Burnley v Olympiacos - Player Ratings

Blackrod · Post by **Blackrod** » Thu Aug 30, 2018 11:34 pm

Heaton 7
Bardsley 8 best I've seen him play
Mee 7 Assured
Long 6
Taylor 7
Lennon 7
Westwood 8 excellent and did try to get it forward more but had time
Hendrick 7 looks better deeper
McNeil 8 really promising debut for such a young player
Vokes 5 nowhere near clinical enough
Barnes 6

Good performance but we lack quality in the final third. I think we will struggle to score goals again and need to look to upgrade strikers again in January. Vydra may offer something different.

Indecisive · Post by **Indecisive** » Thu Aug 30, 2018 11:35 pm

OffTheBar wrote:Heaton 7
Bardsley 5
Long 6
Mee 7
Taylor 6
Lennon 7
Hendrick 8
Westwood 6
McNeil 7
Barnes 6
Vokes 3

Vydra 6
Cork 5
Wood 6

Bardsley a 5?

cricketfieldclarets · Post by **cricketfieldclarets** » Thu Aug 30, 2018 11:42 pm

quoonbeatz wrote:Heaton - 7 safe hands, top distribution and no chance with the goal

Bardsley - 7 a couple errors but overall he was good, got forward well and generally dealt with their best player ok

Long - 7 solid

Mee - 7 also solid

Taylor - 7 offering more than ward at present, especially going forward

Westwood - 7 very good, two or three excellent balls in behind that we might have done better with

Hendrick - 9 he absolutely ran the game in midfield until he was shifted to right back, fantastic performance and bang in form right now

Lennon - 7 seemed to get a few groans when he didn't shoot in the second half but the pass was the right decision - he'd have been too off balance to get a decent shot away. Other than that, he had a cracking game and his defensive work was superb

McNeil - 8 now that's how you make your full debut. An understandably shaky start gave way to a performance that was full of intelligence and confidence. For a lad his age to have the balls to have pop from distance like he did, you don't often see our senior pros do that. Tired later on but a wonderful - and surprising - showing.

Vokes - 7 should really have had 2 and then was so unlucky with the one that hit the post. Those aside though, he was a colossus up top and has to start on Sunday.

Barnes - 5 another who should really have had a goal. Booking was sheer idiocy.

Vydra - 6 promising cameo, he occupies that space in the box where we never seem to have anyone.

Mixed feelings after that. Gutted that we're out. Proud that we were even here in the first place. Gutted that we didn't go with our strongest team in every game. Proud of the players that put in a hell of a performance tonight.

One of those days when nothing would quite drop right for us and it's so disappointing because we should probably be talking about a 4 nil win rather than a 1-1. This was a performance that was full of heart, endeavour and no little skill but it was laced with that sloppiness that comes with not playing together every game. Our success under dyche has been built on consistent selection, it gives us that sharpness where the players know each other's games inside out. Disappointing that he's moved away from that, for whatever reason, as this could have been a season to remember.

It still can be though, of course. The aim now has to be to finish as high as posdible and hopefully get back into this competition next season. It's a tall order, just as it was last season but it's not impossible. We've hardly got started in europe and I want more of it.

Excellent post. Nails it exactly how i feel.

BabylonClaret · Post by **BabylonClaret** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 12:10 am

Tough to mark. At times we ripped them to bits but ultimately we need to score and that was the minimum requirement tonight.
Heaton 6 - largely redundant
Bardsley 7 - conintued his decent European form
Long 7 - assured
Mee 8 - far better than recently
Taylor 8 - played well and i hope he starts Sunday
Lennon 7 - guilty of sometimes taking touches instead of shooting but overall caused a lot of problems
Hendrick 8 mom - bossed midfield - looked classy (not shooting apart)
Westwood 8 - also a great game - broke play and distributed well
McNeill 7 - had a very good game
Vokes 6 - should have scored
Barnes 6 - as above

Vydra 7 - thrown in, looked lively and did score
Wood 5 - needed longer to get up to speed
Cork 5 - sloppy play gifted them a goal which was poor considering how hard the team had worked up til then.

DCWat · Post by **DCWat** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 1:18 am

Heaton 6 - Not enough to do to earn more
Bardsley 7 - Did well and got forward
Long 7 - Not too much to do and steady as ever
Mee 7 - As Long
Taylor 7 - Expect better deliveries bit did well
Lennon 7 - Let down by decision making
Hendrick 8 - Faded in the second and should have scored
Westwood 7 - Another good performance
McNeil 8 - Fantastic debut
Vokes 6 - Missed good opportunities but general play OK
Barnes 5 - Missed a good chance and got too involved in the petty stuff which he seemed to have been improving on recently.

