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Poll: Man of the Match vs Birmingham...and your player ratings

roaminowl
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Man of the Match vs Birmingham  

484 members have voted

  1. 1. Who was your Man of the Match vs Birmingham?

    • Westwood
      3
    • Hunt
      14
    • Sasso
      10
    • Loovens
      37
    • Fox
      7
    • Hutchinson
      155
    • Wallace
      15
    • Bannan
      18
    • Rhodes
      58
    • Forestieri
      1
    • Winnall
      118
    • Reach
      8
    • Abdi
      0
    • McManaman
      0

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ash60s Veteran

ash60s

Posted
Posted

7s Westwood Hunt Sasso Loovens Fox Wallace Forestieri Rhodes Abdi McManaman Reach

7.5 Hutchinson Bannon Winnall(MoM)

Gr8 team effort, energetic, incisive, moved ball quicker

which means we forfit possession but bonus of more chances hence the goals

started well finished well just took our foot off for 20 mins after half time

Pleased for Sam & Jordan with their goals, basis for a decent partnership

also pleased for Hunt, couple of boobs but ok in the main with a peach of a cross for Winnall

and for Reach who's been getting plenty of stick recently

Overall a damn good team effort - and goals

5 point gap below us and a warning to the 3 above us

Any down side? Yes - wasn't impressed with Fessi's attitude at being subbed, he should be taking on the challenge of new boys not

trying to do it all and sulking when things don't work out

Apart from that we are happy very happy owls tonight (hopefully :biggrin:)

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Guest Kagoshimaowl

Guest Kagoshimaowl

Posted
Posted

Westwood 7.  Newt to do, everything hit the bar

 

Hunt 7 great going forward not so much in defence

Loovens 8. More important than Lees imo

Sasso 7. Did a job and is decent back up

Fox: 7.5. Solid

 

Wallace 6.5  decent but faded

Bannan 6. Did his job but nowt special 

Hutchinson 9. The guy is unbelievable 

Forestieri  6. Worked hard but nothing came off for him

 

Winnall 7.5. Great performance and lovely header.  Missed a few decent chances though

Rhodes 8  quality seeps out of him

 

Reach. 8. Best I've seen him play.  Super sub??

Abdi 6. Did well but not on long

Mcmanaman. NA

 

 

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CrosbyKitchens Mentor

CrosbyKitchens

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Lord Snooty said:

 

I usually just vote. But have decided to join the rankings gamers!

 

 Westwood - 7-  He never really looked under too much pressure. I was pleased to see that we mixed things up and that now and again he was looking for the quick drop kick and not bowling the ball out to the defence everytime. Great catch from an insidious inswinging cross at 0-0 which really gives confidence to the back four.

 

Hunt -7-  I've always preffered palmer defensivly, and Hunt offensivly. Tonight he proved with that delicious cross what he is capable of when he is fully focused on the job in hand. Superb cross for the Winnall goal. Want to see more of that. But most of all I was impressed with his focus on his defensive work.

 

Fox- 6.5 - I really liked the look of the boy. I thought he was solid. Brings an urgency to the role at left back, and that's something that I like to see in defenders. Obviously only his second game and he's going to have to get used to the team, the style and the division but so far very good and hopefully more to come.

 

Loovens - 7 Thought he had a great game again.  I'll hold my hands up, with him playing with that injury last season I was concerned that he might be entering the final hurdle. But he had been superb this season. I loved the header when he just stood his ground with their big lad. It was all about strength and desire to get in front and win the header. Terrific. 

 

Sasso -6.5- There was the crazy moment when he ducked a header, but other than that I thought he looked really comfortable. For a lad who barely gets a kick he's come in and done an excellent job. Just shows that with a run of games lads can play themselves into form. 

 

Wallace -7.5-  An attacking player, but the way he got up and down showed that he can perform a job for the team when asked by the manager. I think anyone would agree he's a proper attacking player, but his tracking back was superb.  He has really got the bit between his teeth at the moment and has been one of the reasons that we have been picking up points during this tough spell. 

 

Bannan -7- Looked more like the old Bazza. Buzzing around with verve and energy. Little passes around the corner. Trying to get on more (which he can do when Hutch plays- anyone who thinks he's been playing deep off his own bat must be missing something)  I also thought he did really well with his battling tonight, Lets be honest he's a wee lad, and they had 3 big units in the middle there and he gave as good as he got.  The diamond formation that Birmingham played gave Bannan and Hutchinson so much work to do when Brum had possession of the ball that they had to be so focused and aware of making defensive angles because they could go man to man because of the simple maths of it showed great awareness and decscion making in when to close down, when to sit off and when to cut angles. Really pleased with the lad.

