Middlesbrough 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

[taio]

Trafford 6
Roberts 7
Egan-Riley 7
Esteve 7
Humphreys 6
Cullen 7
Laurent 6
Anthony 7*
Brownhill 6
Hannibal 6
Flemming 5

Sarmiento 5

Decent result

[HahaYeah]

Trafford 6
Roberts 7
Egan Riley 8
Esteve 7
Humphreys 6
Cullen 7
Brownhill 7
Laurent 6
Hannibal 6
Anthony 7
Flemming 6

Subs:
Sarmiento 5
Koleosho na
Rodriguez na
Foster na

[IanMcL]

Trafford 6
Roberts 7
Egan Riley 8
Esteve 7
Humphreys 6
Cullen 6
Brownhill 7
Laurent 6
Hannibal 6
Anthony 8
Flemming 5

Subs:
Sarmiento 5
Koleosho na
Rodriguez na
Foster na

[CoolClaret]

Trafford 7
Roberts 7
Egan Riley 8
Esteve 7
Humphreys 7
Cullen 7
Brownhill 7
Laurent 6
Hannibal 6
Anthony 8*
Flemming 6

[FCBurnley]

Trafford 5. Back to poor distribution
Roberts 6
EJR 7
Estève 7
Humphreys 6
Laurent 5
Cullen 7
Brownhill 5. Two bad misses
Hannibal 6
Anthony 8 looked a step up from the rest
Flemming 6

Poor subs gave us nothing. We looked jaded second half

[willsclarets]

Trafford 6 - One moment of madness otherwise fine
Roberts 7 - Created some great space for Anthony
Egan Riley 7 - Worldy of a pass to Anthony
Esteve 6- Uncharacteristically shaky on occasion
Humphreys 7- Dealt with their dangerman very well
Cullen 7 - Not his best game but did his job
Laurent 6 - A tad wasteful
Anthony 8 - All our best work came through him. The chance he created for browny tipped him to an 8
Hannibal 6 - Didn't look after the ball as well as he can
Brownhill 7 - Did a lot right, and deserves a break given how many important goals he's scored
Flemming 6 - Struggled in the 9 which he always does when the opposition sit deep. In those games he needs to be in the 10 or not on the pitch.

[claretspice]

A very good point against a good team, but it could have been more.

Trafford - 7 - got away with a school boy error in the first half and overplayed a couple of other times, but his increasing poise and quality in possession is hugely improving us.

Roberts - 7 - a steady nights work without being at his most convincing best.

Humphreys- 8 - played Doak very well although he wasn't the attacking outlet he managed against Sheffield United, and he had a harder time when Jones came on (and Hannibal went off).

Egan Riley - 8 - terrific in possession and generally good defensively.

Esteve - 8 - tested at times but came through with flying colours.

Cullen - 7 - steady enough without being at his most incisive.

Brownhill- 8 - outstanding tee to green but he has to take one of the two gilt edged chances that fell his way.

Laurent - 6 - did the ugly stuff really well but a bit short on quality in possession.

Hannibal - 7 - some flashes of quality and worked hard without really imposing himself on the game.

Anthony- 8 - a really threatening night's work and should have had at least one assist, although his final ball might have bee better on other occasions.

Flemming - 6 - some neat touches but not able to find space as he did against Sheffield United and Watford, and made a really odd decision to pass when essentially clean through.

Sarmiento- 5 - thought it was a surprise he came on rather than Koleosho to provide a more direct threat, and he didn't work quite as effectively with Humphreys as Hannibal.

We've now kept clean sheets at Leeds, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough, which is hugely impressive, and in truth the difference between this game and the other two was in this game, we didn't take our chances whereas in those games we did. Whilst Boro had moments and carried a threat they didn't create too many clear chances, whilst we had two excellent ones that Brownhill uncharacteristically snatched at.

Perhaps Boro's aggressive press exposed our relative lack of pace in behind - and perhaps either Koleosho or Foster might have added that - and our possession play did get a bit tight and congested at times, but overall on the back of an outstanding win at Sheffield united this was a good follow up
If we can beat Stoke it will have been a superb Christmas and the signs are good.

