Player ratings vs Huddersfield (H)

[Jack Straw]

Big improvement over Saturday. Huddersfield looked OK, but nothing special. Great to keep a clean sheet and get back to winning ways.

Stockdale 6. Looked a bit uncertain at times in the first half, but much improved in the second and dealt extremely well with some dangerous crosses. Distribution got better as the game wore on.
Bruno 8. After a poor game on Saturday he was back to his best.
Duffy 6. Much better than Saturday, but bring back Goldson.
Dunk 9. Superb. His crossfield passes were consistently right to the man. Strong in defence.
Bong 3. A real weak link. Passing was atrocious; defending so-so. Get the WBA guy match fit and in the team urgently.
Kayal 7. Much better game than Saturday.
Stephens 8. Great to have him back. Clear what we were missing.
Skalak 6. OK.
Murphy 6. OK. Should have done better when one-on-one with the goalie.
Knockaert 7. Some moments of magic, but also some poor decision making. Lucky with the goal. Goalie should have saved the shot.
Hemed 6. OK

Subs
Murray 7. We looked better with him on instead of Hemed, but he didn't see a lot of the ball.
Sidwell 6. OK.
Manu - not on long enough.

Saves me loads of typing! Exactly what I thought.

 

[ewe2]

I thought Murphy,played the 10 role a lot better than Knockaert.Bong has lost form and confidence.Skalak confuses me,and Manu does have pace and strength,if he could score ........

 

[Wardy's twin]

Stockdale- 6.5- Kicking was a bit better but still looked a bit unsure on some of the crosses

Bruno-8.5- Silky smooth and marked in form La Parra out of the game
Dunk-9-MOTM- Commanding defensive performance and some of his long range passing was superb
Duffy-7-Still looks a bit lumbersome to me at times but good in the air and made some key challenges
Bong-2-Couldn't seem to pass to a teammate, poor at overlapping, very dissapointing

Murphy-6-Some good dribbling but poor decision making and missed a 1 on 1 which he had a lot of time to think about
Kayal-7-Thought he looked more up for it tonight
Stephens-7-Put himself about and did ok passing wise
Skalak-5.5-Tried hard at tracking back but offensively little worked for him

Knockaert-7-Made some mazy runs as you'd expect but his decision making in the final third was poor tonight
Hemed-6- A bit isolated but poor in possession and didn't make good enough forward runs

Subs: Murray-7
Sidwell-6
Manu-N/A

Thought Murray did no better than Hemed so not sure of the difference in marks... Skalak was probably a 5 or 4.5.

 

[Tekanne]

Stockdale - 6 - looked to pick up his confidence with a few good - but comfortable - saves after coming out and flapping at a cross early in the game.

Bruno - 7 - Solid and classy.
Dunk - 10 - MOM, quite literally done everything right.
Duffy - 8 - Improved a lot in the second half, hopefully him and Dunk will form an understanding now. Surely they must be one of the best CB partnerships in the division?
Bong - 5 - Passing very poor. Don't think you can blame Murphy either, Bong should read the runs that Murphy is making, he is a winger and is played to attack.

Skalak - 6 - Pretty anonymous without doing anything wrong.
Kayal - 7 - Thank god he is back with Stephens.
Stephens - 8 - As per above, so happy he is back and starting with Kayal. So so so important to us.
Murphy - 7 - Looked more threatening than Skalak but not the same player that was so dangerous in parts last season.

Hemed - 8 - Don't really understand the bad marks people are giving him. Thought it was a good centre forwards performance: held the ball up well, linked the play up with the wingers and played a good ball to Murphy who should've scored.
Knockeart - 8 - I don't like the fact he strolls around when it isn't going right for him and looks disinterested, but still our most important player and glad he got a goal.

Subs:

Manu - 6 - Good run at the end but should've squared it to Murray who was on his own in the box. Murray had a word with him after the game.
Murray - 6 - Done what he needed to do.
Sidwell - N/A - Didn't notice him.

 

[The Kid Frankie]

The bald geezer in midfield for them looked very good. Dominated the middle of the park.

Who was that man? From my seat in the WSU he looked like he should be playing pub football with his appearance, but he was quality.

 

[stss30]

Thought Murray did no better than Hemed so not sure of the difference in marks... Skalak was probably a 5 or 4.5.

Murray's control and turn caused panic in the Huddersfield defence, then the ball fell to Knockaert and we scored. Think he offered more threat than Hemed

 

[pb21]

Stockdale: 6 Job done
Bruno 8: Solid performance, did his defensive duties well and got forward into some good areas.
Duffy 5:. OK.
Dunk 9: Easily MOTM.Some outstanding passing too!
Bong 4: OK defending, not so good at passing (I wouldn't call him a wanker though, unlike some of the ‘fans’ behind me)
Kayal 7: Solid performance.
Stephens 7: At time an 8 at times a 6, though he was losing it a bit in the second half
Skalak 6: OK, can see why he is in the team as some of his crossing and passing was excellent, but lacked a bit of skill IMO.
Murphy 5: Should have scored early on, then largely average IMO.
Knockaert 7: Some excellent skill, scored, but was largely kept out of the game by Huddersfield.
Hemed 5: OK/Average.

Subs
Murray 7: Made the difference and the goal opportunity, dont think we would have scored if he hadnt come on.
Sidwell 5: OK
Manu 5: Did well whilst he was on, his pace didn’t allow Huddersfield to push up too much.

