Cardiff v Burnley - Player Ratings

[Blackrod]

In fact I'll give Vokes a 6 ( inc 1 for goal). Think I'm being harsh otherwise.

[Duffer_]

Hart 8
Lowton 4
Tarkowski 6
Mee 5
Taylor 5
Lennon 6
Cork 4
Westwood 5
JBG 6
Vydra 5
Vokes 6

Long 6
Wood 5

UTC!

[quoonbeatz]

Hart - 8 did everything asked of him and the two saves he had to make were pretty routine. Great to seeing him coming and getting some strong punches in a crowded box.

Lowton - 6

Tarkowski - 7 dominant

Mee - 4 dominated

Taylor - 5

Westwood - 5 lovely ball for the second goal

Cork - 5

Lennon - 5

Gudmundsson - 8 goal and a nice assist

Vydra - 5

Vokes - 7

Long - 6 solid enough, his first ball forward was funny

By no means a good performance but games against the likes of Cardiff are always going to be scraps. This was no exception and we defended well enough then won it with two moments of quality. Hart was excellent again but in reality he's only needed to make a couple of saves as we restricted them to long range efforts and half chances.

An ugly win but they're necessary sometimes and we deserved it on the day.

[CrosspoolClarets]

Hart 8
Lowton 5
Tarkowski 6
Mee 5
Taylor 5
Lennon 6
Westwood 7
Cork 5
JBG 8
Vydra 7
Vokes 7

Long 6

Nothing much to add that others have not, it is all fairly obvious today. I’ll sum it up in a few stats:

The good:

First win in the Premier League in years after playing a weakened side in a cup (which made me wonder why we do).
First win away to a promoted side.
Sean’s first ever win against Cardiff.
2 goals from 3 shots, finishing is improving.

The bad:

74 shots conceded against the three promoted sides away. MUST be a record. We have never conceded that many in our worst 3 matches of any Premier League season (even, for example, City, United, Chelsea). To concede so many to Wolves, Cardiff and Fulham is VERY worrying.

The ugly:

Only 296 passes of which 84 were long balls.

[Cubanclaret]

Hart 8*
Lowton 5
Tarkowski 7 (Long 7)
Mee 7
Taylor 6
Lennon 6
Westwood 6
Cork 4
Gudmundsson 7
Vokes 7
Vydra 6 (Wood 6)
--
Cork's performance was a worry today, SD talked about how it wasn't easy to play with all the balls reigning in but in truth we rarely made any attempt to play swiftly through the units as we did readily last season. When we did we scored two very simple goals.

Apparently the lowest percentage of passing accuracy to EVER win a Premier League match, which tells you all you need to know about our play today.
I think our opening match at Southampton we had something like a 78% pass accuracy in the first half, so we can do it.

[Chuckypad]

Hart 8
Lowton 5
Tarkowski 5
Mee 6
Taylor 5
Lennon 6
Westwood 7
Cork 6
JBG 6
Vydra 6
Vokes 6

Long 6
Wood 4

I think some of the scores for Westwood are really harsh. He was central to both of our goals. Real desire and decent ball to the back stick for the first and a fantastic ball to JBG for the second

[Rumbletonk]

Hart - 9 I thought he was an awful signing, delighted to be proved wrong. Superb game
Lowton - 4 He played with a bit of a swagger last season. That has gone
Taylor - 4 He's just not stepped up to this level and i dont think he has it in him
Mee - 4 he can get away be forgiven for the odd mistake and too many lumps upfront when he defends like last season. Needs dropping for Long.
Tarks - not on long enough
Westwood/Cork - 5 i like them both just not together. Too similar. Play too far apart
Lenon - 5 Didnt track back for their goal. Not available enough to provide an outlet
Joey - 7 one for the goal and more of a threat than Lenon. Left Lowton exposed too much
Vydra - Still finding his feet unlike any passes to him
Vokes - 6 one for the goal. Struggled against their units in the air

Ugly win. Really really ugly

[nil_desperandum]

This defence is unrecognisable from what we know and I simply cannot understand what has gone wrong. If it doesnt get sorted we are stuffed.

