Burnley v Aston Villa - 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

[Carwin261]

Trafford 6
Roberts 6
Al Dakhil 7
O’Shea 7
Delcroix 6
Benson 5
Cullen 6
Berge 4 like a slower version of a Tarkowski
Koleosho 7
Amdouni 7
Foster 8
Larsen 7
Gudmundsen 7
The rest not on long enough to score.

[fidelcastro]

Trafford 6
Roberts 6
O'Shea 6
Al-Dakhil 6
Delcroix 6
Cullen 6
Berge 5
Benson 4
Amdouni 6
Koleosho 6
Foster 7

Gudmundsson 6

[cockneyclaret]

Trafford 6 - slow to react for the 1st but recovered into the game
Roberts 7
Al Dakhil 6
O’Shea 7 solid
Delcroix 7 decent debut considering he was bought in this week
Benson 5 Digne made him invisible
Cullen 6
Berge 6 better in the 2nd half
Koleosho 7 great potential considering it's his 2nd game
Amdouni 7
Foster 8* great performance
Larsen 7
Gudmundsen 7 made a huge difference coming on
Jay 6 should have had 1

[DCWat]

Trafford 5
Roberts 6
O'Shea 6
Al-Dakhil 5
Delcroix 6
Cullen 6
Berge 4
Benson 4
Amdouni 6
Koleosho 6
Foster 7

Gudmundsson 6

[CoolClaret]

Trafford 5 - caught in no man’s land after letting Watkins take a 10 yard touch inside the box, distribution ok but a lot slower than Muric’s - some good saves in the second half.

Roberts 5
Al-Dakhil 5 - love this lad but poor today. Not helped by the setup
OShea 5 - needs to release the ball quicker
Delcroix 6 - absolute baptism of fire for this lad and showed he had a bit. Not helped whatsoever by our setup first half
Cullen 6 - had a hard job to do today
Berge 4- He isn’t a sitting midfielder so why play him as one?
Koleosho 5
Benson 4 - was suicide expecting him to have that much defensive responsibility
Amdouni 5 - toiled but nothing really came off for him
Foster 8 - looks every bit a PL player, strong, determined and powerful.

Guddy 7
Redmond 5
Larsen 7

[HahaYeah]

Trafford 6
Roberts 6
O Shea 6
Al Dakhil 6
Delcroix 6
Berge 5
Cullen 7
Benson 6
Koleosho 6
Foster 7
Amdouni 6

Subs :
Gudmundsson 7
Bruun Larsen na
Ramsey na
Rodriguez na
Redmond na

[Jacko]

Trafford 5
Roberts 5
O'Shea 6
Al-Dakhil 6
Delcroix 5
Cullen 6
Berge 5
Benson 5
Amdouni 5
Koleosho 6
Foster 6
Gudmundsson 6

[IanMcL]

Trafford 5
Roberts 6
O'Shea 6
Al-Dakhil 6
Delcroix 5
Cullen 6
Berge 4
Benson 4
Amdouni 6
Koleosho 6
Foster 6

Gudmundsson 6

Rodriguez was best!

[Foshiznik]

Trafford 6
Roberts 6
O'Shea 6
Al-Dakhil 5
Delcroix 6
Cullen 5
Berge 7
Benson 6
Amdouni 7
Koleosho 6
Foster 7

Gudmundsson 7
Rodriguez 5
Larsen 6
Redmond 6
Ramsey 6

[burnleymik]

Trafford 5 - Not convinced at all, too ponderous with big decisions, which i know will improve with time, but for me shouldn't be starting ahead of Muric right now.
Roberts 6 - Did okay today, had a lot of work on, epsecially first half when Benson kept leaving him exposed.
O'Shea 7 - Best of our defense today.
Al-Dakhil 6 - Inexperience showed a couple of times today. Still think he has huge potential.
Delcroix 5 - Looked like a fish out of water at LB and was incredibly lucky Watkins didn't score when he inexplicably left it as it was going across the 6 yard box.
Cullen 6 - Worked very hard and broke up play a lot, epescially fist half, but looked exposed when they moved it through the middle at speed.
Berge 6 - Poor first half, seemed to be trying to do exactly what Cullen was, but looked better when pushed further forward.
Benson 4 - They double teamed him to cut off both angles and he looked clueless, but his biggest issue was his lack of effort when Villa had the ball.
Amdouni 6 - Never stopped trying, but it didn;t really come off for him today. Created himself a good chance first half, but missed the target.
Koleosho 6 - Thought he struggled first half and went backwards too often, but second half he came out and just ran straight at them, caused plenty of problems. Very raw and plenty of talent there.
Foster 7 - His best work first half was defensively for me, even coming across and even doing Benson's job. His strength seems to be from through balls, so we really need to increase those for him, but he took his goal excellently.

Gudmundsson 6 - Had a definite positive impact when introduced, set piece delivery excellent.

