Burnley v Sheffield United - Player Ratings

[CoolClaret]

Yep me- I thought that whilst he saw plenty of the ball, his end product going forwards was hit and miss and that in the first half he was the player against which any joy Sheffield United had came. But clearly a minority view which is of course fine!

I mean, he's taking up positions far high and wide - it's up to a midfielder/center half to fill in for him if he's out of position.

Sort of early season last year Maatsen role - it's a very difficult role to play and he's doing extremely well. Had some good touches and important tackles.

[Swizzlestick]

Trafford 8 - ok, didn't have lots to do, but what he did, he did very well - good distribution and a decent one on one save, only fair after having some pelters this season
Vitinho 8 - excellent up and down the flank, final ball let him down a few times but looking like it's his place to lose now, never stopped
Taylor 8 - very solid
Beyer 8 - classy performance
O Shea 8 - his best yet, great assist
Berge 9* - absolutely ran the show
Brownhill 8 - industrious, pairs well with Berge
Koleosho 8 - livewire
Bruun Larsen 8 - showed some real moments of magic, got a bit about him
Rodriguez 8 - lead the line well
Amdouni 9 - a joy to watch

Gudmundsson 7 - slotted in nicely

All the subs brought something to the party, but they were a beaten team by that point.

Desperately needed the win today and boy did we get it. Early goal set the tone and we never let up. Helped by that idiot McBurnie of course, but we were dominant before that. Performances have been good for a few weeks now and it's great we've finally got three points at home, albeit against a sorry excuse of a team. Hopefully we can kick on now.

[CrosspoolClarets]

Trafford 7 - quiet but composed, one minor error playing a silly pass into midfield that could have been trouble
Vitinho 7 - great until the final ball, which was appalling and is our achilles heel across the team this season
O'Shea 7 - lucky not to be sent off following his retribution and near foul later in the game
Beyer 7 - easy game for him, nearly gave a couple of needlessly risky one away. We still can’t resist the risky one
Taylor 8 - extra point for the vital initial assist, coming out of the blocks strong was vital
Bruun Larsen 8 - JBG has most chance creations than anyone in our team so he has had to bide his time, but took the chance
Brownhill 8 - great goal following a good performance holding the midfield against the dangerous Hamer
Berge 8 - they sold us their best player and didn’t replace him, whereas he is the same class as 5-6 of ours. Outcome inevitable.
Koleosho 8 - lively but a little hasty and wasteful with the end product
Amdouni 9* - the high part of the day. Zeki feeds on goals like we feed on meals. He needed one. Class performance, all energy and tricky feet with a good finish, he is a very, very good player.
Rodriguez 7 - reversed back 5 years today, like the Jay of old. Contrast his class to McBurnie.

Guðmundsson 7 - very classy and vital to us but not as direct as JBL

Other subs - an argument all five are better than the players they replaced, that is a really good sign. Redmond was brilliant, he is a really good player. The one I’d highlight though is Tresor - not many touches, but a couple of clever little balls through and two wicked crosses, all of which are beyond what Koleosho is currently capable of, Tresor isn’t adapted to the intensity yet, but he remains the potential to be our best player

Today made it three home games on the trot where we have hardly given the opponent a kick. OK, we lost two, but we have a iffy defence and that feels easy ish to fix in January. The rest of our game looks really good apart from our creativity, but when we add players like Redmond and Tresor it improves us in that way.

But for that Darren England atrocity we would be 3 points behind Forest now with them to come to us on the final game. It’s a bit behind the 8 ball now, but we seem better in many regards than the teams just above us. What I would give for 2-3 points from our away games coming up then a win against Everton.

[ksrclaret]

Trafford 7 - much better distribution on the whole, a good save near the end to preserve his first clean sheet, and definitely more confident generally
Vitinho 7 - worked tremendously hard getting up and down, but as ever too wasteful with the positions he gets into
O'Shea 8 - great defensive work and some genuinely top level passing. Has to cut out the sloppiness though.
Beyer 7 - swept up well all afternoon
Taylor 7 - cracking assist
JBL 8 - looks a player
Berge 8 - twice played passes out of play, but other than that ran the game perfectly
Brownhill 7 - disciplined and full of energy. Cracking goal
Koleosho 7 - must keep working on his end product. Everything else is there, but pleased he got a goal in the end. '
Amdouni 8 - another who made some genuinely top level contributions, not least his goal which he took superbly
Rodriguez 8 - essential he stays fit with Foster missing. Gave us a terrific platform and of course scored a brilliant header to kick things off.

