Norwich v Burnley - Player Ratings

[ClaretTony]

Please leave ratings for all players who have played 20 mins or more.


Scoring is from 3 to 10 as follows:

10 - Out of this World
9 - Excellent
8 - Very Good
7 -Good
6 - Average
5 - Below Par
4 - Poor
3 - Abysmal

[HahaYeah]

Trafford 9
Humphreys 5
Egan Riley 8
Esteve n/a
Pirez 5
Cullen 4
Brownhill 6
Sarmiento 5
Koleosho 6
Anthony 6
Rodriguez 7

Subs:
Egan 7
Laurent 8
Flemming 8
Hannibal 7
Worrall n/a

[burnley007]

Trafford 10
Humphreys 4 not a full back. Ever.
Egan Riley 6
Esteve 6
Pirez 4
Cullen 3
Brownhill 6 +1 for goal
Sarmiento 4
Koleosho 5
Anthony 4
Rodriguez 4 ran around a lot.

Subs:
Egan 6
Laurent 8 better
Flemming 7 1 awesome moment
Hannibal 7 works hard, offers little
Worrall 6

[LincsWoldsClaret]

Trafford 9*
Humphreys 5
Egan Riley 6
Esteve -
Pires 5
Cullen 4
Brownhill 7
Sarmiento 4
Koleosho 7 defensive work was excellent
Anthony 6
Rodriguez 5

Subs:
Egan 7 solid, no nonsense, does simple stuff well
Laurent 8 made a difference
Flemming 8 wonder goal
Hannibal 7

[cockneyclaret]

Trafford 9
Humphreys 5
Egan Riley 8
Esteve n/a
Pires 5
Cullen 5
Brownhill 6
Sarmiento 5
Koleosho 6
Anthony 5
Rodriguez 6

Subs:
Egan 7
Laurent 8
Flemming 7
Hannibal 6
Worrall n/a

[RalphCoatesComb]

Trafford 9 *
Humphreys 6
Egan Riley 7
Esteve 6
Pirez 5
Cullen 5
Brownhill 7
Sarmiento 5
Koleosho 7
Anthony 6
Rodriguez 6

Egan 7
Laurent 8
Flemming 7
Hannibal 7

[Bosscat]

Trafford 9* MotM
Humphreys 6
Egan Riley 8
Esteve ....
Pirez 6
Cullen 6
Brownhill 7
Sarmiento 6
Koleosho 7
Anthony 7
Rodriguez 7

Subs:
Egan 7
Laurent 8
Flemming 8
Hannibal 7

[firebfcfire]

Trafford - 9
Humphreys - 5
Egan Riley - 8
Esteve - N/A
Pires - 4
Cullen - 5
Brownhill - 6
Koloesho - 6 1st half 4 2nd 8 fantastic defensively
Sarmiento - 4
Anthony - 5
Jay Rod - 4

Flemming - 7
Egan - 7
Laurent - 8
Hannibal - 5

[IanMcL]

Trafford 7
Humphreys 6
Egan Riley 8
Esteve n/a
Pires 5
Cullen 5
Brownhill 7
Sarmiento 6
Koleosho 6
Anthony 6
Rodriguez 6

Subs:
Egan 6
Laurent 7
Flemming 7
Hannibal 7
Worrall n/a

[fungus_the_bogeyman]

What a brilliant result that was. I feared the worst when Esteve had to go off but Egan Riley pulled the patchwork defence through a torrid first half. After we weathered that storm, we were by far the better side and full value for all three points. Parker gets a 9 from me for game changing subs.

