Please leave ratings for all players who have played 20 mins or more.

Scoring is from 3 to 10 as follows:

10 - Out of this World
9 - Excellent
8 - Very Good
7 - Good
6 - Average
5 - Below Par
4 - Poor
3 - Abysmal

All 8 except Barnes 9 Westwood 9 Long 9

We were great and refbbed

Hart 6
Bardsley 7
Tarks 7
Mee 6
Long 7
Taylor 7
Cork 7
Westwood 7
Hendrick 6
Barnes 9
Wood 5

Hart 6 nothing really to do
Bardsley 6
Long 7 after the error for the first, grew into the game.
Tarky 7
Mee 5 poor distribution and game for him
Taylor 5 worst game for a while all crossing and dead balls were poor, and seemed to turn into trouble a lot
Hendrick 5 poor passing, poor control, poor decision making in last 3rd
Cork 6 looked very slow, turned into trouble time and time again
Westwood 7 best of the 3, seemed to break forward quite a lot.
Wood 5 offside what seems all the time, even with the poor lino decision and a 2 yard head start he fluffed his lines
Barnes 7 gave absolutely everything, deserved his goal. Extreamly honest interview post match too.

Dyche 8 , right tactics,r8ght application, sadly however the lack of quality available, which is out of his control cost him today.
He continues to make us competitive even though with th tools he's been given we sh ouldnt be.

Hope he stays to hopefully mount a serious promotion push, as I think we are just too short to survive another season.

A difficult game to mark imo. Here goes though

Hart 6
Bardsley 7
Tarks 8
Mee 6
Long 9**
Taylor 6
Cork 5
Westwood 8
Hendrick 6
Barnes 8
Wood 4

I though Long was outstanding today and showed a great deal of composure in possession. He's one player that's markedly improved thus season

I have been very critical of Dyche this season but he has got his act together,. We are now looking far more competitive and playing with some purpose

Hart 6-couple of good saves but concede three again.
Bardsley 6- A quiet game by his standards recently
Tarks 8- The best out the back 3
Mee 6- drifted out of position too much and caught out when up against their super talented CFs.
Long 7-Generally good but caught out for the 3rd goal in midfield chasing the game
Taylor 7-Very good defensively and positionly but his crossing was terrible.
Cork 8-Very good game breaking things up etc but lacked quality when it mattered.
Westwood 8-Same as Cork
Hendrick 5-Very quiet game and only noticed him put a simple pass out of play. Should of shone today.
Barnes 9-Did what Barnes does well and got his goal.
Wood 6- Tried but didn't happen for him.

Hart 6 routine day
Bardsley 7 defended ok and tried to get forward
Tarks 7 good defending, reasonable use of ball
Mee 4 utter bonk, beaten far too easily and can’t pass
Long 8 best defender,looked strong
Taylor 5 tried but just never happened
Cork 7 done reasonable pushing forward
Westwood 7 some good passing, kept us moving
Hendrick 6 not effective
Barnes 9 classic Barnes, was causing them havoc
Wood 4 was he even playing?

Hart.7. Ironically not much to do
Bardsley. 6. Not much going forward and I thought he could have prevented the first goal
Long. 8. Mom. Composed and very effective
Tarks. 7. Some great moments but I thought he should have prevented the cross for the second goal
Mee. 6. Okay defensively but poor distribution
Taylor. 6. See Mee
Cork. 8. A whirlwind of energy.
Westwood. Our major attacking threat
Hendrick. 6. Anonymous for too much of the game
Barnes. 8. Really effective on so many levels today
Wood. 5. Oh dear

Hart 7
Bardsley 7
Tarks 7
Mee 5 - hopeless in posession
Long 9 - BIG
Taylor 6
Cork 6
Westwood 7 - should have done better, but involved
Hendrick 6 - hardly involved
Barnes 8 - an absolute nightmare for the defenders, but the referee helped them as much as he could, as always.
Wood 4 - hopeless, not involved.

hart - 6 bizarrely didn't have much to do and no chance with any of the goals

long - 6 crucially slow to react and loses his man for the first

tarkowski - 7 should probably have cleared man and ball into the stand on the 2nd goal

mee - 6 unlucky with the deflection but he stands off aubameyang for the 2nd

bardsley - 6

taylor - 6 decent going forward

cork - 7 pick of the midfield, broke up play and got forward well, just didn't have the final ball. if he was playing with a bit more confidence he'd have taken a touch instead of shooting first time.

westwood - 5 nowhere near good enough today, epitomised when he spurned that superb chance early on

hendrick - 6

barnes - 7 solid finish but he was walking a tightrope after his melee with sokratis (who should have been sent off today) and it could have cost us

wood - 5 first touch like a trampoline and his lack of understanding of the offside rule is incredibly frustrating because sometimes he holds it up and does some really neat work. we need to bring out best centre forward back into the team though.


never a 3-1 game this, we were always going to be susceptible to the break as we pushed late on but i thought in general we weren't too bad at all today. a bit more composure, a more even-handed referee and we'd have had a good chance of snatching a point. arsenal couldn't have had any complaints if we had done.

