Burnley v Norwich - Player Ratings

[MACCA]

Muric 8 been critical of late so only fair to hand out the praise. Great stop, point winng and sensible distribution,
Vitinho 7
THB 7 good game and some fantastic switches of play
Beyer 8 looks a proper defender
Maatsen 7
Cork 8
Brownhill 7
Gudmundsson 7
Zaroury 8 the boy looks fantastic, he will only get better with his decision making, we need to enjoy him whilst we have him
Tella 7
Rodriguez 7

I think this is only 1 player swap off being our best 11.

It's exciting to thing that 2 of our most expensive buys are yet to feature.
Whilst other teams get injuries, suspensions and subsequently weaker, it's frightening to think we might get stronger with Twine, Churlinov and Westwood to return.
Some fantastic options and depth.

It's turning into a nice ride this

[KRBFC]

Muric 8
Vitinho 7
THB 8
Beyer 8
Maatsen 8
Cork 8
Brownhill 7
JBG 6
Tella 7
Zaroury 8
Rodriguez 7

Think we're a different animal with Maatsen at left back. Thought Roberts did very well, kept the tricky Hernandez quiet, stuck to him like glue.

[the_magic_rat]

Muric 8

Vitinho 7
Harwood-Bellis 7
Beyer 6
Maatsen 7

Gudmundsson 7
Brownhill 7
Cork 8 MOM
Zaroury 8

Tella 6
Rodriguez 7

Benson 7

[ClaretMat]

Muric 8 - chose the right option consistently with his distribution and executed it well. Good save made sure the points were ours.
Vitinho 6 - played well in the first half but thought he struggled against Hernandez.
THB 7 - covered really well when he had to and generally used the ball well.
Beyer 7 - carried the ball out nicely on a number of occasions. Very assured of the ball.
Maatsen 6 - not as involved as in prior games but a solid performance.
Gudmunson 6 - played well and a couple of nice passes across the pitch which helped us open the play up, did really well with the Cantwell chance. Did slow us down at times though.
Brownhill 7 - excellent energy in there and made a lot of tackles. Could have been more assured in front of goal.
Cork 8* - another excellent performance from Jack helping ua control the centre of the park and the game. He will be missed on Saturday
Zaroury 7 - fantastic first half and always looked a threat. His final ball wasn't quite on it last night though unfortunately.
Jay 7 - played well, not at his most threatening but a great penalty.
Tella 6 - his pace is always a threat but one good pass to Zaroury apart he didn't really get going.

Benson 7 - threatening throughout, good play for the penalty but maybe should have scored.

Some.of the football, particularly in the first half was fantastic to watch. We worked the ball into some great positions and with that little more care with the final ball we could have been coming off at half time with a goal or two lead.

A deserved three points but I wasn't at all convinced with the back 3. We seemed too deep and neither of the back 3 (or 5) seemed sure on whom was to challenge for which ball and it lead directly to the Pukki chance. On the whole though a very good night's work.

[Hibsclaret]

Muric 8
Vitinho 7
THB 8
Beyer 8
Maatsen 7
Cork 9
Brownhill 7
JBG 7
Tella 7
Zaroury 9
Rodriguez 7

Controlled the game all night pretty much. The great thing about this team is even when you can give a 7 rating for a player such as Tella there was an incident in the game that shows the quality of this team. There was a ball that Tella nearly got to before their keeper purely because of his instinct, anticipation and pace being 2 steps ahead of anyone else.

[OffTheBar]

Muric 8 what a save
Vitinho 7 not his best, but still good
THB 9 solid as usual, sublime passing
Beyer 8 what a first half, great player
Maatsen 8 instrumental in the goal
Cork 8
Brownhill 7
JBG 7
Zaroury 9 some player this
Tella 7
JRod 8

Benson 8

[Sproggy]

Muric 8
Vitinho 6
Harwood Bellis 8
Beyer 8
Maatsen 7
Cork 7
Brownhill 7
Zaroury 8
Gudmundsson 7
Tella 6
Rodriguez 7

Benson 7
Roberts 6
Dervisoglu 6

[quoonbeatz]

It was the rest which was not so good. Positioning/flapping.

Ian, what ARE you on about? Got any examples of this positioning/flapping?

[andyh]

Muric 8
Vitinho 6
THB 8
Beyer 8
Maatsen 6
Cork 8*
Brownhill 6
Gudmundsson 6
Zaroury 7
Tella 6
Rodriguez 7

Benson 6

Solid all round performance. Shame we didn’t take advantage when we were so on top in the first half.
THB and Beyer are getting better as a unit.

