Ninja Elephant
Doctor Elephant
- Feb 16, 2009
- 18,855
Tomasz Kuszczak 8 Kicking is incredibly poor, considering his pedigree. But his shot stopping and his overall goalkeeping is fantastic and I don't think we need him to do anything with his feet, the priority is keeping clean sheets. He has that art down to a tee, he is THE man.
Bruno 10 Incredible performance. Apart from his free kick in the first half (!), he was sublime. The chap next to me was filling in for the regular lady and asked me what he's like, I said he was re-defining magnificence. By the end, the chap was patting me on the back and telling me I called it spot on.
Adam El-Abd 8 Man mountain. I can't believe the transformation from crap League 1 defender to dominant Championship first choice centre back, Bothroyd might not have been too worried up front but he is bigger physically but El-Abd controlled him from start to finish.
Gordon Greer 7 Hard to rate him any higher considering I don't really think he had to do much. El-Abd was chief Bothroyd bully and Greer let him do what he does whilst covering in behind should anything have gone wrong, but it never did. A brilliant partnership.
Wayne Bridge 9 His little moment in the first half right in front of me where he picked up the ball and flicked it over Antonio's head and ran on to it whilst keeping the ball completely under control was amazing. This is our LEFT BACK. Style, class and had wingers in his pocket.
Liam Bridcutt 9 His range of passing is sublime, and he never looks rushed. Strong in the tackle, quick footballing brain and works incredibly hard. Seemed to get forward a bit more than usual, he rotated brilliantly with Dicker and Hammond. Our midfield used to be weak, now we have embarrassing strength.
Dean Hammond 9 Inspired signing. Gus must have known he'd cop some flack, and so would Hammond. But they both ignored it to get the deal done and you can see why, he did exactly what we want. Both goals were fantastic finishes, despite them being disallowed. Fit in seamlessly.
Gary Dicker 8 Sublime. I don't think he's got much of a chance of staying in the side when Crofts is fit, because Hammond and Bridcutt are both far too good to drop out of the side so I suspect Dicker will find himself as the odd man out but has the class required to continue being an important player.
Will Buckley 8 Didn't think he looked too good first half, or second really. Obviously working his way back in, but he's always involved when it matters. He just seems to have the knack of being in the right place, and his finish was fantastic, and so was the first touch preceeding it too.
Ashley Barnes 7 Not really involved as much as he would have been, but he got through his defensive work as usual and helped the team to tick over. I think he was involved in the Hammond first disallowed goal. Not really in the game but did his role for the team and there's a lot of value in that.
Craig Mackail-Smith 8 The defenders were crap, and he punished them. Like against Barnsley, put him against clumsy oafs at the back and he's going to cause them all sorts of problems. They hated him, and probably had nightmares about him last night. Chances starting to fall for him which is crucial.
Subs
Stephen Dobbie 7 Loved the outrageous long range attempt, and looks to have all the class we're hoping for.
Andrea Orlandi 6 Couldn't really get involved, didn't have enough time but encouraging signs.
David Lopez 6 Same as Orlandi really. Watched the half time sub parade and he was knocking the ball around with effortless class. Loved it.
Bruno 10 Incredible performance. Apart from his free kick in the first half (!), he was sublime. The chap next to me was filling in for the regular lady and asked me what he's like, I said he was re-defining magnificence. By the end, the chap was patting me on the back and telling me I called it spot on.
Adam El-Abd 8 Man mountain. I can't believe the transformation from crap League 1 defender to dominant Championship first choice centre back, Bothroyd might not have been too worried up front but he is bigger physically but El-Abd controlled him from start to finish.
Gordon Greer 7 Hard to rate him any higher considering I don't really think he had to do much. El-Abd was chief Bothroyd bully and Greer let him do what he does whilst covering in behind should anything have gone wrong, but it never did. A brilliant partnership.
Wayne Bridge 9 His little moment in the first half right in front of me where he picked up the ball and flicked it over Antonio's head and ran on to it whilst keeping the ball completely under control was amazing. This is our LEFT BACK. Style, class and had wingers in his pocket.
Liam Bridcutt 9 His range of passing is sublime, and he never looks rushed. Strong in the tackle, quick footballing brain and works incredibly hard. Seemed to get forward a bit more than usual, he rotated brilliantly with Dicker and Hammond. Our midfield used to be weak, now we have embarrassing strength.
Dean Hammond 9 Inspired signing. Gus must have known he'd cop some flack, and so would Hammond. But they both ignored it to get the deal done and you can see why, he did exactly what we want. Both goals were fantastic finishes, despite them being disallowed. Fit in seamlessly.
Gary Dicker 8 Sublime. I don't think he's got much of a chance of staying in the side when Crofts is fit, because Hammond and Bridcutt are both far too good to drop out of the side so I suspect Dicker will find himself as the odd man out but has the class required to continue being an important player.
Will Buckley 8 Didn't think he looked too good first half, or second really. Obviously working his way back in, but he's always involved when it matters. He just seems to have the knack of being in the right place, and his finish was fantastic, and so was the first touch preceeding it too.
Ashley Barnes 7 Not really involved as much as he would have been, but he got through his defensive work as usual and helped the team to tick over. I think he was involved in the Hammond first disallowed goal. Not really in the game but did his role for the team and there's a lot of value in that.
Craig Mackail-Smith 8 The defenders were crap, and he punished them. Like against Barnsley, put him against clumsy oafs at the back and he's going to cause them all sorts of problems. They hated him, and probably had nightmares about him last night. Chances starting to fall for him which is crucial.
Subs
Stephen Dobbie 7 Loved the outrageous long range attempt, and looks to have all the class we're hoping for.
Andrea Orlandi 6 Couldn't really get involved, didn't have enough time but encouraging signs.
David Lopez 6 Same as Orlandi really. Watched the half time sub parade and he was knocking the ball around with effortless class. Loved it.
ENresT in disguise!