We are missing Ward terribly - though, of course, that means the Ward of 2 seasons ago, and much of last season. I'm convinced that his absence is one of the reasons why Mee looks so out of position and out of his depth at times. He was Mr Consistency, knew his role inside out and was an integral part of a thoroughly disciplined and organised defensive unit.

[Hibsclaret]

Spot on nil. Never have gaps like that for their goal. If Taylor doesn’t know whether to stick or twist, nor does his centre halves.

[strayclaret]

Hart 8
Lowton 5
Mee 5
Taylor 6
Lennon 6
Cork 5
Westwood 6
JBG 7
Vokes 7
Vydra 6

Long 8
Backs to the wall stuff, but who cares? . A wins a win
UTC

[IanMcL]

Hart 8
Lowton 6
Tarkowski 6
Mee 6
Taylor 6
Lennon 6
Westwood 7
Cork 6
Gudmundsson 8
Vydra 6
Vokes 7

Long 6

[HiroshimaClaret]

Fantastic result but an embarrassingly bad performance. We looked like a group of strangers with no particular game plan ESPECIALLY in that first half horror show. The commentators were ridiculing both teams but particularly Burnley, with our lack of energy and ideas. Something is `off`.

Hart 9 THE EASIEST MAN OF THE MATCH EVER ON THIS WEBSITE

Lowton 6 Was almost trying to give them a second goal towards the end (as excellent a player as he is)
Tarkowski 6 (applicable/non-applicable?)
Mee 5 (he looks punch drunk - collided with his own players on numerous occasions)
Taylor 5 (doesn`t help his progression playing with this lot right now)

Gudmundsson 7 (one goal, one assist and was the only one who looked remotely capable)
Cork 4 (not at the races at all and ponderous...COME BACK JACK!)
Westwood 6 (good ball for the goal)
Lennon 5 (from show to no-show in the space of a week...impressive!)

Vydra 6 (at least he looked bright, willing and kept trying...GEEZ THAT`S SAD)
Vokes 6 (one extra for the goal...nice header. Saying that, playing up front for us must be excruciating on days like these)

Long 7 (can`t remember anything bad that stood out)

[Bfcshaun]

Hart 8- Pulled off many decent saves. Being overworked though.
Lowton 4- Murphy had his number all day.
Taylor 5- not given as torrid a time as lowton but still didn't look comfortable.
Mee 4- All at sea this season. Not his usual standards for whatever reason.
Tarkowski 5- shaky at times apart from the commanding challenge where he picked up injury.
Cork 5- couldn't get his foot on ball but must be hard when ball is sailing over your head from all directions.
Westwood 5- couple of interceptions but similar to cork
Gudmondson 7- only bright spot offensively.
Lennon 6- stuck to his task and threw himself in front of bamba to stop chance
Vydra 6- never really played to him. Meaning not many balls to feet.
Vokes 6- battled away and goal shows he needs quality crosses not long diagonal ones.
Long 6- steady but some harem scarem moments when not clearing his lines.
Wood- looks bereft of confidence but it was a tough game to come on in.

[the_magic_rat]

Hart 8

Lowton 7
Tarkowski 7
Mee 8
Taylor 6

Gudmundsson 7
Cork 6
Westwood 5
Lennon 6

Vokes 7
Vydra 6

Long 8
Wood 5

[ashtonlongsider]

Got to say we were second best for most of the afternoon and the 3 points only 'papers over the cracks'. This was a poor team performance by any standard.
Hart 8*-Another excellent game.
Lowton 4-Defensively very poor and I think teams are beginning to exploit us down his channel.
Tarkowski 6-Difficult to score Tarks. My heart sank when he went off.
Mee 6-Defensively ok but distribution can be woeful at times.
Taylor 6-Similar to Lowton in many ways but think he is improving and offers more offensively.
Lennon 6-Improved as match progressed and got through a lot of work.
Westwood 6-Thought he paid reasonably well but again like many others gives ball away to easily at times.
Cork 6-read Westwood.
JBG 7-Certainly our best outfield player.
Vydra 6-Still finding his feet in the team but it will come.
Vokes 7-Took his goal well.We are always better defensively I feel when Sam plays.

