Man Of The Match V West Ham

[MikeO]

 

 

 

 

Current Player of the Year standings....

Fellaini 268

 

Pienaar 187

 

Heitinga 184

 

Osman 141

 

Arteta 135

 

Cahill 128

 

Saha 111

 

Rodwell 101

 

Baines 97

 

Howard 87

 

Bilyaletdinov 85

 

Distin 72

 

Hibbert 71

 

Donovan 71

 

Coleman 70

 

Yakubu 34

 

Duffy 23

 

Yobo 20

 

Jagielka 17

 

Neill 15

 

Anichebe 13

 

Neville 11

 

João Alves Jô 10

 

Vaughan 8

 

Gosling 6

 

Senderos 4

 

Nash 3

 

Baxter 3

 

Agard 2

 

Forshaw 1

 

Akpan 1

 

MOTM winners....

 

Wolves (A) Steven Pienaar

 

Manchester City (A) Tim Cahill

 

Bolton (H) Mikel Arteta

 

Birmingham (A) Mikel Arteta

 

Hull City (H) Mikel Arteta

 

Tottenham (A) Ayegbeni Yakubu

 

Sporting Lisbon (A) Tim Howard

 

Manchester United (H) Leon Osman

 

Sporting Lisbon (H) Leon Osman

 

Chelsea (H) Landon Donovan

 

Liverpool (A) Johnny Heitinga

 

Wigan (A) Tim Cahill

 

Sunderland (H) Marouane Fellaini

 

Birmingham (H) Steven Pienaar

 

Manchester City (H) Marouane Fellaini

 

Arsenal (A) Marouane Fellaini

 

Carlisle (H) Marouane Fellaini

 

Burnley (H) Steven Pienaar

 

Sunderland (A) Marouane Fellaini

 

Birmingham (A) Leighton Baines

 

BATE Boresov (H)...Shane Duffy

 

Chelsea (A)...Johnny Heitinga

 

Tottenham (H)...Seamus Coleman

 

AEK Athens (A)...Steven Pienaar

 

Liverpool (H)...Marouane Fellaini

 

Hull City (A)...Johnny Heitinga

 

Manchester United (A)...Johnny Heitinga

 

West Ham (A)...Johnny Heitinga

 

Benfica (H)...Marouane Fellaini

 

Aston Villa (H)...Diniyar Bilyaletdinov

 

Tottenham (A)...Tony Hibbert

 

Bolton (A)...Louis Saha

 

Benfica (A)...Sylvain Distin

 

Wolves (H)...Diniyar Bilyaletdinov

 

Stoke City (H)...Johnny Heitinga

 

BATE Borisov (A)...Tony Hibbert

 

Portsmouth (A)...Tim Howard

 

Hull City (A)...Leon Osman

 

Blackburn (H)...Louis Saha

 

AEK Athens (H)...Diniyar Bilyaletdinov

 

Fulham (A)...Sylvain Distin

 

Wigan...(H)...Jack Rodwell

 

Sigma Olomouc (A)...Steven Pienaar

 

Burnley...(A)...Tony Hibbert

 

Sigma Olomouc (H)...Jack Rodwell

 

Arsenal (H)...Steven Pienaar

[Bailey]

Did really turn up today. For the most part we played with only one up top against piss poor opposition and gave the ball back to them way too easily. They could quite easily have scored a couple more with the penalty miss and hitting the bar.

 

I voted for Jags as I thought he was very solid all game and did a lot of good stuff, although he did look a little slow but as he gets more and more match fit, hopefully that will pick up.

 

Howard - Solid game and great penalty save.

 

Baines - Had a good game although and got a great assist. However after he took the knock he didnt look comfortable at all defensively. It wouldnt surprise me if he is a doubt for our next game.

 

Distin - Mostly good, but did look a bit shaky at times and played some of the most aimless hoofs I have ever seen BUT the midfield didnt come looking for the ball to help him out.

 

Neville - Horrific performance. Passing was shocking. Hoofs when an easy pass was on. At times his positioning defensively was woeful. At one stage when Cole broke through, Neville should have been sweeping up but he must have thought the fresh air he was marking was more of a threat.

 

Heitinga - Did okay but needed to come and get the ball a bit more, or at least create more space to receive a pass, which he did better in the 2nd half. I actually jizz a little everytime he pings one of them 40-50 yard cross field balls though!

 

Osman - Very quiet and seemed slightly uncomfortable playing slightly more advanced than his usual. In the games against Chelsea and Man Utd he was a little deeper and was able to control the game and get involved more often. His vision and ability is 10x that of Cahill and it should be him that gets the ball earlier in the move.

 

Pienaar - Worked hard as per norm and had a good game, some intricate passes and few too many misplaced early on.

