Burnley v Swansea - Player Ratings

[claretspice]

Any consideration given to playing 3 games in 8 days including trips to south London and WBA? Maybe Pires was subbed as he was tired Spice?

Maybe. Entirely possible though that that is why he came off. I thought he was still having a perfectly good game though and of course he only played about 25 minutes as a substitute at Millwall.

Ultimately, though, the overall trend of the substitutions was to leave us with less creativity on the pitch, not more. We swapped energy for creativity and attacking cohesion and I thought we spent the last 30 minutes trying to hard and playing with lots of effort and lots of intensity, but no particular method for how we were trying to convert short passing routines into chances.

We started the game with our centre forward and right winger playing out of position in those roles, and we ended the game with a left back who isn't a left back, and a number 10 who isn't a number 10, and making do with someone who wasn't considered capable of starting at Millwall a week ago. Even allowing for a horrendous injury list, that's too many positions in which we're having to put square pegs in round holes.

[billyhamilton82]

Trafford 7 - Did what he had to do effectively

Roberts 6 - Defensively sound but no real attacking threat.
CJER 8 - When Beyer comes back CJ will be our DM, his distribution is the best in this team bar none. Also playing passes further forward might help our cause. A great defender and stands up so well.
Esteve 8.5 - We all know he is head and shoulders above most in this league but still puts in 110% for the team with no airs or graces and a brilliant attitude and as such will go far in the game.
Pires 6 - Attacking threat but defensively naive at times.

Cullen 7 - Composed performance kept things moving, took a yellow for the team.
Brownhill 6 - Not sure, he buzzes around and seems to everywhere with no real impact. I will have to watch again.

Anthony 6 - He's got talent but needs more impact in his game. Reminds me of Junior Stanislas - hot and cold.
Koleosho 5 - Needs a rest.

Sarmiento 8 - This lad is another one with an Esteve mentality. He led from the front with energy and purpose in the second half and put himself about. He is a fighter and also suprisingly good in the air for his size. Was unlucky to go off.

Flemming 6- Led the line and sacrificied his own performance for the team.


Humphreys 7 - Good defender who has added an attacking threat to his game. It will be easier to teach Humphreys to get forward rather than teach Pires how to defend.

Ageiyi 7 - He made an impact - exactly what subs should be doing.

Jay 7 - Hardly touched the ball apart from the most important time with the penalty.

[summitclaret]

Any consideration given to playing 3 games in 8 days including trips to south London and WBA? Maybe Pires was subbed as he was tired Spice?

Bewildering decision, which Spice has correctly called. Pires is our best crosser by a long way.

[ClaretTony]

Bewildering decision, which Spice has correctly called. Pires is our best crosser by a long way.

I was amazed when we made the change but we don’t know the circumstances for one and Humphreys did well when he came on.

[Claret]

Trafford 7
Roberts 8
Egan-Riley 8
Esteve 8
Pires 7
Cullen 7
Brownhill 6
Anthony 6
Sarmiento 7
Koleosho 6
Flemming 6

Agyei 8
Rodriguez 7

[GetIntoEm]

Trafford 7
Roberts 8
Egan-Riley 8
Esteve 8
Pires 7
Cullen 7
Brownhill 6
Anthony 6
Sarmiento 7
Koleosho 6
Flemming 6

Agyei 8
Rodriguez 7

How's Agyei getting an 8?

[NL Claret]

Maybe. Entirely possible though that that is why he came off. I thought he was still having a perfectly good game though and of course he only played about 25 minutes as a substitute at Millwall.

Must admit Pires was doing well however I’d not thought about it until listening to post match interviews. Away at Millwall on Sunday and then away at WBA on Thursday and then a Sunday home game. Not ideal preparation when I assume a lot of time has been spent on the train or the road and not the training ground.

Parker speaks quite a bit about 3 game weeks.

[vinrogue]

Trafford 7
Roberts 6
Egan-Riley 8
Esteve 9 goal line clearance?
Pires 5
Cullen 5
Brownhill 5
Anthony 4
Sarmiento 6
Koleosho 4
Flemming 6

[ClaretLoup]

Trafford 6. - competent
Roberts 7 - looked like he banjaxed the bloke off the ball who fouled him for the booking.
Egan-Riley 8 - gets better every game some of his cross field balls were excellent. The only player we have at the moment who can switch from defence to attack with one pass.
Esteve 8 -solid and excellent goal line clearance.
Pires 7 - two excellent balls to Flemming and Brownhill that could have been assists. Seems a bit bewildered defensively but undoubtedly we are better offensively with him in the team.
Cullen 6. ~ functional
Brownhill 6 - gets around a lot but not too effective going forward today. Stitched Cullen up for his booking.
Anthony 6 - some good bits some not so good
Sarmiento 6 - plenty of effort but his shooting was hopeless from a couple of decent positions
Koleosho 6 - thought he did ok in first half and fired a great shot that tested Vigoroux but faded in second period.
Flemming 4 - missed a great chance with his header, a wayward shot and a tame header straight at keeper. For whatever reason - ineffective.