Trafford 8
Humphreys 5
Pires 6
Esteve na
Egan-Riley 8
Cullen 4
Brownhill 7- game of two halves. Very poor first half but when he was moved forward second half he was excellent.
Sarmiento 5
Koleosho 6
Anthony 5
Rodriguez 5

Egan 6
Laurent 8* - absolutely outstanding when he came on. Gave us energy, drove us forward, won the ball back high up the pitch, tracked back well, almost scored. How does he not start every game?
Flemming 8
Hannibal 7

[RVclaret]

Trafford 9 - stood up to everything
Humphreys 6 - obv not a right back but he’s a good en
Egan-Riley 8 - glad he’s back
Esteve 5 - disappointing injury, hopefully minor, passing off
Pires 5 - not enough from him still
Cullen 6 - battled away
Brownhill 7 - needs to be attacking the box more often
Anthony 6 - weirdly better at left wing back
Sarmiento 6 - wasteful today but hope it’s not a bad injury
Koleosho 6 - better second half
Rodriguez 5 - offered nowt

Laurent 9* - helped change the game, won all his battles
Flemming 7 - worth a pop
Hannibal 8 - added life

Really poor first half. Much better second. Still lacking in real chance creating moments bar the odd one. Brilliant character shown, playing last when everyone else won, 1-0 down and playing poorly, to go and win it.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Trafford 9 - stood up to everything
Humphreys 6 - obv not a right back but he’s a good en
Egan-Riley 8 - glad he’s back
Esteve 5 - disappointing injury, hopefully minor, passing off
Pires 5 - not enough from him still
Cullen 6 - battled away
Brownhill 7 - needs to be attacking the box more often
Anthony 6 - weirdly better at left wing back
Sarmiento 6 - wasteful today but hope it’s not a bad injury
Koleosho 5 - offered nowt
Rodriguez 5 - offered nowt

Laurent 9* - helped change the game
Flemming 7 - worth a pop
Hannibal 8 - added life

[PhiladelphiaChris]

Trafford 9
Humphreys 6
Egan Riley 8
Esteve
Pirez 6
Cullen 7
Brownhill 7
Sarmiento 6
Koleosho 7
Anthony 6
Rodriguez 6

Egan 7
Laurent 9
Flemming 8
Hannibal 7

[warksclaret]

Trafford 8
Humphreys 6
Egan 7
Egan Riley 8
Pires 6
Brownhill 7
Cullen 7
Sarmiento 6
Anthony 6
Rodriguez 5
Flemming 7 (inc 1 for goal)
Laurent 8-game changer
Koleosho 6 (some of his better work was defensive)
Hannibal 7

[ClaretTony]

Trafford 8
Humphreys 5
Egan-Riley 8
Pires 4
Cullen 5
Brownhill 8
Koleosho 6
Sarmiento 6
Anthony 6
Rodriguez 6

Egan 7
Laurent 8
Hannibal 7
Flemming 8

[CrosspoolClarets]

Trafford 8 - MOM. No chance for goal, some wobbly moments
Humphreys 6 - thought he had some wobbles due to being on his wrong side
Egan Riley 7 - a few bad errors early but made up for it in the second half
Esteve 5 - injury so not much chance to impress
Pires 5 - seemed a bit chaotic and showed little quality
Cullen 6 - not his best passing day
Brownhill 7 - extra point for the great goal, presence of mind to take a touch then finish
Sarmiento 4 - was very quiet first half
Koleosho 6 - still struggling to find out how to beat a man, his pass and move is still developing
Anthony 7 - good involvement for the second goal, never hides but not much output
Rodriguez 6 - showed good leadership on a day when it was needed badly

Subs:
Egan 7 - looked solid
Laurent 8 - made a difference, limited but plays his heart out
Flemming 8 - what a finish, and had a few other good moments
Hannibal 7 - his energy and tenacity were important and we looked better for him coming on

Hard to define today. We played the attacking version of Tuesday’s line up, most would have done it the other way around, and it didn’t work against such a lively home team. We all sensed, rightly, that stiffening up the midfield would give us the grip on the game, so we benefitted from Sarmiento’s concussion to do this (no fault of his). Then it was all about whether we would create, and we just did enough.

My sense is that we are tactically reluctant to pile forward, but when we need to we can, we appear to have the grit and resilience to win this league, though are young and raw and thus inconsistent. Everything went against us today, shipping after 1 minute then losing our best defender and best attacker to injury. I see today as a seminal moment. A passing of a test.

p.s. Parker’s best bit of management may turn out to be getting Esteve off so quickly.

