Caught the eye of the Radio Newcastle commentators. Was their man of the match - another plus for the Clarets.

An enigma! One minute like Roberto Carlos the next like John Francis!!!

First ten minutes he brought the ball down majestically. A superb first touch.

After that his touch was awful!

As above. Spells of Premier League then spells of National league.

Superb tonite. Absolutely superb. Some excellent balls into danger areas, and great cross for vokes.

Played really well for the whole game.

The cross he put in for Vokes' goal was good, but his general play is so, so bad. His touch and passing is comparable to a bog-standard 5 a side player.

Can only agree on Derek ,shows great skill one minute only to deliver a comedy ball the next,he had a decent game though and shows what strength we have in depth

He played very well.

Thought he had an extremely good game. A real thorn in Sunderlands side. Did very little wrong in my opinion.

Amazed that anyone who was there tonight could be so critical.

Great cross to vokes though ,but some poor balls first half,Lowton is far more complete

A real raw talent. His pace gets him out of trouble many times. If we are behind with 10 mins to go I'd have on on for Lowton.

CT must be gutted and it will kill him to have to give him more than a 6 in the ratings

Some are never happy.utc

Not being critical just think his control at times lets him down!

To say that was his second 1st team game in 12 months, I thought he was superb. Always looking to overlap, take on their fullback and get crosses in. Did he make the odd mistake? Of course he did, but never once did he hide and he provided entertainment.

He's good going forward but we've always known that, agree with the comment of his Sunday league passing and his defending can be very inconsistent. He was ok tonight but wouldn't like him playing any stronger opposition

Incredible that he's pulled apart for tonites performance.

I think the mackems had one chance at goal, and it didn't come thru darikwa.

Only tarka, Keane hendrick and poss defour played better than him tonite.

Maybe lowton is slightly better defensively, but going forward? Not even close. Boyd was the weak link on that flank tonite, not darikwa.

Not sure what the comments about his touch are all about. Thought his touch was very good tonight. A number of times a long ball was knocked out wide and he controlled it fine. He knocked a few good crosses into the box as well as the one for the goal. He did look a little unsure at times and give the ball away a little cheaply a few times but overall an excellent performance. Offers something different with his pace. Not as solid as Lowton defensively or as good an all round player but a far more effective attacking threat.

Personally think Lowton is a better full back out of the two as obviously does Dyche. Do like Darikwas pace though.

He had a good game tonight.

He is not, nor will ever be, good enough to be our long term right back in the premier league.

All of the above is true.

He was brilliant tonight. Good touch, good in the tackle, quick back and forth and above all an outstanding cross for the first goal.

There was one time where he tried to link up with Boyd and his pass went wayward, but it was Boyds lack of awareness that let the pass down rather than a poor ball. This was acknowledged by Joey who could clearly be heard to shout to Darikwa to keep it up.

Massive fan of Lowton. Had he or Flannagan put in that performance though they would get a 9 today on the ratings.

Datikwa has pace, decent touch and fantastic delivery into the box. Looks like a potential answer to our winger problems to me. Play him in front of Lowton rather than instead of...

His touch and control were very good. He had a very positive game. The point above about the pass to Boyd is correct.

He always looks like he has a mistake in him which is why I don't think he will endear himself to many. I personally think he's a decent young player, but I'd like to see him out on loan to a championship club.

Hopefully some game time at a decent level will help him settle, in some aspects he looks like a very good footballer, but in some he looks very niave. He needs to start playing games soon though as he's a crucial age in his development. If he's not given game time somewhere I could easily see him dropping two leagues.

bobinho wrote:Incredible that he's pulled apart for tonites performance.

I think the mackems had one chance at goal, and it didn't come thru darikwa.

Only tarka, Keane hendrick and poss defour played better than him tonite.

Maybe lowton is slightly better defensively, but going forward? Not even close. Boyd was the weak link on that flank tonite, not darikwa.

Lowton is way better than tendy regarding end product and defensively he does have those awful Bikey-moments. However, tonight he played well and was better than he was (final ball wise) then at the SoL. Good performance.

Not sure where you're going with Boyd there though. he was outstanding again. The whole midfield was totally dominant

If you are so critical of Darikwa, what are your opinions of Kightly tonight?

Who me? I just said he played well.

As said above Lowton is more complete but it's loads more exciting seeing Darikwa meeting the ball down the right. Wildcard, would be nice to see more of him.

Really can't understand how anyone can think that he is better going forward than Lowton. I think Darikwa had just one assist last season, having played for nearly half the season. His crossing and eye for picking a pass are the biggest weakness in his game, and I sometimes wonder if this is why he converted from winger to full-back? (Maybe he just wasn't delivering???)
By contrast Lowton is nearly always good on the ball and links up well.
I actually thought Darikwa had a decent game tonight, but having got into many good positions he really only put one good ball into the box, which Vokes duly stuck in the net.
Defensively he is all over the place, but his pace usually gets him out of trouble.
Comments like "more exciting" than Lowton, "wildcard" and "provided entertainment" definitely sum him up, but personally I'd rather have the more solid and intelligent Lowton approach. Don't think my nerves could stand 90 minutes of Darikwa's defending against decent PL opposition.

Rodleydave wrote:If you are so critical of Darikwa, what are your opinions of Kightly tonight?

Can't see how that is remotely relevant to a thread which has an interesting divergence of views about Darikwa's ability, and specifically his performance last night.
FWIW, I thought that Kightly again failed to take the opportunity to either push for a regular starting place, or put himself in the "shop window".

nil_desperandum wrote:Can't see how that is remotely relevant to a thread which has an interesting divergence of views about Darikwa's ability, and specifically his performance last night.
FWIW, I thought that Kightly again failed to take the opportunity to either push for a regular starting place, or put himself in the "shop window".

