Player Ratings

[Tapeworm]

Dawson - 6. Didn’t have too much to do but should have done better first half when trying to claim a cross.

 

Hunt - 6. Did ok against Barrow but he goes down injured every single game. 

 

Venancio - 6. Defended pretty well but his use ot the ball 1st half was pretty dire. 

 

Lees - 8. Class act and he’s showing just how much we’ve missed him.

 

Pudil - 7. Thought he had a good game and decent assist for Nando’s 1st.

 

Reach - 6. Quiet game again and ever the “nearly man”. Thought he should have brought the long ball down from Bazza in the first half.

 

Pelupessy - 6. I really don’t know with Joey. He seems to hide a lot but then gets a bit of confidence when we are leading. Needs to impose himself more.

 

Bannan - 7. Didn’t think he had his best game by any means but still makes us tick . 

 

Boyd - 5. Did well to get the goal but his all round play was limited and weak. Not the George Boyd I thought we were signing to be honest.

 

Rhodes - 6. Won a few clever knockdowns but again didn’t really know he was on the pitch.

 

Forestieri - 9. MOTM. He wasn’t perfect and gave the ball away sloppily a few times but he is a cut above the rest. His second goal sums him up. Skins two, over runs it, dives in to a challenge that no other striker would do, wins it and then sticks it in the top corner. Class.

 

[Guest Kagoshimaowl]

34 minutes ago, General_Grievous said:

You gave the lad 5??? 

 

FFS

Is that harsh? Wasn’t meant nastily, he just hardly touched the ball that’s all.  Maybe a 6?

[Andrew_Owl]

Dawson 6

 

Hunt 6 

Fred 6

Lees 7

Pudil 8

Boyd 8

 

Bannan 8

Pelupessy 8

Reach 7 was better when moved to right back

FF 9

 

Rhodes 6

 

Nuhiu 8

João and Kirby 6

[royalowlisback]

Dawson 6 A few dodgy attempted catches

Hunt 6 Never really got forward and goes off injured every other game

Lees 7 Solid as usual

Venancio 6 A mixture of good and bad as usual

Pudil 8 MOM for me, strong, good positioning and tried to get forward when he could

Boyd 7 A good game, and a well timed run for the goal

Joey 6 meh

Bannan 6 A fourth centre back at times, way too deep and wasted really

Reach 7 Did very well for the second goal, and tried to support the isolated Rhodes

FF 7 Played half the game as a left back for some reason, cracking second goal though

Rhodes 6 Worked very hard, had no support or service whatsoever

 

Nuhiu 5 Shocking when he came on, apart from his Cruyff turn!

Joao 5 Terrible miss from 3 inches out

Kirby 6 Lively

 

A bizarre game really, we gave Reading far too much respect, and our line up was an 8-1-1 at times, we rode our luck (they missed some absolute sitters) and took our chances when they came.

[torres]

13 hours ago, SallyCinnamon said:

As for Reading, the worst side to come to Hillsborough this season. Woeful side. Luckily for them they have just enough to stay up.

 

100% agree 

 

Personally I don’t think we were particularly good - good goals but overall performance I wasn’t enamoured with 

 

But Reading were a complete disgrace - their attitude and application was disgusting. 

 

At 1-0 their players were ambling about - a total nothing club with support to match 

 

Very unlikely but I hope they go down 

[frastheowl]

 

Dawson - 6 - A wee bit of nervousness early on, when hesitant coming for a ball which lead to Reading's best chance. Other than that, looked assured, without been called into action.

 

Venancio - 7 - Another solid, unassuming display. Looks very comfortable now the side and environment has settled down.

 

Lees - 8 - Getting back to his best. Great to see.

 

Pudil - 8 - Solid defensively, and great work for our first goal overlapping and picking Forestieri out with a great pull back.

 

Hunt - 7 - Tidy enough, before his injury.

 

Boyd - 7 - Did well to get into the box for his goal. Still question his ability to play that wing back role, but he's plugging away.

 

Bannan - 7 - First half, he was so frustrating. Back to his old ways of standing on the centre halves toes. When we switched to more of a 3-4-3 in the 2nd half, he began to make things tick. But 1st half, it was too alike to the safety-first performances we were accustomed to under Carlos' leadership.

