Toon Player Ratings Vs Chelsea (a)
 Match
Date: 19 November 2005
By Tanzo
An in depth look at each individual performance from the 3-0 defeat
to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, rating the players, the manager, Toon
fans and the referee. Also included in our match analysis are ratings
for Chelsea.
Shay Given - 6
Given put in a decent performance at the Bridge, making some smart
saves in the first half - bailing out Titus Bramble after a weak back
pass in one instance to clear. Given was not at fault for the goals,
which were well taken but sloppily conceded and the Ireland man must
be sick of fishing the ball out of the net from such sloppy defending.
Peter Ramage - 6
Ramage put in a committed performance to try and combat Damien Duff’s
threat. He got forward when he could but United were often rebuffed
and penned back which meant the youngster was under attack a lot and
sometimes he failed to cope. But this type of game will be a steep
learning curve for him and in patches, he performed really well.
Titus Bramble - 3
A very poor display from Bramble. At fault for the first two goals,
the first time a weak clearance went straight to Gudjohnsen who fed
Joe Cole to race through and slot the ball past Shay Given. The second
came as Bramble allowed Crespo far too much space and then the Argentinean
international was able to dance by him to make it 2-0 and with it
game over.
Jean-Alain Boumsong - 5
Boumsong tried hard, but with the constant pressure being piled on
the Newcastle defence, it was a nervous afternoon for the French international.
Made a mistake when he hesitated to clear a ball, which almost allowed
Frank Lampard in, but he made up for it with Babayaro to finally clear.
Made some important blocks at times but in general, not the kind of
performance you expect from an 8 million defender.
Celestine Babayaro - 7
A more committed display from Babayaro, I think the return to Chelsea
spurred him on and he seemed keen to show them he still has a thing
or two in his locker. He got forward often and linked up well with
N’Zogbia as United tried to find a way through down the left. An all-round
decent game from the Nigerian who wasn't found wanting at the back,
unlike Bramble.
Nobby Solano - 6
Solano was unable to provide much ammunition into the box with Ameobi
being the only target man. The impressive John Terry thwarted many
of his build up play. He's playing far too narrow on his return to
Newcastle and as a result he's being forced into making lots of sideway
passing which is a waste given his invention and delivery from our
wide.
Scott Parker - 7
Parker enjoyed his battle with Lampard and Essien who had replaced
Makelele early on after a stinging, cleanly won tackle by Parker on
the Frenchman who also put Cole on his backside. He continued to try
and plug the midfield and not allow any gaps in the United defence
opening up even at 3-0 down and will be bitterly disappointed with
the result on his return to Stamford Bridge. My man of the
match.
Lee Bowyer - 6
Bowyer played with passion and got stuck in on his return from injury,
after a midweek cameo for the reserves. He was also desperately unlucky
not to have won a penalty when he was felled by John Terry. As the
more attacking midfielder he tried to support Ameobi where he could,
but suffered from the 4-5-1 formation restricting him at times.
Emre - 7
Emre looked our best bet of scoring or creating something. He worked
hard and also tracked back a lot to try and protect the defence as
Lampard and Essien often tried to penetrate from midfield. Like the
rest of the midfield however, he found the Chelsea defence too hard
a nut to crack and with 5 in midfield, he didn't have the room to
do his magic, so was restricted at times.
Charles N'Zogbia - 6
N'Zogbia helped Babayaro in trying to nullify the threats of Joe Cole
and Eider Gudjohnsen down United’s left flank in the first-half. He
didn’t see much of the ball in the second-half however and the game
seemed to pass him by most of the time. He did fashion one chance
with a low cross into the Chelsea box but it was cleared for a corner
and he also stung the hands of Cech with a drive at goal, after out
muscling Essien and Terry with seemingly ease.
Shola Ameobi - 5
An anonymous display really from Ameobi. While it's not totally his
fault since he played for the most part of the game as a lone striker
and was marked by England’s best centre-half in John Terry. Didn’t
get much ammunition either, and he doesn’t have the physical presence
of Alan Shearer to stamp some authority on the game. He was also unable
to get any strike on goal.
Subs
Michael Chopra - 4
Chopra came on with twenty minutes to go, and tried to link up with
Ameobi and even managed a shot on goal that was saved by Cech quite
comfortably however.
The Boss Man
Graeme Souness - 5
With the devastating news of Owen withdrawing prior to kick-off with
an injury, he elected to flood the midfield using a 4-5-1 formation.
I’ve never been a fan of this formation unless it is used effectively
in a 4-3-3 formation in times of attack. I still feel attack would
have been the best form of defence and we should have played 4-4-2
and had a go at them at the back.
Magpies
Toon Fans - 8
Much better view in the Shed End as opposed to pitch side with the
letter box type view. With everyone congregated together a lot of
noise was made as the players took the field and this continued during
the game. The fans stayed with the team and at 2-0 and then 3-0 down
continued singing and showing their support. Favourite ditties included
“Your just a fat Vicky Pollard” at a plump female Chelsea supporter
with ear-rings the size of bin lids almost, who constantly gestured
towards us on the divide.
Referee
Mark Halsey - 6
Missed the foul on Bowyer for a penalty that could have changed the
game. Other than that he let the game flow and got most things spot
on.
The Opposition
Chelsea
Cech 6 - Johnson 7 - (Gallas 60) Ricardo Carvalho 8 - Terry 8 - Del
Horno 7 - Makelele (Essien 13) 7 - Lampard 8 - Gudjohnsen 8 - Duff
7 - J.Cole 6 - Crespo 7- (Wright-Phillips 79). |