Weird one to mark to be honest. Thought we did alright, but if we'd have had Brady and JBG on the pitch I suspect Arsenal would have been in a world of trouble as they were struggling with anything even remotely physical. And great finish for the first (but could have been a mishit) and lets face it, those blocks by Mee didn't fly into the top corner last year.

But at 2-0 we went up some gears and probably ended up deserving a point. Certainly looking a bit more like what we expect.

However, our ball retention has to improve, and our options and speed of our passing is nowhere near good enough. The CMs have to show for it and pass it quicker, though I thought all three put in a terrific shift today.

Hart 7 - Great save in the first minute, solid
Bardsley 6 - he's not an attacking full back, he really shouldn't be starting if we persist with three at the back
Long 7 - terrific I thought
Tarkowski 7 - passing a bit off but defensively sound
Mee 7 - hilarious first touch on one in particular but solid at the back
Taylor 6 - felt for him, he's had good games recently but his crossing was well off. Also fluffed a decent chance
Cork 7 - some good, some bad - great on the ball, but lost it for their 2nd and had all the time in the world with a sight of goal at 2-1
Hendrick 7 - did well I thought, certainly more mobile than the other two
Westwood 7 - very good again
Barnes 7 - Good and proper got into them which threw them completely.
Wood 6 - not as effective as Barnes but ran the channels well

Subs
Vokes 7 - won everything
Vydra 6 - doesn't look physically strong enough and is perhaps trying too hard

Certainly we've left it a bit late to start playing ok, but if we can manage that level of intensity with some quality then we've a chance.

QUICK EDIT - forgot Long lost his man for their first, so drops a point

Hart 6
Bardsley 6
Tarks 8
Mee 5
Long 7
Taylor 6
Cork 5
Westwood 5
Hendrick 6
Barnes 9
Wood 3

Hart 7
Bardsley 6
Tarks 7
Mee 5
Long 7
Taylor 6
Cork 7
Westwood 6
Hendrick 6
Barnes 9
Wood 5

Hart 6
Bardsley 7
Long 8
Tarkowski 7
Mee 7
Taylor 5
Westwood 7
Hendrick 7
Cork 5
Barnes 8
Wood 5

Hart 6
Bardsley 6
Long 6
Mee 5
Tarks 7
Taylor 5
Cork 7
Westwood 6
Hendrick 6
Barnes 7
Wood 6

Hart 6
Bardsley 6 quiet
Tarks 8 often came to the rescue
Mee 6 struggled
Long 6 lots of good but poor for their 1st and 3rd
Taylor 7 got forward well but just not good enough
Cork 8* won the ball, got forward well and at the heart of everything we did well
Westwood 8 very good
Hendrick 6 just doesn’t impact the game in the way that Cork and Westwood do
Barnes 8 great effort
Wood 5 it isn’t working

Hart 6
Bardsley 6
Long 4 - (-2 as at fault for two of three goals. Ball watching on first and failed to track Ewobi for third).
Tarkowski 7
Mee 5
Taylor 7
Hendrick 5
Cork 7
Westwood 6
Barnes 8 (+1 for goal)
Wood(en) 5

Vokes 6
Vydra 3

Long was pathetic for the 1st and 3rd goal and he’s getting people’s MOM. Jesus wept. If we are gonna continue with 3 centre halves Gibson has to come in for long.

Hart 6 - not much to do. One good save but kicking was poor today.
Bardsley 6 - defended well for most of game but got caught a long way out of his position for their second which meant Tarks had to come over leaving Mee 2 on 1.
Long 8 MoM - thought he had a very good game
Tarkowski 7 - good game
Mee 5 - Long and Tarks got him out of trouble 4 or 5 times. If we are going to carry on playing 3 centre backs i’d try Gibson and drop Mee if he carries on playing like this.
Taylor 5 - I think he has improved a lot last few weeks but we cannot play this system and hope to make chances with the shocking crossing ability of Taylor (and Bardsley)
Westwood 7 - he put in our best crosses today. Unlucky not to score as that was going in.
Hendrick 6 - did ok. Needed better quality going forward
Cork 6 - ditto
Barnes 8 - great display in leading the line.
Wood 4 - just not got a clue what he offers us anymore. His lack of desire, speed, and awareness is palpable this season.