[quoonbeatz]

Too many changes, too early on made us look today like a team of demoralised kids in the first half. Those first 10-15 of the 2nd were much better but this was a pretty easy day at the office for a very good villa side.

We aren't on their level but we hardly made a game of it. We're lacking height, physicality, leadership and experience. We're playing a brand new team when we don't really need to and the team has lost a bit of its identity as a result. It was no surprise that we looked better balanced and a bit more coherent when we had a bit more experience on the pitch in the last 10 mins.

Obviously we need to give the new players time to gel, we're just not really helping ourselves by making such wholesale changes.

Trafford - 5 poor decision making for the first and never looked convincing after that

Roberts - 6 hardly in it in the first half, one of our best players in the 2nd

Al-Dakhil - 5 none of those at the back were up to scratch today

O'Shea - 5

Delcroix - 5 all over the shop in the first half but understandable given the step up from Belgium. Looked better after the break.

Cullen - 5 dominated

Berge - 4 game passed him by first half, slightly better for those 10 mins in the 2nd and then rightly hooked

Amdouni - 5 dont think he knows where he's playing, never mind anyone else

Koleosho - 5 raw and it fels like its a bit early for him at this level. Probably be better off the bench.

Benson - 5 definitely better off the bench.

Foster - 7 did really well, loads of work, loads of pressing, held the ball up well enough and got his deserved goal. Good strength and finish it was too.

Gudmundsson - 6 better than benson, but not by much

Ramsey - 4 hardly in it

Redmond - 5 in it slightly more

Credit to Villa, they're a good, experienced PL team; we're a raw, naive, young PL team.

[KlyBfc]

Trafford 5
Roberts 5
Al Dakhil 4
O’Shea 4
Delcroix 5
Benson 5
Koleosho 5
Cullen 5
Berge 4
Amdouni 6
Foster 7

Jbg 6

[MDWat]

Trafford 5
Roberts 5
O’Shea 5
Al-Dakhil 5
Delcroix 6
Cullen 5
Berge 4
Benson 5
Amdouni 5
Koleosho 5
Foster 8*

Gudmundsson 6

[RVclaret]

Trafford 6 - shame about the first (between him and AAD) as he was pretty good after that
Roberts 5 - bit weak and his lack of real pace against Prem attacks like that shows
Al-Dakhil 4 - weak link today, poor on the first, third and his passing was miles off
O’Shea 6 - steady away
Delcroix 6 - quite liked the look of him, only a few days here but has real technical quality
Cullen 5 - passing radar way off and VK’s tactics had him exposed
Berge 6 - played further forward today than against City, found himself in some really good positions but wasn’t clinical enough
Benson 5 - not a game to start him in against Digne, who had 4 assists to his name already this season
Amdouni 6 - in and out of it
Koleosho 6 - bright moments but surely will become an impact player once Larsen/Zaroury get up to speed
Foster 7* - brilliant goal, good strength, work rate and skill

JBG 6 - some quality passes and helped us control things a bit more second half

Villa impressive, Burnley giving another sloppy goal away so soon, Kompany a bit naive in tactics/selection first half but still saw lots of encouraging signs.

We’ve got the hardest opening fixture list out of anyone in the league. Combine that with having a new squad and it’s just a very tough start. Even more important the fans keep backing the players!

[Swizzlestick]

Trafford 5
Roberts 5
O'Shea 6
Al-Dakhil 5
Delcroix 5
Cullen 5
Berge 4
Benson 4
Amdouni 6
Koleosho 6
Foster 7*

Gudmundsson 5

[FCBurnley]

Trafford 4 huge error that set the tone.
Roberts 5 invisible in first half
O’Shea 5
AD 5
Delcroix 6 looked better as CB
Berge 5. Couple of good runs into space but poor first touch
Cullen 6 MOM did his best in what looked a 1 man midfield

[Luppy]

Trafford - 4 - shocking for the first goal

Roberts - 7
Al-Dakhil - 7
O'Shea - 7
Delcroix - 6 - improved as the game went on

Cullen - 7
Berge - 4 - thought Dale Stephens was playing....
Benson - 4

Amdouni - 4 - Passeneger for much of the game
Foster - 7
Koleosho - 7 - bags of potential

JBG - 7* - brought a footballing quality to proceedings that had been sadly lacking

Just feels like we have made changes for changes sake at the moment. Don't get it.

Not convinced with the keeper at all - but early days. Brownhill must be on his way otherwise his absence makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Amdouni - no idea where he's playing and I don't think he does either - has some tidy touches but no goal threat. Neither left back we have played so far this season looks better than Taylor. With the current set up one pass is completely opening us up - men against boys at times. Where's Ekdal?

Long way to go - in VK we trust

[Ric_C]

Bit of a lesson today. Trafford needs dropping as he looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights atm. He's only young and needs to settle. Muric back next game please.