Vydra 6 - Glimpses of pace, movement, running the channel and dropping deeper for the ball - good signs and hopefully someone that will benefit both Wood and Hendrick.

A goal before the hour mark and we’d have won that at a canter - Not taking advantage of opportunities or periods where we are dominant is something we really must improve on.

They’d never have scored tonight had it not been for us going all out with the full backs pushing on. We lost our shape after the changes but at that stage, it was a gamble we needed to take.

Sadly it may well be a long time before our next European game and it’d have been nice to have at least make the competition proper. Had we gone into the first leg with the same approach, it would have been very different - that alongside a lack of recruitment and injuries has hampered us somewhat, so lessons to be learned.

I hope that the performance is what the players take from tonight and not the disappointment of going out. We deserved more.

strayclaret · Post by **strayclaret** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 1:25 am

Heaton 6
Bardsley 7
Mee 7
Long 6
Taylor 8
Lennon 6
Hendrick 8
Westwood 8
McNeil 8
Barnes 7
Vokes 7
Got to put them chances away

Joeandy1920 · Post by **Joeandy1920** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 1:42 am

Heaton 7
Bardsley 7
Long 7
Mee 8
Taylor 7
Lennon 6
Hendrick 8
Westwood 8*
McNeil 8
Vokes 6
Barnes 6

Vydra 6

M6 on the way home -5000

IanMcL · Post by **IanMcL** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 3:38 am

Joeandy1920 wrote:
M6 on the way home -5000

I can only agree! Got away quick but 2 30 home.
6 hours up and many more miles and 4.5 hours back.

IanMcL · Post by **IanMcL** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 3:42 am

Heaton 7
Bardsley 8
Long 7
Mee 8
Taylor 8
Lennon 6
Hendrick 8
Westwood 8
McNeil 8
Vokes 6
Barnes 6

Vydra 6

Great Euro night should have won 8-1. No idea how we are out. Crying shame. Made them look rubbish for the most part.

The Clarets are back.

Vegas Claret · Post by **Vegas Claret** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 3:49 am

Heaton 7
Bardsley 6
Long 6
Mee 7
Taylor 7
Lennon 7
Hendrick 8
Westwood 7
McNeil 8
Vokes 7
Barnes 6

Vydra 6

hopefully the turning point for us

Slurpy · Post by **Slurpy** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 4:06 am

Heaton - 7 Brought that assuredness tp the backline we've missed
Bardsley - 6 offers little going forward and nothing on Lowts delivery, still solid
Long - 7 As dependable as ever
Mee - 8 Back to last season's levels
Taylor 7- Should be starting in the league now and not as a left mid.
Lennon - 6 Same as every Lennon performance, has his moments but still a failure to find that decisive ball or finish.
Hendrick - 8 Back in his natural position and continued his excellent start to the season.
Westwood - 8 Showed off his passing range and thought he was running the show.
McNeil - 9 Incredible considering the occasion definitely played himself into Dyche's consideration. Such a confidence about him, playing balls with the outside of the boot etc.
Barnes - 6 Linked well with Vokes but didn't take his chance/s
Vokes - 5 On another day he's the hero but he didn't do his Job and score the goals really frustrating.

Vyds - 7 +1 for the goal, I'd throw him in on Sunday, he is a goalscorer that much is clear, really want to see a formation of a partnership with Wood.

Taffy on the wing · Post by **Taffy on the wing** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 4:44 am

Great to see us playing well again (from youtube stream) Why such low scores for Barnes?
Technically he's our best player by miles....control of difficult passes and layoffs etc......he starts every game for me.

Colburn_Claret · Post by **Colburn_Claret** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 5:48 am

Heaton 7 steady
Bardsley 7 good game
Long 6 average
Mee 6 average
Taylor 8 excellent going forward and linking up with McNeil
Lennon 6 lacked quality in final 3rd, but put in 110% as usual
Westwood 7 steady
Hendrick 8 mom player of the season so far, only one not to look like a rabbit in headlights when put under pressure.
McNeil 8 fantastic game, brings some much needed attacking quality, will hopefully improve with game time. Starting Sunday I hope.
Vokes 7 played really well, the missed chances aside, but they can hit any striker
Barnes 6 a fine line between being a pain in the arse to the opposition and being affective for us. He fell the wrong side last night and could have created more up top.