 

Pelupessy - 7 - Anonymous in the 1st half, which was exasperated by the system which stifled our best players. We lost the midfield battle in the 1st half. 2nd half, Bannan and Pelupessy played further up, engaged more and looked to play on the front foot. Which suits Pelupessy's game. I keep saying it...Pelupessy is a ball-winner...he's totally ineffective in that sitting deep role. The game passes him by.

 

Reach - 7 - Story of the 1st half...but ineffective. 2nd half, when played in a front three, looked more threatening, found more space, and showed great confidence to lay on Boyd's goal. 

 

Forestieri - 8 - Man of the Match - Took his goals really well, but, recurring theme here, was played too deep in the 1st half. Forestieri, shouldn't be finding himself having to play at right or left back, like he was often in the 1st half. When we've a back five, and a solid two central midfielders, he needs to be afforded the freedom he was gifted in the 2nd half. He could thrive in that system...if he's given that freedom, he could have a similar role that Hazard plays in Chelsea's system. 

 

Rhodes - 6 - What he did, he did alright. And some of his link up play, was much improved. Good movement to drag defenders away for Boyd's goal. BUT...how much better did we look when Nuhiu came on? Nuhiu's presence and ability to caused utter havoc made us look twice the team we were before. Rhodes playing up front on his own, won't bring the best out of him or the team. If Rhodes has a future, it has to be along side A.N.Other up front. 

 

Nuhiu - 7 - Everything just seemed to click when he came on. He dropped deep, which allowed Joao and Forestieri to run in behind. Provided a genuine target. 

 

Joao - 7 - Glimpses of quality, and that wide forward role could really suit him. Without getting carried away, Forestieri-Nuhiu-Joao is a front three that could cause teams a lot of issues next season. 

 

Kirkby - 6 - Did alright. But looked so tiny...fragile almost!

 

Overall...I thought the 1st half was too negative, too limiting. Didn't get the best out of our best players at all. I suppose it did it's job in nullifying Reading...but lets be honest, they were pretty dire. Forestieri and Reach played too deep, Bannan played alongside the three centre halves, which left Pelupessy dominated in midfield and Rhodes isolated up front.  2nd half, much more impressive. Noticeably changed to a more positive 3-4-3, which gave Forestieri and Reach licence to go and effect things. In the end, it was a fine performance, full of goals and entertainment. What more do we want in a end of season dead rubber! 

[s.kirkbyowl]

Can't understand why Boyd was thought to have had a reasonable game. I know left wing back is not his normal position but he has no pace and the number of times he received the ball with lots of space to run into and get us up the pitch, yet he turns back on himself and passes back or square. It took Pudil to show him what he should be doing with a positive run and pass to create the first goal. Boyds only real contribution was the goal - it seems a lot of people on this web site look no further than who scored and the result.

Quote

 

 

[DuttyTeabags]

17 hours ago, Johnny Concrete said:

Dawson-7 

Hunt-7

Venancio-7

Lees-7

Pudil - 9

Boyd-7

Reach-7

Pelupessy-8

Bannan- 8

Forestieri-8

Rhodes - 8

 

Subs-

Nuhiu-7

Joao-6

Kirby-6

 

That's in my opinion. Pudil, as I said in another thread, absolutely solid and worthy MOTM. Forestieri scored two cracking goals and worked tirelessly all game. Bannan for me is the engine in our squad, he dictates the game and his passing at times is sublime. Pelupessy for me is improving game by game but today he really impressed me, worked endlessly to win back the ball and keep possession with simple but successful passes. Rhodes was a work horse today, won virtually everything in the air and never stopped trying to hassle Readings defence. 

 

 

 

Glad to see Rhodes contributing and winning balls. Was it me or did Dawson seem to deliberately drop it short in between their midfield and defence from goal kicks with JR drifting into no man's land and often being unchallenged in winning headers? 

 

Not sure if it was tactics but if so seemed to work. 

[StudentOwl]

49 minutes ago, s.kirkbyowl said:

Can't understand why Boyd was thought to have had a reasonable game. I know left wing back is not his normal position but he has no pace and the number of times he received the ball with lots of space to run into and get us up the pitch, yet he turns back on himself and passes back or square. It took Pudil to show him what he should be doing with a positive run and pass to create the first goal. Boyds only real contribution was the goal - it seems a lot of people on this web site look no further than who scored and the result.