[ClaretAL]

Trafford 8
Humphreys 5
Egan-Riley 8
Pires 4
Cullen 5
Brownhill 8
Koleosho 6
Sarmiento 6
Anthony 6
Rodriguez 6

Egan 7
Laurent 8
Hannibal 7
Flemming 8

Identical to what I thought from TV

[Burnley1989]

Trafford 10
Humphreys 4 not a full back. Ever.
Egan Riley 6
Esteve 6
Pirez 4
Cullen 3
Brownhill 6 +1 for goal
Sarmiento 4
Koleosho 5
Anthony 4
Rodriguez 4 ran around a lot.

Subs:
Egan 6
Laurent 8 better
Flemming 7 1 awesome moment
Hannibal 7 works hard, offers little
Worrall 6

Picking on you because i genetally disagree with almost everything you post, but to score Jay a 4.....

[Buxtonclaret]

Trafford 8 ***
Humphreys 5. He's just not a RB
Egan Riley 8
Esteve 7
Pirez 6
Cullen 7
Brownhill 7
Sarmiento 6
Koleosho 6
Anthony 7
Rodriguez 6

Egan 7
Laurent 8
Flemming 7
Hannibal 6

After watching that awful first half, I never saw that win coming.
The changes worked.
Second half, we cut out most of the poor/negative passes. Started to win some second balls.
And we got Norwich worried.

[helmclaret]

Trafford 8
Humphreys 5
Egan-Riley 8
Pires 5
Cullen 5
Brownhill 8
Koleosho 6
Sarmiento 6
Anthony 7
Rodriguez 6

Egan 7
Laurent 8
Hannibal 7
Flemming 8

[DAVETHEVICAR]

From TV

Trafford 9

Humphreys 5
Egan Riley. 8
Pires. 4

Cullen 4
Brownhill. 8
Koleosho. 5

Sarmiento. 6
Anthony. 6
Rodriguez. 6

Egan. 7
Laurent. 8
Flemming. 8
Hannibal. 7

Great comeback to get all 3 points
UTC

[ClaretTony]

Trafford 8 ***
Humphreys 5. He's just not a RB
Egan Riley 8
Esteve 7
Pirez 6
Cullen 7
Brownhill 7
Sarmiento 6
Koleosho 6
Anthony 7
Rodriguez 6

Egan 7
Laurent 8
Flemming 7
Hannibal 6

After watching that awful first half, I never saw that win coming.
The changes worked.
Second half, we cut out most of the poor/negative passes. Started to win some second balls.
And we got Norwich worried.

Just thought the tide had started to turn in the last ten minutes of the first half but that second half was a level above.

[CoolClaret]

Trafford 9*
Humphreys 5
Pires 6
Egan-Riley 8
Cullen 4
Brownhill 8
Sarmiento 5
Koleosho 6
Anthony 5
Rodriguez 5

Egan 7
Laurent 8
Flemming 8
Hannibal 7

[Buxtonclaret]

Just thought the tide had started to turn in the last ten minutes of the first half but that second half was a level above.

It was a strange, strange game.
We won it with two excellent strikes.
There was just so much really poor stuff in that first half. A lot of it was basic football we didnt/couldn't do.
But the second half and result will make that long trek home worth it.

[JohnMac]

Trafford 8 Some awful kicking creates pressure but his saves outweighed the bad.
Humphreys 6 Hard job trying to control Sainz
Egan Riley 8 Marshalled a creaky defence first half
Esteve - Hope it's nothing too serious
Pires 6 Not at the races to start but improved
Cullen 7 His 10/10 block tackle was a catalyst for our fightback
Brownhill 8 Tried to link the play in a torrid first half. His goal was superb, needs to be in and around the box.
Sarmiento 6 Never had much of the ball today.
Koleosho 7 Grew into the game, a higher tempo suits him better.
Anthony 6 Frustrating at times but stuck at it.
Rodriguez 5 A fans favourite but needs to be dropped.

Egan 7 Good and solid when he came on
Laurent 9 Absolutely changed the game, winning the ball and driving forward
Flemming 8 Best strike of a ball since Brownhill at Millwall?
Hannibal 7 Put himself about and unsettled their defence.

The first half was terrible, passing way off the mark and too slow and ponderous.

Once Josh Laurent came on it clicked and we fully deserved the win imo.