Gudmundsson 7 - he and the other later subs ensured we kept looking for more goal right up until the last minute

Everything crossed that this afternoon can be used as a catalyst to kick on and start picking up some points against PL opposition. There were some terrific signs today.

[quoonbeatz]

If you've been paying attention the last few games then this has been coming. Yes, Sheffield Utd are a pub side at this level and they've got one of the thickest players around in McBurnie but you still have to beat them and from 15 seconds in it wasn't really in doubt that we would.

A solid base at the back, control in midfield and a front 4 that they just could not handle. Richly deserved and will give a real boost of confidence.

Trafford - 8 I said last week that his decision making with the ball needed to speed up and improve, and that's what we saw today. His short game was crisper and his long game hacked back to Muric last season at times. Two good saves as well, overall a real improvement.

Vitinho - 7 involved in loads going forward but too often doesn't know what to do with the ball so slows us down and goes backwards. That's said when he lost the ball he really worked to win it back. Rightly keeping the shirt for now.

O'Shea - 9 much-maligned all season, he was superb today, bar a couple of short and loose passes. Won almost everything in the air, put a few good crosses in and the ball down the line for the 2nd was a top ping.

Beyer - 7 dumbass booking bit solid overall

Taylor - 8 peach of a cross in the first minute and his experience was key today

Berge - 9 ran the game

Brownhill - 8 forming a really strong partnership with Berge, disciplined but still with the energy. Lovely strike.

Bruun-Larsen - 8 first half he was brilliant, no slowing things down, he just wants to make things happen. First touch for his goal was a peach.

Koleosho - 7 dunno how he hit the post but made up for it by hitting it again in just the right place a couple of minutes later.

Amdouni - 7 way more like it, involved for longer periods and they didn't really know what to do with him

Rodriguez - 8 vital. Lovely diving header to kick us off, led the line and linked play really well but most importantly he talked those around him through the game, told them where to and general acted like a senior player should. Finished at this level clearly.

Gudmundsson - 7 calm head, kept us probing right to the end.


Not on to get carried away with but on that we have to use as a springboard. Top day.

[what_no_pies]

Trafford 7 Better distribution helped us greatly and a couple of smart saves
Vitinho 8 Growing into the role
Beyer 7
O'Shea 8 Excellent, particularly first half
Taylor 8
Brownhill 7
Berge 9 Outstanding
Koleosho 7
Brun Larsen 7
Amdouni 7
Rodriguez 7

Gudmundsson 7

[AlargeClaret]

Trafford 7 - steady enough 2 decent technical saves
Vitinho 7- good going forward little defending
Beyer 7- steady enough
O'Shea 7 as per Beyer , few wayward passes .
Taylor 8 excellent 1st half , not much defending needed 2nd
Brownhill 7 screamer goal and kept it moving
Berge 7 strong
Koleosho 7- been better but lively and broke his duck
Brun Larsen 7 nice goal and very lively , must start again
Amdouni 7 well taken goal good alround
Rodriguez 7 great finish goal , nice movement though pace totally gone .

Gudmundsson -6
Akinfenwa? N/A

All in all an excellent showing , dreadful 10 man opposition but we hammered em and hopefully the spark to go on .

[claretgimmer]

Marked bearing in mind the poor quality of the opposition

Trafford 7 Looked more composed today and a more expansive range of distribution, 2 good saves
Vitinho 8 Able to make good runs up field and linked well with JBL
O Shea 8 Apart from a couple of sloppy passes he looked assured which probably contributed to McBurnies red card
Beyer 8 Steady as usual
Taylor 8 his best performance this season, so far !!
Bruun Larsen 8 MoM Showed what we thought he had in his locker, drives us forward which we needed, must start
Berge 8 Calm, composed just run the show
Brownhill 7 Just steady, nothing spectacular about his performance till he hit that ball
Koleosho 8 This lad oozes skill, gets a bit giddy sometimes when he`s in the box and chooses the wrong option but he looks like a future star in the making, just hope we keep him long enough to see it come to fruition. Chuffed he got his first goal.
Rodriguez 7 The old warhorse scores a typical JR header then just does what a good forward does holds the ball up, brings other players into the game, a good out ball, wish he was a few years younger.
Amdouni 8 Brilliant, produces the necessary work rate without the ball but was dynamite with it, class finish