 

Boyd scored one, assisted the assister for the first goal and made more tackles than any other player on the pitch.

Not bad really... and I'm someone that doesn't massively rate him! 

[davetherivelinowl]

Ok, Boyd does some frustratingly strange things at times which make you wonder how he ever played in the Premiership. BUT... he made more tackles yesterday (5) than any other player - and his average number of tackles per game (2.5) is more than any Wednesday player this season. I once noticed we lost possession when he was high up the pitch and he sprinted back (leaving Fessi behind, puffing and panting). He does seem to have the legs to get up and down that wing which is possibly the main requirement for that role. Anyone who can win so many tackles and pop up in the box and score a striker's goal is definitely making a contribution.

[Holmowl]

1 hour ago, DuttyTeabags said:

Glad to see Rhodes contributing and winning balls. Was it me or did Dawson seem to deliberately drop it short in between their midfield and defence from goal kicks with JR drifting into no man's land and often being unchallenged in winning headers? 

 

Not sure if it was tactics but if so seemed to work. 

 

I noticed he had quite a lot of space to win the headers. Maybe with one up front and FF and Reach deep and wide Clement was happy to pick up the inevitable second ball.

 

That said, I think Clement is useless. 

[StudentOwl]

1 hour ago, davetherivelinowl said:

Ok, Boyd does some frustratingly strange things at times which make you wonder how he ever played in the Premiership. BUT... he made more tackles yesterday (5) than any other player - and his average number of tackles per game (2.5) is more than any Wednesday player this season. I once noticed we lost possession when he was high up the pitch and he sprinted back (leaving Fessi behind, puffing and panting). He does seem to have the legs to get up and down that wing which is possibly the main requirement for that role. Anyone who can win so many tackles and pop up in the box and score a striker's goal is definitely making a contribution.

He's convinced me that there's a place for him on the bench next season. He's an experienced, hardworking player that has shown he can play at wingback after spending most of his career further forward. There will be plenty of situations next season where that is exactly the sort of player you'd want to bring on. 

[roundhayowl]

8 hours ago, royalowlisback said:

 

Nuhiu 5 Shocking when he came on, apart from his Cruyff turn!

 

 

What game were you at? He showed some great little touches/link up play. Plus it was a Maradona turn....

[royalowlisback]

17 hours ago, roundhayowl said:

 

What game were you at? He showed some great little touches/link up play. Plus it was a Maradona turn....

He lost the ball almost every time.

[roundhayowl]

On 23/04/2018 at 10:47, royalowlisback said:

He lost the ball almost every time.

 

No he didn't. He lost it once when they broke.

[cookeh]

On 4/22/2018 at 05:37, Kagoshimaowl said:

 Jordan actually did ok but he doesn’t have the same impact as the other two.

 

Rhodes on his own isn't as effective as playing two strikers?

Jordan out!

[Guest Kagoshimaowl]

29 minutes ago, cookeh said:

 

Rhodes on his own isn't as effective as playing two strikers?

Jordan out!

I get what you are saying here but I would also argue that either one of Joao or Nuhiu are better than Rhodes up top on their own.  They are also better as a pair so I think my point stands regardless.

[cookeh]

17 minutes ago, Kagoshimaowl said:

I get what you are saying here but I would also argue that either one of Joao or Nuhiu are better than Rhodes up top on their own.  They are also better as a pair so I think my point stands regardless.

 

Joao often gets lost on his own. He fairly often gets lost in a two as well. But it'd agree that Rhodes isn't a lone front man.

 

I'll hold off judgement on whether Joao and Nuhiu is better than Rhodes with one of them until we've actually seen Rhodes play with one of them.

 

This season we've only seen Joao and Rhodes 6 times, mostly in January when we were 1000% defensive, had no players fit and they've not once started two games in a row as a pair. Not sure how you can build a relationship as strikers like that.
Rhodes and Nuhiu we've seen twice.. 3 months apart. Again.. not going to build a partnership like that.

