Burnley v Liverpool - Player Ratings

[Lancasterclaret]

Much better, but the worry is that we are not capable of scoring when well on top and our marking from set pieces continues to be terrible. Free header in the first half, their 2nd goal etc. We have to sort that out as they are cheap goals to give away at this level.

Saying that, miles better, the intensity was there, we played some nice stuff under pressure, had bodies in the box when we had a chance to cross, covered well against the 2nd best team in the country, and pretty unlucky not to get at least a point

Hart 8 - some great saves
Bardsley 8 - excellent and set the tone. But those challenges have to be spot on.
Tarkowski 7 - solid but set pieces defence needs work
Mee 7 - much more like himself
Taylor 8 - thought he was excellent myself
Brady 7 - another one much more like himself
Westwood 7 - high energy performance, another one who looks a different player when he goes at that tempo
Cork 8* - this is the Jack Cork of last season. More of the same please!
JBG 6 - v. quiet but worked hard
Wood 6 - worked his socks off but should be testing the keeper in the first half
Barnes 7 - did really well, including winning what will go down in history as "Winning a Barnes free kick"

Subs
Vokes 6
Vydra 6

No complaints if we go into every game with that mindset and attitude. If we manage that level for the rest of the season, then we will be ok.

[claretonthecoast1882]

Hart 5....I am not convinced at all. His 'super saves' tonight were caused by slightly slow reactions. His ability to stay on the line caused problems and he should have read that 3rd goal and cut it out. Either he has a slowness of reaction - fatal for a keeper- or he has a sight problem, which could be corrected.


The Clarets are back.

Come on hibsclaret you have competition

[claretspice]

A welcome return to the bite and intensity that we've come to expect from a Burnley team, but we've conceded versions of those first two goals far too often this season and they need cutting out if we're going to stand a fighting chance of surviving.

Hart - 7 - One very good save, one excellent save, both to his right in the first half, but the first Liverpool goal is not the first time recently a ball travelling at no great pace has beaten Hart before he has moved, and on a couple of other occasions he was a bit unconvincing.

Bardsley - 8 - no frills, but brought an intensity to our play and a bit of additional leadership, which was really important in driving the performance.

Taylor - 7 - one of the few bright spots of the last month, and he did fine again.

Tarkowski - 7 - we're a better team with him in it and his class was evident lots, but he was marking Van Dijk at set plays, and after letting him go once in the first half and getting away with it, he looked to be guilty of reacting slowly to his run for the second, highly avoidable Liverpool goal.

Mee - 8 - back to somewhere close to his best, and very unlucky not to grab us a point with that last gasp header before their third.

Cork - 7 - Had a really really good first half when he was at the heart of our pressing game, but faded noticeably in the last half hour, which has become a worrying theme with him. Right place for the goal.

Westwood - 8 - Added dynamism and purpose to our midfield which has been badly lacking recently, and used the ball economically and quickly. Has the potential to become one of our key men over the rest of the season and very surprised by the comments above that he didn't do much - he was at the heart of most of our best football.

JBG - 7 - A busy performance on the flank and his right wing corners were a potent threat.

Brady - 6 - Really good defensive shift and showed lots of purpose and produced two excellent free kicks, although he's still getting back to his best on the ball.

Barnes - 7 - Real shame that sumptuous first half volley was a yard offside, but he did fine generally and like Bardsley and Westwood, one of those who came in with a point to prove and added a welcome intensity to our football.

Wood - 6 - No lack of effort, and we used his physicality and height on occasion to good effect, but he's still not running the channels as dynamically as he can at his best, and the couple of occasions he had a sight of goal, his lack of confidence was obvious.

Vokes - 6 - Some nice moments of link up play, although as is often the case, his combination with Barnes was a bit static, and he looked more comfortable when Vydra joined him.

Lennon - 6 - picked up where Brady left off and provided much the same level of performance with and without the ball.

Vydra - not on long enough, a bit clumsy on a couple of occasions but once again linked nicely with Vokes and showed a hunger and desire to get on the ball and to run the channels to make things happen, so gave us an effective out ball.