[claretspice]

Ian, what ARE you on about? Got any examples of this positioning/flapping?

There was one somewhat eccentric flap at a corner in injury time, wasn't there, which caused some consternation in our defence. And I thought he might have come and swept up on the occasion that Beyer had to put the after burners on to head back to him and got injured as a result, although that's being extremely pernickety.

Other than that he was pretty much flawless though, and that save late on was top class. Pukki does exactly the same thing next time he's in that position and he'd expect to score 90+% of the time. Stayed tall, didn't go down as Pukki wanted him to, and made himself big enough to claw it away despite Pukki lifting it. Top goalkeeping.

[agreenwood]

Ian, what ARE you on about? Got any examples of this positioning/flapping?

Ian’s bar will always be the GKs on Play For Your Club. They were decent to be fair.

[KlyBfc]

A deserved three points but I wasn't at all convinced with the back 3. We seemed too deep and neither of the back 3 (or 5) seemed sure on whom was to challenge for which ball and it lead directly to the Pukki chance. On the whole though a very good night's work.

I enjoyed the fact VK has reacted to the late goals we’ve conceded and tried something different. He’s stuck with the usual way a few times and we’ve ended up getting caught out anyway, so that was a plus from me. Though I agree the Puki chance was sloppy

[strayclaret]

Muric 8
Vitinho 7
THB 7
Beyer 7
Maatsan 6
Cork 8
Brownhill 7
Gudmundsson 7
Zaroury 8
Tella 6
Rodriguez 7

Benson 7
We used to loose these type of games. Excellent game management at last

[IanMcL]

Ian, what ARE you on about? Got any examples of this positioning/flapping?

Watch a replay and look at his positioning and odd occasion, decision making.

I gave him a 6 not a 3!!!
He had some good stuff too!

[IanMcL]

Worry not Ian, Muric’s high marks are strongly linked to relief that Norwich didn’t nick a result at the end. The reality is that he didn’t have much to do throughout the game but I get the support being shown to him because of the amount of stick he’s had throughout the season

Thanks Elizabeth.

It is not as though I gave him a 3 is it! 6 is a decent mark reflective of his good and not so good work. No one seems to be criticising the 6 for THB or the 5 for Maatson. Even the better only got 7s. Just Zaroury got an 8, largely because he brought lots of joy, in the first half.

I am celebrating. We played well, overall, as a team and the result was fantastic.

[quoonbeatz]

Watch a replay and look at his positioning and odd occasion, decision making.

I gave him a 6 not a 3!!!
He had some good stuff too!

His positioning was fine all night. As was his decision making. Apparently there was one 'flap' which I didn't see as it was at a corner at the other end. Essentially he saved the 3 points, kept another clean sheet and was a big part of us keeping the ball alive and moving Norwich about quickly in the first half. This was a very good performance indeed.

[claretspice]

Interested by this idea Muric didn't have much to do. Whilst possibly fair in the traditional sense, there's two points. The first is that he did what he had to do generally very well (the one flap at the end aside) so it's right to judge him on what he did, not what he didn't have chance to do.

The second is it's not really true when you consider his role in this team. Muric made 39 passes last night, more than 5 of our outfield players. The excellent Zaroury made 24, Rodriguez 16 and Tella just 6. It's not the case that all Muric's passes were easy either - he had plenty of awkward balls to deal with and dealt with them very well. So he was involved in the game, we gave him plenty to do (twice as much as Jay Rod) and he did it well.

[tarkys_ears]

Muric 7
Vitinho 6
THB 7
Beyer 7
Maatsan 6
Cork 7
Brownhill 7
Gudmundsson 7
Zaroury 8*
Tella 6
Rodriguez 6

Benson 7

--

Shame the 2nd half slowed down because if we'd have kept up the pace, I reckon Zaroury would have a 9 or maybe even a 10. The lad was outstanding last night

[Lancasterclaret]

Thanks Elizabeth.

It is not as though I gave him a 3 is it! 6 is a decent mark reflective of his good and not so good work. No one seems to be criticising the 6 for THB or the 5 for Maatson. Even the better only got 7s. Just Zaroury got an 8, largely because he brought lots of joy, in the first half.

I am celebrating. We played well, overall, as a team and the result was fantastic.