Since the Villa game back in Feb, Joao and Nuhiu have started like 75% of games together. Not to mention all the other games over the last few years where they played together.

 

So it seems a bit unfair to bash Rhodes' partnership with Nuhiu when they've not actually spent any time on the park together. Rhodes and Nuhiu should work. Personally, I'd like to see it at some point in the last two games. Home to Norwich seems ideal.

 

[Guest Kagoshimaowl]

10 hours ago, cookeh said:

 

Joao often gets lost on his own. He fairly often gets lost in a two as well. But it'd agree that Rhodes isn't a lone front man.

 

I'll hold off judgement on whether Joao and Nuhiu is better than Rhodes with one of them until we've actually seen Rhodes play with one of them.

 

This season we've only seen Joao and Rhodes 6 times, mostly in January when we were 1000% defensive, had no players fit and they've not once started two games in a row as a pair. Not sure how you can build a relationship as strikers like that.
Rhodes and Nuhiu we've seen twice.. 3 months apart. Again.. not going to build a partnership like that.

Since the Villa game back in Feb, Joao and Nuhiu have started like 75% of games together. Not to mention all the other games over the last few years where they played together.

 

So it seems a bit unfair to bash Rhodes' partnership with Nuhiu when they've not actually spent any time on the park together. Rhodes and Nuhiu should work. Personally, I'd like to see it at some point in the last two games. Home to Norwich seems ideal.

 

Good points again my friend.  I disagree with one point though.  Rhodes won’t work with Nuhiu. There is zero pace there and Rhodes doesn’t have any actually ball skills like say a Hooper does.  Nuhiu and Joao are way above Rhodes in the pecking order for me now which is something I never thought I’d say.  Don’t think Jordan will be here next season.  There will be many takers too even if it’s only a loan.

[cookeh]

14 hours ago, Kagoshimaowl said:

Good points again my friend.  I disagree with one point though.  Rhodes won’t work with Nuhiu. There is zero pace there and Rhodes doesn’t have any actually ball skills like say a Hooper does.  Nuhiu and Joao are way above Rhodes in the pecking order for me now which is something I never thought I’d say.  Don’t think Jordan will be here next season.  There will be many takers too even if it’s only a loan.

 

You don't need silky skills to score goals, tho obviously it's great to watch when Nando's dropping a shoulder and darting past someone to find the far corner.

 

It's more about Nuhiu making space and laying the ball on for Rhodes. With Nando wide and someone on the right (Boyd?) then we suddenly have two forwards who are on top of the last defenders, looking to receive the ball. That's suddenly dangerous because we've got two strikers who are one on one with defenders. Nuhiu has his size which really helps him win those battles and Rhodes has his movement (which we've seen lately he still has) which gets him a yard of space when a ball comes in.

 

Compare that to when we saw Rhodes and Hooper paired a bit. Hooper is a bit of an odd player. He drops deeper a lot, playing almost as a number 10 and then makes runs past the number 9. That leaves Rhodes isolated somewhat, usually with 2 defenders to pick him up, while the defensive mids can pay more attention to Hooper due to where he's playing. It works for Hooper cos he can find those holes, but Rhodes gets stuffed as he's got no where to go all game. Hooper too would work better with Nuhiu or Fletch. Someone who can bully a defender, someone who can play as a lone striker basically, that Hooper can then play off. Rhodes doesn't bully players, he's more subtle than that.

 

Joao too likes to come deeper and get on the ball. So I'm not sure he'd work with Rhodes. For me, Fletch and Nuhiu should make really good partners for him. They play up on the defender, and that means Rhodes has much more space to draw his defender one way and make runs another. That's why I want to see them together. There's a lot of talk about "playing to Rhodes' strengths", and sometimes people find it hard to say what those are. He's not overly fast and he's not particularly skilful. His main skill is his movement.. and we don't really give him the chance to use it. On Saturday he was basically a lone striker, with Nando playing deeper and roaming around. So Rhodes has no where to go. Ilori and Moore can both cover his runs and Nando was largely playing in areas covered by other players. By sticking an out and out striker along side Rhodes, it frees Rhodes up. Suddenly his main attribute is able to be used at full force, and I think we'll actually start to see the player we thought we were getting at that point.