[Dodobdobodobo]

Trafford 7 *
Humphreys 6
Egan Riley 7
Esteve n/a
Pires 6
Cullen 6
Brownhill 7
Sarmiento 6
Koleosho 7
Anthony 6
Rodriguez 6

Subs:
Egan 6
Laurent 7
Flemming 7
Hannibal 6
Worrall n/a

[Leisure]

Picking on you because i genetally disagree with almost everything you post, but to score Jay a 4.....

and Cullen a 3(abysmal)!!!

[Im_not_Robbie_Blake]

Trafford 8 Great saves, awful kicking
Humphreys 6
Egan Riley 7
Esteve n/a
Pirez 6
Cullen 5
Brownhill 8
Sarmiento 6
Koleosho 7
Anthony 6
Rodriguez 6

Subs:
Egan 7
Laurent 7
Flemming 7
Hannibal 7
Worrall n/a

[Cirrus_Minor]

Trafford 9
Humpheys 6
Egan-Rily 7
Estéve n/a
Pires 5
Cullen 7
Brownhill 8
Sarmiento 6
Koleosho 6
Anthony 5
Rodriguez 5

Egan 6
Laurent 7
Flemming 7
Hanibal 6

[Burnley1989]

and Cullen a 3(abysmal)!!!

Just seen his Trafford 10, obvious its an oposition fan on the wind up. Ive got him blocked on my laptop

[Indecisive]

Scores definitely improved by that second half…

Trafford 8*
Humphries 6 (probably being slightly kind for him being out of position
Esteve
Egan Riley 7
Pires 5
Cullen 5 (maybe slightly harsh but first half particularly was poor for him)
Brownhill 7 like the rest poor first, much better second and great goal
Sarmiento 6
Koleosho 7 - given real stick on here but I thought he really put a shift in, particularly second half
Anthony 6 - on balance, pretty average
Jay 6 - works hard and clearly cares

Flemming 8- extra mark for that absolute rocket
Laurent 8 - really improved things and is appearing to me like we got a steal with him
Egan 6- solid enough. Esteve is big shoes to step into.


For what it’s worth I get there’s some frustrated genuine fans on here, and to them I would say, that second half surely feels significant when viewing Parker as a manager? To turnaround a performance in that way suggests two things to me…. A/ we have a manager who those players want to play for and b/ we have a manager who can make significant changes and have a real impact on a game.

[THEWELLERNUT70]

Trafford 8*
Humphreys 5
Egan-Riley 8
Pires 5
Cullen 5
Brownhill 8
Koleosho 6
Sarmiento 6
Anthony 6
Rodriguez 6

Egan 8
Laurent 8
Hannibal 7
Flemming 8

[Luppy]

Trafford - 9* - Excellent

Humphreys - 4 - poor
Egan-Riley - 8 - after a shaky start, good game
Eateve - hope the injury is minor
Pires - 4 - poor

Anthony - 6 - poor first half, improved. Can we take a corner that misses the first man, please….
Cullen - 5 - a strange one. Not at his best but some key interceptions
Brownhill - 8 - his second half performance was his best in a very long time, and a super finish
Sarmiento - 6 - looked the most likely, hope the injury was a precaution
Koleosho - 4 - a woeful first half, improved to some extent second, kept going but looks devoid of all confidence to me

Jay - 5 - worked tirelessly

Egan - 7 - a really good game
Laurent - 9 - for me, he changed the game, again. Outstanding
Flemming - 7 - got to give him his due, that’s some strike
Hannibal - 7 - thought he did well when he came on

Let’s give Parker some credit. The changes made all the difference.