Long 6-Didn't let us down. Thought he did more than ok, especially for time on the pitch.
Wood-5-Unfair to mark really as he didn't have enough time to make much impact on game.

[IAmAClaret]

Hart 7
Lowton 4
Tarks 6
Mee 6
Taylor 6
JBG 7
Westwood 5
Cork 5
Lennon 4
Vydra 5
Vokes 6

[Jakubs Tash]

Hart 8

Lowton 6
Tarkowski 6
Mee 5
Taylor 5

Lennon 6
Westwood 5
Cork 5
JGB 7

Vydra 5
Vokes 4

Long 7
Wood 5

[piston broke]

3s & 4s for Westwood are ridiculous.
He was slow covering for their goal but if the guy is faster than you c’est la vie.
His run and cross for our first was excellent and his pass to JBG, for Sams goal, was perfection.

[Beagleheart]

Hart 8
Lowton 6
Mee 5
Tarkowski 6
Taylor 6
Lennon 7
Cork 5
Westwood 6
JBG 8
Vydra 6
Vokes 7

Long 7

[claretspice]

Missed the first 30 minutes so won't do player ratings.

But - I'm generally surprised how low they are. We didn't play well or keep the ball well enough to stop Cardiff getting up a head of steam. There are a number of culprits for that, but I'd say Cork was the biggest (he doesn't always deal well with being pressed hard). Westwood wasn't great in that regard either, but he deserves credit for two moments of quick thinking which were the architect of both our goals. Its a long time since I can recall the player who created two goals in one game for us getting such low marks, and the comparison between his marks and those of JBG - who produced a superb header for his goal and executed a basic pass competently for Vokes', but otherwise did little with the ball - seems to me a bit odd.

I'm very surprised we aren't getting more credit for our performance without the ball (even if it was self-inflicted), and once again, I think Hart is getting generous marks. He made two smart saves - one from Zahore in the first half, one from Murphy in the second half - but I'd fully expect any keeper in the league to make either, and those two chances apart, he didn't have lots to do. Mee struggled in the air exactly as you'd expect him to (he's not the most dominant in the air - he's 5"11), but stuck at it manfully, scrambled well and did a fine job of keeping the defensive line organised under lots of pressure. Concentration across the back 4 (and midfield) was excellent without the ball and we generally kept Cardiff broadly speaking at arms length.

There's an understandable expectation we go to places like Cardiff and impose ourselves on the game. I get it, and I might expect it of a full strength team (which this wasn't - no Tarks for an hour, no Defour, no Brady, no Ward), but the truth of the matter is we've never been brilliant at doing that in these games (see our cup record) and it was always a stretch to expect a relatively patched up team to do so. In the circumstances, a battling win is a good outcome and I do think we're under-estimating how difficult any away win is against a team who have earned the right to be in the Premier League.

[Hbclaret007]

I agree with claretspice.
Playing any of Colin's teams, you know they are going to be physical and bomb the box.
Losing Tarky was a blow and we were certainly hanging on for much of the game.
Cork and Westwood really struggled to keep the ball. I'd have gone 5 in midfield perhaps?

Hart 8 - excellent and kept us in the game Mom
Lowton 4 - very poor I thought - Cardiff's physical approach wound him up and he lost composure and control at times
Mee 5 - panic also set in with Ben - distribution is abysmal - needs someone in front of him to make a simple pass to
Tarkowski 6 - did ok before going off - hope the injury is not serious
Taylor 6 - did ok I thought - tends to rush passes but dealt ok with the Cardiff bombardment
Lennon 6 - his overall effort good, but should have tracked back for the goal? - and really needs to keep possession more
Cork 5 - couldn't get a hold of the ball enough - when he does, the pass is usually backwards - except quick thinking for the goal
Westwood 5 - see cork
JBG 6 - provided an outlet at times, but still didn't retain enough possession
Vydra 5 - quick off the mark, but struggled with the physical stuff
Vokes 6 - well taken goal - did his best with his limitations - slow though
Long 6 - did pretty well - thrown in again

We could have played far better in both the last two games and come away with nothing, so we have to be grateful. But, it will catch up with us if we continue to perform like this. We struggle to do the basics at times. Let's beat Huddersfield and get the confidence going.