Subs:
Gudmundsson 6 seemed to struggle getting past the full back and turned backwards quite a bit unlike JBL but handy to have on the bench
Tresor na Looked lively
Obafemi na Looked lively
Redmond na Looked lively
Ekdal na Good to see him back in the team

[hoskinsgoalatswansea]

Trafford 7
Vitinho 8
O'Shea 8
Beyer 7
Taylor 8
Bruun Larsen 8
Brownhill 7
Berge 8
Koleosho 8
Amdouni 8
Rodriguez 7
Gudmundsson 6

[burnleymik]

Even before then sending off we were an absolute class above Sheffield. A lot of the sloppiness cut out and we definitely used the fact they were doubling up on Koleosho to exploit that extra space, espeically with JBL having his man on toast the whole time he was on. Excellent to a man yesterday.

Trafford 8
Vitinho 8
Beyer 8
O'Shea 7
Taylor 8
Brownhill 7
Berge 9
Koleosho 9
Bruun Larsen 8
Amdouni 9
Rodriguez 8
Gudmundsson 7

[helmclaret]

Trafford 7
Best performance with his feet and passed the ball with some purpose. I’ve been critical of him so far this season but hopefully this gives him some confidence and he can continue to contribute going forward.

Vitinho 7
Gets into some great positions and had so much of the ball, but simply doesn’t have the quality at this level. Like all the others, never gives up.

O'Shea 7
Some good, some bad. Short passing is incredibly untidy at times, but then picks someone out with a great 30-40 yard ball. Kept his cool whilst being subjected to underhand tactics by McBurnie. Looks a decent Championship player so far to me.

Beyer 7
Gave us the kind of performance we were used to from him last season. Hope he can get physically stronger as the season progresses.

Taylor 7
Such an efficient performer in the Premier League. Comes into the team when he’s called upon and does a job.

Bruun Larsen 8
Fantastic first half and dragged their full back all over the place. Lovely touch and finish for his goal. Be good to get him fully match fit and a run in the team.

Brownhill 7
As good as it gets from Josh. Never stopped running and capped off a competent performance with a nice strike.

Berge 8
Controlled the midfield and getting fitter by the game. Composed on the ball will be a key player
for us.

Koleosho 8
Been a bright spark all season, he’s a real talent. Yes, his final ball and decision making will
improve but was great to see him get his first goal.

Amdouni 8
Another very gifted player. We got the ball to him a lot more than previous games. His feet and balance in tight situations is top class.

Rodriguez 7
Linked up play and was generally very tidy. He’s doing a job whilst we are using him as the focal point up top.

Gudmundsson 6
Just slotted in and used his experience to
help close the game down.

[Dodobdobodobo]

Trafford 8
Vitinho 8
O’Shea 8
Beyer 8
Taylor 8
Brownhill 8
Berge 9
Bruun Larsen 8
Amdouni 9
Koleosho 9
Rodriguez 8

Can’t give less than 8 to any player. Defenders - clean sheet * Midfielders - controlled the match * Forwards - all contributed with a goal each

Gudmundsson 7
Obafemi 7

[strayclaret]

Trafford 7
Vitinho 7
O'Shea 8
Beyer 7
Taylor 8
Bruun Larsen 8
Brownhill 8
Berge 8
Koleosho 7
Amdouni 8
Rodriguez 8

Guðmundsson 7
Wow, first time I’ve watched MOD, now watching for second time

[Casper2]

Trafford 7
Best performance with his feet and passed the ball with some purpose. I’ve been critical of him so far this season but hopefully this gives him some confidence and he can continue to contribute going forward.

Vitinho 7
Gets into some great positions and had so much of the ball, but simply doesn’t have the quality at this level. Like all the others, never gives up.

O'Shea 7
Some good, some bad. Short passing is incredibly untidy at times, but then picks someone out with a great 30-40 yard ball. Kept his cool whilst being subjected to underhand tactics by McBurnie. Looks a decent Championship player so far to me.

Beyer 7
Gave us the kind of performance we were used to from him last season. Hope he can get physically stronger as the season progresses.

Taylor 7
Such an efficient performer in the Premier League. Comes into the team when he’s called upon and does a job.

Bruun Larsen 8
Fantastic first half and dragged their full back all over the place. Lovely touch and finish for his goal. Be good to get him fully match fit and a run in the team.

Brownhill 7
As good as it gets from Josh. Never stopped running and capped off a competent performance with a nice strike.

Berge 8
Controlled the midfield and getting fitter by the game. Composed on the ball will be a key player
for us.