[PhiladelphiaChris]

Trafford 7
Roberts 7
Egan-Riley 8
Esteve 8
Humphreys 7
Cullen 8
Laurent 6
Anthony8
Brownhill 7
Hannibal 8
Flemming 6

Sarmiento 6

[TsarBomba]

Trafford- 6
Roberts- 6
Esteve- 6
CJ- 7
Humphreys- 8*. Kept Doak quiet, looks increasingly assured.
Cullen- 7.
Laurent- 6. Leggy.
Brownhill- 6. First half excellent. Has to bury that chance.
Anthony- 6. So much to like, but final ball is shocking.
Hannibal- 7.
Fleming- 5.

[RVclaret]

Trafford 7 - another clean
Roberts 7 - another neat showing
CJ 7 - felt his passing wasn’t quite there but defended well
Esteve 7 - rarely troubled, one dodgy touch
Humphreys 8 - won the battle with the tricky Doak tonight
Cullen 7 - defensive positioning was excellent all night
Laurent 7 - likewise
Anthony 8* - really lively and tidy all night
Hannibal 7 - was just getting into it more before he went off
Brownhill 7 - won’t -1 him for the misses but did cost a win
Flemming 5 - scruffy performance I felt

Sarmiento 6 - couldn’t affect things like I hoped

Overall a decent point against one of the best attacking sides in the league. I thought we nullified their main threats (Azaz and Doak) really well and played some clever football at times, lacking a final pass or better decision making (think Flemming trying to re-head the ball back to Brownhill who had just played him through with a header first half!). Having said that we’ve had 2 big chances to win it and Parker clearly made changes to go and win, they just didn’t work out. Let’s hope we can recover in time for Stoke and id consider some rotation.

[ksrclaret]

Trafford 7
Roberts 7
Egan-Riley 8
Esteve 8
Humphreys 7
Anthony 8
Cullen 7
Laurent 6
Hannibal 7
Brownhill 7
Flemming 5

Sarmiento 5

I'll happily take the point and another clean sheet against that free-scoring Boro side. The shape of the team in and out of possession is brilliant.

[ClaretTony]

Trafford 7
Roberts 7
Egan-Riley 7
Estève 6
Humphreys 7
Cullen 7
Laurent 6
Anthony 8
Brownhill 6
Hannibal 7
Flemming 5

Sarmiento 5

[Luppy]

Trafford - 7 - one moment where he fell asleep aside, he had another solid game

Roberts - 7 - carrying on his decent form
CJER - 8 - playing so well
Esteve - 6 - got away with a couple of very iffy moments tonight
Humphreys - 8* - Doak is meant to be one of the best players in the league, he hardly had a kick tonight and got hooked early as he was completely bossed. Great game

Cullen - 7 - Good game
Laurent - 7 - good game
Brownhill - 7 - has to score at least one of the gilt edged chances - has to

Anthony - 8 - was surprised he was hooked - good game
Flemming - 5 - ran around a lot but hardly had a kick and zero impact
Hannibal - 6 - some really wasteful moments, but bizarrely was having his best period of the game when hooked

Sarmiento - 5 - no impact

It's a good point, and a good 4 points from 2 tough away games. I thought we more than edged it tonight and had we taken our really good chances we would have won comfortably. We would have taken 2 points a game at this stage of the season back in August

[Hipper]

From TV.

Trafford - 7 - Mostly solid except for that awful moment when he didn’t pay attention.

Roberts - 6 - OK, no more.

Egan-Riley - 7 - Not up to his usual standards. A bit sloppy and his long passing was not good with the exception of the ball to Anthony.

Esteve - 7 - Not up to his usual standards. A bit sloppy

Humphries - 7 - Dealt with Doaks pretty well but was generally well defended when he went forward.

Brownhill - 7 - Tried to get things going in attack with some good movement and play. Pity about the miss.

Cullen - 7 - Same as Brownhill, including the miss.

Laurent - 7 - Reasonably lively but part of a midfield that didn’t really get going.

Anthony - 9 - MoM - Our main threat throughout. Why was he taken off?

Flemming - 6 - Worked hard enough but to little effect, including a bad choice to pass instead of shoot.

Hannibal - 6 - Didn’t offer much but he was missed when taken off.

Subs

Sarmiento - 5 - Nearly gifted them a goal and offered nothing.