Berge was awful first half, a little better in the second. Have we been sold a dud? Not really seeing any qualities he brings.

Can't believe we've now played two premier league fixtures with no recognised left back.

Foster has been a big big plus, and the new guy Delcroix did ok considering he's only been here a week.

Seriously worried about our central midfield .

Trafford 5
Roberts 6
O'Shea 6
Al-Dakhil 5
Delcroix 6
Cullen 5
Berge 4
Benson 5
Amdouni 6
Koleosho 7
Foster 8

Gudmundsson 7
Rodriguez 6
Larsen 6
Redmond 6
Ramsey 6

[SalisburyClaret]

Trafford 6
Roberts 7 experience showed
O'Shea 4 looks the weakest of our defenders
Al-Dakhil 6
Delcroix 6 lacked strength but decent
Cullen 5 passed him by
Berge 7 far better this week
Benson 6
Amdouni 5 some nice touches but not involved enough
Koleosho 6 tried
Foster 7 good goal

Gudmundsson 7 experience showed

Need far more experience in defence and leadership throughout
- some promising moments though

[Colburn_Claret]

Trafford 6
Roberts 6
O'Shea 7
Al-Dakhil 6
Delcroix 8
Cullen 5
Berge 3
Benson 5
Amdouni 6
Koleosho 6
Foster 9

Gudmundsson 6

[bfcjg]

Trafford bad timing for Garstang hoal.
Roberts 6
O'Shea 6
Al-Dakhil 7
Delcroix 6
Cullen 6
Berge 6
Benson 5 Vill cancelled him out and he had no answer.
Amdouni 6
Koleosho 6
Foster 8 mom

Gudmundsson 6

[maidenover]

Trafford 5
Roberts 5
O'Shea 5
Al-Dakhil 5
Delcroix 5
Cullen 5
Berge 4
Benson 4
Amdouni 6
Koleosho 6
Foster 7 MoM

Gudmundsson 6

[Carwin261]

Since VK came to Burnley I haven’t doubted any of his team selections over 48 league matches,but I think he’s dropped I huge bollock picking Trafford over Muric,hope he hasn’t a stubborn streak and his willing to do a you turn if JT doesn’t improve.

[Anthonini]

Trafford 6
Roberts 5
O'Shea 5
Al-Dakhil 6
Delcroix 7
Cullen 6
Berge 5
Benson 5,5
Amdouni 6
Koleosho 5
Foster 8

Gudmundsson 5
Rodríguez 6
Redmond 6
Ramsey 6
Larsen 6

[Jakubs Tash]

Trafford 6 - couldn’t do too much with the goals. Slight indecision on the first after Watkins poor touch but did ok.

Roberts 6 - much better when he switched to the left. Benson might have benefited had he been a bit more attacking down his side in the first half.
Delcroix 6 - did ok with some decent interceptions. Calm on the ball.
Al Dakhil 5 - not his best game. Both centre halves gave Watkins far too much space to receive the ball from their centre halves in the first half.
O’Shea 5 - did ok defensively but he probably saw more of the ball than anybody else on our team today and didn’t break the lines well enough by stepping out or his passing ability - something Beyer and THB are very good at. Maybe he’s just not a ball playing centre half…

Cullen 6 - completely overran in the first half. Tidy second half.
Berge 5 - really struggled first half. A bit better at the start of the second half before being pulled. Needs to play further forward.

Benson 5 - looked way off it and offered no protection for his full back.
Koleosho 6 - bright start to the second half but looks so raw and probably not quite ready to be starting PL games.
Amdouni 5 - flashes. Moves well with the ball and looks like he can make things happen but not involved enough.
Foster 7 - led the line and took his goal well.

JBG 7 - put a shift in and played some nice passes helping retain possession and try and play teammates in.
Ramsey 5 - not involved enough in the time he was on. Ineffective.
Redmond 5 - saw a lot of the ball but never liked like beating his man. Ineffective.

[Leyland Claret]

Trafford 5
Roberts 6
Al Dakhil 5
O’Shea 5
Delcroix 5
Cullen 4
Berge 5
Benson 4
Amdouni 5
Koleosho 5
Foster 7

JBG 6

Not a great performance. Villa are a really good side though. Got to trust the process and stick behind what VK is trying to achieve.

[Jakubs Tash]

Trafford 6 - couldn’t do too much with the goals. Slight indecision on the first after Watkins poor touch but did ok.

Roberts 6 - much better when he switched to the left. Benson might have benefited had he been a bit more attacking down his side in the first half.
Delcroix 6 - did ok with some decent interceptions. Calm on the ball.
Al Dakhil 5 - not his best game. Both centre halves gave Watkins far too much space to receive the ball from their centre halves in the first half.
O’Shea 5 - did ok defensively but he probably saw more of the ball than anybody else on our team today and didn’t break the lines well enough by stepping out or his passing ability - something Beyer and THB are very good at. Maybe he’s just not a ball playing centre half…

Cullen 6 - completely overran in the first half. Tidy second half.
Berge 5 - really struggled first half. A bit better at the start of the second half before being pulled. Needs to play further forward.

