Stoke v Burnley - Player Ratings

[Conroy92]

Trafford 7
Roberts 7
Egan -Reilly 8
Esteve 8
Humphrey’s 7
Cullen 7
Laurent 7
Anthony 7
Sarmiento 8*
Koleosho 7
Jay Rod 7

It's starting to come together. By no means a perfect performance but a good one. For me Sarmiento man of the match. He provided the link between midfield and attack we've been missing often picking up the ball deep and driving forwards. Thought he stretched them a lot today. This back 5 is going to take some beating too.

[fungus_the_bogeyman]

Trafford 8
Roberts 7
Humphreys 8
Esteve 8
Egan-Riley 8
Cullen 9* - absolutely bossed the midfield. Brilliant performance.
Laurent 7
Sarmiento 7
Koleosho 7
Anthony 7
Rodriguez 7

Brownhill 8
Flemming 6

[Bosscat]

Trafford 8
Roberts 7
Humphreys 8
Esteve 8
Egan-Riley 9
Cullen 9+ MotM
Laurent 7
Sarmiento 7
Koleosho 7
Anthony 7
Rodriguez 7

Brownhill 8
Flemming 6

[KlyBfc]

Trafford 8 (I said mid week that hes making goalkeeeping look very easy at the moment, same again today, hes looking really assured at the moment)

Roberts 7
Humphreys 6
Esteve 7
Egan Riley 7

Cullen 8 MOM
Laurent 7
Sarmiento 6

Anthony 6
Koleosho 7

Jay 6

[BleedingClaret]

Trafford 9
Roberts 8
Egan-Riley 9
Estève 9
Humphreys 8
Cullen 9*
Laurent 8
Anthony 9
Sarmiento 8
Koleosho 7
Rodriguez 8

[ecc]

From stream.

Trafford 6 : Very little to do, one good save. Generally safe in the air. This defence protects him and is helping build his confidence.
Roberts 8 : We know he’s inconsistent but right now he’s in fine form. His was the long diagonal pass to Laurent which led to the first goal. Strong in defence and pushed forwards more and more as the game went on. I’m not sure how many Clarets noticed but in the 93rd minute he put in a 20 yard-sprint to regain his position even though Stoke had given up by then. By doing so we regained our shape. It struck me as a very positive sign of his commitment.
Egan-Riley 8 : Another in a lengthening line of fine performances. Along with Maxime Estève, he made a number of key blocks. Walking on a cloud at the moment.
Estève 8 : Mr Elegance. It’s a combination of his body shape, style of running and athletic nature that make him a class act. Easy on the eye, he was even found in a forward position late in the second-half. He’s a joy to watch.
Humphreys 7 : Makes our defence even harder to unlock. He can’t push forward as much as Pires but if the rest of the team attack more then they make up for him.
Cullen 9 MOM : He was one of the few to stand out in the first-half chess match. He was everywhere. Recovered a mass of balls and gave us momentum. And it was one of his attacking moves that led to the penalty. A captain albeit ad hoc who led by example.
Laurent 7 : Curate’s egg of a performance. Seemed to really want to prove a point early on and had one or two poor shots. However, set Jay up for the vital first goal following Roberts’ excellent pass. Worked very hard.
Koleosho 7 : He’s getting there. He seemed to be more effective when playing deeper. He had our best effort in the first-half which the keeper did well to save. Also put in the cross for Jay’s header. Plugged away in the second half and his passing was generally sound. I believe in the lad.
Sarmiento 7 : There’s always danger when he gets on the ball.
Anthony 6 : Pretty poor first 45. Was much more involved second half. Yes he missed chances but I’d rather see him getting into dangerous positions and miss than be invisible. Every attack adds to the opponents’ fatigue. Came close to getting a penalty.

Rodriguez 7 : Thankless task up against three giants but battled away. Found the space just after the break when he finished a fine move. Delighted for Jay to get his first from open play this season.

The second-half was the best performance I’ve seen this season. I listen to virtually every SP interview and we are seeing come to fruition what he’s been describing. He got his defensive framework set up pretty quickly but the creativity and cutting-edge has been a longer more ardous task. Not helped by the injuries to Foster and Flemming. In the end, Jay has taken the opportunity to start games and is using all his experience to lead the line.
Some posters said Fulham and Bournemouth fans had stated that when we’re one up we’d never push for me. Well yesterday we proved that wrong. Indeed we came close to getting a third.