Rodriguez - No time to effect things but offered little.

Koleosho - No time to effect things but offered little.

Foster - Why, unless Brownhill had ‘had it’.

After two and a half games of enjoyable football, good performances and results we have come back down to earth again. It wasn’t terrible - we could have lost and we could have won. A draw was a fair result. But the way we went about things, mostly at a snail’s pace, was a disappointment. Perhaps it was a bit much to expect the same bunch of players to deliver the energy in all these matches. It was a pretty tedious watch.

On a positive note we looked quite creative without having the finishing to go with it. Again most of this was down to Anthony, and in part, Brownhill.

We normally praise Parker for his substitutions but each of them made things worse - perhaps there were reasons for them other then us looking to win the match. Hannibal wasn’t great but Sarmiento was worse. Rodriguez and Koleosho were far too late and in any case, why take off the one person who looked the most likely to create something - Anthony. As for the Foster sub…. After Foster’s energetic efforts against Sheffield United I would have thought he might offer something we needed and so come on earlier.

Anyway, it’s another point - a good one - in the great scheme of things.

[Jakubs Tash]

Trafford 6

Roberts 6
Egan-Riley 6
Esteve 6
Humphreys 7

Cullen 7
Laurent 5
Brownhill 6

Anthony 8
Hannibal 6
Flemming 5

Sarmiento 5

[kaptin1]

Trafford 6
Roberts 6
CJ 7
Esteve 8
Humphreys 6
Cullen 6
Laurent 6
Brownhill 6
Antony 8*
Flemming 6
Hannibal 7

[TsarBomba]

Trafford 7 - another clean
Roberts 7 - another neat showing
CJ 7 - felt his passing wasn’t quite there but defended well
Esteve 7 - rarely troubled, one dodgy touch
Humphreys 8 - won the battle with the tricky Doak tonight
Cullen 7 - defensive positioning was excellent all night
Laurent 7 - likewise
Anthony 8* - really lively and tidy all night
Hannibal 7 - was just getting into it more before he went off
Brownhill 7 - won’t -1 him for the misses but did cost a win
Flemming 5 - scruffy performance I felt

Sarmiento 6 - couldn’t affect things like I hoped

Overall a decent point against one of the best attacking sides in the league. I thought we nullified their main threats (Azaz and Doak) really well and played some clever football at times, lacking a final pass or better decision making (think Flemming trying to re-head the ball back to Brownhill who had just played him through with a header first half!). Having said that we’ve had 2 big chances to win it and Parker clearly made changes to go and win, they just didn’t work out. Let’s hope we can recover in time for Stoke and id consider some rotation.

Genuine question- and this isn’t just about tonight but across the games where it’s tight going into the final 30 mins or so. But does replacing like for like (more or less), keeping 1 up top, and keeping the same formation and style of play evidence that Parker is going for the win?

I appreciate tonight we wouldnt go two up top against a good Boro side, but when their 3rd choice keeper has flapped at a cross and presented Brownhill with a glorious chance, there’s an argument to be had that we could go a little more direct in the final stages.

Generally, Parker’s tactics and subs across the 24 games have been the right ones, but across the six 0-0’s we’ve had so far, I’ve never really felt like we’ve properly gone for it towards the end of those games.

Surely it’s better to lose 2 or 3 of those six 0-0’s, and garner 9-12 points as opposed to 6? I just really hope it doesn’t come back to bite us.

[warksclaret]

Trafford 7
Robert’s 7
Egan Riley 8
Esteve 7
Humphreys 7
Anthony 8
Fleming 6
Hannibal 6
Brownhill 7
Laurent 7
Cullen 7

[quoonbeatz]

Good game this and about the right result but disappointing given we had the clearest chance of the game. Some tired legs out there as the match wore on and we could maybe have made better subs but it’s another good point at one of the better sides in this league, important not to lose in this busiest period of the season.

Trafford 7 all good bar that one weird moment where he forgot he was playing football.

Roberts 7 standard

Egan-Riley 8 excellent. That ball to Anthony was a beauty.

Esteve 6 oddly slightly off his game tonight but he’s good enough to get away with it

Humphreys 7 heard a lot about Doak and hardly had a sniff

Cullen 7 metronome

Laurent 6 overran the ball a few times but it makes such a difference having a big dogg in the middle

Brownhill 7 the two best chances fell to him and you’d back him all day to put the second away. The rest of his game was top.