If we show the same intensity and tenacity against Bright on Saturday (albeit in what will be a very different sort of game), we'll be OK. Sure, Liverpool were not at full strength and that showed at times, but they still had a fine side out and a dead even first half was fair reward for a really disciplined, purposeful performance. Having got the lead, we showed that we're not quite back to where we used to be, by conceding two alarmingly soft goals - the first because we failed to close down around the edge of the box, and compounded that by leaving a gap for a placed shot into the corner (we've always been good at forcing shots into the centre of the goal), and the second an unforgivably poor piece of marking from a set piece (more frustrating because Liverpool caught us with a very similar move to win the game at Burnley last season). But even having fallen behind, we showed commendable spirit to avoid crumbling and in the end we might have nicked a deserved point.

Cork's tendency to fade is still a worry, but credit to Westwood, Bardsley and Barnes, all of whom visibly sharpened the team and added an edge to our game.

[JohnMcGreal]

Hart 7
Bardsley 9
Tarkowski 7
Mee 8
Taylor 7
Brady 6
Westwood 7
Cork 7
Gudmundsson 6
Barnes 8
Wood 6

Lennon 6
Vokes 6

At last, we showed some fight, team spirit and actually looked like our old selves again. Fair play to Dyche for getting them up off the floor after Saturday's showing. In the end, Liverpool just had too much for us, but the scoreline flattered them a bit and we can take plenty of encouragement from our performance.

Lets carry this in to the Brighton game and take the much needed three points.

[ashtonlongsider]

Hart 7- A couple of outstanding saves.
Bardsley 8*-Gave us something we've been lacking of late, courage, passion and leadership.
Tarkowski 7-Think he was feeling his way back into the team, but glad he's back.
Mee 7-A solid performance and got one or two good tackles in.
Taylor 6-Showed plenty of energy when going forward but I'd like him the cross the ball quicker at times.
JBG 5-Surprised he didn't get taken off. Did very little to affect the game.
Westwood 6-Don't think he had a great influence on the match.
Cork 6-Played well in patches but can be wasteful at times.
Brady 7-Two killer free kicks and played well in the first half. Could see him tiring.
Wood 6-In fairness I thought he played better last night but how many chances does he need to score.
Barnes 7-Thought he did well and i'm sure he'll be in the starting line up on Saturday.

Would have liked Vydra to have been introduced a lot earlier than he was. He offers us something different and looks threatening.

[JohnMac]

Hart 7 - First goal was a quality strike by Milner
Bardsley 9 - Set rhe tempo throughout
Tarkowski 7 - Good to have his calmness back, looked to play the ball out rather than punt it
Mee 7 - A better showing, looked more composed
Taylor 7 - Any criticism would be nit picking
JBG 7 - Less effective for a while in the 2nd half but play was bypassing him a lot
Westwood 8 - The missing link imo, never done much wrong to warrant being dropped in the first place.
Cork 8 - Extra point for scoring, carried the ball better and got stuck in.
Brady 7 - Much better, the polar opposite to last Monday.
Barnes 8 - Played like Ash Barnes
Wood 6 - Not clinical enough but Joe Gomez and VvD aren't exactly schoolboy defenders.

Subs 6


Dyche 7 - Rung the changes and the team responded but this needs to be the start of the longest journey in a while and we can't revert to the previous inept performances he is ultimately responsible for.

Great effort last night, it was only their quality and our desire to get level that led to the 3rd goal.

[tiger76]

Hart 8
Bardsley 8 **
Tarks 7
Mee 6
Taylor 6

Cork 6
Westwood 7
Brady 7
JBG 6
Wood 5
Barnes 7

Vokes 6
Lennon 5

Always disappointing to lose. But the way we've been losing recently has been dire.
Much, much better tonight against one of the best teams in Europe.
Certainly didn't deserve to get beat 3-1.

Last season, we took points against sides we weren't expected to playing like that.
Keep that level up and, reckon we've a chance of staying up.