Wood 6 little
Vydra 7 missed a glorious chance, but got his goal. Early days but hope for good things.

A lot of positives last night, especially McNeil.
We need to keep 2 up top, playing a lone striker is killing us. Which 2 is debatable.
In the absence of Brady, and JBG and Lennon struggling to create, we need to keep McNeil on the pitch.
For the same reason Taylor should start, he isn't as good a defender as Ward, but we need to create chances or suffer the consequences.
I'd start Tom as well.Hart hasn't let us down, but he isn't showing the kind of form that should keep the club captain benched either.

ashtonlongsider · Post by **ashtonlongsider** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 6:35 am

Heaton 7- Didn't have a lot to do but I felt the back 4 were more comfortable with his leadership.
Bardsley 6-felt we were weak offensively down the right hand side.
Long 7-Solid and dependable.
Mee 8-More like the Ben of old.
Taylor 7-Had a good second half. Just needs to learn when to forage forward.
Lennon 5-Thought he was our poorest player on the night and has more to offer than has been on show.
Hendrick 8-Played well the last couple of games. Just wish he'd be more ruthless in the final third at times.
Westwood 9-Certainly the engine room last night. He must have covered every blade of grass between the two 18 yard boxes.
McNeil 9* A wonderful debut. This lad offers us something different and I hope, but suspect he wont start on Sunday.
Vokes 6-Sam worked hard but spurned the sort of chances that should be Bread and Butter to a PL striker.
Barnes 5-Thought he was poor. Still goes down to easily for me at times and these continental ref's won't buy it.

AlargeClaret · Post by **AlargeClaret** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 7:29 am

Heaton 7 solid hands good distribution
Bardsley 8 best I’ve seen him
Long 7 good
Mee 7 much improved
Taylor 8 v good and close to replacing Wardy
Lennon 7 getting there and worked hard
Hendrick 8 best game as a claret , he did a turn that was perfection
Westwood 7 good and solid nice through balls
McNeil 9 what a debut at18! Class act denied a goal by a superb save
Vokes 7 worked very hard , carthorse slow but just couldn’t get it away
Barnes 7 roughed em up like a good un

Vydra 7 lively and could start in a week or so

HieronymousBoschHobs · Post by **HieronymousBoschHobs** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 7:44 am

Heaton - 6
Taylor - 5 (No idea how he was voted MOTM, gave the ball away in dangerous positions several times first half)
Mee - 6 (Distribution okay)
Long - 5 (Not good enough on the ball or with his passing when we are the side who needs to bring the game to the opponent)
Bardsley - 6 (Not a fan tbh, think he is a bit thuggish - but another decent performance)
Lennon - 5 (Lacking confidence? Should have shot with a golden chance. I like him but he needs to do more)
Westwood - 6 (Tried hard, wasn't afraid to play a forward pass)
Hendrick - 5 (Okay second half but too many back passes to Long first half)
McNeil - 8 (+1 for a debut in a high-stakes, somewhat febrile, game. Colour me impressed.)
Barnes - 6 (Worked hard and made life difficult for the opposition defense as always)
Vokes - 4 (Sorry Sam, but you need to put those chances away_

Vydra - 6 (Decent touches)

Absolutely gutted. We deserved to win against an Olimpiakos side who were, in my opinion, at times there for the taking. Unusually, we were profligate. Ratings probably harsher than normal because I am still a little bitter: when will I see Burnley play in Europe again? Possibly never. Certainly no lack of effort but the crueler side of me says these are professional footballers, not schoolchildren: not only do they need to "give it a reel good go", they need to be effective too. McNeil served as a bit of a silver lining though - hope to see him play more.

CoolClaret · Post by **CoolClaret** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 8:22 am

HieronymousBoschHobs wrote: Taylor - 5 (No idea how he was voted MOTM, gave the ball away in dangerous positions several times first half)
Long - 5 (Not good enough on the ball or with his passing when we are the side who needs to bring the game to the opponent)
Lennon - 5 (Lacking confidence? Should have shot with a golden chance. I like him but he needs to do more)
Hendrick - 5 (Okay second half but too many back passes to Long first half)

If one is to look up 'confirmation bias' they should be referred to this post plus a repeat if the performance....