Koleosho 8
Been a bright spark all season, he’s a real talent. Yes, his final ball and decision making will
improve but was great to see him get his first goal.

Amdouni 8
Another very gifted player. We got the ball to him a lot more than previous games. His feet and balance in tight situations is top class.

Rodriguez 7
Linked up play and was generally very tidy. He’s doing a job whilst we are using him as the focal point up top.

Gudmundsson 6
Just slotted in and used his experience to
help close the game down.

O’Shea was booked for a foul on Mc Bernie 1 minute after being elbowed

[StayingDown4Ever]

Trafford 6
Vitinho 7
Beyer 6
O'Shea 6
Taylor 8
Brownhill 7
Berge 7
Koleosho 7
Brun Larsen 8
Amdouni 8
Rodriguez 6
Gudmundsson 6

[Benson]

Trafford 6
Vitinho 7
Beyer 6
O'Shea 6
Taylor 8
Brownhill 7
Berge 7
Koleosho 7
Brun Larsen 8
Amdouni 8
Rodriguez 6
Gudmundsson 6

[colne-claret]

Trafford - 7
Vitinho - 8
O’Shea - 8
Beyer - 7
Taylor - 7
Brownhill - 8
Berge - 8
Amdouni - 9
JBL - 8
Koleosho - 8
Jay - 8

JBG - 7

[StayingDown4Ever]

Something amusing?

[Benson]

Trafford 7
Vitinho 7
O'Shea 8
Beyer 7
Taylor 8
Bruun Larsen 8
Brownhill 8
Berge 8
Koleosho 8
Amdouni 9
Rodriguez 8
Gudmundsson 6

[Claret]

Trafford 7
Vitinho 7
O'Shea 7
Beyer 7
Taylor 7
Bruun Larsen 8
Brownhill 7
Berge 8
Koleosho 8
Amdouni 7
Rodriguez 8

Guðmundsson 7

[Ric_C]

What a performance, and what a nice change to come away from the Turf smiling again. Don't know if anyone else has these feelings, but sometimes you start the weekend off on a good or bad note and you can almost predict if things will go well or badly for the rest of the weekend.

Managed to scab some last minute Peter Kay tickets on Friday and had an amazing night, and sometimes you just know you are going to have a good rest of the weekend. Then finding out Rovers had lost was the icing on the cake

Trafford 7 - Still not convinced with his punching where he could catch, but his distribution and saves were spot on today.
Vitinho 7 - Played well
O'Shea 7 - He's still got the odd error in him, but looked much more assured
Beyer 7
Taylor 8 - Great assist, think he's been one of our most consistent performers this season
Bruun Larsen 8 - Makes some really intelligent runs which in turn helps our defence with the out ball
Brownhill 8 - Ran the midfield
Berge 9 - I'll hold my hand up, thought he looked lazy when he first joined. I was wrong
Koleosho 8 - Glad he got his goal
Amdouni 8 - Needs to shoot more, lovely player
Rodriguez 8 - Superb from Jay, again another who is getting fitter and better each game
Gudmundsson 7 - Didn't have much to do, but was a stroll at that point

Our strength in depth may be our saviour in the second half of the season. We had Tresor, Obafemi and Redmond off the bench, some of the other relegation rivals are getting key injuries. Also great to see Ekdal back, he will be a key player once he's back in the side.

Others may have mentioned this already, but I genuinely feel that the more we play and get used to the system, the more we are improving. Think we signed too many players at the start of the season and we looked a jumbled mess, now we have a bit more of an identity. Who knows? Sneak a couple of wins in the next few games and we are only 1 win away from being on a points par at the midway stage.

And as for VK, maybe he is finally learning about mixing it up and the power of the unexpected long ball. We used that tactic many times last season.

[ashtonlongsider]

Fabulous (team) performance from start to finish. The only negative for me was Beyer's yellow. Lets hope the result acts as a catalyst that leads to us starting to climb up the table.