Thought Darikwa was very good tonight and has given the manager a pleasant selection problem.

I think that Kightly may have found himself in Poundland's shop window.

Goes past a man with ease just needs to take the ball with him more often

My new favourite player

Played well and put a good ball in for the goal. However positionally he is all over the place.

I also had a text during the game saying he should be in front of Lowton. Not in opinion

If you could blend Lowton, Tripps and Darikwa in some sort of weird machine you would have the worlds greatest rightback

Darikwa can run really, really fast, he can sometimes dribble, and sometimes pass.

Defensively he doesn't tackle, lots of modern fullbacks don't, and when he does try he generally gives a free kick away.

His positioning at times looks like a 10 year old playing with team of adults.

Naïve at times but always fun to watch unless he is tripping over the ball on the edge of his own box.

As an option I would have him on the bench... as with 10 mins to go he is a plausible plan B or C or D.

What we are short of in my opinion. A player that can actually take on an opponent and quite often go past them with ease. His cross for the goal was superb, he also put in a number of other decent crosses into danger areas, but unfortunately we didn't always anticipate and get into the box quick enough.

He linked up well with Boyd and didn't make any real defensive mistakes.

Anyone that thinks he didn't have a very good game are blinkered.

I'd be very surprised if SD wasn't delighted with his performance last night.

As most posters have said, you can't really criticise his performance tonight. He was solid enough, gave his all and he did make a goal.

Personally, I always encourage TD and praise the things he does well but in truth I am never that comfortable when he is playing. His touch is average at best and his positional sense and decision making (i.e. whether to make a challenge/back off etc) at times is pretty poor. That's probably because he isn't a natural defender - he has only recently converted so he missed out on all the coaching to play this position that he would have received growing up through the years. And his short-comings are greater exposed at a higher level.

I thought he did well overall - albeit not a perfect performance by any means.

Consider, he's not playing competitively regularly and probably requires a few matches to get that sharpness back.

Is he better/worse than Lowton, I probably would say they both could perform certain aspects of their role better and has been saidalready, TD does look like he has a mistake in him.

What really surprises me about this full back debate is how the scouser on the other side of the pitch doesnt have a thread dedicated to him. He seemed to get caught a few times last night with relatively no pressure on him.

Overall the defence had a relatively quiet night, the CBs performed magnificently in terms of getting the blocks in, playing the ball and distributing well with their passes. It was good to see the team win and keep a clean sheet. That to me shows that none of them did too much wrong last night.

Steve-Harpers-perm wrote:An enigma! One minute like Roberto Carlos the next like John Francis!!!

Nowt wrong with being like John Francis!

I was sat 4 seats away from someone I could swear was John Francis or his double at the Southampton match. It was difficult because actually he looked like he'd eaten John Francis.

Walton wrote:The cross he put in for Vokes' goal was good, but his general play is so, so bad. His touch and passing is comparable to a bog-standard 5 a side player.

He was like that at Sunderland in the first game. A lot of good things but his distribution was woeful. Brilliant cross for the goal but again far too often giving it away with poor passing.

He would of got you double figure points in the fantasy league last night so can't of been too bad.

Exactly CT. If lowton had played at Sunderland I think we'd have won because the final delivery would have been better - which was my point. I thought his delivery was better last night but anyone who thinks he's better than lowton going forward is not watching properly - even on last night.

I do like him though - but I think he needs regular competitive games to improve the thinking and decision making part of his game - as that improves he'll be a good player.

I was hoping that the squad members would all seize their chance to show what they could do, Darikwa looked reasonably comfortable against what was overall poor opposition. I would say he had a better performance than Kightly who failed to 'spark' and Darikwa could well have had a greater impact if he had only got his crosses into the box a bit quicker, rather than carry the ball too far and end up with no cross at all. Good to see Tarkowski show that he is fully competent and can fit into our first team when he is needed.

I just want to see what he can do on the wing instead of RB

ten bellies wrote:Nowt wrong with being like John Francis!

Oddly enough, John Francis does look like he currently has ten bellies!

Firstly, it's great to have a fullback as good as Darikwa is reserve at Burnley.

Darikwa reminds me a little of a much better Mo Camara. He lacks concentration and consistency but his speed, athleticism and ability on the ball make him look like a natural footballer when he is playing well. If he can work on his final ball, tidy up his defensive work and cut out the inconsistency he could be a regular Premier League player.

Lot's for him to work on but he is already a very, very accomplished player.

He's always struck me as a player who would do well in a 352 system - akin to the type of side martinez had at wigan in terms of quality. He has the pace and athleticism to get up and down, and he's slightly further up the pitch where he'd have a bit more cover from the right sided cb. As he is, it's difficult to see SD trusting him enough in our preferred system in a back 4, against a seasoned premiership side. There's time for him to develop, but with a gun to my head I'd guess he's destined for a decent championship side.

I haven't seen anything from him to suggest he shouldn't be the first name on the team sheet.

Those things must be the same ones sean dyche has seen.

so two observations from me.

Consider Danny Rose a few years back. He was very similar to Darikwa, and now look at him

Secondly, if we're talking about Darikwa individually in terms of crosses/final pass, we tend, as a team, to be around 60-70% completion rate. As a team we give the ball away more than most other teams. So I find it harsh to be picking on Darikwa specifically