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Toon Player Ratings Vs Fulham (h)
 Match
Date: 11 September 2005
By Howaythetoon
A look at each individual's performance at St. James' Park in the
1-1 draw, rating the players, the manager, the Toon fans, the opposition
and the referee. Also included are ratings for Fulham with a brief
review of their performance too.
Shay Given - 6
Shay made one great save from Ronaldo, coming off his line to block
the winger's shot, but other than that he didn't have much to do.
Couldn't be faulted for any of the goals but on another day he would
have conceded a penalty, tripping Van Nistlerooy in the box. A blatant
pen that wasn't given.
Steven Carr - 6
Carr got forward well and defended well at times but his final ball
into the box was average, just one decent cross all game. He also
got turned once or twice by Rooney and Ronaldo. Could have been booked/sent
off for a clear tug on Ronaldo that went unpunished. Quickly becoming
a liability with his needless lunges, tugs and kicks. Having said
that, and in defence of the Ireland man, he's working down that flank
all by himself at times. He needs a right-winger.
Jean-Alain Boumsong - 4
His worst game since arriving from Rangers. Gifted Man Utd their 2
goals and was generally sloppy throughout. Poor in the air, poor distribution
and hesitant in defence. He will be sorely disappointed with this
performance and has been man enough to hold his hands up. I for one
wont castigate him. He's been excellent in his short time at the club
and I'm sure this will be a one-off performance. It also needs mentioned,
for both goals, others were also at fault. It's a team game and mistakes
are collective.
Steven Taylor - 8
Taylor didn't give Van Nistlerooy or Rooney a sniff all game. He was
simply immense at the back. Thunderous tackles, read play well, defended
his lines well, and had a very very good game in front of the watching
England manager. Is there any end to the lad's talent? One slight
flaw - he didn't clear the ball that lead to Rooney's opener. Other
than that, absolutely flawless. My man of the match!
Celestine Babayaro - 7
Another fine performance from the Nigerian. He looks sharper, more
robust and certainly more mobile. He got forward well and linked up
with new boy Luque quite well too. He also put in one or two decent
crosses. Defensively he stuck to his task and made a few vital interceptions
and blocks. Got turned once or twice but you expect that with the
likes of Rooney and Ronaldo running at you. A canny game, lets hope
he can keep it going.
Kieron Dyer - 1
Clearly not match fit and clearly still not over his never ending
hamstring problems. Pulled up early in the game and was replaced with
just over 5 minutes left to go in the first half. Was it a risk playing
him? It was a risk handing him a new contract... Could be out for
a few months now.
Lee Bowyer - 5
Worked hard and was industrious as ever but alongside Parker and Emre
his weaknesses were highlighted - his passing. He gave the ball away
needlessly at times, almost playing in a Man Utd player and he wasn't
on the pace in an attacking sense. Was subbed into the second half
with a groin injury. I'm not convinced he is best suited to a 5 man
midfield.
Scott Parker - 8
Alongside Taylor the new boy is an early contender for United's player
of the season such has been the standard of his performances. He was
everywhere and dominated midfield in the first half, not allowing
any of the men in red time to settle. His tackles and interceptions
were all clean and his passing was crisp and on target. In the second
half as we fell to pieces he was doing the job of two and three men
at times and as a consequence he was over-ran. Tremendous buy on these
early showings.
Emre - 5
Emre started the game very well and soon got into the pace of it.
Neat and crisp on the ball, great feet and the Turk was working hard
alongside Parker and Bowyer. Then after a mazy dance where he beat
3 players before playing a great ball, he pulled up - his hamstring
had went, just like Dyer's. Again, Souness took a calculated risk
and it didn't pay off and as a result he could be out for a long time.
Albert Luque - 6
Thrust into the starting lineup barely 24 hours after signing, it
was always going to be a tall order to ask the Spaniard to pull a
trick or two out of the bag and while this wasn't a disappointing
debut, it wasn't a great one. He did show signs however that once
fully match fit, settled in and acclimatised, he can be very effective.