We are very much an away team. First half we were dreadful, but at no point did I think we were out of the game. There really is nothing to fear in this division

[maidenover]

Trafford 9 MoM
Humphreys 6 includes +1 for. Playing out of position.
Egan Riley 7
Esteve 7
Pires 6
Cullen 7
Brownhill 7
Sarmiento 6
Koleosho 7
Anthony 6
Rodriguez 6

Egan 7
Laurent 8
Flemming 7
Hannibal 7

[TsarBomba]

Trafford- 8
Humphreys- 6. Not a right back but stuck to his task.
Egan- 7
Egan-Riley- 8. immense. Proper leader.
Pires- 5
Cullen- 7. Back to his best in that second half
Brownhill- 7. See Cullen.
Sarmiento- 5.
Anthony- 4. Infuriating.
Koleosho- 6.
J-Rod- 6

Laurent- 8. Excellent and provides much needed energy.
Hannibal- 7. As above.
Flemming- 8. Deserves his goal

We continue to be hamstrung by our wide players going missing. Criticism of Koleosho may be a little harsh. At least he tries and he’s still young. Anthony needs dropping.

Parker wants control in the middle, which is fine, but it means we need the flair and creativity to come from out wide, including from full back. At present, those are our weakest positions. Luckily the strength of our spine is seeing us through.

[ksrclaret]

Trafford 9 - his saves allowed us to go and win it.

Humphreys 5 - really struggled at RB

Egan-Riley 7 - thought he looked uncharacteristically sloppy on the ball at times but defended well

Pires 5 - really poor performance

Cullen 7 - strange one to mark because he was another who uncharacteristically sloppy on the ball at times, but was influential as we went on to win

Brownhill 7 - anonymous first half which is unacceptable from the captain when we’re struggling. Much better in the second half and credit to Parker for moving him forwards and not Laurent. Add one for a great finish.

Anthony 5 - desperately poor first half but contributed more from LB

Sarmiento 6 - tried his best but didn’t have an influence

Koleosho 5 - way, way out of form

Rodriguez 6 - he was the only leader on the pitch in the first half, but struggled to impose himself


Egan 7 - solid when he came on

Laurent 9 - was dreading him coming on and playing as an 8/10 but he was excellent alongside Cullen, massive influence

Flemming 7 - it’s not rocket science. The lad is a good player if played his actual position. Hell of a goal.

Hannibal 7 - added energy and drive. Even put a cross in for our winner.


Very, very strange team. As bad as we’ve been all season in the first half, better in the second half and then very good after Flemming broke the net. I just find us such a disjointed watch with so many players out of position each game. As I’ve said many times though, im thankful to Parker for giving us a team with character and who give their all for the shirt again.

[MeeActon1]

Trafford 9
Humphreys 7
Egan Riley 8
Esteve -
Pires 7
Cullen 6
Brownhill 7
Sarmiento 7
Koleosho 7
Anthony 6
Rodriguez 3

Egan 7
Laurent 8
Flemming 7
Hannibal 7

[jdrobbo]

Trafford 8
Humphreys 6
Egan-Riley 8
Pires 5
Cullen 5
Brownhill 8
Koleosho 7
Sarmiento 6
Anthony 6
Rodriguez 5

Egan 7
Laurent 8
Hannibal 8
Flemming 8

[KlyBfc]

Trafford 8 mom
Humphreys 6 (not great going forward but did well defensively in the main agaisnt their main goal scorer)
Pires 5
Esteve 5 ( was he ill? Not himself then pulled up)
CJ 8
Cullen 5 (was he ill? He was as not himself at all but kept going)
Brownhill 7
Sarmiento 5
Anthony 6
Koleosho 6
Jay 4

Laurent 8
Egan 7
Hannibal 7
Flemming 8

[Wokingclaret]

From Now TV

Trafford 9 - MOM. Some great saves
Humphreys 6 - struggled at RB in the 1st half
Egan Riley 8 - Never looked back after that back pass
Esteve 5 - injured, hope he is not out long
Pires 6 - at least he gets down the wing
Cullen 6 - bit slow today, but kept going
Brownhill 7 - great finish
Sarmiento 6 - landed on the back of his head so pleased he got up.
Koleosho 6 - he worked hard tracking back
Anthony 7 - no matter when it doesn't work he has another go repeat repeat and then assisted Brownhill
Rodriguez 6 - 1st half was annoyed with his colleagues and let them know

Subs:
Egan 7 - pleased to say he looked solid
Laurent 8 - made a difference, agree plays his heart out
Flemming 8 - Great strike, more please
Hannibal 7 - gave us legs

[Bordeauxclaret]

Trafford 7
Humphreys 6
Egan-Riley 8
Pires 5
Cullen 5
Brownhill 8
Koleosho 6
Sarmiento 6
Anthony 6
Rodriguez 5

Egan 7
Laurent 8
Hannibal 8
Flemming 8

A win that was down to the changes the manager made.

