6th March 2005
 Shay
Given
The Ireland man didn't have one single save to make all afternoon
in perhaps his easiest game for many a year. Struggled a bit
with a few back passes but I'll blame an awkward surface and
swirling winds for that. Enjoyed his clean sheet.
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6 |
 Stephen
Carr
Mr. Consistency since his return from injury and now fully fit
we are reaping the rewards of having a strong attack minded
full-back who just loves to get stuck in. Sent in some great
crosses, linked up play well and defended his flank with Dyer
once again vacating it to drift in-field leaving him exposed.
Overall an excellent performance and it's great to see a right-back
communicating with his team-mates and organising things. Tactically
astute.
|
8 |
 Jean-Alain
Boumsong
His best game since arriving for me and another solid performance
from the big man who is fast becoming a firm crowd favourite.
Solid in the air, physically strong and assured on the ball.
His calmness and reading of the game is getting the best out
of Bramble and isn't it great to see a Toon player get angry
when decisions go against him, even correct decisions? It's
also great to see him demanding better from Bramble with his
gesticulating. Theatrical at times but great to see. My
man of the match. |
9 |
 Titus
Bramble
Another outstanding performance from Bramble. Great in the air,
very good on the deck, calm, self confident and a few crunching
trademark tackles. The partnership between him and Boumsong
is working and on this form, player of the month maybe?
|
8 |
 Aaron
Hughes
Started off nervously and got caught out of position once or
twice but once he settled he put in a solid performance. Considering
he's playing out of position and still a tad rusty he's making
Babayaro's loss through injury less of a problem. In fact it's
no problem at all.
|
7 |
 Kieron
Dyer
Hard working, full of running and as always, committed to the
cause but as an attacking force he wasn't quite on his game
with a few runs coming to nothing. Helped out Hughes a great
deal however and did a team job. He still drifts in field too
often for my liking and this will need worked on. Luckily Liverpool
weren't much of a threat down our right with Jon Arne Risse
not getting a sniff all game. |
6.5 |
 Lee
Bowyer
He enjoyed the battle in midfield and mixed it up a bit. Not
as involved or as marauding as he would have liked to have been
in the final 3rd but defensively he was superb and always snapping
away, meaning we dominated the centre of the pitch. |
6.5 |
 Amdy
Faye
Like Hughes he started off nervously, misplacing one or two
passes but once the game settled down he was everywhere, picking
off players, clearing loose balls, being a nuisance, pressurizing
a Red shirt and protecting the back-five superbly. Not pretty,
but very effective and it's no coincidence that we have improved
defensively since he arrived. A snip at 2m. Needs to improve
his passing however. |
7 |
 Laurent
Robert
Another canny performance from the Frenchman; dangerous from
set-pieces, good on the ball, hard working off it and a cracking
trade-mark free-kick to seal the win. That's all we want from
him. To work hard, to keep possession and to attack the opposition.
If it doesn't come off, fine, as long as he works hard and doesn't
disappear. Well played and it's good to see Souness and Shearer
praising his efforts too. |
7 |
 Alan
Shearer
Battled hard up against Pellegrino but the Liverpool man defended
well against him. Once he went off Shearer started to get more
joy against Hyypia but overall he had little impact in the game
in an attacking sense. Still worried their back-five however. |
6 |
 Shola
Ameobi
Worked extremely hard, literally running himself into the ground
but there was no quality to anything he did whether it was on
the deck or in the air. One League goal this season is a poor
return given the number of starts he has had in the first-team.
Shola was well marked, but his performance isn't good enough.
Time is running out as is patience. |
5 |
Substitutes:
 Patrick
Kluivert
Came on for Ameobi on 67 minutes and got involved in play a
few times and could have scored after great work to dispossess
Carragher and then to maneuver an opening. Sadly he missed what
was a great chance.
|
4 |
 Jermaine
Jenas
Came on for Bowyer on 77 minutes and had little or no impact.
Nothing really for him to do other than to sit, press and keep
the ball moving.
|
4 |
Nicky
Butt
Came on for Dyer with 2 minutes to go. Did he even touch the
ball?
|
0 |
The Boss Man:
 Graeme
Souness
A 1-0 win for the manager was probably the best result if he
could have chosen it. His team worked their socks off, remained
strong as a unit and played some good stuff at times. A perfect
win. What more can you say?
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8 |
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