Agyei 5 - looks like another to add to our collection of ineffectual wide players learning on the job.
Rodriguez 6 - did nowt except score. Great shot, and never in doubt.
Humphrey’s - 6 thought he had a decent game and got forward well at times
Laurent 6 - some nice touches
Hannibal 6 - put himself about a bit as per usual

[dougcollins]

I was amazed when we made the change but we don’t know the circumstances for one and Humphreys did well when he came on.

Have to be honest, I thought Pires got worse as the game went on and I wasn’t surprised when he was subbed. Bashir did surprisingly well.

[Claret Toni]

Trafford 6 - Very little to do, but looked assured on the ball
Roberts 5 - Seemed to want to get involved in a few skirmishes and succeeded. Prefer it when he wants to play football.
Egan-Riley 8 - I probably underrate him as a defender because when he's been playing and we don't concede many. His standout skill is his range of passing. Impressed again today.
Esteve 8 - Our Rolls Royce player, quick and composed, and a goal line clearance. He's so good he could probably play left wing.
Oh he did.
Pires 7 - Marmite today. Could have provided 2 assists if Flaming and Brownhill had scored the 2 excellent chances he provided....but he gets lost defensively.
Cullen 5 - Lacked creativity. Took an early yellow for the team and should have had a 2nd at the end of the 1st half.
Brownhill 5 - Not effective today, not committed enough for the slide in chance and Cullen's booking his fault.
Anthony 7 - Put some good crosses in today, which is his job, was close with one effort and tracked back very effectively
Sarmiento 4 - No disrespect to the lad but he's not a number 10. Didn't create chances and regularly lost possession.
Koleosho 5 - Should have had a field day today, as Swansea didn't double up on him. Pretty ineffective though but had a strong shot on target well saved.
Flemming 4 - No disrespect to the lad but he's not a number 9. No hold up play and missed chances.

[CrosspoolClarets]

Trafford 6 - a bit wobbly on kicking and let another header over his head through poor positioning
Roberts 7 - got forward more than recently
Egan-Riley 8 - a stray pass felt like the exception not the rule, and a calm head
Esteve 8 - wonderful goal save, terrible dive at other end , his distribution needs improving
Pires 8 - excellent going forward, some good balls in, and felt wrong to be hooked
Cullen 7 - in the first half did some clever close work and progressive balls
Brownhill 6 - energy but doesn’t have the forward quality to thread the needle
Anthony 7 - did quite a bit but criminally for a right footer never got to the byline, look at the heat map
Sarmiento 8 - energy and quick feet which we lack so he has to start, but is wasteful too
Koleosho 6 - the defining question is whether he will ever have the nous to make correct choices, e.g. what was Cole Palmer like when he was 3 years younger
Flemming 6 - struggled inthat role but tried to make things happen and nearly did a couple of times

Agyei 6 - raw and less quick than I expected
Rodriguez 7 - game winning performance, won the header for the pen and put it away

The curiosity was that Parker thought the second half was better than the first, I thought the opposite and the stats which I subsequently checked bear this out (shots, passes etc). The worry is that this is where managers come unstuck, their befuddlement becomes obvious as they run out of ideas. It felt like that. Pires being hooked was odd. Never two up front. Never Flemming in the hole. Never a Plan B (like Kompany but a different style). It really did feel like ideas were at a premium.

But saying that there as a degree of positivity to the first half before we ran out of ideas in the second. Some clever passing to get through the pass and some wasteful finishing. It may be that the players are too low on confidence to do what the manager asks. How many games did that XI play last season? Played less than a third of minutes at this level or higher last season - Egan Riley, Pires, Roberts, Koleosho, Anthony, Sarmiento.