[BabylonClaret]

Sloppy start to concede early (and the Canaries kept causing problems on corners -they had doen their homework) and although we reacted fairly well for 5 mins or so we struggled to impose against a lively side. They made us look really average first half and unless we can get more penetration we will be playoffs more likely.

Good 2nd half performance e that lifted a few 4s to 6s. Good subs from Parker. Sadly Jay just doesn't have the legs to be effective any more.

Bit panicky in the bizarre lengthy extra period but we saw ut out

Trafford 8 - kept us in it - platform for success
Hmphries 6 - not a RB and it showed but stuck at it
CJ - 6 some shaky moments
Esteve na - not on long enough but shaky
Pires 5 - struggles defensively and not enough going forward to compensate
Cullen 7 - steady
Brownhill 7 - terrible 1st half, much better 2nd half and a crucial goal
Anthony 6 - hard to remember he was playing at times first half but much better 2nd
Sarmiento 6 - flashes and a shame he took.that knock - really poor challenge from Doyle
Koleosho 6 - awful 1st half better second.
Jayrod 4 - past it sadly and really should be doing better on the goal
Laurent 6 - did well early doors and got is on the front foot but just lacks that finesse

Egan - 6 solid enough
Flemming 7 - what a strike
Hannibal 6 - did well

[JarrowClaret]

Trafford 9 - stood up to everything
Humphreys 6 - obv not a right back but he’s a good en
Egan-Riley 8 - glad he’s back
Esteve 5 - disappointing injury, hopefully minor, passing off
Pires 5 - not enough from him still
Cullen 6 - battled away
Brownhill 7 - needs to be attacking the box more often
Anthony 6 - weirdly better at left wing back
Sarmiento 6 - wasteful today but hope it’s not a bad injury
Koleosho 5 - offered nowt
Rodriguez 5 - offered nowt

Laurent 9* - helped change the game
Flemming 7 - worth a pop
Hannibal 8 - added life

Was this lazyness or are you and RV the same person?

[Hipper]

From Live TV.

Trafford - 7 - Solid performance with some good saves, particularly the ‘Trafford Vs Norwich Attack’ series of three or four stops. Long kicking poor as usual. Docked a point for yet another stupid yellow card.

Humphries - 6 - One moment he’s good, next he’s poor. He controls the ball well, then sloppily. Overall though not too bad in defending and attacking.

Egan-Riley - 6 - Very sloppy early on then got a bit better.

Esteve - not on long enough but what a surprisingly poor performance. Was he injured from the start? Hardly won a header, sloppy short passing.

Pires - 5 - Defending weak, attacking uninspired, corners dreadful.

Cullen - 8 - Was everywhere and tried to get us going but it was mostly an uphill task.

Brownhill - 8 - One extra for the goal. Worked hard all over the pitch.

Sarmiento - 6 - Reasonable effort but it’s difficult for him the way we are set up.

Anthony - 6 - Did what he could within his limitations. Some good crosses but poor corners. The most effective of our attackers which doesn’t say much. A bit better then Pires defending.

Rodriguez - 5 - Offered nothing but little supply either.

Koleosho - 5 - As usual works hard but ineffective.

Subs:

Egan - 7 - Solid display. Had a steadying influence on our defence which was very necessary after our shockingly bad start.

Laurent - 7 - Had an immediate positive effect by pushing us forward and linking play well.

Flemming - 8 - MoM - He gets high marks, not for his own performance which was modest, but because his super goal lifted us and caused the team to up their game and win the match.

Hannibal - 4 - Spent a lot of time on the deck and as he couldn’t find someone to fight with during the match it seems he decided to have a go after it finished. He did actually make a bit of effort pressing high up the pitch and put in the cross for Brownhill’s goal but………..


What a peculiar match. How the hell did we win that!

