Take your pick.

I've gone with Bertrand. Very impressed with all our youngsters, but I thought Bertrand was really faultless throughout.

Romeu was excellent, never looked overawed even with just he and Lamps in the midfield. To me, he looks a chance to get a league start very soon.

good first start debut for romeu as spiller said never looked out of place

AVB had high praise of him too:

'Oriol Romeu had an amazing game too,' Villas-Boas added, turning his attention to one young full debutant.

'His ability to receive the ball is something out of this world, its extraordinary his comfort with the ball, receiving it straight from the goalkeeper under pressure. You saw that led eventually to a ball loss but that is the risk you take when you build from the back.

'It shows that the school where he is from is fantastic and shows that he can play in the Premier League.

Romeu, & thought Josh was a class apart in 1st half. Even with 10 men we looked the better side (& thats with hugely out of form Malouda & Kalou playing the whole game)

Loved the way Luiz played in 2nd half & et. We really need his pace in the 1st team from now on, I hope the 120mins doesn't work against his chances of playing sat.

Went with Romeu. He was a monster in the middle. The best part of his defensive game is that he tackles early so even if he gives away a foul, the free kick is from the opposition half. This also somehow makes refs reluctant to brandish the yellow card. His distribution is pretty good and can use both legs.

Honorable mentions to Turnbull (some great show after he came on), Luiz (excellent throughout, constantly picked out great passes to the attackers), Josh (excellent in first half) and Lukaku (excellent in second half, but got tired towards the end of normal time). Bertrand was also decent.

I thought Malouda and Kalou were useless in attack (but then what's news there) although both did some good work defensively and took their penalties pretty well.

Romeu for me too, excellent performance.

Fulham fans, what a joke. Half the bottom tier empty and a large section of the upper also, at a reduced price admission match as well. When will they ever get the message we don't take them seriously and never will.

Could have gone with Oriol because he was really good, but I had to give my vote to Turnbull.

Faced 6 penalties and let in only three of them. Made a few other nice saves as well.

Besides, I've be very, very critical of him so many times so it's time I give him a vote.

Romeu and Josh looked great to me, futures bright went with Romeu just because he was putting it in in extra time to (not Josh's fault) ...

Have to say though, after all his stick lately Lamps looked lively when he came on and ran his socks off and tried to make thing shappen. shame about the penalty miss, but like always he was man enough to be the first to take.

I can't really vote as I only listened on the radio and saw the brief TV highlights but, I certainly got the impression that Romeu was very assured last night. But I thought he looked so when he made his substitute appearance at Sunderland the other week. So there's no doubt in my mind that he is good and ready to play 1st team in any comp against any opposition.

Paolo, superb performance from him last night.

Romeu showed maturity beyond his years both on and off the ball... I know its early days but he looks like the player we had hoped Mikel would be when he signed.. Josh may have been a contender had he not been taken off so early..

I opted for Romeu, but it wasn't easy when lots of players gave their all for the cause. He pips it for his calmness on the ball under pressure, he looks to be one of those who just 'fits in' virtually straight away.

Alan

Romeu was fantastic. He already looked as assured to me as Mikel ever has. Romeu, if he keeps that up, is the future at DMC without any shadow of a doubt.

I also thought that Bertrand was very solid too, and offered a fair amount going forward for his first game too. I was delighted that we didn't loan him out because from what I'd seen before I thought he'd be able to do a job for us when Cole is rested or injured. Last night's endeavours showed that for sure.

Well done Lukaku too. Constant threat, looks a bit cumbersome i have to say though, but I think as he gets more used to the pace of the PL then his feet etc will quicken. Remember how much of a donkey Drogba looked the first 2 seasons?

McEachran just oozes class. Can't wait til he's playing regularly for us.

Luiz, what a hero!

Finally, it looked like getting subbed off at OT at HT light a bit of a fire under Frank. Thought his effort was superb and he pressed the ball more than I'd ever seen. Also, you could clearly see that when he got the ball his first thought was to shift it further forward, rather than in days gone by when it would invariably go sideways.

Ive only watched the first half, but to me Romeu was a mixed bag. Very good on the ball, but when defending he sometimes over commits or goes to the ground needlessly and too often

Edited September 22, 201113 yr by Lane

Oriol is the clear winner and I've given it to him too. He was outstanding. Skilful, clever, aggressive. Never stopped running. Got stronger and stronger. Most impressively, for a kid who's only just turned 20, he assumed responsibility, which Mikel never does. It really made you see what we've been missing. Sadly there's a buy back clause, because I believe this kid is special.

The best player on the park was Luiz. He was a class above. But the kid gets it.

Paulo put in a great shift and proves what a good professional he is for our club. Despite getting few starts now , he never moans and is there when called upon.

Romeu for me but Paulo did have one of his better games.

A very interesting match. We had a bit of a mix and match side out and didn't play particularly well in the first half. When we went behind we really showed a lot of spirit and determination and most importantly found a way to win.

We saw some good and bad. In general terms, our finishing was still very poor. We had numerous chances which where wasted.

Individually - The good:

Turnbull had an excellent game. One dropped cross apart, he was flawless and made some crucial saves.

Ferreira was also very solid. Managed to get forward well but did his defensive duties too.

Luiz was my man of the match. He is a top class player who should be starting for the first XI. His ability on the ball makes life so much easier as he can bring it out from the back and either go past his man or find a pass.

Romeu also looked extremely good. Made a couple of rash lunges but was composed on the ball and his positioning was excellent. He did his cause no harm at all.

The bad:

Sturridge had another poor showing after sunday. I like the fact that he is direct and will get a shot off, but he needs to make some better choices.

Josh looked very nervous and seemed to play too deep. There was the odd flash from him but he looks like he needs some games. I think a loan would have been better for him as he isn't going to see much first team action outside of the Carling Cup.

Alex seems to have lost his mojo. Perhaps he's not fit? He is a bit lumbering and doesn't really suit our style of play which can leave the centre backs exposed against pace.

Malouda was good on the ball and did some nice things but he wasted so many good positions with poor shooting

Kalou must be on his way out. He was totally ineffectual and frustrated the hell out of me. Great penalty though!

Finally, a word about Lukaku. He ran his heart out. I'm sure that he would only have played 60 mins if we hadn't needed to use our subs for the injuries and sending off. Instead he played 120 mins and was shattered by the end. His hold up play and touch was generally pretty good but I have to say that he didn't look like a natural goalscorer to me. He had some chances and he never looked convincing. Early days I know but that was just the feeling I got. I also don't think he fits well in to the style of game we are now trying to play. But we will see.

Pretty accurate summing up ES.

Think you're being a tad harsh on Josh (I would!). I don't think he looked nervous at all but I agree he was too deep at times. I hope in future he is told to express himself more and not worry about mistakes as he is taking the easy option too often when he is capable of so much more. That is the trouble with only getting a match once in a blue moon - as much as he might want to impress, he also doesn't want to come in and f**k up. A few great little through balls though and the good run and one-two which should have ended up with him being on the score sheet. That's what he's good at and that's what I want to see more of.

I think people are building up Luiz's performance a bit and being a bit harsh on Alex at the same time.

Edited September 23, 201113 yr by footballoholic