Guest Posted May 19, 2007 Posted May 19, 2007 I'll start: Cech: Didn't have alot to do, but was great when called upon and was allways brave. I gave him a (7.5) Bridge: Had a good game defensively, didn't get forward much that that was due to instructions as much as anything (7) Essien: MOM, he saved our bacons time and time and time again (8.5 maybe 9) Terry: Also had a good match, was solid (if quiet) and I think his prescence helped Essien have the game he did (7) Ferreira: I'm giving him a 7.5 based mostly on the fact he had a very tough job in Ronaldo and did it well for the most part (7.5) Makelele: Very important in our defensive performance. He sheilded the back 4 well (7.5) Mikel: Wasn't bad, but he seemed wasteful in possession which is unlike him (6) Lampard: Along with Drogba was our main attacking threat, I think that perhaps he enjoyed having a freeish role in midfield in the absense of Ballack (7) SWP: Tried hard, but created little. Due in part to negative tactics first half (6) J.Cole: Also largely ineffective, but like SWP, performance was at least partly due to negative tactics by Mourinho (6) Drogba: Fought all game, scored the winner (7.5) Subs Robben: Provided a spark which was badly needed but why can't he stay fit (7.5) Kalou: Also did fairly well, his fresh legs were handy in the second half especially once we took the lead (7) A.Cole: Was only brought on because of Robben's injury. No on long enough to give a rating. Feel free to disagree with me
Mod Posted May 19, 2007 Posted May 19, 2007 Only with Joe's rating, thought he was our best player first half, shame he didnt play on.
Maksimov Posted May 19, 2007 Posted May 19, 2007 Can we do an Ashley vs. Gallas 06/07 cup count please? Can we also count the winner's medals Alan Smith has won this season?
Paul_Seery Posted May 19, 2007 Posted May 19, 2007 Can we do an Ashley vs. Gallas 06/07 cup count please? Yes. It reads Ashley Cole 2-0 William Gallas
g3.7 Posted May 19, 2007 Posted May 19, 2007 i found our very late that we got tickets! sat right behind the drogba goal... fantastic result, great day and wembley isn't a terrible stadium either. ratings are good qaz, but joe went off far too early, despite (I guess) the argument that robben did give us a spark when he was on and so you could say jose was right... but joe was good... you can understand jose wanted swp to double up on ronaldo... joe's relative lack of pace will always hurt him when jose thinks about substitions. 2 special mentions... well 4 if you add drogba and essien, but I'm sure they will get the coverage they deserve: 1: makelele. the best player in his position. in the whole wide world. apprently his legs are slowing down. so how come when ronaldo is walking about before 90 mins are up and various younger players are all getting cramp this guy manages to do his big match thing (I have never seen a player like maka when it comes to big games) for 120 minutes? 2: paulo. give him a run of games, and have the best righback in the league. bjd will tell ya.
loz Posted May 19, 2007 Posted May 19, 2007 I thought Mikel and Maka were magnificent today, in fact I had Mikel as my man of the match. I also thought Paulo had a very fine game, probably his best since his first season and Essien (although he did make a couple of bad mistakes) was a game saver on a few occasions. And the goal was fabulous, truly fabulous.
The Brit Posted May 19, 2007 Posted May 19, 2007 right i'm going to do my ratings as I found Qaz's off the mark..but most get good ratings for defensive reasons Cech 8 made some major crucial saves/tackles (on rooney) Ferreria 8 the so-called player of the year was in his pocket Essien 7 not his best game at centre half today...got caught out a few times positionally and could have conceded pen Terry 8 best performance from the captain since return from injury Bridge 8 best left back proved it once again...very good down left flank Maka 7 solid Mikel 8 faded late on as injury from last week started to bite, but looked class in second half Lamps 7 should almost get a 10 for that pass alone, but didn't create much else Joe Cole 7 amazed when he got subbed at half-time...i thought he had to be injured, but no! SWP 7 played a big role in helping paulo mark ronaldo Drogba 8 higher mark cos of the goal, but struggled for long periods cos he was too isolated. subs Robben 6 looked dangerous at first then he got injured (again ) and then he faded Kalou 7 ran well with the ball as we tired A Cole 6 just helped keep left side solid
The Moos Posted May 19, 2007 Posted May 19, 2007 I think Mikel was good but I've never seen him miss so many passes.
ethicalstrategy Posted May 19, 2007 Posted May 19, 2007 but joe went off far too early, despite (I guess) the argument that robben did give us a spark when he was on and so you could say jose was right... but joe was good... you can understand jose wanted swp to double up on ronaldo... joe's relative lack of pace will always hurt him when jose thinks about substitions. Joe was injured: from the official site "Asked about his half-time substitution of Joe Cole, Mourinho revealed that, before the game, Cole had been sitting with one of his feet in an ice bath "because he didn't want to feel it during the match". By half-time it was clear he could not go on. "But this is the kind of player I have. I cannot fault him for his attitude."