Benson 5 - looked way off it and offered no protection for his full back.
Koleosho 6 - bright start to the second half but looks so raw and probably not quite ready to be starting PL games.
Amdouni 5 - flashes. Moves well with the ball and looks like he can make things happen but not involved enough.
Foster 7 - led the line and took his goal well.

JBG 7 - put a shift in and played some nice passes helping retain possession and try and play teammates in.
Ramsey 5 - not involved enough in the time he was on. Ineffective.
Redmond 5 - saw a lot of the ball but never liked like beating his man. Ineffective.

To add…..

I thought it was a naive set up from the off from VK. Essentially a front 4 with only 2 midfielders who got overrun. In hindsight we probably should have had either JBG or Brownhill starting in place of Amdouni for extra bodies in the middle of the pitch.

Also, a little disappointed by our style of play. I appreciate we are playing against good teams at this level but there were a lot things happening (like long, aimless passes down the middle) that we never really did at all last season. We shouldn’t be changing the way we play too much after it was so successful for us last year.

[timscoot]

Trafford 5
Roberts 6
O'Shea 6
Al-Dakhil 5
Delcroix 5
Cullen 5
Berge 5
Benson 4
Amdouni 7
Koleosho 6
Foster 7

Gudmundsson 6
Rodriguez 5
Larsen 6
Redmond 6
Ramsey 6

[claretspice]

A timely wake up call that will hopefully prompt some adjustments in strategy.

Trafford - 5 - a couple of smart saves once the game had gone but his inexperience was exposed for the opening goal and he lacked presence on other occasions.

Roberts - 6 - not bad and contributed to the goal, but at Premier League level he's not comfortable stepping into the centre if midfield routinely.

Delcroix- 6 a baptism of fire in the first half, and asking him to make his debut at left back when he's clearly not that natural there was a mistake which contributed to both first half goals. Shaped up OK in the second half at centre back, give or take a couple of hesitant moments.

Al Dakhil - 5 - his inexperience showed up in the first half, and the fact he's not a right back showed in the second, not least in his inability to take a throw in. At fault for rhe third goal.

O'Shea - 6 - some reasonable last ditch defending but never looked in command.

Cullen - 6 - nice enough on the ball but too often forced to thread the eye of a needle, and defensively he was overwhelmed in midfield too often.

Berge - 5 - the idea of him playing as some sort on inside forward needs a rethink. Not comfortable in the role, and it is to be hoped that his apparent lack of oomph was a result of his uncertainty with his role and the system, rather than a lack of desire. Needs to up his intensity either way.

Amdouni - 5 - nice feet a couple of times, most obviously at the end of the first half when he snatched at the shot, but otherwise peripheral and we were unable to get him into the game.

Benson- 5 - a couple of half moments but ineffective and literally peripheral, given he was strung out on the right touchline with both a full back and a left centre half doubling on him, and without a runner to create an overlap. For all that, lightweight and will need to adapt quickly.

Koleosho - 6 - showed plenty of promise and pace and influential at the start of the second half, but in part that reflected that Villa were happy to leave space for him and his end product wasn't always what it might be. Nonetheless, there was a contrast with what Redmond managed after he came on from which Koleosho can take heart.

Foster - 8 - by some distance our best player again and showed he has the pace and power to thrive at this level - and given he is clearly a confidence player that goal could be very significant indeed. The silver lining today.

JBG - 7 - showed up very well and demonstrated to any doubters that he's got plenty to offer this season both centrally and off the flank.

Redmond - 5 - didn't really get into the game.

Ramsey - 5 - as Redmond.

Rodriguez - not on long enough but added a focal point.

Larsen - not on long enough but a couple of nice touches.


Today we tried to play exactly the way we did in the Championship. There was just one problem: in the Championship, the system served to accentuate our technical and often physical superiority over opponents, but today it served to make us vulnerable to being picked off by better, stronger and quicker opponents. In the end we looked like we were over-complicating the game with too many players spending too much time out of position - when the player playing right back cannot take a throw in, something has gone awry, but even before then it was hard to argue that the system was playing to the strengths and hiding the weakness of Roberts, Berge or Benson in particular. We were a man short in midfield and in front of the back four, exposed to the counter and unable to get the forward playera into the game. The worst of all worlds.

We have enough good players to compete but we need a competent (and if not Maatsen, ideally experienced given the obvious naivety elsewhere) left back, and if Brownhill is not to feature, more bite in midfield. And possibly a dose of pragmatism to avoid being masters of our own downfall.