Absolutely ludicrous

claretspice · Post by **claretspice** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 8:24 am

Well what a shame its over, and so soon. But a really good performance on the night.

Heaton - 7 - no chance with the goal, otherwise solid and pretty commanding.

Bardsley - 6 - pretty good going forwards and reliable defensively, but some of his passing from deep was a bit erratic.

Taylor - 8 - possibly his best performance for Burnley - reliable at the back and produced a string of good crosses.

Long- 6 - Again, solid enough, but like Bardsley inconsistent distribution just prevented us getting up a real head of steam offensively at times when Olympiakos were beginning to rock.

Mee - 7 - defensively sound and after a dodgy first 10 minutes, more assured on the ball.

Westwood- 8 - did the simple things very well for the most part and showed a really good willingness to go and find the ball. Not everything came off but there was some really glorious one touch stuff on occasions.

Hendrick - 8 - best player on the pitch by yards. Consummate box to box midfield performance, just needed a goal. Its ironic that Cork is our best individual midfielder but whenever Hendrick and Westwood have paired together in a 2, they've gelled beautifully together.

Lennon - 7 - full of direct running and worried then throughout, even if it never quite translated into the chance we needed.

McNeill - 8 - faded understandably, but we have a serious talent on our hands here. Showed poise, skill and end product.

Barnes - 6 - periodically effective but a bit in and out and occasionally a touch clumsy.

Vokes- 7 - missed one sitter in the first half that he'll replay forever, but did everything right with the other two chances that came his way and imperious in the air and effective on the deck all night.

Vydra - 7 - lively debut and good for him to get his goal even if he had missed a glorious chance by that point (and another that turned out to be offside). Promising.

Wood/Cork - not on long enough but not sure the change in shape suited us.

The frustration is that Olympiakos were not as good as their reputation, which makes this a big missed opportunity. We could, probably should have won the tie- and I suspect we would have done had we played our strongest available back 4 in both legs. Ultimately the damage was done in 15 minutes in Athens - partly by decisions, but also by disorganised defending and a lack of calmness on the ball.

But e en against fairly limited opponents this was an outstanding performance- until it came to putting the ball in the net, or even getting it on target, when we suddenly let down all our fine approach play. But like against Watford in the first half our football through midfield was outstanding at times and once we just add that final touch we will be fine.

Two big positives in McNeill amd Vydra's cameo that also augur well for the future. One side note to Hendrick: when McNeill played himself and us into danger early on it was Jeff who went to give him a high five, and then thenext time Jeff had the ball he went out of his waytonpass to McNeill and give him an easy touch and pass to help him grow back into the game. Didnt have to , but proper team play and it no doubt helped the ki d settle. And he certainly settled!

BOYSIE31 · Post by **BOYSIE31** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 8:32 am

Heaton 7
Bardsley 6
Long 6
Mee 7
Taylor 8
Lennon 6
Hendrick 7
Westwood 6
McNeil 9
Vokes 6
Barnes 6

Vydra 6

Unlucky but you have to put your chances away.

Shame as we will revert back to Hendrick back in that role on sunday and Mc Neil on bench but this was much much better.

joey13 · Post by **joey13** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 8:33 am

Heaton 7
Bardsley 6
Long 6
Mee 7
Taylor 7
Lennon 7
Hendrick 8
Westwood 7
McNeil 8
Vokes 7
Barnes 6

Vydra 6

Beagleheart · Post by **Beagleheart** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 8:35 am

Heaton 6
Bardsley 7
Long 7
Mee 6
Taylor 7
Lennon 7
Westwood 8
Hendrick 8*
McNeil 8
Vokes 6
Barnes 6

Vydra 7

thelifeofbrian · Post by **thelifeofbrian** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 8:36 am

Heaton 7
Bardsley 7
Long 7
Mee 7
Taylor 7
Lennon 7
Hendrick 8 - MOM
Westwood 8
McNeil 8
Vokes 8
Barnes 7

Vydra 7

Hipper · Post by **Hipper** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 9:06 am

claretspice wrote:One side note to Hendrick: when McNeill played himself and us into danger early on it was Jeff who went to give him a high five, and then thenext time Jeff had the ball he went out of his waytonpass to McNeill and give him an easy touch and pass to help him grow back into the game. Didnt have to , but proper team play and it no doubt helped the ki d settle. And he certainly settled!

I saw that too. Thought it was a nice touch by Hendrick.