Vydra and Vokes not on long enough but Vydra again looked lightweight and Sam should have been on longer. In the system we are playing now and with our injuries Lowton should have started today purely for his crossing ability. I know that would have been harsh on Bardsley but we had zero quality from the flanks today.
To bring Lowts on at the end did not make that much sense to me either - at that point we should be sacrificing Taylor or Mee and bringing on an attacking player like McNeil.

Wood and Vydra for £25m is worrying when neither are as good as Barnes and Vokes who cost a total of £1m !!!

Hart 6
Bardsley 6
Long 5
Tarkowski 6
Mee 6
Taylor 5
Westwood 7
Hendrick 6
Cork 6
Barnes 8
Wood 4 - needs dropping.

Hart 7 great shot saved but little to do
Bardsley 7
Long 9 mom
Tarkowski 8
Mee 7
Taylor 6
Westwood 8
Hendrick 7
Cork 6
Barnes 9
Wood 4.

Hart 7 - killer save early on. Nothing he could do for thr goals
Bardsley 7 - decent display again
Long 7 - sleeping on the first but otherwise solid
Tarkowski 8 - veryvsolid
Mee 7 - hes getting back to what we expect
Taylor 8 - got fowarf well
Cork 8 - much better - more of the same please - but hsd to get that attempt on target
Westwood 8 - solid again. Bizarrely booked
Hendrick 7 - solid and consistent
Wood 7 - played well
Barnes 9 (mom) - just what you need. Causef them all sorts of problems

Vokes 7 - won lots
Vydra 5 - didnt

Friend 3 - aeful. Just awful. Gave them anything close and us nothing.

Good performance. Looked dangerous in the 2nd half too. We need s bit more luck here and there but thsts 3 games against top fout whrte we've deserved more. Would be good to get a couple of serious signings in Jan where we spend the best part of 30-40m. Wont hapoen though.

Not a dig at anyone this, but the ratings for this game show the real beauty of football that watching the same game can bring about so many contrasting opinions.

Hart 7 1 very good save first half
Bardsley 6 decent defensive showing, not much going forward
Taylor 6 disappointing crossing but ok defensively and pressed quite well to win the ball back high up
Long 5 some really good bits of defending but at fault for the first goal and atleast twice made poor decisions to try and win a ball he was never getting leaving him hopelessly out of position
Mee 7 fairly solid defensively
Tarks 8 solid mom
Cork 7 tried hard (looked laboured when running though
Westwood 7 should have scored, busy
Hendrick 7 steady first half with greater influence second half either with quick lay offs or composure in tight positions
Barnes 6 fairly poor in my opinion except for the odd spark and goal which raised his rating for me. The wrestling, awkwardness and nastiness certainly is unsettling but not enough to earn marks for actual footballing quality.
Wood 5 similar to Barnes in the odd spark and thought he certainly looked better as the game progressed with some nice lay offs, had to do better when put in second half

Hart 6
Bardsley 6
Taylor 5
Long 6 - hard to mark. Pretty much our best player outside of two crucial mistakes.
Tarkowski 6
Mee 6
Hendrick 7
Westwood 8*
Cork 6
Barnes 8
Wood 4 - how much longer are we going to have to persist with him? Not good enough.

Can’t mark the subs but a word for Vydra who was absolutely awful when he came on. No wonder he hasn’t been getting a game!

Cork getting generous marks, don't get it, looks like he's running in quicksand.

Hart 7
Bardsley 7
Long 8
Tarkowski 8
Mee 7
Taylor 7
Westwood 8
Hendrick 7
Cork 8
Barnes 8
Wood 6

What on earth is going on with these ratings ? I've seen Long MOM 9 then a 4.
Cork 8 MOM then a 6.
Some posters watch very different games.
For what it's worth I'm giving Lennon his customary 3

Hart 6
Bardsley 5
Long 5
Tarkowski 7
Mee 6
Taylor 6
Hendrick 5
Cork 8*
Westwood 4
Barnes 6
Wood 4

Hart 6. One good save and little to do really.
Bardsley 6. Lost his man for their first and continualy passed back when we should have pressed forward.
Long 7. Made a great tackle or two and a good block for our goal.
Tarkowski 7. January's window may bring a few inquiries and he looks the only player of quality at the moment.
Mee 5. At times he is as poor as he was brilliant last season.
Taylor 5. Gets forward and then fluffs his lines time and time again.
Westwood 7*. Keeps us moving but lacks a decent forward who he can pass to with intent.
Cork 7. Ran his socks off today and tried to get us going.
Hendrick 6. Did the dirty stuff but showed little quality.
Wood 4. Poor is possibly too kind so why continue to knock balls to him.
Barnes 7. Did well without a decent partner.