[YClaret]

Trafford 5
Roberts 5
O'Shea 5
Al-Dakhil 6
Delcroix 5
Cullen 5
Berge 5
Benson 4
Amdouni 6
Koleosho 6
Foster 7

Gudmundsson 6

[CryerBFC]

Trafford - 6 (+1) - for the save from Watkins in second half, first half looked a bit ‘rabbit in headlights’.
Roberts - 6 - played 2 positions today but didn’t excel in either.
O’Shea - 5 - too slow with the ball, doesn’t get stuck in as I’d like, not a patch on THB.
Al-Dakhil - 6 - probably the best of a dodgy back line.
Decroix- 6 - played a few decent passes, won a few headers from corners, otherwise a bit slow.
Berge - 4 - not entirely sure what he offers, poor in the tackle, plays very easy simple passes, poor decision making.
Cullen - 6 - harsh to mark down but energy doesn’t do much in this league, needs more physical presence, even doing the Jack Russel ankle biting would be effective.
Benson - 5 - marked out of the game, once head went down never looked interested
Amdouni - 6 - one of maybe 2/3 that actually looked like he cared, putting himself about and trying hard
Koleosho - 6 - as above, tried hard, wanted the ball earlier but took 3/4 passes to get to him and then was double/closely marked.
Foster - 6 - extra marks for the goal, pushed hard and hassled the Villa defence but did it on his own.


Really poor showing today. Coulda changed 7/8 at half time, I know we took some time to get going last year and I hope it’s the same again. Otherwise could be a long old season.

[MrTopTier]

Trafford 5 At fault for the first and possibly the third, in my opinion.

Roberts 5 not sure he knows where he is supposed to be playing gave away the ball to often

Al Dakhil 6 Decent gave away the ball to cheaply on a number of occasions

Cullen 6 neat and tidy but predictable forward balls

Berge 4 the new Jeff Hendricks

Koleosho 6 bright in the first half and better in the second

Amdouni 5 one moment of quality in the first half, not sure where he is supposed to be playing.

Foster 6 Good goal, decent in our box as a defender and tries really hard.

Gudmundson 6 premier league and nous, good assist.

Redmond, Larsen and Ramsey look ok.

I tried to temper my viewpoint by trying to balance where we are and allowing for all the changes that have taken place. That said aside for the 15 minutes at the start of the second half we were poor.

Villa a very good side, we lacked leadership, pace, options. We didn’t press, poor in possession and overran on the flanks and in the middle. The lack of premier league experience on the pitch is worrying.

We didn’t start the season very well last year and it turned out alright, I am hoping we can learn and learn very quickly.

[Hedontplayforyou]

Trafford 5 - must do better. Muric breathing down his neck
Roberts 5 - looked a bit too physical for him at times
O’Shea 5 - some poor mistakes, needs tk be stronger
Al-Dakhil 4 - worst I’ve seen him. Can’t take a throw in to save his life.
Delcroix 5 - thrown in to a new team in a strange system today and did ok.
Cullen - 5 thrown under the bus for his yellow by Berge then couldn’t press as hard, unusually sloppy at times.
Berge 3 - his first half was truly awful, contributed to his team mates being on a yellow and was just a passenger .
Koleosho - 6 tried his best, offered a threat , end product need to be worked on.
Benson 4 - couldn’t get him in the game , when we did too weak.
Amdouni - 5 showed glimpses but not sure he knew the system today.
Foster - 7 worked hard, good strength deserved his goal. Passsing still sloppy.

Lessons to be learned for everyone today including VK.

Against the box midfield of Villa I can’t understand why we went with Cullen and Berge in there . And to be honest it was mainly just Cullen. Strange .

[claretgimmer]

Trafford 6 Poor view of first goal but other than that he did ok
Roberts 4 Slow, ponderous and still sideways backward passing, not PL standard for me
O'Shea 6 As the most expeienced defender he needed to take charge and talk to the young lads as they needed it
Al-Dakhil 4 Poor poor distribution from the back which all seemed to come through him, jumps in and sells himself to much
Delcroix 6 Hard to be too critical on his debut, honestly believe CT would have been a better option today
Cullen 5 Game seemed to pass him by at times but really needs to up is game if he is going to be effective at this level
Berge 4 Slow and contributed little which didn`t help Cullen, easily dispossessed and didn`t create anything of note
Benson 4 A lot to learn about what`s required at this level
Amdouni 6 Needs to work harder when he hasn`t got the ball but looks promising
Koleosho 7 Like the look of this lad and I think with time he will be a real assett to the team, some decent crosses from the left
Foster 8 MoM Looks the player we thought we had bought worked hard up front and wasn`t bad when on defensive duties

Gudmundsson 7
Rodriguez 6
Larsen 6
Redmond 6
Ramsey 6

We need to move the ball faster and with more purpose,Villa were sharper and more organised, VK needs to workout his best starting line up and stick to it, choppping and changing on a game to game basis doesn`t allow players to get used to playing alongside familiar partners and gaining an understanding of each others game, but it`s early doors and so many new faces need time to gel and acclimatise but the PL is a cruel place when you¬re not quite on it. as a side note the ref was crap again

[ervi34]

Trafford - 5
Made a big mistake at the beginning and they get punished most of the time in this league. His positioning for their third is also a little bit questionable in my opinion but Watkins did block his vision to be fair. He mae some really good saves but I also agree that his distribution (although not poor by any means) is a lot slower than Muric's and it has an effect on our playstyle.