Lizzie thinks teams that hold the ball and pass it around getting more tired than the team chasing after it so I'm not sure her support is worth as much as you are giving her here

I think (and I was at the game) that was probably Murics best game for us, because he made the crucial save and his distribution was almost spot on

[tarkys_ears]

I think (and I was at the game) that was probably Murics best game for us, because he made the crucial save and his distribution was almost spot on

That header out in the 2nd half was sublime. He should use it more

[Duffer_]

Muric 8
Vitinho 5
THB 8
Beyer 8
Maatsen 7
Cork 8
Brownhill 7
JBG 6
Zaroury 8
Rodriguez 7
Tella 7

Benson 7

Really pleased to see Dervisoglu look bright when he came on and I fully approved of the Roberts for Vitinho change. I am a Vitinho fan but he wasn't at the races in the second half with some sloppy turnovers.

[IanMcL]

Lizzie thinks teams that hold the ball and pass it around getting more tired than the team chasing after it so I'm not sure her support is worth as much as you are giving her here

I think (and I was at the game) that was probably Murics best game for us, because he made the crucial save and his distribution was almost spot on

For which he got marks.

Elizabeth may be right. We allegedly run 25% more. Tire near the end etc.

[warksclaret]

I think VK's substitutions played a key part to winning the game. Benson on early to replace JBG,with Bensons cross providing the penalty, Taylor helping make three CB's at the back, and Roberts on for a tiring and slightly exposed Vitinho following the introduction of Hernandes by Norwich. I think we could see the three CB,s being played more as part of game management and I think Taylor will be excellent in a back three

[IanMcL]

His positioning was fine all night. As was his decision making. Apparently there was one 'flap' which I didn't see as it was at a corner at the other end. Essentially he saved the 3 points, kept another clean sheet and was a big part of us keeping the ball alive and moving Norwich about quickly in the first half. This was a very good performance indeed.

More than once.

I am not trying to belittle his contribution.

[Elizabeth]

Lizzie thinks teams that hold the ball and pass it around getting more tired than the team chasing after it so I'm not sure her support is worth as much as you are giving her here

I think (and I was at the game) that was probably Murics best game for us, because he made the crucial save and his distribution was almost spot on

What are you talking about ?

[Elizabeth]

Interested by this idea Muric didn't have much to do. Whilst possibly fair in the traditional sense, there's two points. The first is that he did what he had to do generally very well (the one flap at the end aside) so it's right to judge him on what he did, not what he didn't have chance to do.

The second is it's not really true when you consider his role in this team. Muric made 39 passes last night, more than 5 of our outfield players. The excellent Zaroury made 24, Rodriguez 16 and Tella just 6. It's not the case that all Muric's passes were easy either - he had plenty of awkward balls to deal with and dealt with them very well. So he was involved in the game, we gave him plenty to do (twice as much as Jay Rod) and he did it well.

Norwich didn't get in our half in the first half and of the 2 chances they had, Gudmundsson saved one of them.

All this talk of the goalkeeper passing the ball around so much is poppycock

[jen1066]

I enjoyed the fact VK has reacted to the late goals we’ve conceded and tried something different. He’s stuck with the usual way a few times and we’ve ended up getting caught out anyway, so that was a plus from me. Though I agree the Puki chance was sloppy

100%. I said the other week that we needed to shut up shop when we were leading and it's exactly what he did - successfully.

Norwich were always going to come at us for the last 10 minutes, whether we had 3 central defenders or 2 so it made sense to have more men back and just see the game out. I'll do my ratings once I've had a brew, but VVClaret was very much in line with a lot of my thoughts.

[Lancasterclaret]

That header out in the 2nd half was sublime. He should use it more

Ha! I'd forgotten all about that

Yes, it was possibly his best pass of the night

[Elizabeth]

For which he got marks.

Elizabeth may be right. We allegedly run 25% more. Tire near the end etc.

Ignore Lancaster , he is making things up.

[quoonbeatz]

Norwich didn't get in our half in the first half and of the 2 chances they had, Gudmundsson saved one of them.

All this talk of the goalkeeper passing the ball around so much is poppycock

They did get in our half. Our keeper had to come out and clear with his head when they nearly got in and on numerous occasions we were passing the ball in and around our box, more than once almost on the goal line. Muric was a key part of that, he played short and went long at the right times and pretty much always found his man. You can poppycock it all you like, it just shows a lack of understanding in how this team plays.

[ksrclaret]

Muric 8 - excellent display

Vitinho 6 - always a willing ball carrier, but didn't influence the game in an attacking sense and some dodgy moments defensively

Harwood-Bellis 7 - really good in the first half, but in the second half one misplaced pass right into the middle of the pitch and a mix up going for a header to let Pukki in might have been more costly on another day

Beyer 7 - again really good in the first half sweeping up brilliantly, but again a couple of occasions in the second half where he committed too early and Pukki got away

Maatsen 7 - Norwich clearly targeted him up against Sergant as the out ball for them, but he showed really good discipline and defended well generally. An excellent driving run in the second half created the opportunity for us to win the penalty.