 

Hutchinson -7.5-  As above. The basic numerical disadvantage facing Hutch and Baz because of the two teams opposing systems meant this was always going to be a trying night when brum attacked. But Hutch was magnificent. It's actually getting to a stage where it's becoming expected of him to be awesome. Yes, he hit the post with that defensive header. But for me, great defending. That's sometimes a chance that has to be taken. Miss that ball and it's a knock in for some one anyway. Would have still been the right decision even if it had gone in. The tackling as always was glorious. But some of the big switch passes also showed just why this kid was such a hot prospect in his youth. 

 

Fernando -6.5- Not his greatest game and he did in the opening stages leave Fox 2v1 a couple of times. But this is one of our most attacking players. There is always that danger that it was going to happen. I have been one of those calling for his to play on the left. Though left of a front 3. Not left of a midfield four. Two quite, quite different roles. And not just in the positioning on the pitch but in the responsibilities and roles that come with those tactical nuances. He did look a bit grumpy when he came off.  But I've seen Hirsty call a manager a c*nt after being subbed. Players do hate coming off. There's no mountain to be made out of that molehill no matter how hard the press might try and push it and make nothing into 'a story'. Won lots of free kicks in dangerous areas and helped us hold the ball when we were under some pressure. 

 

Rhodes -7- The goal came as nothing of a surprise, as it won't to anyone else. The lads entire being is about scoring goals. What I did see though, and it's something I never saw when he played for Huddersfield was a terific work rate outside the box . There is a theory in football that you can let your best players off with doing the ugly jobs because of the other things they bring to the table. But it was so evident to see that despite the lads tremendous extraordinary goalscoring feats, he's no Bertie Big B0llocks. He's a team man, that was quite evident. And was great to see. 

 

Winnall -7.5- My man of the match.  As I have just said about Rhodes. Sometimes goalscorers in particular can fob off the defensive side of the game. The hard working side of the game. Not this lad. Oh yes, he's got a huge desire to get in the box, but his movement out of it was flawless in giving our defenders an out ball when we were under pressure.  Some of his link play with the midfield was really good especially at times with Bannan and Wallace. He could have had a couple more goals, but i won't be scalding him for that because he was in there getting on the end of chances. He had to overstretch for a couple, but I think that showed his desire to get on the end of things that sometimes he wasn't the favourite for.  

Finally, he was heading things out of our box. It might seem a small thing. And some might not have noticed but he was doing a lot of marking and defensive work when they had free kicks, throws in our last third.  He also wasn't afraid of getting his face in where the boots are. Not afraid of getting hurt, and my ,somewhat old fashioned book that uis a much undervalued quality in the modern footballer. 

 

Reach -7-  I have become tired of defending Reach over recent weeks. If people can't see that the boy has been asked to take up certain positions and have specific instructions in what to do when he has the ball then there's not point going over old ground. 

Tonight, with the team in a good position when he came on, Carlos clearly asked him to play a more attacking role than he usually does. And he showed, what many have suspected all along - that there is a good player in there with a  engine capable of running at people creating chances and scoring goals himself.  Well done that lad.

 

McManaman -7-  Is it right that I give him such a high score when he was only on ten minutes. Well, yes it is. Some of his link play was very good in that last ten. The little triangles we were playing and it was his interception (from taking up an excellent angled position before the attempted pass was cut out) that led to the last goal. 

 

Abdi - 6.5- Neat and tidy. Didn't give the ball away and was always available to receive. I'm glad to see him getting some minutes under his belt because he previous pedigree shows us that he has a real quality which he can exert at this level.  I'd still like to see him and Bannan ahead of Hutchinson in a three man midfield but it looks like that will remain a mere daydream for me. Still, as long as we're winning 3-0 every week I won't mind!

 

this is a dissertation not a match review.

 

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Paul Triplo Experienced

Paul Triplo

Posted
Posted

Winnall for me. Looks a reyt steal for 500K. I think we have the makings of a prolific strike partnership.

 

We are much better with Forestieri on left. He had a poor game and is lacking in confidence. Needs a good performance and a goal and he will be back. The pen miss at Brighton took the wind out of his sails but we need to stick with him - form is temporary, class is permanent.

 

I like the fact he was so pissed off about being subbed. That is what I want to see.

 

But what an amazing piece of business getting Fox in was. We needed an upgrade on Pudil, who has been poor this season. Fox is a reyt player in the making.

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Paul Triplo Experienced

Paul Triplo

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, spike1867 said:

Glad somebody else thought this, Sasso and Loovens were excellent. Sasso looked much more comfortable tonight and is well worth his place. There is no rush for Lees to come back at the moment. 2 starts, 2 clean sheets. Well done.

 

Loovens MoM for me. 