Delcroix - 6
I don't think he was as bad as some are suggesting. Lost his man for the first game but really grew into the game and had some decent blocks and interventions. I still think we need a massive improvement in LB position. Himself or Vitinho can't start there for the rest of the season.

O'Shea - 6
I don't think his name was mentioned a lot.

AAD - 5
His passing and movement with the ball are decent but defensive side of the game was not good today. Dragged out of position before 2 out of 3 goals.

Roberts - 6
Overall OK game but missed one header that could have resulted in goal.

Berge - 5
Awful in the first, better in a more advanced role in the second half. If Kompany wants him closer to the goal than there has to be another CM with Cullen.

Cullen - 5
Not good enough today.

Amdouni - 5
Has talent and looks dangerous, but has to be involved more.

Koleosho - 6
Very poor in the first half where he tried too hard but better in the second part of the game. But as I have written after City game, don't think he should be starting.

Benson - 5
He tried but was tightly marked. He has to improve in defensive duties though.

Foster - 7 MOTM
Again my MOTM. We always knew his off-ball play is very good but today he finally scored. Will be a big boost in confidence.

-------
Every sub 6. JBG with a decent assist and Rodriguez has to do better with chances.

Kompany - 4
Very naive tactics but I have no doubts he will learn from it.

[fungus_the_bogeyman]

Trafford 5
Roberts 5
Delcroix 5
Al Dakhil 5
O’Shea 6
Cullen 5
Berge 5
Amdouni 5
Benson 5
Koleosho 6
Foster 7*

Gudmundsson 7
Redmond 5
Ramsey 5

[Vino blanco]

From tv
Trafford 6 not convinced he is better than Muric.
Roberts 7 tried hard to help out an overwhelmed midfield.
Oshea 6 I think TBH , Ekdal , AlDakhil and Beyer are better centre backs than he
AlDakhil 6 not at his best today, poor in build up to their 3rd
Delcroix 6 never a lb in a million years, could he a very good left sided cb, did well in second half considering he only joined us a few days ago.
Benson 5 not his type of game today, he needs to given the chance to run at players, he had 3 or 4 players marking him at times.
Cullen 6 awful first half then got more into the game. We need more strength and power in midfield.
Berge 6 unfortunately he is one of those players who looks somewhat uninterested.He has undoubted skill and technique but needs a bit more fire to back it up.
Jolo 5 needs to be on the bench, watching and learning his trade.
Amdouni 6 he is not as quick as I expected and looked like he didn't know what his role was.
Foster 8* the pony looked like a PL player. Also excellent dropping back to bolster a weak midfield.
JBG 7 he played like we did last season, good, concise passing and clevet movement on and off the ball.

For first time I was confused by VK's team selection and tactics, it just didn't seem or look right. We have the time and personnel to get it right quickly though.

[Boss Hogg]

Trafford 5 Muric should have started the season.
Roberts 6 Did OK today.
Al Dakhil 6 As above
OShea 6
Delcroix 6
Cullen 5
Berge 4 weak particularly for a big man. Needs to be part of a 3.
Benson 5 Better as an impact sub.
Amdouni 6
Koleosho 6 Raw as we saw last week. Shouldn’t be starting.
Foster 7 Looks a different player this season.

Subs

Redmond 7
Larsen 7 should be starting imo.
JBG 6
J Rod 6
Ramsey 6

We looked pretty poor bar a spell at beginning of 2nd half. Too many new faces at once and shouldn’t be playing so many inexperienced players ahead of older players. Disjointed slow and weak. Thought Berge was disappointing. Spurs will thump us based on this.

[DanH90]

Got beat on the counter too easily for all 3 goals and need to steel up in midfield. Berge far too weak for a 6ft 5 bloke!

Trafford - 5 - indecisive for the first goal - either come out or stay on your line, ended up doing neither.

Delcroix - 5 -got ripped inside out as a LB, better at CB. We need a LB desperately, think a lot of people don’t realise just how much of our plat, especially attacking and driving forward with the ball, came through Maatsen. Hope we can get him back

Al Dakhil - 4 - thought he was very poor today. Outmuscled, poor distribution and got dragged out of position too much. Still think he will be a top CB though.

