Burnley v Birmingham - Player Ratings

[Flat Stanley]

Muric 8
Roberts 9
THB 7
Bayer 7
Maatsen 7
Cork 8
Cullen 7
Brownhill 7
Zaroury 7
Benson 7
J Rod 6

Tella 7

[strayclaret]

Muric 7
Roberts 9
Harwood-Bellis 7
Jordan 7
Maatsen 7
Cork 7
Cullen 7
Benson 7
Brownhill 7
Zaroury 7
Rodriguez 6
Tella 7
Not our best but far too good for a physical Brum in testing conditions

[Luppy]

Muric - 7

Roberts - 8
Beyer - 7
THB - 7
Maatsen - 7

Cork - 8 *
Brownhill - 7
Cullen - 7

Zaroury - 7
Jay - 6
Benson - 7

Tella - 7

Another 3 goals in a game we dominated in 2nd gear. Exciting times

[fatboy47]

Well I enjoyed that a lot.
Turf buzzing, team and crowd together as one. It really hasn't been so alive since the 70s.

Muric... 7 Hes not Gordon Banks but he's doing fine. Clearly he's been told that there's occasionally time for row Z..this will help.
Roberts. 8 plenty already said.
Beyer.. 8
THB... 8
Maatsen..7
Cork..9 mom
Cullen.. 8
Brownhill 7
Zar...7
Bens..7
JRod..7.
Tella.. 7
Chas...7

[ashtonlongsider]

Not our fluid best by any stretch but a thoroughly professional performance nevertheless against a team I felt might cause us a problem or two. 50 points before the new year, absolutely brilliant.

Muric 7
Roberts 8*
Harwood-Bellis 7
Beyer 7
Maatsen 7
Cullen 8
Cork 7
Benson 7
Brownhill 6
Zaroury 7
Rodriguez 6

Tella 7
Taylor 7

[bf2k]

On the Muric point, it was ******* down and mad windy. That’s why.

I understand that but they will still will at times.

[Buxtonclaret]

Muric 7
Roberts 8 **
Harwood-Bellis 7
Beyer 7
Maatsen 7

Cullen 7
Cork 8
Benson 7
Brownhill 7
Zaroury 8
Rodriguez 7

Tella 8

Far too good for Brum, last night. (Who should have ended that game with only 9 on the pitch)
Agree with the consensus of the TV coms team, we can play better and improve. And we will!
VK has a real beast emerging here with this team.

[OffTheBar]

Muric 8
Roberts 9
Beyer 9
THB 8
Maatsen 8
Cork 7
Cullen 8
Brownhill 7
Benson 8
Zaroury 7
JRod 7

Tella 8

[HahaYeah]

Muric 6
Roberts 8
Harwood Bellis 7
Beyer 7
Maatsen 6
Cork 7
Cullen 7
Benson 7
Brownhill 7
Zaroury 7
Rodriguez 7

Subs:
Tella 8
Taylor 7
Barnes na
Gudmundsson na

[ClaretPete001]

Like Boro - odd game. The weather reminded me of Watford last season but the atmosphere was totally different. We won Comfortably but Birmingham did their best to compete without ever really doing so.

Muric - 6 it’s getting kind of stupid trying to pretend he isn’t struggling to command his box. We are football fans not members of some weird cult. The weather was irrelevant he did the same against Boro. Horrible flap at a high ball.

Maatsen - 7 Solid but can play better
Beyer - Solid
THB - 7 solid
Roberts- 8 best game in a Burnley shirt
Cork and Cullen - 8 aggressive, mostly dominant and cool on the ball. The engine room of the team.
Brownhill 7 - worked very hard but not quite as cool as the two Cs
Zaroury 8 - Missed him against Man Utd runs with the ball glued to his feet.
Benson 7 - Another solid game tormented their full back
Jay Rod - 6 in a bit of a lull at the moment but made one or two sublime passes.

Tella - 8 fantastic cameo performance and goal. Personally, I think him and Vitinho on the right make us look more fluid.

Overall, it’s got to the point where a 3-0 home win can feel vaguely disappointing.it’s like being a Barca fan.

Hats off the fans. Good atmosphere throughout and a good travelling support from Brum.

Final point on Troy Deeney - long time time since I’ve seen a player look that overweight. He’s a likeable player but he needs to lose a stone if he wants to continue at this level.

[Colburn_Claret]

Muric 7
Roberts 9
THB 7
Bayer 8
Maatsen 7
Cork 8
Cullen 7
Brownhill 7
Zaroury 7
Benson 8
J Rod 6

Tella 7 been crying out for Nathan. That 3rd goal, and pass for it, highlight where Ash and JayRod lack. We don't play those balls, and we don't score those goals, unless we have someone on the pitch who can attack through the middle with pace. If we do lose Tella, we need a like replacement.


As comfortable a game as we've had all season, which is just what we want at this time of year.

UTC

[fidelcastro]

Have an anti- depressant….. you’ll feel better!