[hoosier-daddy]

From stream.

Trafford 6 : Very little to do, one good save. Generally safe in the air. This defence protects him and is helping build his confidence.
Roberts 8 : We know he’s inconsistent but right now he’s in fine form. His was the long diagonal pass to Laurent which led to the first goal. Strong in defence and pushed forwards more and more as the game went on. I’m not sure how many Clarets noticed but in the 93rd minute he put in a 20 yard-sprint to regain his position even though Stoke had given up by then. By doing so we regained our shape. It struck me as a very positive sign of his commitment.
Egan-Riley 8 : Another in a lengthening line of fine performances. Along with Maxime Estève, he made a number of key blocks. Walking on a cloud at the moment.
Estève 8 : Mr Elegance. It’s a combination of his body shape, style of running and athletic nature that make him a class act. Easy on the eye, he was even found in a forward position late in the second-half. He’s a joy to watch.
Humphreys 7 : Makes our defence even harder to unlock. He can’t push forward as much as Pires but if the rest of the team attack more then they make up for him.
Cullen 9 MOM : He was one of the few to stand out in the first-half chess match. He was everywhere. Recovered a mass of balls and gave us momentum. And it was one of his attacking moves that led to the penalty. A captain albeit ad hoc who led by example.
Laurent 7 : Curate’s egg of a performance. Seemed to really want to prove a point early on and had one or two poor shots. However, set Jay up for the vital first goal following Roberts’ excellent pass. Worked very hard.
Koleosho 7 : He’s getting there. He seemed to be more effective when playing deeper. He had our best effort in the first-half which the keeper did well to save. Also put in the cross for Jay’s header. Plugged away in the second half and his passing was generally sound. I believe in the lad.
Sarmiento 7 : There’s always danger when he gets on the ball.
Anthony 6 : Pretty poor first 45. Was much more involved second half. Yes he missed chances but I’d rather see him getting into dangerous positions and miss than be invisible. Every attack adds to the opponents’ fatigue. Came close to getting a penalty.

Rodriguez 7 : Thankless task up against three giants but battled away. Found the space just after the break when he finished a fine move. Delighted for Jay to get his first from open play this season.

The second-half was the best performance I’ve seen this season. I listen to virtually every SP interview and we are seeing come to fruition what he’s been describing. He got his defensive framework set up pretty quickly but the creativity and cutting-edge has been a longer more ardous task. Not helped by the injuries to Foster and Flemming. In the end, Jay has taken the opportunity to start games and is using all his experience to lead the line.
Some posters said Fulham and Bournemouth fans had stated that when we’re one up we’d never push for me. Well yesterday we proved that wrong. Indeed we came close to getting a third.

Great review!

[KateR]

Trafford 7
Roberts 7
Egan-Riley 8
Estève 8
Humphreys 7
Cullen 9
Laurent 8
Anthony 7
Sarmiento 7
Koleosho 6
Rodriguez 7

Brownhill 7

[billyhamilton82]

Trafford 9 : As mentioned previously not much to do but sign of a great keeper who keep their concentration in key moments. Brilliant save at a very important point in the game just before half time. Everyone keeps telling me Cooper and Johansson are the best keepers' in this league. On yesterday's showing Johansson shouldn't even be involved in the conversation. Cooper must be some keeper if he's anywhere near "Super Traff".

Roberts 9: Brillant cross, capping a brilliant performance.

Egan Riley 9* Dare I say he has become our most important player?

Estève 9 : Some great defending in key moments. Great lad and looks like he's enjoying himself here which is great to see. He is the archetypal centre half who looks even better with a ball playing centre half next to him meaning he can mainly concentrate on what he is best at.....defending.

Humphreys 9 : IMO in the second half Humphreys and Koleosho pushed hard for MOTM. Both goals were started on the left but the first was a great team goal which Humphreys, Laurent and Koleosho instigated. Always solid in defence in the second half he pushed on and if he continues with those performances it will be his place to lose.

Cullen 9 : Back to his best and ran the game. All been said before - Far too good for this level.