CrosspoolClarets wrote:Obviously, disappointingly and predictably it was close to a reserve team again - choosing to leave out the keeper, three members of the back four, midfielder and best striker (the latter more debatable due to bad form). I have no doubts that the full side would have progressed against this poor opposition.

I am devastated to be out of a competition I have waited decades for, never thought would come, and probably will not again. At least I went to Athens, which after hardly missing a game for 30 years I wasn’t going to miss now. I make no apologies for sticking to my earlier view - if we are to prioritise mid table survival over a major trophy and lifetime memories that means that the manager has to my surprise set himself a low bar, not what I want for my efforts watching the Clarets. He was Sir Sean in my eyes last May. I was giving him a last chance to do the right thing tonight, but sadly now, I’ve changed my mind and I think he has taken us as far as he can.

Before anyone criticises my harshness, stop to consider whether you are allowing standards to be set too low. Tossing away places in major European trophies shouldn’t be accepted if we want our club to be the best it can be.

I see it more as Dyche being pragmatic. We don't have the quality and depth of squad to achieve success in Europe without risking our survival in The Premier League. The latter has to be the priority and it can lead to more of the former if we continue to make steady progress.

It is a shame but that is our reality.

Sproggy · Post by **Sproggy** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 9:12 am

Much better performance, not withstanding a few dodgy passes here and there that we do need to cut out.
Heaton 7
Bardsley 7
Long 6
Mee 8
Taylor 6
Lennon 7
Hendrick 8
Westwood 7
McNeil 8*
Vokes 7
Barnes 6
Vydra 7

quoonbeatz · Post by **quoonbeatz** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 9:24 am

Hipper wrote:I see it more as Dyche being pragmatic. We don't have the quality and depth of squad to achieve success in Europe without risking our survival in The Premier League. The latter has to be the priority and it can lead to more of the former if we continue to make steady progress.

It is a shame but that is our reality.

whilst its daft to say dyche has taken us as far as he can, there can be no question that the constant and unnecessary chopping and changing between PL and european games has has a detrimental effect.

this early in the season there's no need at all to make changes and i firmly believe that if we'd gone full strength in every game - especially the greek ones - we'd have sailed through. we have a good squad and this early on they aren't going to be knackered.

its much less intense once you reach the groups and if we really were getting tired by then, we just bin the domestic cups off.

i'm also gutted and i genuinely don't get the mindset that we'd want to get out of europe as soon as we can. the europa league is realistically about the limit of where we can get to. if you don't want to be as good as you can, whats the point of supporting a football team? we should be going all out to get back there.

Hibsclaret · Post by **Hibsclaret** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 9:33 am

It’s easy to say we should have played the same best team in every game.

The facts are at the level we are playing and lack of recovery time etc we needed to do exactly what we have done.

It was pre season when we started the competition and everyone needed games for fitness.

I still don’t know how we have’nt got through with this approach.

gawthorpe_view · Post by **gawthorpe_view** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 9:44 am

When McNeil lost possession early on, he looked at Dyche, probably expecting a rocket, but got a 'thumbs up', followed by 'palms down', 'Keep calm and carry on' reassurance from our manager.
Nice to see, excellent from Sean.

Zenwisdom · Post by **Zenwisdom** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 9:46 am

Heaton 7 3 saves
Bardsley 7 solid
Taylor 7 ok
Long 6
Mee 7 switched on tonight
Westwood 7 decent game by his standards
Hendrick 8 better in Midfield not a inside forward
McNeil 8 improved with confidence he has got more than a hammer in his tool box
Barns 6 same as
Vokes 7 unlucky
Lennon 6 lacks confidence needs a goal
Vydra 7 looks like a inside forward
10 attempts 8 corners 54% possession improving

quoonbeatz · Post by **quoonbeatz** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 9:48 am

Hibsclaret wrote:It’s easy to say we should have played the same best team in every game.

it is and and its easy to see that its the best approach to take.

you only need to look at our recent history of playing weakened sides in cup competitions. it didn't work against the likes of stanley and lincoln. it certainly wasn't likely to work against the likes of olympiakos.

Giftonsnoidea · Post by **Giftonsnoidea** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 9:55 am

Heaton 7

Bardsley 7
Long 8
Mee 8
Taylor 8 - should start against man u , muc( better in his natural position

Lennon 6 - really needs to shoot on sight and stop mincing with the ball, daft how he pulled it back with his chance against the keeper

Hendrick 8 never been a no.10 much better in this position

Westwood 8 decent

McNeil 9 very good debut, should be starting against man u , nothing to lose now as ward is out of form

Vokes 5 unbelievable misses but good effort against the post, how we must rue that extra 2m not being spent on jay rod, we have no different options up front at the moment, we need a pacy striker in Jan definitely....