Trafford 7
Vitinho 8-Not is greatest fan but credit where credits due.
O'Shea 7
Beyer 7
Taylor 8
Brun Larsen 8-Fabulous first half.
Brownhill 8
Berge 8
Koleosho 8
Amdouni 9*
Rodriguez 8

Gudmondsson 6

[bumba]

Trafford 7 best game so far but also the easiest, long way to go but much improved
Vitinho 7
Taylor 7
Beyer 7
O Shea 7 improved but still gave away some cheap passes but also some great passes
Brownhill 7
Berge 7
Bruun Larsson 8 outstanding
Koleosho 7
Amdouni 7
Rodriguez 7

VK 8 good game management and subs

[FCBurnley]

Good all round performance but against a shockingly bad team. But you can only beat what is in front of you

Trafford 7. By far his best but still some poor distribution. Made 1 excellent stop in second half
Vitinho 7 looked bright
Beyer 6 minus 2 for crazy yellow
O’Shea 7 his best game so far
Taylor 7 solid. Great cross set the tone
Larsen 8 very cool goal and linked well with Vitinho
Brownhill 7 cool finish
Berge 9 controlled the whole game
Koleosho 9 getting stronger and.much improved defensively His goal will help him a lot
Amdouni 8 too good for Sheff U. Looking sharper
J Rod 7. Great start and worked hard

Now let’s see how we do against a decent wolves team and a good Brighton. Avoid 2 losses and things will suddenly look brighter. We are better than Sheff U and Luton. Everton will be mid table so we need to catch Forest or Bournemouth

[helmclaret]

O’Shea was booked for a foul on Mc Bernie 1 minute after being elbowed

Yes and he hardly touched him. Ref was conned.

[Vino blanco]

From tv
Trafford 7 two good saves and his mixed distribution of short and long was much faster and crisper than before.
Vitihno 7 good alround game
O'Shea 7 did very well in the physical battle with McBurnie plus good pass for second goal, but some of his other passes were poor.
Beyer 7 our best cb by far, he will be missed at Wolves.
Taylor 8 a cracking game in both defence and especially going forward, linking with Luca.
Laarsen 8 compared to JBG he gives us the ability to take on his man on the outside with more attacking menace and goal threat.
Burge 8 after a slowish start he showed that he is a PL player.
Brownhill 8 his best performance of the season for me, plus a cracking goal.
Koleosho 8 he still needs to improve his end product, but his goal will help him.
Amdouni 9 for the first time he was totally involved in all our attacking moves from the first kick off the game until he went off.
Jayrod 8 his experience really showed up today, always encouraging the youngsters.
JBG 7 Mr Consistency, rarely makes a bad pass and likes to get involved.

So happy to see our team smiling as they left the field, this win is a massive boost to their confidence. Sheffield were poor to he honest, but we played as a team and some of our attacking play was like last season. Well done to VK and the boys.

[ClaretLoup]

Trafford 7 - Key save in the second half to keep a clean sheet
Vitinho 7 - Linked up quite well with Larsen
O'Shea 7 - defended well particularly against the robust McBurnie, needs to tidy up his distribution.
Beyer 7 - quietly efficient and set one goal up
Taylor 8 - great ball in for Jayrod which really blunted the Blades right from the off, a thoroughly professional performance
Bruun Larsen 8 - sublime take down and finish for the second goal, a little wasteful on occasions
Brownhill 8 - usual wholehearted performance capped by a fine goal
Berge 8 - apart from a couple of stray passes was immaculate
Koleosho 8 - fitting tht Super Johnny Francis was hlaf time guest as this boy resembles SJF's unpredictabilty
Amdouni 9 - not a big Zeki fan up to press, but he instigated the first goal, set one up and scored one with a good finish so a great afternoon's work for a forward.
Rodriguez 7 - Scored a crucial early goal, nice liink up play, but should he not have filled his boots against this Sheffield defence?

Guðmundsson 7 - kept things ticking over.

Also before today I have been underwhelmed by Redmond, but thought he had a very good cameo albeit against a well beaten 10 man team. Both him and Obafemi need to step up to the plate and contribute big time if we are to make a fight of this season.

[IanMcL]

A big win and all played well.

Trafford 7
Vitinho 8
O'Shea 8
Beyer 7
Taylor 8
Bruun Larsen 8
Brownhill 7
Berge 8
Koleosho 9
Amdouni 8
Rodriguez 8
Gudmundsson 7

[Vim Fuego]

Trafford 7
Vitinho 8
O'Shea 8
Beyer 7
Taylor 8
JBL 8
Brownhill 7
Berge 8
Koleosho 8
Amdouni 8
Rodriguez 7

JBG 7

[the_magic_rat]

Trafford 8

Vitinho 9
O' Shea 8
Beyer 8
Taylor 9

Berge 9
Brownhill 8
Brunn Larsen 8

Amdouni 9 MOM
Rodriguez 8
Koleosho 8

Odobert 6
Obefemi 7
Redmond 8

[the_magic_rat]

I forgot JBG 7