Laurent 9 : Great second half including an assist for the all important first goal where he was involved from start to finish.

Koleosho 9 : Very effective and the end product is now arriving. As mentioned in the second half he was superb.

Sarmiento 9 : It's no coincidence that when he plays in the 10 role we function as an attacking entity. Very skilful, intelligent player and unsurprising Brighton want to keep him.

Anthony 9 : Works incredibly hard for the team, he always makes himself available and is a constant threat to the opposition and unlucky not to score.

Rodriguez 9 : Centre Forward masterclass. Hopefully Lyle was watching and learning. This is all we have been missing. A genuine striker leading the line and getting on the end of crosses.

Brownhill 8 : Made an impact and scored the penalty.

Flemming 8 : A very effective cameo. One brilliant ball out wide in particular, with his back to goal to set Anthony on his way down the right which led to the penalty.

[Jakubs Tash]

Trafford 8 - saves, punching and catching crosses and excellent distribution

Roberts 7
Egan-Riley 7
Esteve 8
Humphreys 7

Lauren 7
Cullen 9 - back to his best!

Koleosho 8 - Amazing how effective he can be if he lets the ball go and keeps it simple…
Anthony 7
Sarmiento 7

Rodriguez 7

Brownhill 7
Flemming 7

[Vino blanco]

From tv
Trafford 7 our defence keeps him so well protected at this level, though he did defend well against crosses and made the one big save
Roberts 7 back to his best, tucking into midfield when we have the ball
ER 8 nearly as good as Esteve
Esteve 8 reminds me of a young Bobby Moore but with the advantage of more height
Humphrys 7 another improving player
Anthony 7 was going to give him a 6 for giving the ball away too much in the first half, but nobody deserved a 6 yesterday
Laurent 7 similar to Anthony, average in the first half but got forward much more after half time
Cullen 9 mom easily, when he was subbed near the end the Stoke commentator said to his colleague words to the effect “what a player, he ran the whole game today. Wouldn’t it be great to watch a class performance like that every game at the Bet365”
Koleosho 7 same as Anthony, much better second half
Sarmiento 7 did his job well, though I think Flemming will be a better number 10
Jayrod 8 so pleased to see him starting and giving us a focal point up front. He’s not the long term answer but his experience must be invaluable to the younger players.

After an average first half when we slowly wore down Stoke, we upped our game in the second half and totally controlled the game. Cullen was a joy to watch, a complete midfield performance. We are improving, no doubt, but we will still need to be at our best when we play the other top teams. Well done the team, well done Scott Parker and his men.

[ClaretTony]

Trafford 8 (I said mid week that hes making goalkeeeping look very easy at the moment, same again today, hes looking really assured at the moment)

I don’t think I’ve seen a 5 this week for him but it’s beyond me how anyone can give him 6. Did ever asked of him and more and made that one big important save.

[Alan Young]

Wasn't there and only seen brief highlights so won't rate, but want to draw attention to the quality of Trafford's first half save at 0-0, I think from Cannon. I think it's an outstanding save and clearly hugely significant in the context of the game. Even, perhaps especially, if he didn't have much else to do, that save is worthy of huge credit.

It’s a good save and an important one. Not quite sure I’d label it “an outstanding save”

[Alan Young]

Trafford 7
Roberts 7
Egan-Riley 8
Esteve 8
Humphries 7
Anthony 7
Cullen 9
Laurent 8
Sarmiento 7
Koleosho 7
Rodriguez 7

Brownhill 7
Flemming 7

[morninbob]

It’s a good save and an important one. Not quite sure I’d label it “an outstanding save”

Yep, it's a regulation save, straight at him.

[claretspice]

It’s a good save and an important one. Not quite sure I’d label it “an outstanding save”

No problem. Each to their own. I do think it's outstanding because it's at point blank range, Trafford does really well to firstly make himself as big as possible (he stands up tall for as long as possible) and then, when Cannon tries to counter that by firing between his legs, Trafford does terrifically well to get his right leg/knee down really quickly to stop the ball going through that gap. I don't think Cannon does much wrong at all, it's a good finish (there is a distinction between a deliberate attempt to go under the 'keeper, and a shot being straight at the keeper), he's barely 5 yards out and I think it's a really excellent save.