Back from the Burnley game

[Royalwaster]

You guys are losing it - like more than two hours after the game has finished and no-one is back to hand out some objective player ratings. So here goes:

Hahneman (7) - some good saves - no chance for their goal; did not notice any particularly bad kicks ...

Rosenior (7) - is getting better every game; very good going forward, some stray passes - getting better at the back; Eagles tormented him a bit after he came on - why didn't he (Eagles) start?

Bikey (9) - looked a bit shakey at the start, maybe because of the wind, but got increasingly better and looked fanstastic in second half

Ingimarsson (8) - very, very good; some great tackles - calm on the ball, etc.

Armstrong (8) - Shorey, who? Very professional performance.

Kebe (6) - OK, two goals came from his crosses; but apart from that wasn't his best game - how did he fail to hit the target to score what should have been goal number 4?

Karacan (7) - is getting better and better; his positioning is improving - good on the ball, nice passing; just keeps running; looks a bit like Matejovski at times and that's a real compliment

Gunnarsson (7) - very decent performance, dominating play in the middle - even though they were playing 4-5-1 we weren't over-run in the middle of the park like we would have been if JH had been playing instead (I think)

Hunt (9) - just love the lad; should have scored first time with his header, didn't make a mistake when he did score - great goal

Doyle (8) - did not stop running; a bit egoistic at times - he's got used to scoring; but set up the third for Long beautifully

Hunt, N. (-) great header for the opener - real power and great leap

Long (7) thought it was the best I've seen him play for ages - still some strange decision-making, but great run to score his goal and some very good link-up play; great pass to set up what should have been our 4th by Kebe.

Kelly (7) looked decent if unspectacular

Cisse (7) great cameo performance - against one of the best I've seen him play

[rg6royal]

USA - 7 (Did things with minimal fuss, couldn't do anything about the goal)
Rosenier - 7 (good as usual)
Bikey - 9 (man of the match)
Ingi - 7 (calm as usual)
Armstrong - 8 (Who needs shorey, very good display)
Kebe - 7 (didn't play very well but still set up 2 goals)
Karacan - 7 (Good again)
Gunnar - 7 (Good again)
Shunt - 8 (poor first half but good second)
Doyle - 7 (plenty of running)
N.Hunt - 7 (took his goal fantastically)

[2.8 lita injection]

Bikey gets a 10 just for the nuts on paterson in the 2nd half, he was superb today.

[rg6royal]

Bikey gets a 10 just for the nuts on paterson in the 2nd half, he was superb today.

'greed

Calm and composed and just so strong!

[FiNeRaIn]

Armstrong (8) - Shorey, who? Very professional performance.

I hope we are not going to have a season of silly comments like this.

[rg6royal]

Armstrong (8) - Shorey, who? Very professional performance.

I hope we are not going to have a season of silly comments like this.

I agree with the "Shorey, who?" comment. They are both left backs and are there mainly to defend and Armstrong does a much better job.

[PieEater]

I thought we played pretty poorly, and the score flattered us. Maybe I was spoilt by the last performance at home, but we were second to most balls and had few flowing moves. Burnley had done their homework to try to stop us playing and by and large it worked. It didn't do much for them getting forward, but they kept us at bay except for moments of odd glimpses of quality that got us the goals. Very happy with these three points though.

Oh, and I thought Hunty was poor today.

[rg6royal]

I think we are saying that we were poor because we didn't score more than 3 goals!

[One Beer is never enough.]

I thought Burnley were particularly poor, they never seemed to get a hold of the game, and we never had any need to get out of first gear.

After 3 games in a week, good to see we can beat one of the 'better' teams at a canter.

[rg6royal]

I thought Burnley were particularly poor, they never seemed to get a hold of the game, and we never had any need to get out of first gear.

After 3 games in a week, good to see we can beat one of the 'better' teams at a canter.

I wouldn't say Burnley are poor. They are going to be a hard team to beat for most teams this season.

[One Beer is never enough.]

I thought Burnley were particularly poor, they never seemed to get a hold of the game, and we never had any need to get out of first gear.

After 3 games in a week, good to see we can beat one of the 'better' teams at a canter.

I wouldn't say Burnley are poor. They are going to be a hard team to beat for most teams this season.

I didnt really see anything from them, bearing in mind they were fourth with a decent record, I expected them to give us a scare/ game - I dont think they did. Clearly a subjective view.

[rg6royal]

I thought Burnley were particularly poor, they never seemed to get a hold of the game, and we never had any need to get out of first gear.

After 3 games in a week, good to see we can beat one of the 'better' teams at a canter.

I wouldn't say Burnley are poor. They are going to be a hard team to beat for most teams this season.

I didnt really see anything from them, bearing in mind they were fourth with a decent record, I expected them to give us a scare/ game - I dont think they did. Clearly a subjective view.

They seemed to have more possession imo. As against Wolves we took our chances which finished the game off.

[Bill Oddie's Beard]

I thought Burnley were particularly poor, they never seemed to get a hold of the game, and we never had any need to get out of first gear.

After 3 games in a week, good to see we can beat one of the 'better' teams at a canter.

I wouldn't say Burnley are poor. They are going to be a hard team to beat for most teams this season.

I thought they were the strongest team we've played at home so far. They looked organised and at times were hard to break down. Not the best footballing side we've played, but certainly the strongest imo.

[One Beer is never enough.]

They had possession, but didnt seem to have (until Eagles came on) any oomph going forward. I am happy for the opposition to have 95% of play if they dont actually use it..........

[rg6royal]

I thought Burnley were particularly poor, they never seemed to get a hold of the game, and we never had any need to get out of first gear.

After 3 games in a week, good to see we can beat one of the 'better' teams at a canter.

I wouldn't say Burnley are poor. They are going to be a hard team to beat for most teams this season.

I thought they were the strongest team we've played at home so far. They looked organised and at times were hard to break down. Not the best footballing side, but certainly the strongest imo.

Exactly. Which links in with what I said about them being a hard team to beat this season.

[Bill Oddie's Beard]

They had possession, but didnt seem to have (until Eagles came on) any oomph going forward. I am happy for the opposition to have 95% of play if they dont actually use it..........

Eagles looked good when he came on, not sure why he was on the bench

[rg6royal]

They had possession, but didnt seem to have (until Eagles came on) any oomph going forward. I am happy for the opposition to have 95% of play if they dont actually use it..........

Eagles looked good when he came on, not sure why he was on the bench

Where was Akinbiyi

[One Beer is never enough.]

Eagles does look good - its another discussion, but he would've been a decent replacement for Little.

[rg6royal]

Eagles does look good - its another discussion, but he would've been a decent replacement for Little.

We have Kebe and that is more than enough for me.

[superroyaldude]

Armstrong - 8 (Who needs shorey, very good display)

totally agree, he is a much better player than shorey and i think he's going to get alot better.