So I am on the fence - cannot decide if this is bad manager, poor players, or players not yet match sharp. We feel like we will finish 3rd or 4th - needs an improvement from here whatever the reason but the defence is a solid backbone to our chances.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Trafford 6
Roberts 6
Egan Riley 8
Esteve 8
Pires 6
Cullen 5
Brownhill 4
Sarmiento 7
Koleosho 4
Anthony 5
Fleming 5

[Cirrus_Minor]

Trafford 6
Roberts 6
Egan-Rily 7
Estéve 8
Pires 6
Cullen 7
Brownhill 6
Anthony 6
Sarmiento 6
Koleosho 4
Flemming 4

Agei 5
Rodriguez 5
Laurent 6
Hannibal 5

[IanMcL]

Trafford 5 not much to do but his kicking is poor and worse, he socks out all momentum.
Roberts 7 good game, all round
Esteve 8 immaculate
Egan-Riley 7
Lucas Pires 6
Cullen 6
Brownhill 7
Koleosho 6
Anthony 7
Sarmiento 7
Flemming 6

[jdrobbo]

Trafford 6
Roberts 6
Egan-Riley 7
Esteve 8*
Pires 6
Cullen 6
Brownhill 5
Anthony 6
Sarmiento 7
Koleosho 5
Flemming 5

Agyei 6
Humphreys 6

[rincon]

broadly speaking, I think at least 4 of our players had 'off games' today. we still deserved the win, against a side that played for a draw but the international break has come at a good time.

[blatherwickstattoos]

Koleosho must hold the record for *3 scoring in such a short period of time. He’s been absolutely horrific recently

[strayclaret]

Trafford 6
Roberts 7
Egan-Riley 8
Estève 8
Pires 6
Cullen 6
Brownhill 5
Anthony 6
Sarmiento 7
Koleosho 5
Flemming 5

Humphreys 6
Agyei 6
Another hard watch and a toothless performance . But 3 points hopefully things can only get better

[Newcastleclaret93]

Trafford 6 - a bit wobbly on kicking and let another header over his head through poor positioning
Roberts 7 - got forward more than recently
Egan-Riley 8 - a stray pass felt like the exception not the rule, and a calm head
Esteve 8 - wonderful goal save, terrible dive at other end , his distribution needs improving
Pires 8 - excellent going forward, some good balls in, and felt wrong to be hooked
Cullen 7 - in the first half did some clever close work and progressive balls
Brownhill 6 - energy but doesn’t have the forward quality to thread the needle
Anthony 7 - did quite a bit but criminally for a right footer never got to the byline, look at the heat map
Sarmiento 8 - energy and quick feet which we lack so he has to start, but is wasteful too
Koleosho 6 - the defining question is whether he will ever have the nous to make correct choices, e.g. what was Cole Palmer like when he was 3 years younger
Flemming 6 - struggled inthat role but tried to make things happen and nearly did a couple of times

Agyei 6 - raw and less quick than I expected
Rodriguez 7 - game winning performance, won the header for the pen and put it away

The curiosity was that Parker thought the second half was better than the first, I thought the opposite and the stats which I subsequently checked bear this out (shots, passes etc). The worry is that this is where managers come unstuck, their befuddlement becomes obvious as they run out of ideas. It felt like that. Pires being hooked was odd. Never two up front. Never Flemming in the hole. Never a Plan B (like Kompany but a different style). It really did feel like ideas were at a premium.

But saying that there as a degree of positivity to the first half before we ran out of ideas in the second. Some clever passing to get through the pass and some wasteful finishing. It may be that the players are too low on confidence to do what the manager asks. How many games did that XI play last season? Played less than a third of minutes at this level or higher last season - Egan Riley, Pires, Roberts, Koleosho, Anthony, Sarmiento.

So I am on the fence - cannot decide if this is bad manager, poor players, or players not yet match sharp. We feel like we will finish 3rd or 4th - needs an improvement from here whatever the reason but the defence is a solid backbone to our chances.

Cole palmer had started int he champions league, premier league, Fa cup and league cup for the best team in the world at 19.

[jlup1980]

Trafford 6 - when did he last make a save? It's becoming an easy job between the sticks.
Roberts 6 - going through the motions
Pires 7 - continues to be a bright spark and was surprised he was hooked
Esteve 7 - solid again, and a much needed goal line clearance
Egan-Riley 8 - His passing range today really set him apart from anyone else on the pitch. He's gone from being 5th choice CB to being pretty much the first name on the teamsheet in recent weeks
Cullen 5 - struggled after his yellow, and arguably could have walked for a second yellow at the end of the first half
Brownhill 5 - going through a lean spell
Sarmiento 7 - see Pires!
Anthony 5 - no idea how he got through 90 minutes. He first touch was poor all day and he didn't create much.
Luca 4 - slightly better than WBA but another abject performance. Run into dead ends, or overrun the ball, or misplace a 5 yard pass. That's all we're getting at the moment.
Flemming 5 - ran his socks off but he's totally lost. Should score the header in the first half though.

We need to realise that this league is poor, really really poor. We can go at teams in the knowledge that we're unlikely to concede a goal. We gave them a couple of good chances yesterday and they didn't really look like scoring. I thought it looked like two teams that wouldn't have scored from open play had we still been playing at Christmas.