Subs made no difference whatsoever but at least they were positive.

Players are making individual errors which collectively lose us games. The quality of our players individually at this level of football is reflected in our league position.
Effort and quality are different traits.

Dyche 8. Thankfully he is trying to find a system and not leaving his head in the sand.
Unfortunately his one man post match crusade is falling on deaf ears.

Another good effort but points are sadly lacking and it is looking grim when defeats are equal to points.

Hart 6
Bardsley 6
Long 8
Mee 7
Tarky 7
Taylor 5
Cork 8*
Westwood 8
Hendrick 7
Barnes 7
Wood 7

First half Cork had 3 yards on their player in a 15 yard sprint and was second to the ball. Woeful shot in the second half when played in well by Wood. Lost the ball on the edge of their box for the second goal. And some people are giving him an 8? I thought he was awful today along with Ben Mee and Taylor and Hendrick demonstrated just why Dyche is loathe to play him in his preferred position. 3 central midfielders on the pitch and they cannot keep the ball or make a forward pass. No pace, no physical presence and no ability to beat a man or pick a pass. And Westwood, no ability to finish a gilt edged chance early on.

Hart 6
Bardsley 6
Long 8
Tarkowski 7
Mee 7
Taylor 6
Cork 7
Hendrick 7
Westwood 7
Barnes 8
Wood 7

Herts Clarets wrote:First half Cork had 3 yards on their player in a 15 yard sprint and was second to the ball. Woeful shot in the second half when played in well by Wood. Lost the ball on the edge of their box for the second goal. And some people are giving him an 8? I thought he was awful today along with Ben Mee and Taylor and Hendrick demonstrated just why Dyche is loathe to play him in his preferred position. 3 central midfielders on the pitch and they cannot keep the ball or make a forward pass. No pace, no physical presence and no ability to beat a man or pick a pass. And Westwood, no ability to finish a gilt edged chance early on.

I concur I thought Cork was poor today and at times looked like he was pulling a fridge. He is part of the midfield problem which due to his lack of pace, that means if we get caught up field with men forward we don't have the basic speed to get back in sufficient numbers as typified by the second goal. It's something that's been happening all season long, starting with Fulham away

Hart 7
Bardley 7
Long 8
Tarks 7
Mee 6
Taylor 6
Cork 5
Hendrick 7
Westwood 8
Barnes 7
Wood 4

Hart 6
Bardsley 7
Tarks 7
Mee 7
Long 7
Taylor 5
Cork 6
Westwood 7
Hendrick 6
Barnes 10
Wood 4

Hart 6- nowt to do
Bardsley 6 grafted and a real battler but short on quality
Long 8 good game after early error
Tarkowski 7 not his best but kept at it
Mee 5 get Gibson in he’s liability awful distribution
Taylor 5 terrible crossing from good positions
Cork 7 worked hard but lack of pace told
Hendrick 5 pretty annonymous
Westwood 7 steady and kept us ticking
Barnes 8 vintage Barnes
Wood 3 awful doesn’t deserve the shirt

Another gritty show and we had Arsenal in all sorts of trouble at 2-1 down.Considering how weak the team( the slowest weakest prem side we’ve ever fielded I Dyche time ) was without any creative players or speed we showed we can fight and battle and won’t be going down for sure.

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

Taylor 6
Cork 6
Hendrick 7
Westwood 7

Barnes 8
Wood 4

Hart 6
Bardsley 7
Tarks 7
Mee 6
Long 7
Taylor 6
Cork 6
Westwood 7
Hendrick 6
Barnes 8
Wood 5
Nothing wrong with that, shame none of our “flair” players weren’t fit.

Herts Clarets wrote:First half Cork had 3 yards on their player in a 15 yard sprint and was second to the ball. Woeful shot in the second half when played in well by Wood. Lost the ball on the edge of their box for the second goal. And some people are giving him an 8? I thought he was awful today along with Ben Mee and Taylor and Hendrick demonstrated just why Dyche is loathe to play him in his preferred position. 3 central midfielders on the pitch and they cannot keep the ball or make a forward pass. No pace, no physical presence and no ability to beat a man or pick a pass. And Westwood, no ability to finish a gilt edged chance early on.