Barnes 6 was a hard chance created from Vokes, frustrating striking perfromance all round i thought.

Vydra - 7 needs to start against man u offers something different

Played really well and the crowd played their part positively encouraging, maybe they need to be like that all the time now, players and fans together with the team, now to get our league form sorted out....

How we didnt win 5-1 is unreal, we should be in that draw today, the greeks were unbelievably lucky....

Hibsclaret · Post by **Hibsclaret** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 12:05 pm

quoonbeatz wrote:it is and and its easy to see that its the best approach to take.

you only need to look at our recent history of playing weakened sides in cup competitions. it didn't work against the likes of stanley and lincoln. it certainly wasn't likely to work against the likes of olympiakos.

If you can’t understand the difference between cup competitions during the season when everyone is at full fitness compared to starting a competition in pre season (to say nothing of travel, recovery etc.) then perhaps you should check what other teams do.

We played a touch better tonight than against Accy or Lincoln. The world has moved on, we qualified for Europe and we need to use the squad, obviously....

TVC15 · Post by **TVC15** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 12:20 pm

quoonbeatz wrote:it is and and its easy to see that its the best approach to take.

you only need to look at our recent history of playing weakened sides in cup competitions. it didn't work against the likes of stanley and lincoln. it certainly wasn't likely to work against the likes of olympiakos.

Not sure how that would have made any difference last night....or even over the 2 legs. We made far more clear cut chances last night than they did in Athens.
We could have easily won by 4 or 5 goals last night and it would not have flattered us.

McNeil had a great game ; Taylor played better than Ward has ; Vokes and Barnes were far more effective than Wood has been all season ; and Hendrick playing in his favoured position had a great game too.

There is no way we were going to play our best team in this cup but we still played a strong team throughout the competition. Olympiacos are a very experienced European team - especially in the dark arts. They also played their strongest side because for them this competition is far more important than it is for us. If anything they will rest their better players in the league games as the Greek league is so weak and they always finish near the top regardless.

Top Claret · Post by **Top Claret** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 1:05 pm

I enjoyed the game last night but obviously not the result. I personally am not getting carried away with a performance what was entertaining, against a very poor side. Sunday is the tester were this seasons shaky defence and weak midfield will really have to up a gear or three, if we are to stand any chance

bf2k · Post by **bf2k** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 1:17 pm

Heaton 6 - Didn't have to do a lot. Starting positions were very good. Somehow gives you a bit more confidence
Bardsley 6 - Played well, some sloppy passing but to be honest he was looking from a bit more of an intelligent run from Lennon. When it didn't come thats when his mistakes happened.
Long 6 - Defensively nothing wrong. Offensively just a bit short. Too many punted balls lofted forward which were easy to defend
Mee 6 - Much the same as Long
Taylor 6 - Sloppy passes like Bardsley but did get forward well
Lennon 5 - Not sure what he's offering. Poor decision making in when to finish, pass and his runs
Hendrick 7 - Linked well with the forwards and looks far better as a central midfielder
Westwood 7 - Again some sloppy basic passing but when he did thread a ball they were on the money
McNeil 8* - No fear, pace, drive. Wow. Fantastic
Vokes 6 - Can't miss those kind of chances at this level (or any level).
Barnes 6 - Europe isn't his game. Not going to get the fouls he gets in England. Fantastic workrate though as every

Vydra 7 - Looked bright and again has that drive to get forward. Carried the ball well and scored

I can't mark anyone lower than 6 because the effort was certainly there but the quality wasn't.