Shame we couldn't at least hold out for a point,but last night was much more like the old Burnley,annoying that we switched off at a set-piece at a vital period of the match.

If we keep those standards and eliminate the individual errors,points will come.

Onwards to Saturday and Brighton.

[OssyClaret]

Hart - 8 - Two brilliant saves. 1 off for taking every goal kick or free kick long which clearly irritated Dyche at one point in the second half who was encouraging us to play out through the full backs.
Bardsley - 9 - Thought he set the tone for the night with his intensity which helped both players and fans.
Tarkowski - 7 - Better
Mee - 7 - Better
Taylor - 7 - Better
JBG - 6 - I think we need more from our wide players and they aren't effecting the game enough.
Westwood - 8 - A better option than Defour at the moment
Cork - 7 - Perhaps struggling for form but got his goal and it clearly meant a lot. Good desire.
Brady - 6 - Better intensity. See JBG. Still think we need more.
Wood - 5 - Thought he was poor. Took far too long with 2 first half chances and put an easy header wide (which would have been rules offside).
Barnes - 8 - Similar to Bardsley. Helped other players and fans with his performance. His biggest fan and should be our first name on team sheet but can improve his quality in and around the box.

Dyche - 9 - Great decision to play Bardsley and Barnes, which changed the feel of our performance. Loved him getting into Klopp, we need to take on every man and his dog to survive this season so great to see this starting with the manager. Can't help but think Vokes/Vydra might be a better option for us than Wood though.

[NL Claret]

"Hart - 7 - One very good save, one excellent save, both to his right in the first half, but the first Liverpool goal is not the first time recently a ball travelling at no great pace has beaten Hart before he has moved, and on a couple of other occasions he was a bit unconvincing."

"Hart 7 - First goal was a quality strike by Milner"

Take your pick. The defence sat off Milner so could choose his spot right into the corner of the goal. Not sure what Hart is supposed to do, dive for a ball which is well out of his reach due to the quality of the strike and the amount space afforded to Milner. Then again, the new goalkeeping experts on the board this season will point to Hart's lack of communication which was pointed out to me twice last night before the game.

Never known such over analysis of a player.

[Lancasterclaret]

I thought two players tried to close him down, but were too far away to close him down effectively.

I share the concerns about Hart not diving, but I think SD has said that he was unsighted by the two players. I'm inclined to think it was a really good shot, really well placed to be honest but I haven't seen it since yet.

[NL Claret]

I thought two players tried to close him down, but were too far away to close him down effectively.

I share the concerns about Hart not diving, but I think SD has said that he was unsighted by the two players. I'm inclined to think it was a really good shot, really well placed to be honest but I haven't seen it since yet.

If you watch it on the Sky highlights (looking head on at the goal) he was unsighted - I didn't want to say that as the new found goalkeeping experts would be given ammunition to say he got his position wrong. The defence reacted too slowly after realising Milner was in acres of space.

[BOYSIE31]

As a huge Ward fan, I have to say that was Taylor’s best game tonight. Same with Lowton and Bardsley

[BOYSIE31]

Neither should you with that comment. I know we are all entitled to opinions but the work he got through tonight was absolutely incredible.

Need more than workrate at this level though - his confidence is shot - last season he would have buried or at least got a shot away with that first half chance

[theroyaldyche]

Neither should you with that comment. I know we are all entitled to opinions but the work he got through tonight was absolutely incredible.

Hes prem qualitt thats 4 sure

[claretspice]

"Hart - 7 - One very good save, one excellent save, both to his right in the first half, but the first Liverpool goal is not the first time recently a ball travelling at no great pace has beaten Hart before he has moved, and on a couple of other occasions he was a bit unconvincing."

"Hart 7 - First goal was a quality strike by Milner"

Take your pick. The defence sat off Milner so could choose his spot right into the corner of the goal. Not sure what Hart is supposed to do, dive for a ball which is well out of his reach due to the quality of the strike and the amount space afforded to Milner. Then again, the new goalkeeping experts on the board this season will point to Hart's lack of communication which was pointed out to me twice last night before the game.