Sasso has been amazingly assured and confident for a player with so little game time.

 

How good could he be if he played all the time?

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Paul Triplo Experienced

Paul Triplo

Posted
Posted

Defence needs some credit because for large periods Birmingham were in the game, but we were so solid they rarely looked like scoring when they had their good periods.

 

Their left backs thunderous shot that rattled our goal was the only real chance. Would have burst the onion bag if it had gone in.

 

Other chances they created I think Hutch and Westwood had covered.

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sheriwozgod Veteran

sheriwozgod

Posted
Posted

Westwood   -   7   Assured as always

 

Hunt   -   7   His best game for quite some time , keep this up and we dont have a problem at right back

Loovens   -   7   Steady , would like to see him command the box aerially a little more at set pieces

Sasso    -   7   Technically very good with the ball ,still has me on edge at times with his defending , but overall pretty good to say he has been out for so long

Fox   -   7   Tidy debut , impressive first half , few shaky moments in the second

 

Wallace   -   6   Usual stuff from Ross , some good stuff mixed with the over ambitious and careless

Bannan   -   6   Worked hard again , a couple of killer little passes in and around the box , but got a litttle overun at times , but thats to be expected with us having an extra striker on the pitch

Hutchinson   -   8   Great to have him back , couple of stupid fouls apart he was very impressive

Forestieri   -   6    Tried hard , but he looks a little short of confidence at the moment , cant believe some of the hysteria at his reaction to being subbed , i have seen it happen so many times with Wednesdayites scapegoating our better players , if we ARE to succeed in any way this season we need FF at his best.

 

Rhodes   -  7   Very encouraging , looks at home already.

Winnall   -   8   Just shades MOM for me , snatched at a couple of chances but never stopped working and deserved his goal.

 

Reach   -   7   How much better did he look when he is given license to RUN at defenders rather than anaemically passing the ball sideways

Abdi   -   6    Nice to see him back in the picture

McManaman   -   6   Yet again looked direct and impressive in his short cameo ,  really hope he starts on Tuesday , with us having a lot of games over the next fortnight i hope CC shuffles the pack and starts Callum and Almen against Blackburn , as i thought Bannan and Wallace in particular looked a bit leggy last night

 

CC

 

Despite anything he may say about a masterplan i think last week WAS a wake up call for him , and fair play to him for taking the shackles off a little last night , we looked much better for it and its been a while since we,ve seen that kind of attacking intent at Hillsborough.

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someone in my head Community Regular

someone in my head

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, Lord Snooty said:

 

I usually just vote. But have decided to join the rankings gamers!

 

 Westwood - 7-  He never really looked under too much pressure. I was pleased to see that we mixed things up and that now and again he was looking for the quick drop kick and not bowling the ball out to the defence everytime. Great catch from an insidious inswinging cross at 0-0 which really gives confidence to the back four.

 

Hunt -7-  I've always preffered palmer defensivly, and Hunt offensivly. Tonight he proved with that delicious cross what he is capable of when he is fully focused on the job in hand. Superb cross for the Winnall goal. Want to see more of that. But most of all I was impressed with his focus on his defensive work.

 

Fox- 6.5 - I really liked the look of the boy. I thought he was solid. Brings an urgency to the role at left back, and that's something that I like to see in defenders. Obviously only his second game and he's going to have to get used to the team, the style and the division but so far very good and hopefully more to come.

 

Loovens - 7 Thought he had a great game again.  I'll hold my hands up, with him playing with that injury last season I was concerned that he might be entering the final hurdle. But he had been superb this season. I loved the header when he just stood his ground with their big lad. It was all about strength and desire to get in front and win the header. Terrific. 

 

Sasso -6.5- There was the crazy moment when he ducked a header, but other than that I thought he looked really comfortable. For a lad who barely gets a kick he's come in and done an excellent job. Just shows that with a run of games lads can play themselves into form. 

 

Wallace -7.5-  An attacking player, but the way he got up and down showed that he can perform a job for the team when asked by the manager. I think anyone would agree he's a proper attacking player, but his tracking back was superb.  He has really got the bit between his teeth at the moment and has been one of the reasons that we have been picking up points during this tough spell. 

 

Bannan -7- Looked more like the old Bazza. Buzzing around with verve and energy. Little passes around the corner. Trying to get on more (which he can do when Hutch plays- anyone who thinks he's been playing deep off his own bat must be missing something)  I also thought he did really well with his battling tonight, Lets be honest he's a wee lad, and they had 3 big units in the middle there and he gave as good as he got.  The diamond formation that Birmingham played gave Bannan and Hutchinson so much work to do when Brum had possession of the ball that they had to be so focused and aware of making defensive angles because they could go man to man because of the simple maths of it showed great awareness and decscion making in when to close down, when to sit off and when to cut angles. Really pleased with the lad.