Anthony 8 involved in all our best stuff going forward and did really well to press and rob the ball to get us breaking. That TOUCH.

Hannibal 5 ineffective. Weirdly the minute or two before he was rightly hooked, he had just got himself into the game a bit more.

Flemming 5 also ineffective. Not sure why he decided to try an extra pass instead of taking the chance himself.

Sarmiento 4 less effective than who he replaced and played us into trouble a couple of times


Expecting a few changes for Stoke, it’s a gruelling period this and clearly taking its toll.

[CrosspoolClarets]

Trafford 7 - a minor mistake not spotting the guy taking his ball, was fine other than that
Roberts 6 - quiet game and didn’t contribute offensively
Egan Riley 7 - couple of errors early which he has done several times, then grew into it
Esteve 7 - also a couple of rare errors but kept them limited to long shots
Humphreys 7 - got down the pitch well when allowed to
Cullen 6 - a little leggy, epitomised by his booking
Brownhill 6 - two bad misses that are not like him, but he gets into some great positions
Laurent 5 - didn’t feel the quality was there tonight
Hannibal 6 - some good feet at times but wasn’t in the game enough offensively
Anthony 8 * MOM - superb, good touch, attacking intent, our best player by far
Flemming 5 - poor tonight, lack of a striker instinct a few times and we need a true striker in that role

Subs:
Sarmiento 5 - looked a bit like he hasn’t been training for a couple of weeks

Frustrating night. Boxing Day is gone so 4 pts is an irrelevance, it is all about tonight. Parker has done well but I feel he gets obsessed about defensive stats, he feels that 2 pts per game with the best defence will get us up so at times he accepts a point, even, far worse than tonight, when it is at home to a minnow. We can all name multiple games when we have a stick or twist choice and we chose to stick. Tonight felt like that. Curtis Davies just called it old school on Sky.

Doesn’t mean we don’t try to create rare chances and win the game. Bad finishing cost us tonight. And passive subs, too late, while retaining the midfield three.

It may work of course, and I think it will, but I think the board need to do their bit and between them and Scott mitigate the risk of this approach - i.e. too many games where we fail to score. So we need to go big on one or two attacking players, a true number 9 like Ewan Ferguson or like a Delap if we had got him a year earlier. That may be the difference.

So I’m not criticising, just a bit frustrated because too much respect was given tonight and with their injuries and bench they were there for the taking. That booking the lad took in minute 2 showed it, we didn’t go at him thereafter, one example.

[CoolClaret]

Genuine question- and this isn’t just about tonight but across the games where it’s tight going into the final 30 mins or so. But does replacing like for like (more or less), keeping 1 up top, and keeping the same formation and style of play evidence that Parker is going for the win?

I appreciate tonight we wouldnt go two up top against a good Boro side, but when their 3rd choice keeper has flapped at a cross and presented Brownhill with a glorious chance, there’s an argument to be had that we could go a little more direct in the final stages.

Generally, Parker’s tactics and subs across the 24 games have been the right ones, but across the six 0-0’s we’ve had so far, I’ve never really felt like we’ve properly gone for it towards the end of those games.

Surely it’s better to lose 2 or 3 of those six 0-0’s, and garner 9-12 points as opposed to 6? I just really hope it doesn’t come back to bite us.

Not so sure it works like that. A lot of those 0-0s were early doors where chopping/changing rather than establishing a system may not have been good for us in the long run.

[RVclaret]

Genuine question- and this isn’t just about tonight but across the games where it’s tight going into the final 30 mins or so. But does replacing like for like (more or less), keeping 1 up top, and keeping the same formation and style of play evidence that Parker is going for the win?

I appreciate tonight we wouldnt go two up top against a good Boro side, but when their 3rd choice keeper has flapped at a cross and presented Brownhill with a glorious chance, there’s an argument to be had that we could go a little more direct in the final stages.

Generally, Parker’s tactics and subs across the 24 games have been the right ones, but across the six 0-0’s we’ve had so far, I’ve never really felt like we’ve properly gone for it towards the end of those games.