Never known such over analysis of a player.

I did also say that the defence was at fault, and make the point that usually we are very good at blocking so that the shot cannot be into the corner and has to be down the centre. And I didn't exactly mark Hart down, so perhaps there may be a bit of over-analysing of whether the ratings are over-analysing a player.

What I did observe, and I stand by, is that over the last couple of months there have been a lot of occasions when we've conceded goals with Hart rooted to the spot or seemingly slow to react. Why that is the case is open to debate, as is whether it is Hart's fault or not, but its a fact and it is a bit strange. Of course, the fair observation is that Hart has also made some exceptional saves, and he made at least on of those last night.

[RocketLawnChair]

All about opinions of course and by no means am I saying Wood was a star performer last night but I felt we lost something when he went off. He was winning virtually every header when up against Matip, Sam replaced him and proceeds to not win a single header against Matip for the remainder of the game.

[whiffa]

Hart 8
Bardsley 10 - Brilliant!
Tarkowski 8
Mee 7
Taylor 8
Brady 7
Westwood 8
Cork 7
JBG 7
Barnes 8
Wood 5 - our weakest link, for me missed a few chances to shoot in the first half

Vokes 6
Lennon 6

[Untinted Glasses]

Hart 9
Bardsley 10 MoM
Tarkowski 8
Mee 8
Taylor 7
Cork 7
Westwood 8
Brady 7
JBG 7
Wood 7
Barnes 8

Vokes 7
Lennon 6

After the palace game I thought we were nailed on for relegation, now with last nights display there is hope yet. Bardsley and Barnes rubbed off on the rest of the team. Westwood added more energy to the midfield. Great performance and very unlucky to lose.

[Beagleheart]

Hart 8
Bardsley 8*
Tarkowski 7
Mee 7
Taylor 6
Brady 6
Cork 7
Westwood 7
Barnes 7
Wood 6

[South West Claret.]

Hart 5 - A good shot stopper, but won't come off his line and does not communicate with his defense.
Bardsley 9- Led by example A very good game MOM.
Tarkowski 7 - recovered well from the op but not marking the player for the last goal.
Mee 8 look like he really cared tonight.
Taylor 5 - Come back Ward ASAP.
Cork 5 - Played well first half but faded.
Westwood 6 - A realy good first half then faded a bit second.
Brady 7 - Getting stuck in now as well as good on the ball.
JBG 7 - One player who when he gets the ball he looks up immediately I think he's a goodun!
Wood 6- put himself about but should have scored.
Barnes 8 - the usual tip top display again tonight.

Subs:
Vokes 5 - Not his usual impact tonight.
Vydra 5- Not on for long enough..honestly 8 minutes!
Lennon 4- A bit of spark but still limited.

The ref 4- Iv'e seen better.

[Falcon]

Hart 6
Bardsley 8
Tarkowski 7
Mee 6
Taylor 7
JBG 6
Westwood 7
Cork 7
Brady 7
Barnes 7
Wood 7

Vokes 6
Lennon 6

[Roosterbooster]

These are Sky’s ratings. I’m not sure they even watched the game did they??

Player ratings
Home Team: Hart (7), Bardsley (6), Mee (7), Tarkowski (6), Taylor (6), Cork (6), Westwood (5), Gudmundsson (5), Brady (5), Barnes (6), Wood (5).

Subs: Vokes (5), Lennon (5), Vydra (5).

Liverpool: Alisson (7), Gomez (4), Matip (6), Van Dijk (8), Moreno (5), Milner (8), Henderson (6), Keita (6), Shaqiri (7), Origi (5), Sturridge (5).

Subs: Alexander-Arnold (7), Firmino (7), Salah (6).

Man of the Match: James Milner

[Roosterbooster]

Hart 7
Bardsley 7*
Mee 6
Tarks 6
Taylor 6
Cork 6
Westwood 7
JBG 7
Brady 6
Barnes 7
Wood 5

Vokes 7
Lennon 7
Vydra 7

Overall, good performance.
Defending for their second really let us down.