We were diabolically bad for the first 14 minutes. Surely this lot can’t be the best defence in The Championship? Then after Egan replaced the poor Esteve we slowly improved - a bit. Once Norwich took the lead they slowed the game down and presumably assumed that we were unlikely to create a scoring chance. They weren’t far off in their calculations although we did have three shots - straight at their goalkeeper.

The second half didn’t start especially well either until Sarmiento was replaced by Laurent. There seemed to be a bit of an uplift to our energy caused by Laurent driving us forward but not much in the way of good chances. Trafford somehow kept us in the game with a series of saves from one attack, then Flemming replaced Rodriguez and we immediately got a free kick. What was Flemming doing chatting to Cullen so far out from goal? Surely he should be nearer the likely action. Then we found out what he was doing! What a beauty out of nothing, something that never looked likely from us. This lifted everyone (except Hannibal who seemed almost permanently stuck to the ground!) and eight minutes later Brownhill got the winner. A bit of defending, sometimes a bit chaotic, and we had won. What a surprising outcome after that dreadful start and generally poor show.

I didn’t realise how good this win is. Apparently it’s only Norwich’s second home defeat in 25 games (that was Bristol, City on the 9th November). To be frank though I was not too impressed with them.

[Anonymous Claret]

From TV. I always find it difficult to give accurate marks when some players were very poor in the first half but excellent in the second. Anyway, here goes.

Trafford 8

Humphreys 6
Egan-Riley 7
Esteve 5
Pires 4

Cullen 5
Brownhill 7
Sarmiento 5

Koleosho 6
Rodriguez 5
Anthony 6

Egan 6
Laurent 8
Flemming 8
Hannibal 6

[bfcjg]

Trafford 8 solid but occasional wayward kicking
Humphreys 5 struggled ,sloppy in possession.
Egan-Riley 8 plays with such maturity
Pires 4
Cullen 5 poor by his high standards, wasteful
Brownhill 8 great goal and second half
Koleosho 7 just needs better delivery.
Sarmiento 5 hope he's OK.
Anthony 6
Rodriguez 6 fed on scraps again but never gave up.

Egan 8 superb stand in
Laurent 9 mom made a hell of a difference MOM
Hannibal 7 did what he does best.
Flemming 8 what a shot.

[quoonbeatz]

An absolute clown show of a start and the team seemed shell shocked by it, unable to get any hold on the game. Injuries to Estève and Sarmiento disrupted things further but we were at least getting back into the swing when the latter went off. Laurent was superb when he came on and enabled Brownhill to push further forward where he’s more effective.

When Flemming’s thriker arrived it had been coming and we were the better side from then on.

Trafford 9 some very good saves, including the one he had to sprint back for

Humphreys 5 RB? R no

Egan-Riley 7 good to have him back, drove us forward

Pires 4 nah

Cullen 6 awful for about an hour, then had a lot more influence

Brownhill 8 one of the few to have a passable first half, but immense in the second and his goal was a difficult finish made to look easy

Koleosho 5 a lot of good defensive work, awful going forward

Sarmiento 6 hopefully not to many after effects but he hadn’t really made an impact anyway today

Anthony 6 his best spell of the game was at left back

Rodriguez 6 dragged the team through that first half

Egan 7 solid

Laurent 8 changed the game, needs to work on his finishing and he’ll add a few goals to his game

Hannibal 5 some useful football and some dumbass injury faking

Flemming 8 foot like a traction engine

Excellent win this.

[Tricky Trevor]

Trafford…….8
Humphreys…5. Never a RB.
Egan Riley….7
Esteve……….6
Pirez………….6
Cullen……….5. Poorest display of the season.
Brownhill……7
Sarmiento….6
Koleosho…..6. 5 first half and 7 second yet again.
Anthony…….6
Rodriguez….6

Egan…………6
Laurent…….7
Flemming….7
Hannibal…..6. I wish he’d spend more time on his game and less getting involved in nothings.

[claretspice]

A huge win in the end against a team who are very good at home - but a puzzling afternoon in many respects.

Trafford - 8 - possibly a little slow to react to the goal, and for my money out of position for Egan Riley's backpass (he should have been pretty well on the line of the pass, not 15 yards further left) but thereafter very good indeed, both under pressure from set pieces and in making saves.

