the way we did today.


Stockdale - 6.5 He has made some great saves this season, and has generally had good distribution, but today seemed to be another example where goals are being conceded and it feels like he isn't commanding his area enough.
Bruno - 6
Greer - 5.5
Huenemeier - 5.5 I felt more comfortable in his general play, shame about his injury
Calderon - 6 So often was available on the wing and ignored. I'm used to Greer refusing to pass to him, but it seemed everyone else was reluctant to use him, too.
Stephens - 6.5
Kayal - 6.5
Murphy - 4.5 Ignored instructions from team mates, more interested in doing his own thing, gave up the chase on too many balls though he did have our only shot that looked like it might trouble their keeper
Van La Parra - 4.5 Terrible first touch, not very strong in defence, exposed for the first goal, delivery found the first man too often
Hemed - 5.5
Wilson - 5.5

Goldson - 5
Zamora - 4
Crofts - 4

ouchh..........sign of what is required for promotion.................:albion::albion::albion:
 


Napier's Knee

New member
Mar 23, 2014
1,099
West Sussex
Boro are very very good and will go up as champions. For us the injuries have kicked in now, and we played too much pointless possession football around the back.
Stockdale. Some important saves but was left exposed again like last season. Some very good clearances. MoM 7
Bruno. Why weren't we playing into the space behind the defenders which Bruno usually uses so well? Did OK 7
Greer. His lack of pace has now been noticed by all opposition coaches hence danger when opposition runs from deep on our right. Some bad passes. 5
Uwe. Hope he's not another injury. So much more reassuring than Dunk 6
Calderon. Never lets you down, but he is having to be protected by Murphy, and this reduces Murphy's threat 6
VLP. Looks intelligent but nothing happened today 5
Kayal. Lost midfield battle. Some deft touches but not his sharpest 6
Stephens. As Kayal 6
Murphy. Having to play more defensive role to cover for Calderon - does it well but too deep for runs to a impact. 6
Hemed. As ever great effort but not a danger 5
Wilson. One great run when ball seemed stuck to his foot, but I guess showed why he is on loan and not inMU squad. 6

Goldson 5
Crafts 5
BZ 5. Seemed niggly today

Players need to rest regroup and come back fighting. No disgrace in the defeat. Onwards!
 






pasty

A different kind of pasty
Jul 5, 2003
30,178
West, West, West Sussex
Interesting that (unless I missed it) there was no man of the match announcement today. To be honest, who the hell would they have given it to?
 


aolstudios

Well-known member
Nov 30, 2011
4,412
brighton
Stockdale - 7 the obligatory couple of excellent saves. Not at fault for the goals
Bruno - 6
Greer - 6
Huenemeier - 6 at fault for the first goal, decent after
Calderon - 6 worked hard
Stephens - 6.5 good first half, adequate second
Kayal - 5.5 nowhere near his usual standard. Looked tired
Murphy - 5 off the pace
Van La Parra - 5 disappointing
Hemed - 5.5 also off the pace
Wilson - 5.5 ditto

Goldson - 5.5
Zamora - 5
Crofts - 5.5

Boro were ok. We made them look decent, I felt. Bad day add the office - we look tired all over the park
 




Bruntburger

New member
Mar 9, 2009
1,138
Peacehaven
Hemed poor as usual.

Kayal and Stephens very good and for me the only part of the park we looked better than Borough.

Wingers pathetic
 


Acker79

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Nov 15, 2008
31,765
Brighton
Interesting that (unless I missed it) there was no man of the match announcement today. To be honest, who the hell would they have given it to?

It was made after full time, given to Dale Stephens.
 


sussex_guy2k2

Well-known member
Jun 6, 2014
3,695
Stockdale - 6 No chance with the goals. Made a couple of saves. I pity him to be honest.

Bruno - 6 Had an average game. Their left winger was a decent player who kept going at Bruno who in turn handled him fairly well. Quite why he wasn't closing down the winger for their first goal rather than Van La Parra is beyond me - they swapped but he ended up in no mans land as a result. Improved as the game went on but certainly doesn't have the same level of partnership with VLP as he did with March.

Greer - 3 I know a lot of people don't agree with me, but it was another awful performance by Greer. He looks shakey in possession, he's a reactive defender rather than a proactive one, yet he rarely covers Bruno or his partner that effectively either. He also rarely dominates aerially and he constantly backs off attackers who run at him. It puts us under far too much pressure - if he wants to see how a defender should defend, he only needs to watch the 'Boro lads today who were proactive and aggressive throughout. Was at fault for the second and third goals, and was in the wrong zone for the first goal.

Huenemeier - 5.5 I think he was better than Greer, but ultimately he was caught out for the first goal. Admittedly, he was caught out at the near post (which should've been Greer's zone had he been marking properly) and that pushes his mark down. He seems to have a much better balance between covering his partner, but also being proactive and winning the ball up higher when it's required. Shame about his injury.

Calderon - 5 Spent a large portion of the game out of position. When attacking he's so uncomfortable on his left foot that he constantly cuts back inside - this has such a negative impact on Murphy's game as he's waiting for Calderon to go on the outside of him and drag defenders away. but Calde never does. Left back needs to be a priority in January as things stand - it's no coincidence that 9 of the 23 goals we've conceded this season have come in the last 4 games we've played with Calde at LB.

Stephens - 6 Kept things ticking over. Unfortunately he was outnumbered in midfield. Let down by Hughton's tactics to be honest.

Kayal - 7 Probably our one real bright spot. He looked to make things happen and his passing was generally decent. Unfortunately, alongside Stephens he was totally outnumbered in midfield and it negated the impact he could have on the game.