And I’m going to give Dyche an 8. No. 7. Long did not deserve to be dropped

[Dark Cloud]

Hart 8
Bardsley 8* (I'm not even a fan, but credit where it's due)
Mee 7
Tarks 7
Taylor 7
Cork 7
Westwood 7
JBG 7
Brady 8 (Looked far more up for a fight)
Barnes 7
Wood 6

Vokes 7
Lennon 6
Vydra 5 (I'm desperate for him to be given a chance to show us whether he's any use or not, but he has to do better than that. He looks like a little boy chasing the ball round the playground and when he finally catches up with it he's so excited he bloody falls over it. Calm down mate!!!)

A miles better showing which faded away after their second goal and that's understandable because we chased and harried from the first minute and actually having edged in front we had a really good 10 minutes where we might have got more. SD used his subs far better, but still waited slightly too long imo as to play like we were you have to introduce the fresh legs BEFORE you go behind to keep them at bay. After their second we really struggled to maintain our challenge, but their third was only because we had everyone up for our injury time corner and we almost nicked a goal ourselves. Overall I think everyone came away feeling much more positive. The big test will come on Saturday when we see if we can replicate that kind of showing against a team who we have a miles better chance of beating.

[South West Claret.]

Vydra was on for less then 10 minutes last night..so what on earth did you expect?

[the_magic_rat]

Hart 7

Bardsley 8
Tarkowski 7
Mee 8
Taylor 7

Gudmundsson 6
Cork 6
Westwood 6
Brady 7

Wood 5
Barnes 7

Vokes 6
Lennon 6

[FCBurnley]

Just out of interest I thought I would mark the Liverpool team

Alisson 6
Gomez n/a
Matip 5
VD 9
Moreno 5
Shaqiri 7
Keita 9
Henderson 6
Milner 9
Origi 5
Sturridge 6

So 3 outstanding players and the rest average

[Dark Cloud]

Vydra was on for less then 10 minutes last night..so what on earth did you expect?

I take your point. I didn't expect anything, but what I HOPED was he'd get a bit longer than 10 minutes and I also HOPED he'd show SD that he really should getting more chances to prove himself. In those 10 minutes he did have two or three chances to do a bit and seemed a bit over excited! (Which is only natural!) He even managed to get himself booked.

[Grumps]

A welcome return to the bite and intensity that we've come to expect from a Burnley team, but we've conceded versions of those first two goals far too often this season and they need cutting out if we're going to stand a fighting chance of surviving.

Hart - 7 - One very good save, one excellent save, both to his right in the first half, but the first Liverpool goal is not the first time recently a ball travelling at no great pace has beaten Hart before he has moved, and on a couple of other occasions he was a bit unconvincing.

Bardsley - 8 - no frills, but brought an intensity to our play and a bit of additional leadership, which was really important in driving the performance.

Taylor - 7 - one of the few bright spots of the last month, and he did fine again.

Tarkowski - 7 - we're a better team with him in it and his class was evident lots, but he was marking Van Dijk at set plays, and after letting him go once in the first half and getting away with it, he looked to be guilty of reacting slowly to his run for the second, highly avoidable Liverpool goal.

Mee - 8 - back to somewhere close to his best, and very unlucky not to grab us a point with that last gasp header before their third.

Cork - 7 - Had a really really good first half when he was at the heart of our pressing game, but faded noticeably in the last half hour, which has become a worrying theme with him. Right place for the goal.

Westwood - 8 - Added dynamism and purpose to our midfield which has been badly lacking recently, and used the ball economically and quickly. Has the potential to become one of our key men over the rest of the season and very surprised by the comments above that he didn't do much - he was at the heart of most of our best football.

JBG - 7 - A busy performance on the flank and his right wing corners were a potent threat.

Brady - 6 - Really good defensive shift and showed lots of purpose and produced two excellent free kicks, although he's still getting back to his best on the ball.

Barnes - 7 - Real shame that sumptuous first half volley was a yard offside, but he did fine generally and like Bardsley and Westwood, one of those who came in with a point to prove and added a welcome intensity to our football.