 

Billy - Did okay. He likes the ball played into feet with his back towards goal, as opposed to in front of him to run onto which doesnt really make him a traditional winger.

 

Cahill - More or less anonymous. Aside from the goal he was never really up with play alongside Saha. He is brilliant in the air and he normally closes down the defence. Today he seemed to be receiving the ball around the half way line, a good 20-30 yards away from Saha at times meaning anything that went up to him came straight back most of the time. I dont know why Moyes is trying to make him into more of a midfielder but it isnt working. If you want someone to play deep and get forward, use Rodwell and drop Timmy.

 

Saha - Did what he could but had so little support at times it was a joke. I was pretty sure we were at home?!?

 

Yakubu - Did well when he came on and it was a great header. At the moment I would rather him and Rodwell play against Villa. I think he holds the ball up better. especially when he is fired up.

[Kohen]

Only a handful of players looked like they wanted to be on that pitch!

[cz.toffee]

Leighton Baines.

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

I went for Johnny H in the end. I thought he was ok and the fact I thought he was only ok but gave him MoM pretty much somes up the game really

 

Bily was woeful counted at least 3 occasions where he bottled out of 50/50 challenges and Saha should have stayed at home and got his roots done he was that inneffective

[DonKey]

Heitinga made some quality passes and looked solid again for the most part.

Jagielka looked like Beckenbauer at times with the way he was bringing the ball out of defence.

Baines looked dangerous down the left hand side when he linked up.

 

Think I'm going to go for Jagielka today, but gutted with the result.

[coxy051]

Heitinga for me some realy good passes and weren't afraid to get stuck in. Another frustrating game from us tho we all know with the players that played today they can do alot better.

[coxy051]

i wonder who voted for Cahill Hmmmmmmm!

[The Beard]

Baines, just about the best of a bad bunch today. Just seen MOTD 2 and we had 2 shots on target, the two goals to their 6. That just about sums it up.

[MikeO]

i wonder who voted for Cahill Hmmmmmmm!

The evidence is there...

 

 

...but seems this time he didn't stick around to try to justify it .

[coxy051]

The evidence is there...

 

 

...but seems this time he didn't stick around to try to justify it .

 

 

HAHAHAHA! He's great!

[Romey 1878]

I gave it to Baines, his cross for Yak's goal was a peach and our crossing had been frustrating the hell out of me all game so that put a smile on my face.

 

It's funny how people see the game differently because I didn't think Jags had a good game at all.

[blueblood]

Went for Jonny H as he never shirked a tackle and played some good long balls out wide.

 

Thought Jags was ok but his distribution still leaves a lot to be desired, but I've always thought that

 

Saha was poor, since he got called up to the France squad and subseqently injured he's been off the pace. I'd give the Yak the start for the rest of the season, at least he looks a threat.

 

Seems like we won't take the chances to climb any higher so let's shake it up a bit last few games

[marcopaulo]

just distin for me...looks more solid every game...not sure what happened for their second goal like. it was a great cross but for one baines shouldnt have allowed it but he had no cover from pienaar and surely someone should be marking the striker better...didn't really think any of the useless tossers deserved it yesterday...ever since saha got his new contract doesnt look like he gives a toss..worst game i have ever seen neville have..bily looked lost again on the wing but he came inside and scored(again) isn't moyes noticing that?! cahill ran about but did nothing else...and the rest i cant even be arsed mentionin

[Bailey]

just distin for me...looks more solid every game...not sure what happened for their second goal like. it was a great cross but for one baines shouldnt have allowed it but he had no cover from pienaar and surely someone should be marking the striker better...didn't really think any of the useless tossers deserved it yesterday...ever since saha got his new contract doesnt look like he gives a toss..worst game i have ever seen neville have..bily looked lost again on the wing but he came inside and scored(again) isn't moyes noticing that?! cahill ran about but did nothing else...and the rest i cant even be arsed mentionin

 

I agree he did look lost and he is better when he comes inside but I think part (but certainly not all) of the reason he looks so lost is because he doesnt have a clue what Neville is going to do behind him. Sometimes he plays a short pass fired at him when it isnt really on and others he just hoofs forward up to him. When he plays on the left he always looks more of a threat on the wing. Whether its because he see's more ball or whether its just because Baines can actually pass to someone that is more than 5 yards away im not sure. It even happened when Donovan was there at times where he was completely left out to dry by Neville. At least when Vic plays there he can challenge in the air!

 

I have no problems with Neville staying on as club captain and being used mostly from the subs bench but defensively he is questionable and with the ball at his feet he is a liability, which is ridiculous when we have Coleman on loan doing what sounds like a good job defensively and then some Cafu-esque performances going forward.