Murphy - 6 He was an attacking outlet, but it's no coincidence his performances have dropped as a result of having a right footed left back behind him. Still, he looked like our most likely scorer today.

Van La Parra - 5 Clearly lost the battle with Friend who looked like an excellent left back. He wasn't as poor as some said, but he suffered compared to March's recent performances and this was his least effective game for us. He was often picking the ball up very deep meaning that it was difficult to link effectively with the forwards who were very rigid up front against their centre backs. At fault for the first goal, although he shouldn't really have been the player closing down their winger.

Hemed - 2 I'll give him a 2 for turning up. I haven't seen such an ineffective performance from a center forward since CMS was playing for us... Also, how did Zamora go from scoring in every game to being dropped for a guy who'd got one goal in, what, 10 games? I'm at a stage where I'd genuinely take the O'Grady from the end of last season over Hemed at the moment as I'm failing to see what he brings to the team - he doesn't score, he lacks pace, he doesn't run with the ball effectively, he's beaten in the air continually... frustrating!

Wilson - 6 Poor bloke. He tried. He really did. But he was isolated because they dominated the midfield and we were so slow in our build up play that the few chances we had to release him were wasted. It genuinely felt like he was playing up front alone today. I counted 4 occasions where both he and Hemed were standing almost next to one another against their centre backs, and all of a sudden Wilson was on the move, looking for a pass in behind or short - Hemed didn't move on any of those occasions, which was a story of the afternoon.

Goldson - (Hard to judge) What a game to make you're debut in. It's hard to really judge how good he is based on that and considering how the game was looking when he came on.

Zamora - 6 Came on and tried. Put himself about (I hate that cliche, but it's true in this instance) much more than Hemed and actually won a header or two, whilst trying to link up with the other attacking players. Should've started and I'm not entirely sure what he's done to deserve being dropped.

Crofts Wasn't on long enough to rate - Either he or Ince should've been brought on at H/T to give us balance in the midfield.

Hughton 1 - I thought his management of today's game was abysmal. He was arrogant in playing a 442 against a top Championship side who were always going to use more players in midfield. Then he compounded that by apparently not watching the first half and realising that we were totally overrun and needed to bring on another central midfield player to take control of the game. His substitutions were nonsensical come the 70 minute mark as they were either direct replacements that weren't given enough time to have a true impact, nor did they give a rest to players who probably needed it. He's done a brilliant job this year, he really has, but this game highlighted his flaws as a tactician and in terms of his game management.
 




Rugrat

Well-known member
Mar 13, 2011
10,212
Seaford
Had my head in my hands for much of this so unsure but will have a go

Stockdale - 7 could have been more but for a couple of good saves, one in first half was excellent. Wish he would come out occasionally for corners a la Popalopalos or whatever his name is
Bruno - 5 - went missing for the first leaving Adomah completely unmarked which he was guilty of too often
Calderon - 6 - Did his back to the wall never give up stuff but is woefully out of his depth
Greer - 5 - have finally decided my granny can head the ball better ... how on earth can we be so vulnerable from set pieces?
Hunemeier - 6 - Kind of anonymous which on today's performances gets him an extra point
Stephens - 6 - I know there weren't many outlets, but too deep and didn't move it quickly enough
Kayal - 7 - Good engine room performance, can't expect him to win games single handed
Van la Parra - 5 - the dive was comical, he should have stood up and had a bash. Other than that drifted in too much when would be better staying wide and running at his man
Murphy - 2 - shocking, actually not that good
Wilson - 6 - Nearly did a Charlton but Boro were slightly better! Gets a 6 out of sympathy for having to feed off scraps
Hemed - 5 - Inconspicuous but didn't fuk up like some

Goldson 6 - Looked assured, I wouldn't be disappointed to see him start
 






One Love

Well-known member
Aug 22, 2011
4,346
Brighton
Hughton 1 - I thought his management of today's game was abysmal. He was arrogant in playing a 442 against a top Championship side who were always going to use more players in midfield. Then he compounded that by apparently not watching the first half and realising that we were totally overrun and needed to bring on another central midfield player to take control of the game. His substitutions were nonsensical come the 70 minute mark as they were either direct replacements that weren't given enough time to have a true impact, nor did they give a rest to players who probably needed it. He's done a brilliant job this year, he really has, but this game highlighted his flaws as a tactician and in terms of his game management.

Agree with this and the rest of your post.

I really believe our team were not mentally prepared for this game (somehow!!!). You could tell this with the opening passage of play.

There is no doubt CH has done really well with this set of players but the real test is how he manages them when things are not going well. This test could come soon.
 




dazzer6666

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Mar 27, 2013
52,011
Burgess Hill
Stockdale - 7 None of the goals his fault and a couple of decent saves. Good distribution again
Bruno - 5 Poor game, at least one goal his fault
Greer - 6
Honeymonster - 6 Did OK until injured after several weeks on the bench
Calderon - 6 Defensively ok but we're really missing LH link-up play
Kayal - 7 middling performance by his very high standards
Stephens - 7 Did his best
VLP - 6 Kept trying but decision making still ropey
Murphy - 4 Poor game again I thought but not helped by Calde's lack of service to him
Hemed - 6 Some decent hold up play
Wilson - 5.5 Struggled to get involved, but not much service

Goldson - 6 (looks capable of covering if we need him)
BZ - 4.5 barely passed to a stripy shirt. Has looked mediocre in the last couple of games.
Crofts - 5.5
 


DJ NOBO

Well-known member
Jul 18, 2004
6,310
Wiltshire
Hemed was little more than a bollard today
 



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