Wood - 6 - No lack of effort, and we used his physicality and height on occasion to good effect, but he's still not running the channels as dynamically as he can at his best, and the couple of occasions he had a sight of goal, his lack of confidence was obvious.

Vokes - 6 - Some nice moments of link up play, although as is often the case, his combination with Barnes was a bit static, and he looked more comfortable when Vydra joined him.

Lennon - 6 - picked up where Brady left off and provided much the same level of performance with and without the ball.

Vydra - not on long enough, a bit clumsy on a couple of occasions but once again linked nicely with Vokes and showed a hunger and desire to get on the ball and to run the channels to make things happen, so gave us an effective out ball.


If we show the same intensity and tenacity against Bright on Saturday (albeit in what will be a very different sort of game), we'll be OK. Sure, Liverpool were not at full strength and that showed at times, but they still had a fine side out and a dead even first half was fair reward for a really disciplined, purposeful performance. Having got the lead, we showed that we're not quite back to where we used to be, by conceding two alarmingly soft goals - the first because we failed to close down around the edge of the box, and compounded that by leaving a gap for a placed shot into the corner (we've always been good at forcing shots into the centre of the goal), and the second an unforgivably poor piece of marking from a set piece (more frustrating because Liverpool caught us with a very similar move to win the game at Burnley last season). But even having fallen behind, we showed commendable spirit to avoid crumbling and in the end we might have nicked a deserved point.

Cork's tendency to fade is still a worry, but credit to Westwood, Bardsley and Barnes, all of whom visibly sharpened the team and added an edge to our game.

Do you take a notebook to the game, or make it up later?

[Im_not_Robbie_Blake]

Hart 8
Bardsley 9
Tarkowski 8
Mee 8
Taylor 8
Cork 7
Westwood 8
Brady 7
JBG 7
Wood 5
Barnes 6

Vokes 7
Lennon 7

[MrTopTier]

Hart 5....I am not convinced at all. His 'super saves' tonight were caused by slightly slow reactions. His ability to stay on the line caused problems and he should have read that 3rd goal and cut it out. Either he has a slowness of reaction - fatal for a keeper- or he has a sight problem, which could be corrected

Suggest you should take your own advice regarding the sight problem and go and correct it.

Hart 5 - A good shot stopper, but won't come off his line and does not communicate with his defense

It is quite easy to hear Joe Hart communicating with his defence, as apart from last night it has been very quiet on the Turf,he is an excellent shop stopper and doesn't need to come off his line if his defenders did their job. Easy to see the defender backing away instead of closing Milner down, easy to see that we weren't set and ready for the free kick, defenders not lined up and wrong side and the third was a breakaway.

[Jase_H]

Hart 8
Bardsley 8
Tarkowski 7
Mee 7
Taylor 7
JBG 6
Westwood 7
Cork 7
Brady 6
Wood 7
Barnes 7

[Jakubs Tash]

Hart 8

Bardsley 8
Tarkowski 8
Mee 7
Taylor 7

JBG 7
Westwood 8
Cork 6
Brady 7

Barnes 7
Wood 6

Vokes 5
Lennon 5

[SGr]

Hart 5....I am not convinced at all. His 'super saves' tonight were caused by slightly slow reactions. His ability to stay on the line caused problems and he should have read that 3rd goal and cut it out. Either he has a slowness of reaction - fatal for a keeper- or he has a sight problem, which could be corrected.

Bare in mind this is coming from the same poster who *still* thinks Jay Rodriguez is worth paying big money for.

Sensational stuff.

[claretblue]

Hart 7
Bardsley 9
Tarkowski 7
Mee 7
Taylor 7
Cork 7
Westwood 8
Brady 7
JBG 7
Wood 7
Barnes 7

Vokes 6
Lennon 6

[IanMcL]

Bare in mind this is coming from the same poster who *still* thinks Jay Rodriguez is worth paying big money for.

Sensational stuff.

Bear not bare.

[SGr]

Bear not bare.

Forgot to change accounts did we, fidelcastro?