[Ric_C]

We are currently playing to the rule of paying the price of past performances.

As a standalone, it was a 7/10 performance. 20 shots, more possession and the better team. The fact we are playing without a single striker on the pitch is a bit galling considering the players we've had over the last few years. We NEED to get Redmond and Tresor back in the squad, as Koleosho should be nowhere near the starting eleven as it stands. He needs time out of the firing line.

Trafford 7 - Not much to do, distribution was ok.

Roberts 7 - Solid as usual, took a few whacks
CJ 8 - Just shows that some players just need time in the side to shine. His improvement has been immense, and his passing is a joy to watch.
Esteve 8 - Superb game, reads the game so well, especially having to deal with our flakey left side.
Pires 5 - Thought he was fairly poor, and I quite like him. Did rash things on 4 or 5 occasions which could have cost us.

Cullen 6 - Did ok
Brownhill 6 -Always solid in the holding role, but needs to move the ball quicker
Anthony 7 - Better today, his long shot in the first half was unlucky.
Koleosho 5 - Feels like he needs more coaching, very raw, and he needs time out of the side.
Sarmiento 7.5 - Was annoyed when he got hooked as he was our most likely. He should always play when fit, gets stuck in at times as well.

Flemming 5- Not really sure what type of player he is. Jury is out so far


Humphreys 7 - Got forward well when he came on
Laurent 7 - Did well, but wasn't involved much
Agyei 7 - Close to a start for me, looks to have more of a brain than Koleosho
Hannibal 7 - Gave us impetus when he came on
Jay 7 - Glad he was on to take the pen, his record with pens is very good.

A very much needed win. You could see the subs gave us a fresh impetus against a tiring side.

[bfcjg]

Trafford 6 nothing to do
Roberts 6
Egan-Riley 8
Esteve 9 mom
Pires 7
Cullen 6
Brownhill 5
Anthony 6
Sarmiento 7
Koleosho 5
Flemming 5 really need to see him alongside or behind a striker. Feel sorry for him.

[ClaretTony]

Trafford 5 not much to do but his kicking is poor and worse, he socks out all momentum.

So he keeps another clean sheet, plays to orders and gets a 5 - downright ridiculous

[IanMcL]

So he keeps another clean sheet, plays to orders and gets a 5 - downright ridiculous

His clean sheet was not exactly of his doing. His sucking out any momentum is debilitating. His passing, other than the multiple back and forth, was not good.No saves made.

So with nothing to counter, yes a 5 on this occasion. Last match, I think I gave a 7. Maybe 6 but I recall a 7 very recently.

Not sure why you decide to pick on my mark when there are many 'different' anomalies throughout the thread. They are all just people's thoughts at the time of posting. All valid as far as the poster is concerned. All lost in the overall aggregate. If I had put 3 or 10 then it might be worth a response!

[ClaretTony]

His clean sheet was not exactly of his doing. His sucking out any momentum is debilitating. His passing, other than the multiple back and forth, was not good.No saves made.

So with nothing to counter, yes a 5 on this occasion. Last match, I think I gave a 7. Maybe 6 but I recall a 7 very recently.

Not sure why you decide to pick on my mark when there are many 'different' anomalies throughout the thread. They are all just people's thoughts at the time of posting. All valid as far as the poster is concerned. All lost in the overall aggregate. If I had put 3 or 10 then it might be worth a response!

Because he played the way he’s asked to play, he didn’t make a mistake as I can remember and you give him 5.

[Hbclaret007]

Trafford 6 - nothing much to do. Distribution a bit slow and wayward at times.
Roberts 7 - I thought he tried to be positive
Esteve 8 - quality performance, as usual
Egan-Riley 7 - good defensively and getting better with his passing.
Lucas Pires 7 - again, tried to be positive
Cullen 5 - not working for him at the moment. His first thought is always backwards.
Brownhill 5 - see Cullen. Why doesn't he move forward and support Flemming?
Koleosho 5 - is he any better on the left? Another who needs to move forward. Seems to be left midfield?
Anthony 6 - lightweight in the challenge. When he does get the ball in the box, there's no one there.
Sarmiento 7 - I thought he carried the threat, in the second half.
Flemming 5 - Not a striker. Not sure where he can play?

We can't continue to do the same things each week and expect different results. We must play a striker at home.
International break comes at a good time for team and supporters.

[fatboy47]

Flemming 5 - Not a striker. Not sure where he can play?

He's a 10 and a very good one at that. Ask Millwall.

[IanMcL]

Because he played the way he’s asked to play, he didn’t make a mistake as I can remember and you give him 5.

Well just blame the instructions for him getting a 5.
Sucking the momentum out of it all is a crime, when we are trying to up the tempo.