Muric 5 just confuses me.
I thought this was a very dominant performance against a side set up to frustrate & foul.. we’re going up as Champions!
Enjoy it.

I'm not at all depressed and I'm loving us being top of the league, but I thought he was shaky throughout.

Say what you see, as that guy on catchphrase used to say!

[warksclaret]

Muric 7-little to do but great distribution
Roberts MOM 8
Beyer 7
THB 7, his distribution is not what it was
Maastsen 7
Zarourry 7-great goal and one or two good runs but faded
Cork 8-really composed performance and a fair share of defending
Cullen 7 tigerish performance and does a lot of the dirty work
Brownhill 7, much improved on Man Utd performance
Benson 8-some great runs and lovely pass to Roberts for first goal
Jay7-lost a bit of his sparkle in last 3-4 weeks. although some sublime lay offs

Tella 7, great goal to end the game. Unlucky not to start but thats a sign of our bench's quality

[claretspice]

A really professional performance on a sticky pitch that was not particularly conducive to our way of playing.

Muric - 7 - his distribution in difficult conditions was superb and really well judged, and he dealt well with the aerial bombardment Birmingham attempted in extremely challenging conditions.

Roberts - 9 - really solid and robust defensively but shone in attack, particularly in he first half. Deserved his goal and assist and might have had more.

Maatsen - 8 - he's maturing into a very fine all round left back right in front of us. Defensively sound (even if he's still a touch vulnerable in the air), carried the ball well and some of his passing was absolutely superb.

THB - 8 - thought he defended really well

Beyer - 8 - apart from one misjudgement and foul for which he might have been booked, equally as good as THB.

Cork - 7 - a couple of misplaced passes in the first half, but conditions played a part in that and otherwise he was very sound and helped us neutralise Deeney.

Cullen- 8 - a little compromised defensively by his first half booking, particularly once a little lucky to avoid a second yellow in the second half. However, save that he should have done better when he beat the offside trap in the second half, on the ball his one touch passing and moving was an absolute joy and defied the conditions.

Brownhill- 8 - showed lots of energy and dynamism and produced a lovely assist for Roberts' goal.

Benson - 7 - really intelligent pass to get Roberts in for the opener, and a real threat in the opening period without creating too much.

Zaroury- 7 - great finish for his goal and his link game was really intelligent, although his final ball was unusually hit and miss.

Rodriguez- 7 - some lovely link play and intelligent movement to create space for others, even if the chances aren't falling his way right now.

Tella - 7 - helped us press better and provided a more direct threat in behind- and took his chance well when it came.

Taylor - thought he really helped stiffen us defensively, and a great ball for the 3rd goal.


On paper this was a tough task against an awkward opponent, but once we got the early goal this wasn't a contest and we showed a mix of real quality and professionalism to masted the conditions and neutralise a physical, direct opponent. This wasn't a game of loads of chances - it just wasn't the night for it - but we picked our moments and produced two first half goals of the highest quality built on super team interplay, and should have had another in a similar ilk. The criticism of the second half was that we butchered a couple of good early opportunities to extend the lead and then had a 15 minute period when we got a bit sloppy, but that was swiftly righted and in the end it was another game when the 3 goal margin just felt a fair reflection of our dominance.


There's a long way to go but something quite remarkable is brewing right now. Perhaps my favourite moment of the night came in the first half when Muric Cork and the back four engaged in some tight but well judged short play in our own box. 3 months ago there would have been a collective intake of breath and some disquiet; now there was a round of applause and a chant about keeping the ball. The crowd are sold on this project now. There can't be too many Burnley fans not excited about what the new year holds.

[the_magic_rat]

Muric 7

Roberts 9 MOM
Harwood-Bellis 9
Beyer 8
Maatsen 8

Benson 8
Cullen 8
Brownhill 8
Cork 9
Zaroury 8

Rodriguez 8

Tella 8

[bf2k]

I understand that but they will still will at times.

I’ve no idea what I’ve posted there. I was meant to say

“I understand that but alter the kick to suit the conditions”

[JohnMcGreal]

Muric 7
Roberts 9
Harwood-Bellis 7
Beyer 7
Maatsen 7
Cork 8
Cullen 8
Brownhill 8
Benson 7
Zaroury 7
Rodriguez 7

Tella 7

Another game which we completely controlled from start to finish. I know there's a long way to go but it's very hard not to get carried away with this team. So impressive and an absolute joy to watch. It's a great time to be a Claret.

[Bosscat]

Muric 8
Roberts 9* MotM
Harwood-Bellis 7
Beyer 7
Maatsen 7
Cork 8
Cullen 7
Benson 7
Brownhill 8
Zaroury 8
Rodriguez 7

Tella 8
Taylor 7

[ecc]

"Roberts - 9 - Played with swagger and snarl."

Love that, Pickles! Really. "swagger and snarl". Makes him sound like Liam Gallagher.