Luque used his body strength well at times, looks to have real pace,
delivered one or two canny balls from set-pieces, showed one or two
sublime touches, especially towards the end as he outfoxed Ferdinand
before rushing his shot, and gave the team much needed balance. Welcome
to the Toon.
Alan Shearer - 6
Shearer started the game very well, dominating in the air and forcing
Man Utd's backline into making mistakes. He also had one or two snap
shots and looked very dangerous but as the game wore on and United
started chasing the match, he become less effective. Needs a partner
badly and needs a rest too. A more mobile, effective performance from
the No.9 but we as a team need more up top. With the close of the
transfer window upon us, will we sign a striker?
Subs
Jermaine Jenas - 3
Came on for for Emre with just over 20 minutes gone and did very little.
He went missing and is going through the motions clearly. His passing
was woeful, his tackling was non existent and he had no drive. It
is no coincidence that Man Utd started passing the ball better and
started to find space after his introduction. If Spurs are stupid
enough to pay all that money for him, good riddance I say and I'm
one of the mugs who believes he has potential. He's just a passenger
at the moment and we don't need that.
Shola Ameobi - 4
Came on for for Dyer towards the end of the first half with instructions
to play out wide right and to be honest, he was abysmal. The ball
didn't stick, his passing didn't reach it's target and although he
battled hard, he didn't trouble the opposition at all. But then he's
not likely to stuck out wide is he?
Amdy Faye - 3
Awful, gave the ball away 9 times out of 10, didn't get close to his
man and didn't offer anything.
The Boss Man
Graeme Souness - 4
For me he picked the wrong team, risking Emre and Dyer is understandable
but a better manager wouldn't have risked the pair. As a result we
were forced into a rethink and gave Man Utd the initiative once they
went off. Their substitutions upset the whole mentality of the side
who up until then had started very well and were on top. Worse still,
he replaced Dyer with Ameobi and stuck him on the right wing and why
play a player (Jenas) who clearly wants away when there are the likes
of Clark, Milner and N'Zogbia who will run through walls to play?
But the head scratching didn't stop there, replacing an attacking
midfielder in Bowyer with Faye just said to Man Utd 'Here - you can
have the game'. Souness' tactics were to clearly stop Man Utd from
playing, which is all very well and good but at some stage, his own
team would have to come out and play and in the second half we didn't.
No Newcastle team at home should ever accept a point, regardless of
the opposition and that's what we played for.
Magpies
Toon Fans - 6
Support was good in parts and there were less groans and moans around
and no booing but Man Utd's fans took the piss a bit with their anti-Shearer
songs and all we could do was chant the predictable and quite frankly
pathetic "USA". I'm sure they've never heard that one before.
Lots of clapping Spanish style when Luque took corners and a few grumbles
directed towards Souness, Jenas, Freddy Shepherd and Ameobi where
I was sitting but overall I'd say the atmosphere was OK in parts but
poor in the main.
Referee
Howard Webb - 6
Webb actually let a lot of stuff go, could have awarded them a penalty
and possibly sent off Stephen Carr, but I guess he evened that out
by allowing lots of Man Utd cheating, play acting and their underhand
tactics to go unpunished. Overall, an average performance.
The Opposition
Man Utd
Van Der Saar: Nothing to do. 6
O'Shea: Pushed back by Luque and Babayaro but defended
well. 6
Ferdinand: Solid and composed. 7
Silvestre: Poor in the air and nervous at times.
6
Heinze: Went to ground to easily and rarely threatened.
5
Ronaldo: Looked good but didn't do an awful lot.
Big cry baby. 6
Keane: Dominated by Parker. 5
Scholes: A few nice passes but unusually quiet. 6
Fletcher: Looks out of place in the team. 5
Rooney: Outstanding, great player. 9
Van Nistlerooy: Dominated by Taylor but will be pleased
with his goal. 6
Not the greatest Man Utd side to come to St. James' Park - quite disappointing
in fact, but they were still too good for our lot and look like they
will push Chelsea harder this season. Get an injury to Rooney or Van
Nistlerooy though and they could struggle for goals. |
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