Humphreys - 5 - thought he really struggled this afternoon, albeit against a very touch opponent. Improved in the second half as they all did, but clearly not a right back and we're going to need a better answer in that role.

Pires - 6 - A couple of loose passes in the first half, but generally used the ball better than most of his team mates and I find ratings that are lower than Humphreys really confusing. Set pieces disappointing by the high standards he's set himself.

Egan Riley - 9 - An absolutely superb afternoon's work and this victory was all about his tenacity and quality in the first half. Used the ball calmly and effectively throughout.

Esteve - hopefully he's not seriously injured.

Cullen - 7 - Overrun in the first half and forced into errors, but far improved when he got real help after the break.

Brownhill 8 - Also overrun in the first half, but took his goal terrifically well and others in the team could learn from his willingness to pull the trigger first and ask questions later. Also deserves credit for having the presence of mind to block the only plausible blocker for Flemmings goal, which probably created the opportunity. Integral to our greater intensity in the press in the second half along with the substitutes.

Sarmiento - 4 - just not a feature in the game, unable to apply any intensity to press Norwich's play from deep, and found it hard to get on the ball.

Koleosho - 6 - worked tremendously hard and showed some glimpses of quality but his confidence is down and you could see that on the couple of occasions he had chances to get crosses away.

Anthony - 5 - his form has taken a worry dip after a period in which he promised to make that right wing position his own. More effective as a left back than a winger and is indicative of how tentative he was on the ball in the final third (although one super cross at the end of the first half deserved a near post runner that was nowhere to be seen). Another who didn't press aggressively enough.

Rodriguez - 5 - struggled to get into the game in the first half and, as per others, to press Norwich effectively. Better after the break and linked nicely for a spell, so that it was a bit of a surprise he came off when he did - but the end justified the means. Slow out of the blocks for their goal and that allowed the free header.

Egan - 8 - thought he had a really good game when he came on and the team owed a debt to him and Egan Riley at half time.

Laurent - 7 - his passing and quality on the ball was more hit than miss, but he injected intensity, althleticism and energy into our midfield performance and transformed our ability to press Norwich. Should have started for that reason.

Flemming - 7 - once again, his general play as a striker did not convince but he put himself about, and the equaliser was a thing of beauty.

Hannibal - 7 - came on in an unexpected position and did well - the idea of him as a right wing back, or even a right back in games when we need an alternative to Roberts who can contribute going forwards, seems quite plausible on this evidence. His ball in that instigated the second goal was whipped in with pace and it created the opportunity as a result.


Well, in the end this is a fine win. This isn't a Burnley team that convinces on paper or on the pitch, and it doesn't look especially well balanced or particularly well coached, but the one thing it does look to have is a real resilience and spirit and that if you have enough individual quality that can carry you a good part of the way in this league. Promotion will depend on adding more balance and cohesion but it remains a decent base to work from.

But a good result and a glow of team spirit, even at such a difficult place to win as Carrow Road this season, shouldn't mask the concerns that today raised. The decision to play Laurent in a midfield 3 with Brownhill on Tuesday in a game when we were always going to dominate the ball and be asked to open up a stubborn defence, but not today when it was always likely that we would need to be at our best without the ball to force mistakes when pressing and to counter attack at pace, seems to defy logic, and it was only when injury forced a correction to that that we began to impose ourselves on an attractive but ultimately soft Norwich team. As a result, the midfield was overwhelmed in the first half as Norwich pressed us better than we pressed them and opened us up too easily too often. The absence of a credible alternative right back to Roberts was again exposed as Humphreys really struggled, and the change to a back 3 felt like a mercy to both Humphreys and also Anthony, who worked hard throughout but desperately lacked quality as a right winger.

In the end two moments of real quality won it, but they were our only two clear chances, and really this win owed everything to the resilience of the Trafford, the Egans and Riley at the back. They didn't score, but without them, we'd have been sunk well before those moments of quality turned the game on its head.

[dougcollins]

How did RVClaret and Newcastleclaret93 make identical postings?

Has anyone ever seen both of them in the same place?