Surely it’s better to lose 2 or 3 of those six 0-0’s, and garner 9-12 points as opposed to 6? I just really hope it doesn’t come back to bite us.

I’m not sure it’s ever been an intention to draw 0-0. The recent system hasn’t really been 1 up top either, Brownhill and Flemming have mainly been playing alongside each other in a 4-4-2 like structure. Funny enough some of the older 0-0 draws I felt we missed real game changers off the bench to make a difference, tonight we had them available, brought a couple on and it didn’t work!

[MeeActon1]

Trafford 6
Roberts 6
Egan-Riley 6
Esteve 6
Humphreys 7
Cullen 6
Laurent 5
Anthony 7
Brownhill 6
Hannibal 6
Flemming 5

Sarmiento 5

[Nonayforever]

Trafford 7
Roberts 8
CJ 8
Esteve 6
Humphreys 8
Antony 9
Brownhill 5
Cullen 7
Laurent 7
Hannibal 8
Fleming 6

Sarmiento 5
Jay did he touch the ball ?

I think that may be the worst substitutions I've ever seen.

[Bosscat]

Trafford 7
Roberts 7
Egan-Riley 8
Esteve 7
Humphreys 7
Cullen 8
Laurent 6
Anthony8
Brownhill 7
Hannibal 8
Flemming 6

Sarmiento 6

[Hedontplayforyou]

I thought Anthony was brilliant tonight , that touch on the sprint down the right hand side was out of this world . Shame Brownhill didn’t finish it because that would’ve been watched over and over . 8 for Anthony

The rest of the starting lineup 7s apart from Flemming who I give a 5 , baffled by his decision to pass back to Brownhill.

[bfcjg]

Trafford 5 he shouldn't make basic goalkeeping errors.
Roberts 6
Egan-Riley 7
Esteve 6 poor
Humphreys 8 mom
Cullen 6
Laurent 4 shocker tonight.
Anthony 8 superb, let down by team mates.
Brownhill 7 got into great positions but blimey Josh !!
Hannibal 6
Flemming 4

Sarmiento 5
We could have done so much more.

[Anonymous Claret]

Trafford 7

Roberts 7
Egan-Riley 8
Esteve 6
Humphreys 7

Cullen 7
Lauren 6
Brownhill 7

Hannibal 6
Flemming 6
Anthony 8

Sarmiento 5

[TsarBomba]

Not so sure it works like that. A lot of those 0-0s were early doors where chopping/changing rather than establishing a system may not have been good for us in the long run.

Not that early doors- the six 0-0’s were across games 7, 9, 12, 14, 20, and 24.

We’re looking at 11/12 0-0’s across the season. That needs to change if we want to get promoted.

I appreciate you may not want to change formation too much early in the season, but players are, and should be, more than adept at formation changes in games, certainly at our level.

And even if we don’t change formation, we can still up the tempo, play more direct, take more shots etc. I just don’t see that. I don’t see that real desire to go and win a game late on which is perplexing.

[LincsWoldsClaret]

Trafford 6
Roberts 7
Egan-Riley 8
Esteve 6
Humphreys 8
Cullen 7
Laurent 7
Anthony 8*
Brownhill 6
Hannibal 6
Flemming 5

Sarmiento 5

We created nothing once Anthony went off - other than chances for the opposition

[JohnDearyMe]

Trafford 7
Roberts 7
Egan-Riley 7
Estève 6
Humphreys 7
Cullen 7
Laurent 6
Anthony 7
Brownhill 6
Hannibal 7
Flemming 5

Sarmiento 5

Better team but failed to take our chance(s).

Hopefully we can add some more attacking threats from the bench imminently in the transfer window

[JohnMac]

Trafford 7
Roberts 7
Egan Riley 7
Esteve 7
Humphreys 7
Cullen 7
Brownhill 7
Laurent 6
Hannibal 7
Anthony 8*
Flemming 6

Sarmiento 5

[THEWELLERNUT70]

Trafford 6
Roberts 7
Egan-Riley 8
Esteve 7
Humphreys 6
Cullen 7
Laurent 6
Anthony 7
Brownhill 6
Hannibal 6
Flemming 6

Sarmiento 5

[Wokingclaret]