O’Shea. - 5 - Fine, but I’d rather have Ekdal in, we missed Beyer today and at least Ekdal can drive into midfield with the ball.

Roberts - 5 - Ok

Berge - 4 - as people have alluded to, think he’s better making third man runs as a more attacking midfielder. Problem is, there are so many options for that position, but no real out and out CM other than Cullen. Brownhill back in for me.

Cullen - 5 - outnumbered.

Amdouni - 5 Think he is clearly a good player, good feet but does too much with it. Tries to take on too many players. All a bit quick for him at the moment.

Koleosho - 6 - Raw but tried to make things happen.

Benson - 4 - Rightly hooked

Foster - 7 - starting to look like a real PL player

JBG - 6 - holds on to the ball better than many others, think that’s why he was brought on, and it worked until their third goal, which killed the game.

Redmond - 5
Rodriguez - 5
Ramsey - 5 didn’t touch the ball
Larsen - 6 - like the look of him in both cameos so far.

[CatonClaret]

Trafford 6 - felt like he could have come out to Watkins earlier for the first but would need to see it back. Distribution better and nothing he could do about other 2.
Roberts 6 - tried to make things happen when playing on the left side in second half but not his day.
Al Dakhil 6 - tidy enough. Final third delivery not great but was playing out of position. Also needs someone to teach him to take a throw in!
O’Shea 7 - again, have to watch highlights but I thought he was good today. Feels like he’s been here years already.
Delcroix 6 - would have been a 4 for the first half performance but definitely grew into the game. Fingers crossed Ian is on his way back though….
Benson 5 - pretty anonymous. After this half I’m wondering if we need to see him more as an impact sub as opposed to a starter.
Cullen 6 - kept it ticking over as always but his “Westwood” balls over the top lacked.
Berge 6 - really odd player. Built like a brick house but doesn’t seem to put himself about. Unsure fully on the tactics but thought he actually did a reasonable job picking up balls over the top and holding it up. I’d be putting him on the bench for Spurs and bringing Brownhill back in though until he settles into the rhythm more.
Koleosho 6 - willing runner but faded before subbed. Glimpses of a really good player there but like Benson should be coming on as an impact sub.
Amdouni 6 - not as good as he was against City but glimpses again. Wonder if he’d be more impactful coming off the left/right which I believe he played for Basel on occasion.
Foster 8 - a totally different player this season. Really good goal too.

Gudmundsen 7 - came on and made a difference in my opinion. Seemed like he was playing RB at some points!

[Cirrus_Minor]

Foster 7
The rest 5

[Carport]

Trafford 6
Roberts 7 experience showed
O'Shea 4 looks the weakest of our defenders
Al-Dakhil 6
Delcroix 6 lacked strength but decent
Cullen 5 passed him by
Berge 7 far better this week
Benson 6
Amdouni 5 some nice touches but not involved enough
Koleosho 6 tried
Foster 7 good goal

Gudmundsson 7 experience showed

Need far more experience in defence and leadership throughout
- some promising moments though

Berge was shocking I thought. Doesn’t look fit enough. Made very little effort

[Neil]

A timely wake up call that will hopefully prompt some adjustments in strategy.

Trafford - 5 - a couple of smart saves once the game had gone but his inexperience was exposed for the opening goal and he lacked presence on other occasions.

Roberts - 6 - not bad and contributed to the goal, but at Premier League level he's not comfortable stepping into the centre if midfield routinely.

Delcroix- 6 a baptism of fire in the first half, and asking him to make his debut at left back when he's clearly not that natural there was a mistake which contributed to both first half goals. Shaped up OK in the second half at centre back, give or take a couple of hesitant moments.

Al Dakhil - 5 - his inexperience showed up in the first half, and the fact he's not a right back showed in the second, not least in his inability to take a throw in. At fault for rhe third goal.

O'Shea - 6 - some reasonable last ditch defending but never looked in command.

Cullen - 6 - nice enough on the ball but too often forced to thread the eye of a needle, and defensively he was overwhelmed in midfield too often.

Berge - 5 - the idea of him playing as some sort on inside forward needs a rethink. Not comfortable in the role, and it is to be hoped that his apparent lack of oomph was a result of his uncertainty with his role and the system, rather than a lack of desire. Needs to up his intensity either way.

Amdouni - 5 - nice feet a couple of times, most obviously at the end of the first half when he snatched at the shot, but otherwise peripheral and we were unable to get him into the game.

Benson- 5 - a couple of half moments but ineffective and literally peripheral, given he was strung out on the right touchline with both a full back and a left centre half doubling on him, and without a runner to create an overlap. For all that, lightweight and will need to adapt quickly.

Koleosho - 6 - showed plenty of promise and pace and influential at the start of the second half, but in part that reflected that Villa were happy to leave space for him and his end product wasn't always what it might be. Nonetheless, there was a contrast with what Redmond managed after he came on from which Koleosho can take heart.