[MikeO]

...when we have Coleman on loan doing what sounds like a good job defensively and then some Cafu-esque performances going forward.

...while Neville is more Kafkaesque currently .

 

_{Kafkaesque: Marked by a senseless, disorienting, often menacing complexity.}

[dark]

Between Heitenga and Howard for me. Thought that Howard just tipped it due to his penalty save and his good performance even though he was carrying an injury that could be spotted miles away. He kept us in the game at some parts and was unlucky with the first and second goals. He was MOTM for me on Saturday.

 

:)

[marcopaulo]

I agree he did look lost and he is better when he comes inside but I think part (but certainly not all) of the reason he looks so lost is because he doesnt have a clue what Neville is going to do behind him. Sometimes he plays a short pass fired at him when it isnt really on and others he just hoofs forward up to him. When he plays on the left he always looks more of a threat on the wing. Whether its because he see's more ball or whether its just because Baines can actually pass to someone that is more than 5 yards away im not sure. It even happened when Donovan was there at times where he was completely left out to dry by Neville. At least when Vic plays there he can challenge in the air!

 

I have no problems with Neville staying on as club captain and being used mostly from the subs bench but defensively he is questionable and with the ball at his feet he is a liability, which is ridiculous when we have Coleman on loan doing what sounds like a good job defensively and then some Cafu-esque performances going forward.

 

cant just blame neville for it plenty of times bily didnt make the run outside to the wing to get the ball and neville was left on his own with no choice but to whack it in the area...now someone has to go out to the wing to give neville someone to pass too either bily or someone else but if bily is starting there then he has to be the first one to do this..

[Romey 1878]

cant just blame neville for it plenty of times bily didnt make the run outside to the wing to get the ball and neville was left on his own with no choice but to whack it in the area...now someone has to go out to the wing to give neville someone to pass too either bily or someone else but if bily is starting there then he has to be the first one to do this..

 

 

Maybe he was sick of being ignored by Neville when the pass was on, but Neville would wait, wait, wait and then Bily was covered by a West Ham player.

Edited April 5, 2010 by Romey 1878

[marcopaulo]

well most people around me were thinking the same that bily just didnt give neville and options..neville had a shocking game too its just i notice around here that people get the slightest chance and they will pick him apart! no problem with people havin their opinions about him and maybe im wrong it just seemed to me bily never gave neville that many options

[Bailey]

cant just blame neville for it plenty of times bily didnt make the run outside to the wing to get the ball and neville was left on his own with no choice but to whack it in the area...now someone has to go out to the wing to give neville someone to pass too either bily or someone else but if bily is starting there then he has to be the first one to do this..

 

Il refer you to the bit in bold of my previous post...

 

I agree he did look lost and he is better when he comes inside but I think part (but certainly not all) of the reason he looks so lost is because he doesnt have a clue what Neville is going to do behind him.

 

I never said it was all Nevilles fault as Billy isnt the best with his movement but he did provide him with plenty of options at times only for Neville to give him (or someone else) a poor pass or he just floated one up in the air.

 

From what I have seen of Billy he likes the ball played straight to his feet so he can take it under control and turn his defender (which he is pretty good at) or lay it off and move inside. He hasnt got the pace to get in behind and he doesnt seem to have the ability to beat his man (yet). With a decent full back (like Baines) he is able to link up, play one-twos and cut inside. With Neville, the ball gets played roughly in his direction, where he is then isolated and loses the ball. Obviously this is partly down to limitations in his ability but he could do with a bit of help from the captain...

[marcopaulo]

yeah you did sorry mate i missed the brackets part!

[Bailey]

yeah you did sorry mate i missed the brackets part!

 

No probs . I think its fairly safe to say that they could both do with a rocket up their arse!

[iggy]

Heitinga, only one who showed any real desire imo

[carlmc25]

didn't think anyone played particularly well. Cahill worked hard but I don't really see why he is playing when Rodwell has started to look so good in that attacking midfield role, Cahill isn't the same player without Arteta in the team. I love Moyes but his substitutions and reliance on his favourite players does grate, Saha has been absolutely useless for weeks yet Moyes plays him every time, even when the Yak had scored recently and looked much more motivated than in the past. Saha hardly won a header, didn't control a ball and his only contribution in the match was what should have been a penalty. He is past it, he is not going to get any better and Moyes needs to look to the future. Yak needs to play and if fit, Anichebe should be given a run. Now is the time to play Rodwell, give players like Cahill a break with the World Cup coming up and let's get some of the younger players some games with a view to top 4 next year.

 

My vote goes to Yakubu for a great header. It was between him and Howard, I also thought Cahill worked hard and didn't have that bad a match, most of the rest were poor, Osman and Saha in particular.