From Now TV

Trafford 7 Did well positioning saves and recovered well when robbed making it difficult to score
Roberts 7 a routine Roberts
Egan Riley 8 Some bad passes but one worldy
Esteve 8 his partnership with CJ ensured Boro didn't score
Humphreys 8 Stopped their winger, more dangerous going forward
Cullen 7 helped to ensure the clean sheet
Brownhill 7 should have scored
Laurent 6 still kept going
Hannibal 7 in the game when he was took off
Anthony 8 MoM keeps going
Flemming 5 still need a striker, then try him in his normal position

We didn't test their keeper enough

Subs:
Sarmiento 5 We didn't do too
Koleosho na
Rodriguez na
Foster na

[Cirrus_Minor]

Trafford 7
Roberts 7
Egan-Rily 8
Estéve 7
Humpheys 8
Cullen 7
Anthony 8
Brownhill 7
Hannibal 6
Flemming 6

Sarmiento 6

[RalphCoatesComb]

Trafford 7
Roberts 7
Egan Riley 8
Esteve 8
Humphreys 8
Cullen 7
Brownhill 7
Laurent 6
Hannibal 6
Anthony 8 *
Flemming 6

Sarmiento 6

[CoolClaret]

Not that early doors- the six 0-0’s were across games 7, 9, 12, 14, 20, and 24.

We’re looking at 11/12 0-0’s across the season. That needs to change if we want to get promoted.

I appreciate you may not want to change formation too much early in the season, but players are, and should be, more than adept at formation changes in games, certainly at our level.

And even if we don’t change formation, we can still up the tempo, play more direct, take more shots etc. I just don’t see that. I don’t see that real desire to go and win a game late on which is perplexing.

7-14 is early doors for me, considering that we had a new team to be bedded in after the first two games.

I think there are more subtle tweaks being done, but again, earlier on, there wasn't much on the bench.

I see it a lot, though, with managers of teams that almost treat league games like a cup game, and there's just no consistency or longevity to their fleeting performances. I fully understand why SP has done what he has done.

[KRBFC]

We've now kept clean sheets at Leeds, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough, which is hugely impressive, and in truth the difference between this game and the other two was in this game, we didn't take our chances whereas in those games we did. Whilst Boro had moments and carried a threat they didn't create too many clear chances, whilst we had two excellent ones that Brownhill uncharacteristically snatched at.

Yet he somehow got a rating of 8/10 from you

[RalphCoatesComb]

Yet he somehow got a rating of 8/10 from you

I hope you feel suitably chastised for rating it as you saw it claretspice

Why the angst towards a fellow Claret?

[Buxtonclaret]

Trafford 6
Roberts 7
ER 7
Esteve 6
Humphreys 7

Cullen 7
Laurent 6
Anthony 8 ***
Brownhill 6
Hannibal 7
Flemming 5

Sarmiento 5

[Boss Hogg]

Trafford 6
Roberts 7
Egan Riley 7
Esteve 6
Humphreys 7
Cullen 7
Laurent 6
Anthony 8 mom
Brownhill 7 excellent first half but poor miss
Hannibal 6
Flemming 5 anonymous in the main

Subs
Sarmiento 5
Rodriguez didn’t offer anything

A good point against a good side but some disappointing moments and the wrong players were brought off at the wrong time.

[helmclaret]

Trafford 7
Roberts 7
Egan-Riley 7
Estève 7
Humphreys 7
Cullen 7
Laurent 6
Anthony 8
Brownhill 6
Hannibal 7
Flemming 5

Sarmiento 5

[KlyBfc]

Trafford 7
Roberts 7
Egan-Riley 7
Estève 7
Humphreys 7
Cullen 6
Laurent 5
Anthony 7
Brownhill 6
Hannibal 6
Flemming 5

Sarmiento 5

[scamander]

Torn between feeling indulgent at wanting more given Boro's injury list and the axiom of clean sheet and a point away being a good thing.