Cork 8 - what can you say. Anticipated everything and made it look easy.

Brownhill 7 - dropped back into Cullen's role really well I thought, whilst still getting forward to good effect. Must take more care when in the final third though.

Gudmundsson 6 - our right side didn't really click last night. Worth having on though as his defensive nous kept us from going a goal down early in the second half

Rodriguez 7 - interesting to see him playing the Brownhill "no 10" role last night. He did it fine but was in and out of the game. Plus 1 for his brilliant penalty

Zaroury 8 - seen the word electric used to describe him and I think that's apt. Had Aarons on toast until they changed their shape to double up. Still had some good moments even after that though. Thought he'd curled another beauty into the corner in the first half.

Tella 6 - didn't really come off for him, but still gave Hanley the run around.


Benson 7 - good cameo and played a big part in getting us the penalty.


The sort of game that teams who go up will find a way to win. It's absolutely amazing that we can do that whilst looking so good on the eye.

[Elizabeth]

They did get in our half. Our keeper had to come out and clear with his head when they nearly got in and on numerous occasions we were passing the ball in and around our box, more than once almost on the goal line. Muric was a key part of that, he played short and went long at the right times and pretty much always found his man. You can poppycock it all you like, it just shows a lack of understanding in how this team plays.

Another poster re- inventing the game.

What were you watching last night? The whole of the first half was played in the Norwich half. Don’t kid yourself that sometimes when the ball had to go back to go forward that changed anything.

[quoonbeatz]

Another poster re- inventing the game.

What were you watching last night? The whole of the first half was played in the Norwich half. Don’t kid yourself that sometimes when the ball had to go back to go forward that changed anything.

I was watching the football match at Turf Moor. I was there. We were defending at my end of the ground in the first half and it all happened right in front of me.

To quote you again: "Norwich didn't get in our half in the first half"

One of the first things Muric had to do was race out of his area to head away and they got a corner right at the end of the half. So that's twice. Patently, one of us was watching and it clearly wasnt you.

[Bordeauxclaret]

One of the first things Muric had to do was race out of his area to head away

A very good header that was too. Pinpoint.

[Elizabeth]

Yes, i was there. We were defending at my end of the ground in the first half and it all happened right in front of me.

To quote you again: "Norwich didn't get in our half in the first half"

One of the first things Muric had to do was race out of his area to head away and they got a corner right at the end of the half. So that's twice. Patently, one of us was watching and it clearly 1wasnt you.

You can be as pedantic as you like but it doesn’t change the fact that we were totally in control of that first half and Norwich spent the half running around trying to get the ball from us

[IanMcL]

I was watching the football match at Turf Moor. I was there. We were defending at my end of the ground in the first half and it all happened right in front of me.

To quote you again: "Norwich didn't get in our half in the first half"

One of the first things Muric had to do was race out of his area to head away and they got a corner right at the end of the half. So that's twice. Patently, one of us was watching and it clearly wasnt you.

One swallow does not a summer make!

[Elizabeth]

One swallow does not a summer make!

I’d leave it alone now Ian, some people take everything people say literally when it suits them

[Stayingup]

Muric 8
Vitinho 6
THB 7
Beyer 7
Maatsen 7
Cork 8
Brownhill 7
Gudmundsson 6
Zaroury 8* mom
Tella 7
Rodriguez 8

Benson 7

[jen1066]

Muric - 7: Stopped what looked a nailed-on goal by Pucci and overall looked pretty assured. He still makes me nervous when the opposing forward is chasing him down, but overall I think he looked fine.

Maatsen - 6: A below-par game compared to previous performances

Beyer - 7: Decent defending although I guess the majority of his time was spent keeping possession, especially in the first half. I'm not sure about the minute, but it was in the first half when he did a superb spot of covering on our right. Had he not done it, the Norwich player was away towards our goal. Brilliant bit of anticipation.

THB - 7: Some very good passes to spread the game and stretch Norwich.

Vitinho - 6: Similar to Maarsen, but liked it when he moved out of RB and into midfield, which pushed Norwich back. Average overall.

JBG - 7: He looked a bit too slow in parts, and I kept thinking, "If only Benson was on the field now instead" but that challenge in our penalty area was superb tracking back and not giving up. Almost certainly a goal had he not got there. He would have had a 6, but that challenge deserves the extra mark.