Claret · Post by **Claret** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 1:17 pm

Heaton 7
Bardsley 7
Long 7
Mee 7
Taylor 8
Lennon 8
Hendrick 9
Westwood 8
McNeil 9
Vokes 8
Barnes 7
Vydra 7

DBSport · Post by **DBSport** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 1:36 pm

Heaton 7
Bardsley 7
Long 7
Mee 8
Taylor 8
Lennon 7
Westwood 8
Hendrick 7
McNeil 7
Barnes 7
Vokes 7

Vydra 6

Falcon · Post by **Falcon** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 1:40 pm

Heaton 7
Bardsley 8
Long 7
Mee 7
Taylor 8
Lennon 5
Hendrick 7
Westwood 7
McNeil 8
Vokes 5
Barnes 5

Vydra 6

Jakubs Tash · Post by **Jakubs Tash** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 3:05 pm

Heaton 7

Bardsley 7
Taylor 8
Long 7
Mee 7

Lennon 6
Westwood 9
Hendrick 8
McNeil 8

Vokes 7
Barnes 6

Vydra 6

quoonbeatz · Post by **quoonbeatz** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 3:08 pm

Hibsclaret wrote:If you can’t understand the difference between cup competitions during the season when everyone is at full fitness compared to starting a competition in pre season (to say nothing of travel, recovery etc.) then perhaps you should check what other teams do.

We played a touch better tonight than against Accy or Lincoln. The world has moved on, we qualified for Europe and we need to use the squad, obviously....

we're 3 games into the season and played stanley at the same stage as we did olympiakos.

we aren't one of the big clubs with a big squad and we can't get away with making loads of changes and still win against quality opposition. as i've said plenty of times on here previously, our success under dyche has been built on having a consistent team - especially the defence. changing it every game helps no one and choosing a back 5 that had never played together before away at olympiakos was a poor decision.

i thought we were excellent last night and its no slight on the players who came in but that was not a full strength team. there's no reason why at this early stage of the season, we couldn't have given it a proper go.

so what if we'd got 1 point from our first 4 PL games, there's 30 odd to make up for it but its unlikely we'll be back in europe anytime soon.

quoonbeatz · Post by **quoonbeatz** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 3:10 pm

TVC15 wrote:Not sure how that would have made any difference last night....or even over the 2 legs.

first choice defence in the first leg would have helped but as per above, having a settled side is when we perform best. no reason why we couldn't have done so in this competition.

jrgbfc · Post by **jrgbfc** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 3:33 pm

Taffy on the wing wrote:Great to see us playing well again (from youtube stream) Why such low scores for Barnes?
Technically he's our best player by miles....control of difficult passes and layoffs etc......he starts every game for me.

Cos he offered us absolutely nothing last night. If we want to progress we have to find better. I'm hoping Vydra and Wood is going to be our first choice pairing going forward.

Rowls · Post by **Rowls** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 4:00 pm

Heaton - 8
Bardsley - 6
Long - 7
Mee - 8
Taylor - 7
Westwood - 8
Hendrick - 8
O'Neill - 8 MOM
Lennon - 6
Barnes - 8
Vokes - 7

Vydra - 6

So, so disappointed that this tie was settled in those awful opening minutes of the 2nd half of the first leg.

Belgianclaret · Post by **Belgianclaret** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 4:06 pm

Heaton 7
Bardsley 7
Long 7
Mee 8
Taylor 8
Lennon 6
Hendrick 7
Westwood 8
McNeil 7
Vokes 6 (great game but should have stuck those two in)
Barnes 7

Hibsclaret · Post by **Hibsclaret** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 4:10 pm

quoonbeatz wrote:we're 3 games into the season and played stanley at the same stage as we did olympiakos.

we aren't one of the big clubs with a big squad and we can't get away with making loads of changes and still win against quality opposition. as i've said plenty of times on here previously, our success under dyche has been built on having a consistent team - especially the defence. changing it every game helps no one and choosing a back 5 that had never played together before away at olympiakos was a poor decision.

i thought we were excellent last night and its no slight on the players who came in but that was not a full strength team. there's no reason why at this early stage of the season, we couldn't have given it a proper go.

so what if we'd got 1 point from our first 4 PL games, there's 30 odd to make up for it but its unlikely we'll be back in europe anytime soon.

Clueless....

It seems you can pick out the odd thing and completely fail to grasp the point.

How many other European qualified teams play the same team in every competition? That’ll be none by the way.

We qualified for Europe this year and so we have to adapt.

We simply can’t play the same eleven Sunday, Thursday, Sunday as we could when in the championship. It’s a different level of football.

quoonbeatz · Post by **quoonbeatz** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 4:17 pm

Hibsclaret wrote:Clueless....

you certainly are, although you've managed to miss the point form the start so its no surprise.

nobody is comparing it to the championship but at this early stage of the season, there's no reason why you can't pick close to your strongest side every game.

making all these changes hasn't remotely helped our PL performance.