He's been awful all season yet appears to be the first name on the teamsheet. Cork gets an easy ride on UTC compared to others, perhaps it's because he had a few good games on loan 8 years ago. Forget all the "is hart the problem?", the problem has been at the heart of the midfield. As you mention, odds on to win the ball and ends up face down, should show some composure and take a touch when he had the good chance and lost the ball for the 2nd. Apart from that he ran around slowly a lot!

Hart 5
Long 7
Mee 6
Tarks 8
Bardsley 6
Hendrick 6
Cork 6
Westwood 8
Taylor 6
Barnes 9
Wood 5

Hart 7
Bardsley 6
Mee 5
Long 6
Tarks 6
Taylor 6
Westwood 7
Cork 7
Hendrick 4 Genuinely didn't realise he was playing till 80th minute when TV showed a close up of him
Barnes 7
Wood 4 - Needs 'resting'

How can anyone honestly argue there were 9/10 performances from that side today??

Hart 7
Bardsley 7
Long 8
Tarkowski 8
Mee 7
Taylor 7
Westwood 8
Hendrick 7
Cork 8
Barnes 8* MotM
Wood 6

Hart 6

Bardsley 5
Long 6
Tarkowski 8
Mee 6
Taylor 4

Hendrick 6
Cork 6
Westwood 7

Barnes 8
Wood 4

I thought playing 3 in midfield exposed our wide players big time. Both of them struggled.

Our 3 midfielders are too samey to play together in that system.

NL Claret wrote:He's been awful all season yet appears to be the first name on the teamsheet. Cork gets an easy ride on UTC compared to others, perhaps it's because he had a few good games on loan 8 years ago. Forget all the "is hart the problem?", the problem has been at the heart of the midfield. As you mention, odds on to win the ball and ends up face down, should show some composure and take a touch when he had the good chance and lost the ball for the 2nd. Apart from that he ran around slowly a lot!

Today was one of Corks better games

Hart 6- not much to do, decent save after 2 minutes.
Bardsley 6- could have done better with first goal.
Taylor 5- good game last week but poor this.
Long 5- lost aubameyang for first out of position on lead up to second and gave up when tracking back for third. Apart from that decent.
Mee 7- getting back to the Ben Mee of last year.
Tarkowski 7- solid and comfortable on ball
Weswood 7- played well, may have done better with 1 on 1 chance but worked doggedly.
Cork 7- tried to be influential getting forward but great chance when cutting across ball anddrifting shot wide.
Hendrick 5- anonymous
Wood 5- as Hendrick
Barnes 9- the guy is a nuisance but overall is fair, shame his competive nature doesn't rub off on wood.
Vokes 6- held ball up well.
Vydra 6- a bit more game time and tried to link up play.

Hart 6 - Was surprisingly quiet, solid for most of the game, although thought he should have done a little bit better with the near-post finish.
Bardsley 6 - Some good challenges and interceptions, but he isn't upto getting up and down the wing and whipping balls in. Don;t think this formation suits him and he wasn't quite as he has been the last couple of games.
Long 7 - Torn here because he was definitely at fault for at least one of the goals, but he really did work his conkers off. Some very nice tackles and won a few headers the strikers would have gotten to ahead of him.
Tarkowski 7 - Very good and understated today. Just did everything with competence and minimum fuss.
Mee 6 - Some very silly little mistakes with his passing, just didn't seem to click for him today.
Taylor 6 - Frustrating seeing his crosses hit nothing, but he was working hard to get forward and try and track back. I think with practice he could fulfil the wing-back role pretty well.
Westwood 8*** - Another understated, but incredibly hard working display. It felt like he was dragging the team onwards with him today.
Hendrick 6 - Chasing shadows most of the game, would like to see him on the ball far more.
Cork 7 - Couple of very good interceptions to break up Arsenal play and get us on the counter, but he seems too lightweight and rushed one of our best chances in the game.
Barnes 8 - Really rattled the Arsenal defence. Causing absolute mayhem, but with that ref, I was genuinely worried he might see red at some point.
Wood 5 - He got into a few really good positions, only to the completely fail to control the ball, just bounced straight off him. Even when he was closing down second half, it seemed half-hearted. Time he was given a spell on the sidelines.

Hart 6
Bardsley 6
Tarks 6
Mee 6
Long 6
Taylor 5
Cork 4 the slowest player in the Premier League?
Westwood 5
Hendrick 5
Barnes 7 mom
Wood 4

Herts Clarets wrote:First half Cork had 3 yards on their player in a 15 yard sprint and was second to the ball. Woeful shot in the second half when played in well by Wood. Lost the ball on the edge of their box for the second goal. And some people are giving him an 8? I thought he was awful today

spot on!!!