Foster - 8 - by some distance our best player again and showed he has the pace and power to thrive at this level - and given he is clearly a confidence player that goal could be very significant indeed. The silver lining today.

JBG - 7 - showed up very well and demonstrated to any doubters that he's got plenty to offer this season both centrally and off the flank.

Redmond - 5 - didn't really get into the game.

Ramsey - 5 - as Redmond.

Rodriguez - not on long enough but added a focal point.

Larsen - not on long enough but a couple of nice touches.


Today we tried to play exactly the way we did in the Championship. There was just one problem: in the Championship, the system served to accentuate our technical and often physical superiority over opponents, but today it served to make us vulnerable to being picked off by better, stronger and quicker opponents. In the end we looked like we were over-complicating the game with too many players spending too much time out of position - when the player playing right back cannot take a throw in, something has gone awry, but even before then it was hard to argue that the system was playing to the strengths and hiding the weakness of Roberts, Berge or Benson in particular. We were a man short in midfield and in front of the back four, exposed to the counter and unable to get the forward playera into the game. The worst of all worlds.

We have enough good players to compete but we need a competent (and if not Maatsen, ideally experienced given the obvious naivety elsewhere) left back, and if Brownhill is not to feature, more bite in midfield. And possibly a dose of pragmatism to avoid being masters of our own downfall.

Regarding Benson, it really depends on how Kompany wants to set this team up. You watch Newcastle and you've got Trippier breaking his neck to support Almiron every time he gets the ball. Don't think Roberts is going to be doing that in this system.

[jmu1]

Tough to score as some reasonable individual performances hampered by tactics that played into Villas hands
Trafford 6
Roberts 6
OShea 6
Al Dakhil 5
Delacroix 6
Cullen 7
Berge 5
Benson 5
Amdouni 6
Koleosho 6
Foster 7

JBG 7

[AGENT_CLARET]

My opinion from watching on TV

Bloody poor all round

We need a new LB a new RB

Ekdal and Beyer need to play

We need an enforcer type midfielder

[SalisburyClaret]

Berge was shocking I thought. Doesn’t look fit enough. Made very little effort

He touched the ball every 20 minutes in our first game, this afternoon he broke the lines a number of times, won corners and was pretty much our only midfielder. He also defended well. Having said that, it didn’t take much to stand out in a dire team performance

[ksrclaret]

I was absolutely staggered that we set up to play that strong Villa side in the same way we played Wigan, Hudds, and Blackpool last season. I’ve been saying all summer we need to get back to a proper 4231 shape and that need is even more pressing now. We were charging all over the place as well trying to press the ball in totally inappropriate situations and as a result it was a performance of ill discipline and naivety.

We need to enter the market now and get in some experienced heads since VK has discarded most of those who brought experience last season.

Trafford 5 - at fault for the first goal which meant we were on a hiding to nothing after 8 minutes. An experienced keeper deals with that easily and we might be in a different game. Recovered from it well though.

Roberts 5 - never an inverted full back at PL level. Naive at best.

Al-Dakhil 4 - too tight all afternoon and was easily brushed off, notably for the third.

O’Shea 5 - same as Al-Dakhil just not quite as bad.

Delcroix 5 - he’s steady but couldn’t adjust to the pace of Villa

Cullen 5 - on his own in midfield. Needs a big sitter next to him or today will be repeated most games.

Benson 4 - really poor and was hiding after 20 mins. Not got the legs for this league. Impact sub only.

Amdouni 5 - looks to have something but on the periphery all day

Berge 4 - awful. Hope that’s not him because that is exactly what we don’t want in midfield.

Koleosho 6 - tried really hard and has lovely balance on the ball, but I can’t believe after spending £100m he’s our starter. Something gone wrong here.

Foster 7 - the highlight of the game. Brilliant and he’s got a future at this level.

JBG 7 - within 2 minutes he brought the experience and nous we’re absolutely crying out for.


VK is a very, very smart man and he will know he’s set us up poorly today. Villa was always a huge task, but we’ve not given ourselves a chance today. I worry about our recruitment, the team is just not right - unbalanced and a bit of a mish-mash.

I back VK all the way to fashion a team out of this but he can’t dispense with experience altogether. It’s a recipe for disaster .

[ClaretTony]

Trafford 5
Roberts 6
Al-Dakhil 5
O'Shea 6
Delcroix 6
Cullen 5
Berge 4
Benson 4
Amdouni 5
Koleosho 6
Foster 8

Guðmundsson 7
Redmond 6
Ramsey 6

[jdrobbo]

Trafford 5
Roberts 5
Al-Dakhil 5
O'Shea 5
Delcroix 6
Cullen 5
Berge 6
Benson 5
Amdouni 6
Koleosho 7
Foster 8

JBG 7
Redmond 6
Ramsey 6