 

[Withdean11]

Stockdale - 6 - missed a couple of crosses
Bruno - 7 - Much better
Dunk - 8 - MOTM, think he will come of age this season and cut out his mistakes
Duffy - 7 - Very good in the air. Much better than Saturday
Bong - 5 - Very poor passing.
Skalak - 6 - not quick enough to be a winger, should of taken more set pieces.
Stephens - 7 - Quality in the first half, seemed to loose concentration in the second.
Kayal - 7 - Decent game, but not his best.
Murphy - 6 - should of scored
Knockaert - 6.5 - Wasted in the No. 10 role. Knew he would be.
Hemed - 6 - he's very average.

Subs

Murray - 6.5 - Should start ahead of Hemed, first touch and hold up play much better.
Sidwell - 6
Manu - N/A

 

[MattBackHome]

Who was that man? From my seat in the WSU he looked like he should be playing pub football with his appearance, but he was quality.

Mooy, on loan from Man City. Scored the winner against Leeds at the weekend and caused us a few problems last night. I'd say it was a 'Kayal-esque' performance - high praise.

 

[Dick Swiveller]

Hemed - 8 - Don't really understand the bad marks people are giving him. Thought it was a good centre forwards performance: held the ball up well, linked the play up with the wingers and played a good ball to Murphy who should've scored.
.

This.Given how isolated he was and the lack of service, I thought this was as good as he has played taking out goal scoring. Looked much more like a proper centre forward with strength, tenacity and running and was involved in most of out best moments. If he plays like that with a proper number 10 then I would pick him over Murray every time at the moment.

 

[The Kid Frankie]

Strockdale 7 - flapped at that decent cross in the first half but overall solid
Bruno - 7
Duffy - 7 does not get beaten in the air
Dunk - 9
Bong - 5 got to the point people were groaning and cringing when he got on the ball
Kayal 7
Stephens 7 showed his quality but still seemed a yard off pace, we will see the difference big time when he is 100%
Skalak 6 love the geezer but did nothing
Murphy 7 should have scored but otherwise thought he did ok
Knockaert 7 bloke is so dangerous even when not on top form
Hemed 7 did ok. His touch looks to have improved but he isn't as strong as Murray

Murray 7 gave their defenders a lot more trouble than Hemed and did well to set up AK for the goal. Would start him again Saturday
Sidwell n/a
Manu n/a

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Stockdale 7 Good handling, no problems with his kicking, deserved his clean sheet.
Bruno 8 Ole, Ole Ole Ole.
Duffy 5 Ducked out of a header which could have been punished, headed back into a dangerous area for no reason and generally looked like he could crumble at any moment despite not having any real threats to snuff out. Still settling in so the jury is out and no long term opinions have been formed, but the signs aren't good and I wouldn't keep him in the team.
Dunk 9 Everything a centre back can be, top, top quality performance. Promotion this season, or we'll lose him.
Bong 4 Awful performance.
Skalak 5 Didn't have a kick in the second half, and only one opportunity to cross in the first but it showed his class. Just need to get him more involved.
Stephens 7 Controlled the midfield area with interceptions, short passing and covered more ground than most noticed. Class player.
Kayal 8 Not his finest, but his impact is crucial. Hunted around, put his foot in and played dangerous passes. Best central midfield player I've seen play for us.
Murphy 6 De Bruyne he isn't, as proven by his fluffed chance in the first half. Ordinary performance.
Knockaert 8 Freedom is good, but we needed to get him the ball more. I love the idea of him in the #10 position but we had to get him involved more.
Hemed 7 Battled and worked hard, not much came off for him though.

Subs
Murray 7 Quality performance from a quality player.
Sidwell 7 Good energy and work rate, did what he needed to.
Elvis n/a Can't rate him as not on long enough but far more encouraging than anything I'd seen previously from him.

Mooy, on loan from Man City. Scored the winner against Leeds at the weekend and caused us a few problems last night. I'd say it was a 'Kayal-esque' performance - high praise.

Kayal-esque. I mean, seriously? He was given time, space and freedom to dictate and he did nothing with it. His performance was more Forster-Caskey than Kayal, getting on the ball and spreading the passes around nicely but without any hint of a threat or any danger he might actually play a meaningful pass. He was one of the reasons that Huddersfield carried no goal threat, he was meant to make things happen but all he did was keep his stats nice and high, look like he was having a good game but actually made no impact on it whatsoever. Kayal, however, drives us forward and makes an impact in every game, Mooy is nowhere near Kayal's level.

 

[MattBackHome]

How about Dicker-esque?

 

[Luke93]

Stockdale - 6 - missed a couple of crosses
Bruno - 7 - Much better
Dunk - 8 - MOTM, think he will come of age this season and cut out his mistakes
Duffy - 7 - Very good in the air. Much better than Saturday
Bong - 5 - Very poor passing.
Skalak - 6 - not quick enough to be a winger, should of taken more set pieces.
Stephens - 7 - Quality in the first half, seemed to loose concentration in the second.
Kayal - 7 - Decent game, but not his best.
Murphy - 6 - should of scored
Knockaert - 6.5 - Wasted in the No. 10 role. Knew he would be.
Hemed - 6 - he's very average.

Subs

Murray - 6.5 - Should start ahead of Hemed, first touch and hold up play much better.
Sidwell - 6
Manu - N/A

I agree with this!

 

[BRIGHT ON Q]

Couldn't make it last night but aspinall was saying bong started badly with poor passing, but played really well second half. Is that not the case ?

Yes I would agree, absolute shocker first half but regained a bit of composure and I think if you rewind the goal enough it was him who beat 2 players to start the move off.
I would say Skalak was at least as bad last night.

 

[Weststander]

Didn't go to this one myself, but did the other games. Going by your views, Bong is now persistently awful = time try a new LB.


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[Eggman]

Stockdale 8
Bruno 7
Duffy 7
Dunk 9
Bong 6

Murphy 6
Stephens 6
Kayal 7
Skalak 6
Knockaert 8

Hemed 6

Murray 7
Manu 6
Sidwell 6