 

Hutchinson -7.5-  As above. The basic numerical disadvantage facing Hutch and Baz because of the two teams opposing systems meant this was always going to be a trying night when brum attacked. But Hutch was magnificent. It's actually getting to a stage where it's becoming expected of him to be awesome. Yes, he hit the post with that defensive header. But for me, great defending. That's sometimes a chance that has to be taken. Miss that ball and it's a knock in for some one anyway. Would have still been the right decision even if it had gone in. The tackling as always was glorious. But some of the big switch passes also showed just why this kid was such a hot prospect in his youth. 

 

Fernando -6.5- Not his greatest game and he did in the opening stages leave Fox 2v1 a couple of times. But this is one of our most attacking players. There is always that danger that it was going to happen. I have been one of those calling for his to play on the left. Though left of a front 3. Not left of a midfield four. Two quite, quite different roles. And not just in the positioning on the pitch but in the responsibilities and roles that come with those tactical nuances. He did look a bit grumpy when he came off.  But I've seen Hirsty call a manager a c*nt after being subbed. Players do hate coming off. There's no mountain to be made out of that molehill no matter how hard the press might try and push it and make nothing into 'a story'. Won lots of free kicks in dangerous areas and helped us hold the ball when we were under some pressure. 

 

Rhodes -7- The goal came as nothing of a surprise, as it won't to anyone else. The lads entire being is about scoring goals. What I did see though, and it's something I never saw when he played for Huddersfield was a terific work rate outside the box . There is a theory in football that you can let your best players off with doing the ugly jobs because of the other things they bring to the table. But it was so evident to see that despite the lads tremendous extraordinary goalscoring feats, he's no Bertie Big B0llocks. He's a team man, that was quite evident. And was great to see. 

 

Winnall -7.5- My man of the match.  As I have just said about Rhodes. Sometimes goalscorers in particular can fob off the defensive side of the game. The hard working side of the game. Not this lad. Oh yes, he's got a huge desire to get in the box, but his movement out of it was flawless in giving our defenders an out ball when we were under pressure.  Some of his link play with the midfield was really good especially at times with Bannan and Wallace. He could have had a couple more goals, but i won't be scalding him for that because he was in there getting on the end of chances. He had to overstretch for a couple, but I think that showed his desire to get on the end of things that sometimes he wasn't the favourite for.  

Finally, he was heading things out of our box. It might seem a small thing. And some might not have noticed but he was doing a lot of marking and defensive work when they had free kicks, throws in our last third.  He also wasn't afraid of getting his face in where the boots are. Not afraid of getting hurt, and my ,somewhat old fashioned book that uis a much undervalued quality in the modern footballer. 

 

Reach -7-  I have become tired of defending Reach over recent weeks. If people can't see that the boy has been asked to take up certain positions and have specific instructions in what to do when he has the ball then there's not point going over old ground. 

Tonight, with the team in a good position when he came on, Carlos clearly asked him to play a more attacking role than he usually does. And he showed, what many have suspected all along - that there is a good player in there with a  engine capable of running at people creating chances and scoring goals himself.  Well done that lad.

 

McManaman -7-  Is it right that I give him such a high score when he was only on ten minutes. Well, yes it is. Some of his link play was very good in that last ten. The little triangles we were playing and it was his interception (from taking up an excellent angled position before the attempted pass was cut out) that led to the last goal. 

 

Abdi - 6.5- Neat and tidy. Didn't give the ball away and was always available to receive. I'm glad to see him getting some minutes under his belt because he previous pedigree shows us that he has a real quality which he can exert at this level.  I'd still like to see him and Bannan ahead of Hutchinson in a three man midfield but it looks like that will remain a mere daydream for me. Still, as long as we're winning 3-0 every week I won't mind!

 

A perfect summary of how I saw the game, Thank you your Lordship.

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britpunk77 Proficient

britpunk77

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, WatfordOwl said:

Glenn Loovens for me. 

 

1st half, constantly stepping out of the back line to make interceptions and breaking up Birmingham's play through the middle.

 

Birmingham looked decent down the left side - Keita in particular.

 

Confusing performance - great first opening 10 minutes by us, Brum came at us, we got a bit fortunate with a couple off the bar and both posts until we eventually got the 2nd.

 

Most pleasing thing about tonight was that in years gone by we'd have gone on to draw/lose that game whereas tonight we ended it as the strongest team by a long way.

 

Can always be better but what a massive 3 points again, 5 clean sheets in a row at home and puts it back on Norwich/Derby to get results - they'll crack before we do.

 

Exactly the right subs at the right time by CC - brilliant.

 

 

And me also

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