Hibsclaret · Post by **Hibsclaret** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 4:58 pm

quoonbeatz wrote:you certainly are, although you've managed to miss the point form the start so its no surprise.

nobody is comparing it to the championship but at this early stage of the season, there's no reason why you can't pick close to your strongest side every game.

making all these changes hasn't remotely helped our PL performance.

Thank god you are not in charge of the team. In your other post you say we played well. There’s no guarantees we would have won with the first choice team. However, there is a likelihood that our prem campaign would have been more adversely affected in the long term. A number of our squad would have had no game time or sharpness and we wouldn’t be seeing the likes of McNeil break through.

You know best though.

Dark Cloud · Post by **Dark Cloud** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 5:06 pm

Heaton 7 (Should be charged as a spectator)
Bardsley 7
Long 7 (Was excellent if largely left untroubled, BUT -1 for diving in when forwards ALWAYS check back in those positions and shoot with their other foot!)
Mee 8
Taylor 8
Westwood 7
Hendrick 8 (Playing well just now is Jeff)
Lennon 6 (Goes AWOL in the second half far too often and has zero confidence when chances fall his way. Another in a series of wingers we've had who can't actually beat anybody, but he puts in a shift defensively!!!

)
McNeil 8 (Lively and tried things which didn't always come off, but he troubled them and sparked us and a very promising debut)
Vokes 6 (I'm a fan, but his finishing last night cost us a place in the groups I'm afraid)
Barnes 7 (Another who missed at least one clear chance which could have made a massive difference)

Cork 6 (Caught out for the goal which is very uncharacteristic, but unforgivable)
Vydra 6 (Gave us a spark and looked lively, but missed an open goal which was crucial!)
Wood 5 (statuesque)

We played well and as others have said I came away much more optimistic for the coming PL season, but on the night we failed to take the clear chances we were making and we allowed Olympiakos to get away with a 2 leg win which on last night's showing they were very fortunate to get. I felt they were decidedly beatable and we just weren't clinical enough. Shame!

warksclaret · Post by **warksclaret** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 8:12 pm

No often I get to home games but so glad I went, not only to witness a very spirited performance but to see the huge potential Dwight McNeil obviously posseses

Heaton 7-a sound night but little to do. Hi vocals keep the defence alert
Bardsley 8-the Nugent of our defence. Plays with a smile and a spirit
Mee 8-thought he looked very assured
Long7 a reliable centre half. Not too creative in his distribution .I worry his square passes will get intercepted
Taylor 8-strong in the air, and posed a threat going forwards
Lennon 6-looks devoid on confidence. Sadly needs to play
Hendrick 8-good all round display#
Westwood 8, ran his socks off
McNeill 8. Lots of promise, and a majestic display
Barnes 6-not his night. Don't think hes got going this season
Vokes 6-got into good positions, but poor misses

Vydra 7-liked his energy and running.Hope he starts to feature more now
Wood 6-not got going yet
Cork7-good to have him on at the end, but poor pass that may have lead to their goal

levraiclaret · Post by **levraiclaret** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 8:39 pm

Heaton 7
Bardsley 7
Long 7
Mee 8
Taylor 8
Lennon 7 one point off for not shooting from Barnes's layoff
Westwood 8
Hendrick 8
McNeil 8
Barnes 7 one point off for a silly booking.
Vokes 7 two points off for missed headers, one point added for shot on post and setting up Barnes for the effort which went just wide.

Vydra 6 one point off for shot over gaping goal.

Gutted we are out, but it was a great journey and the full European experience - dodgy refs, buses to grounds with police escorts, delayed flights, capital cities, cultural sights and sites, hot days, cold beers and and unfortunately attacks on and a stabbings of one of our fans. Let's hope we get more in the coming seasons (not the attacks and stabbing), I think the players want it too.

whentheballmoves · Post by **whentheballmoves** » Sat Sep 01, 2018 1:32 am

Heaton 7

Bardsley 7
Long 7
Mee 7
Taylor 7

Lennon 6 needs to look to spin his man more, not dropping so deep
Hendrick 7 don't know what happened following the quick freekick from Westwood...shoot!
Westwood 7
McNeil 8 gets a higher mark for him being a debutant and didn't look out of place
Vokes 6 needs to put one or more of those away, for me
Barnes 6 see Vokes

Vydra 6

Better than them by quite a way, and the more I think about the match, the more gutted I am. That may be the last time I ever see us in Europe...

Proud of the campaign, though!