Tim W Posted May 20, 2007 Posted May 20, 2007 i found our very late that we got tickets! sat right behind the drogba goal... fantastic result, great day and wembley isn't a terrible stadium either. Strange how you can grow to dislike people - the lucky one
icecoolguy22 Posted May 20, 2007 Posted May 20, 2007 Special notes to Ferreria, everyone talked about him as the weak link and how Ronaldo will carve him up.. We seen none of that, Ronaldo switched side and Giggs had a go at him, still no success.. he was bumped off by Rooney a few times, otherwise he was spot on, even had a few good runs forward... He stopped the so called the best player in the biggest game of the year, why not give him a few more games next season
Guest Brian M Posted May 20, 2007 Posted May 20, 2007 Joe was injured:from the official site"Asked about his half-time substitution of Joe Cole, Mourinho revealed that, before the game, Cole had been sitting with one of his feet in an ice bath "because he didn't want to feel it during the match". By half-time it was clear he could not go on. "But this is the kind of player I have. I cannot fault him for his attitude." Ah, that explains that then. Couldn't see the logic of taking him off when he was playing well. Especially when SWP was running around like a headless chook for most of the first half.
BlueBeard Posted May 20, 2007 Posted May 20, 2007 in fact I had Mikel as my man of the match Me too, thought he was superb. I also thought Paulo had a very fine game, probably his best since his first season He did OK, but his pace is virtually non-existent - he got skinned by The Diver a few times in the second half.
just Posted May 20, 2007 Posted May 20, 2007 Thought Mikel was our MOTM. Essien and Drogba were also top dollar. For them, Rooney caused us more problems than anyone else. His movement and timing of runs was superb. If we had him playing alongside Drogba we would be unstoppable.
heckel Posted May 20, 2007 Posted May 20, 2007 I think a bigger shout out for Kalou is called for. In extra time he was the one who was unsettling their back four and his pace was keeping them deeper in their half than they otherwise would have been. A gap opened up between their defenders and their midfield as they tried to push forward just before the goal, the space in which the Kalou, Drogba, Lampard goal was fashioned was, I believe, Kalou's work. In the first half Cole did good work in that tight space, it then closed up with Robben out wide who wasn't moving infield enough and a lot of moves ended at the touchline. With Kalou operating out wide and then effectively in the centre with fresh legs it was set up. I expect big things from him once he matures a little, gets used to the pressure and can keep his head when he shoots. I don't want to do player ratings when it's something that has only brought joy - good on them all, the team spirit showed, keep these lads together because they are tough, fast and when they understand each other's football better we will get 'sexy' football. (Have to add, however, Ballack OUT!)
The Brit Posted May 20, 2007 Posted May 20, 2007 Joe was injured:from the official site"Asked about his half-time substitution of Joe Cole, Mourinho revealed that, before the game, Cole had been sitting with one of his feet in an ice bath "because he didn't want to feel it during the match". By half-time it was clear he could not go on. "But this is the kind of player I have. I cannot fault him for his attitude." Ah, that explains that then. Couldn't see the logic of taking him off when he was playing well. Especially when SWP was running around like a headless chook for most of the first half. swp's end product wasn't the best, but his main job was helping paulo with ronaldo and giggs and he did it well
Nibs Posted May 20, 2007 Posted May 20, 2007 I was gutted when Joe went off at half time and thought it had to be because he was struggling. It was a pretty forgetable first half but at least Joe showed a few good touches. Robben looked really lively for 15-20 minutes and I thought he was gonna turn the game just as he did in the Carling Cup final. But one hefty challenge was enough to put an end to all that. This really has to be looked at, as all teams know now that one good, hard tackle and Robben will be out the game. Although Mikel was good I thought his passing was well off. Perhaps players were not reading where he was placing the ball but a lot of his passes went astray so I wouldn't give him MOTM. I've been critical of Paulo in the past but I thought he was superb yesterday and he'd get my MOTM. It was a great day, great occasion, but not a very memorable game.
The Brit Posted May 20, 2007 Posted May 20, 2007 you're right about robben's weakness nibs, but in his defence he wasn't really fit to begin with so one 'over the top of the ball' tackle by Brown was always going to cause him a problem
ethicalstrategy Posted May 21, 2007 Posted May 21, 2007 and if you watch the taclke back it was very nasty. at the time he was getting a lot of stick from some of the people around us and there's no doubt he was effectively out of the game after that but it's hard to know what to do when someone goes over the top on you like Brown did. It was noticeable that jose made a point of coming to the touchline and applauding Robben when he took him off and encouraged the fans to do so too.
just Posted May 21, 2007 Posted May 21, 2007 Has anyone got a clip of "the tackle" ? I'd like to see it again.
Maksimov Posted May 21, 2007 Posted May 21, 2007 Has anyone got a clip of "the tackle" ? I'd like to see it again. I did a quick search and this is the best I could find: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRyT3OwYXzk The picture's blurry, but you can see it from the video. Just skip it to 1:25 if you don't want to watch the whole thing.
midlandblue Posted May 21, 2007 Posted May 21, 2007 doesn't look so bad a tackle from that angle, but from behind it clearly shows the tackle (if you can call it that) was late and high.
just Posted May 21, 2007 Posted May 21, 2007 I wanted to see it again because from where I was sitting in the stadium at the time I thought Robben jumped over Brown as he slid in. Brown was quite rightly booked because the challenge was late and dangerous. But did he actually make contact with Robben? I'm still not sure he did having watched that clip.
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