Zaroury - 8: By far our most dangerous player in the first 30-35 minutes, but found it tougher when they doubled up on him - at times, they had 3 on him! First half mark of 9, but 7 second half making it 8. If I'm picky, I think he has to do better with some of the balls in, once he's turned the full back inside out. I also thought we might/should have used him more when Aarons got booked, to get him that second yellow (although I think the referee would have given him about 4 'second chances' before he was close to receiving another yellow).

Cork - 9: Once again, excellent performance and makes it look easy. Certainly one of central midfielders who stands out in this division. I hope Cullen is back for Saturday to go into midfield with Brownhill.

Brownhill - 8: As mentioned above, pressed well.

Tella - 6: Not his best game.

Jay Rod - 7: Has to be an extra mark for his penalty/goal.


I liked the defensive changes of bringing on Taylor and Bastien for Zaoury and Jay with only a few minutes to go. At the end of the day it worked, and I think earlier this season, Norwich would have scraped an equaliser.

[quoonbeatz]

You can be as pedantic as you like

I'm not being pedantic, you're just being wrong.

but it doesn’t change the fact that we were totally in control of that first half and Norwich spent the half running around trying to get the ball from us

Nobody is disputing that fact, least of all me. My point is that our goalkeeper played a significant part in that.

[quoonbeatz]

One swallow does not a summer make!

What relevance does this have? Do you mean one good performance doesn't make a good keeper? Nobody is saying it does, but this thread is about that one performance.

[Lancasterclaret]

Ignore Lancaster , he is making things up.

Just repeating your own words back to you Liz

Don't worry about it though, I'm sure you are absolutely spot on with your analysis this time

[fidelcastro]

What relevance does this have? Do you mean one good performance doesn't make a good keeper? Nobody is saying it does, but this thread is about that one performance.

Don't forget, Ian has form for this. He once had a go at one of our former keepers for not saving a shot... That went wide!

[Ric_C]

Solid display against a reasonably good side. We kept their front 3 pretty quiet in general. Main positives were the increased confidence in the 2 centre backs to use the width by playing raking balls out wide, and on occasion break the lines with forward runs.

I'm not convinced with this taking players off in the last 20 mins. I know it is to rest legs etc, but I'd rather we did this when the game is done and dusted. Once we took Tella and Zaroury off they just bombed forward, and on another day this could have cost us

Muric 8 - Vital save at the end, distribution excellent
Vitinho 6 - a mark down for a few occasions where he got caught in possession
THB 8 - A lot of our play came through him
Beyer 8 - So composed
Maatsen 7 - solid
Cork 9 - Superb
Brownhill 7 - Did the job filling in for Cullen
Gudmundsson 6 - did ok, looked a bit hesitant at times
Zaroury 8 - What a player, just a joy to watch
Tella 7 - Got roughed up a bit by the caveman
Rodriguez 7 - Looked a bit jaded which is understandable

Benson 8 - End product improving. Constant menace when he comes on
Dervisoglu - 7 looked lively

[claretcarrot93]

Watch a replay and look at his positioning and odd occasion, decision making.

I gave him a 6 not a 3!!!
He had some good stuff too!

His Distribution was perfect. He sweeped well, kept a clean sheet and made a match winning save at 1-0. Even Hibclaret and Newcastlecalret score Taylor and Brownhill by performance rather than what they think of said player.

[Elizabeth]

Just repeating your own words back to you Liz

Don't worry about it though, I'm sure you are absolutely spot on with your analysis this time

I think you are confusing me with someone else Lancaster, unless you can quote me to back up what you are saying. Until you can I will maintain you are making things up again.

You would get less criticism if you tried to cut out the smart comments

[Elizabeth]

Nobody is disputing that fact, least of all me. My point is that our goalkeeper played a significant part in that.

Our keeper is improving his distribution of the ball which at times this season has been poor. Last night was his best game of the season in this area of his game. I think it will help him win over those fans who are nervous when he is on the ball, especially if he can consistently repeat it.

Once he gets his footwork and decision making sorted out I think he will become a good goalkeeper, especially with a few more saves like his one save last night

[Superjohnnyfrancis]

Muric 7
Beyer 8
THB 8
Maatsen 7
Vitinho 7

Brownhill 6
Zaroury 7
Cork 8
Benson 7
Gud 6

Jay Rod 6
Tella 7

Devi 7

[IanMcL]

What relevance does this have? Do you mean one good performance doesn't make a good keeper? Nobody is saying it does, but this thread is about that one performance.

The one 1 on 1 save.
Agree it is about this match.

[IanMcL]

Never has a six mark raised so much angst!
7 is just one more!