[NottsClaret]

Hart - 8 Tidy work from England's No.4

Lowton - 6

Tarkowski - 6

Mee 5 - Where's the real Ben Mee gone?

Taylor - 6

Lennon 7 - Probably his highest score on this thread, but thought he put a hell of a lot of work in. If we kept the ball for more than 2 touches, one of them will have been his.

Westwood - 6

Cork - 5

JBG - 7 A little bit of quality goes a long, long way.

Vydra - 6

Vokes - 7


Long - 6 His sort of game, stood up to everything.
Wood - 5

[TVC15]

Claretspice - the first save Hart made was a very good save. It was low and hit quickly and he had to get down sharply to stop it. I am not sure these are the run of mill type saves that you have now referenced a couple of times about Hart. The second save he made tipping over the long shot was also a good save but I agree many keepers in this league would make that one.
The other reason he got high marks was that he commanded his area a lot better and made a few very good punches - lots of keepers in the league do not punch well....Dyche made a comment after the game about how well Hart had done in clearing danger.

We really did not play very well at all yesterday - evidenced in an extremely low passing completion where the midfielders were the main culprits. If we would have been playing against a better team we would have been punished giving the ball away as much as we did.

Yes it is tough playing against a team that is so physical but they lacked quality in all areas and if we would have played nearly as well as we did against Southampton we would have been a lot more dominant.

Main thing is though that we won and hopefully the confidence is returning.

[Claretmatt4]

From tv

Hart - 8*
Lowton - 6
Mee - 6
Tarkowski - 6
Taylor - 5
Lennon - 6
Westwood - 6
Cork - 6
Gudmundsson - 8
Vydra - 6
Vokes - 7

Long - 7

[BOYSIE31]

3s & 4s for Westwood are ridiculous.
He was slow covering for their goal but if the guy is faster than you c’est la vie.
His run and cross for our first was excellent and his pass to JBG, for Sams goal, was perfection.

I think its more for being non existent for 88 mins

[claretspice]

Claretspice - the first save Hart made was a very good save. It was low and hit quickly and he had to get down sharply to stop it. I am not sure these are the run of mill type saves that you have now referenced a couple of times about Hart. The second save he made tipping over the long shot was also a good save but I agree many keepers in this league would make that one.
The other reason he got high marks was that he commanded his area a lot better and made a few very good punches - lots of keepers in the league do not punch well....Dyche made a comment after the game about how well Hart had done in clearing danger.

We really did not play very well at all yesterday - evidenced in an extremely low passing completion where the midfielders were the main culprits. If we would have been playing against a better team we would have been punished giving the ball away as much as we did.

Yes it is tough playing against a team that is so physical but they lacked quality in all areas and if we would have played nearly as well as we did against Southampton we would have been a lot more dominant.

Main thing is though that we won and hopefully the confidence is returning.

Regarding Hart - I think the first half one was very smart save. I agree that the lad took it early and he had to get down sharply - but its a save at his near post from a shot from a pretty tight angle when all the lad had on was a shot. If it goes in, he gets stick for the fact he's been beaten at his near post.

Agree on him doing a decent amount of coming to claim the ball (although he came and missed twice that I saw, one occasion from which we headed off the line). But from the hour I saw, he appeared to me to be pretty well protected and given the stats suggest Cardiff only had 4/5 shots on target, it doesn't look to me as though he was peppered and it feels a little OTT to suggest he kept us in the game single handedly.

Regarding our performance - with the ball, nowhere near good enough. But we do struggle against that style of football, we always have (and its why we're more comfortable away at Southampton than away at Cardiff, weirdly). The players deserve a bit of criticism for that, although there are extenuating circumstances, but they also deserve a bit more credit I think for their work without the ball.