Trafford 6 - almost made a big error but otherwise sound
Roberts 6 - nothing big of note going forward
Egan-Riley 6 - only mistake was the ball over the top
Esteve 6 - a couple of slips and a few misplaced passes. Shows he is human
Humphreys 7* - very impressed as he kept their main threat anonymous. Doak was in his pocket all night. Tried to offer something going forward but often isolated.
Cullen 7 - tidy
Laurent 6 - marked down because of the poor touch which they broke from and Cullen had to take a yellow to disrupt
Anthony 7 - shows (again) an incredible touch and a player who is getting better under Parker
Brownhill 5 - his main attribute is scoring at the moment and he missed a sitter
Hannibal 6 - provides a good out-ball option but only got into the game 5 mins before he was subbed
Flemming 6 - feel for him living on scraps, his game is all about assists and knock downs. Can't wait to see him behind the striker.

Sarmiento 5 - no real change to the game

[Newcastleclaret93]

Trafford 6 thought he was clumsy tonight.
Roberts 7 really effective
Esteve 6 clumsy
Egan Riley 7 solid
Humphrey’s 6 thought he struggled tonight going forward.
Cullen 7
Brownhill 8 would have been a 9 if he could finish that golden chance
Laurent 5 thought he was really clumsy on the ball
Anthony 8 again did all the hard work on numerous occasions but final ball let him down
Flemming 5 I thought he was really poor and at times I thought he was a really frustrated figure.

[claretspice]

Yet he somehow got a rating of 8/10 from you

Because I thought in every other respect he was by some distance the best player on the pitch and absolutely outstanding.

[claretspice]

Genuine question- and this isn’t just about tonight but across the games where it’s tight going into the final 30 mins or so. But does replacing like for like (more or less), keeping 1 up top, and keeping the same formation and style of play evidence that Parker is going for the win?

I appreciate tonight we wouldnt go two up top against a good Boro side, but when their 3rd choice keeper has flapped at a cross and presented Brownhill with a glorious chance, there’s an argument to be had that we could go a little more direct in the final stages.

Generally, Parker’s tactics and subs across the 24 games have been the right ones, but across the six 0-0’s we’ve had so far, I’ve never really felt like we’ve properly gone for it towards the end of those games.

Surely it’s better to lose 2 or 3 of those six 0-0’s, and garner 9-12 points as opposed to 6? I just really hope it doesn’t come back to bite us.

I think you have to distinguish 0-0 draws away at Boro, when on balance of chances we should have won, from 0-0 draws at home.to Derby and Preston when the onus is on us to break them down and we failed to do so. I thought the Derby game was really frustrating and I was quite critical of Parker's approach, but I thought last night was very different - firstly because a point was always a decent result and secondly because the performance was decent and ultimately we created chances.

In my personal opinion, we'd have benefited from bringing on Koleosho for Hannibal (or Laurent, who had a clumsy game) rather than Sarmiento, to give us a more direct threat - or even bringing Foster on. Boro pressed us aggressively and with Flemming dropping deep rather than stretching beyond, and Hannibal not really playing as a left winger or looking to spring in behind, Anthony was our only outlet over the top. Bringing on Sarmiento gave us in theory a bit more creativity but he again wanted the ball to feet and to come in field, adding to that congestion.

But ultimately for all that I didn't expect Parker to radically alter the shape from a 451/433 shape. Boro are a good side and after a tough game on boxing day it wasn't a night to chase 3 points and risk giving away the one.

[Culmclaret]

Trafford 6 not his most convincing displsy but recovered well from that silly error in the first half. Little to do really

Roberts 8 very assured

Esteve 6 Not quite his usual self with one or two unforced errors

Egan Riley. 8. What a player he is

Humphreys. 8 Dealt well with Doak. Good all round game

Cullen 9 MoM. Thought he was immense. Poor tackle for the booking aside almost faultless

Laurent 7. Not quite as effective tonight bit still good

Brownhill 8. His finishing has been so good. Denied by a slight bobble and Fry’s brilliant chest block

Anthony 8 Very lively and what a first touch which led to our best chance

Hannibal 7. Everyone thought it odd that he was subbed just at the time he was imposing himself’

Flemming 6 Largely anonymous

Sarmiento 5. Did nothing other than that atrocious crossfield ball

[Im_not_Robbie_Blake]

Trafford 7
Roberts 7
Egan-Riley 8
Esteve 6
Humphreys 6
Cullen 7
Laurent 7
Anthony 8
Brownhill 8
Hannibal 6
Flemming 6

Sarmiento 7