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Basel Ratings

I agree with your last line, berbs is twice the player, but we've got ade and as far as performances go this season that wasn't in his bottom 80%. Should he be doing better, of course, but he's clearly a mentally weak individual and his head went early doors this season.

Point being that was a slight improvement.
 
Brad - 5 Should have done better for the goal
Walker - 6.5 Solid enough defensively
Vert - 5 Silly silly challenge that he did not need to make for the goal
Dawson - 8 MOM for me after a shakey start, looked like he really wanted it
Naughten - 5, badly out of position for their 1st goal. Should not play a right footed player at left back if the winger in front of them is also right footed
Siggy - 6.5 great shift from him, not a natural winger, tried his best
Dembele - 4 Bad day at the office, I have a sneaky feeling he might be carrying an I jury
Parker - 6 Average
Dempsey - 6.5 put in a good shift and got the goals. Horrible player to watch though
Holtby - 7 ran all night, didn't really create anything if note though
Ade - 6 lazy lazy, frustrating player, should have rolled the ball to sig, not his worst game, but so frustrating

Carroll - 7.5 thought he was excellent, moves the ball quickly and accurately, looks promising
Hudd - 7 done well, even at centre half
Benny - 6 All I can remember him doing is one bad pass to Dawson. Think he was solid enough other than that though
 
Brad - 5 Horrible mistake
Walker - 7
Vert - 6.5 Did not have to make the challange
Dawson - 7.5 Would be a solid 9 if we would have won the game, horrible back pass cost us
Naughten - 6 tried hard
Siggy - 7 Very good game
Dembele - 5 not up to it
Parker - 7 solid
Dempsey - 7.5 Drifts out of the game but happy he scored 2
Holtby - 6.5 tried to be Parker
Ade - 7 Good game apart from that terrible penaly

Carroll -7
Hudd - 7
Benny - 6

I am deleting this result from memory, what a horrible horrible feeling
 
Friedel gets a 5????

He is useless, any other keeper would have saved both goals.

He is a shame to this football club and can hardly bend down to pick the ball up. I would have caught the ball for the second goal.

Friedel 3 ByeBye, shot on target is a goal.

Walker 7 Did well

Dawson 8 Gave everything but has a limits as we all know and it showed

Vertonghen 6 Good pass but got sent off

Naughton 5 Just not good enough

Parker 5 Not good, gets bullied around

Dembele 5 Not impressive

Holtby 4 Nothing, simply nothing, not good enough on ball

Sigurdsson 5 Tried but just not good enough on the ball

Dempsey 8 Awful, but scores 2 so what can you say

Ade 4 Not good enough, awful pen
 
Friedel - 5. Thanks for all your hard work over the last couple of years Brad, but I guess that's the end of the road.
Walker - 8. A shame he had to spend the whole night on the defensive but did a great job of shackling their biggest threat.
Dawson - 6. Lions effort, amazing last ditch tackle. However, all heart doesn't disguise the average first 75 minutes.
Vertonghen - 6. Unlucky in the build up to the red.
Naughton - 5. Weak link in the first half, was ineffective coming forward. Would have preferred him to cover for Vertonghen to move upfield.
Dembele - 4. Not his night.
Parker - 6. Did what Parker does.
Holtby - 6. Did what Parker does.
Sigurdsson - 6. Great to have at least one of our team run at them.
Adebayor - 6. Isolated at times, questionable positioning.
Dempsey - 7. 2 goals, worked hard but could have played a cleverer game.

Subs
Huddlestone - 7..... in that it was a decent performance, if not excellent, for a player out of position after a long lay off.
Assou-Ekkoto - 6. In hindsight, an unnecessary switch.
Carroll - 7. Impressive cameo to add to his experience. Relieved the lad didn't have to take a penalty.

I'd say my judgement on Adebayor and the attacking component is partly reserved on what their instructions actually were. You'ld have to expect that it was AVB that was telling him to take up wide positions. I also would have had Huddlestone on much earlier, Basel were letting us have a lot of the ball. And I'd have liked a more direct approach to Adebayor at times, so a shame this switch didnt happen for another reason.

I also think Adebayor deserves some credit for his second half, where he was the only forward against two CBs (which also makes me wonder how we struggled so much with ten men, because if it is Ade v two, then the rest of the pitch is evenly matched??) . However, he should have done better with that chance late into stoppage time, either a decent shot, or a good lay off. That said, AVB is a far more knowledgable man than me on these things, who am I to say ;)



If Adebayor was instructed to come deep and wide, then something needs to be said about this. How often did this happen and the attack completely broke down because a) Adebayor lamely lost possession in a dead end or b) there was nobody in the box to deliver a ball too. I am well aware of the modern approach of forwards coming into deep positions, but coming out to the bi line in tight areas has me beat. Doesn't seem to be working either.
 
Ade often drifted right where there were nobody to help him out. Holtby had wandered off and Walker stayed back.
 
Ade often drifted right where there were nobody to help him out. Holtby had wandered off and Walker stayed back.


Bingo.

When the opposition's full backs come forward the space is wide. What's hilarious is that when he came wide he got and kept the ball, but people complained about it. Then they bitched because he lost the ball when he waited in the middle.
 
Bingo.

When the opposition's full backs come forward the space is wide. What's hilarious is that when he came wide he got and kept the ball, but people complained about it. Then they bitched because he lost the ball when he waited in the middle.

He lost the ball when wide and also in the middle.
 
I'm not expecting him to keep it every time, but in my mind he kept it far better out wide then he did in the centre.
He's not good enough to be out wide. It's not like he can deliver a whipped ball into the centre like Rvp. He has a brick shot so the best place for him to be is in and around the box. I find it hard to defend him tbh at the moment. For the amount of money he's on and for his age you would expect him to make far more of a difference to our side than just running about a bit.
 
At last people are catching on to Dembele, gives the ball away gets caught in possession and does not create fudge all, him and Parker are totally uncreative, in the first minute Parker received a ball on the edge of their area instead of playing someone in or working a shot he passed it back 25 yards, play one or the other not both.
 
At last people are catching on to Dembele, gives the ball away gets caught in possession and does not create fudge all, him and Parker are totally uncreative, in the first minute Parker received a ball on the edge of their area instead of playing someone in or working a shot he passed it back 25 yards, play one or the other not both.

I've been on to Dembele right from the off. I have constantly begged the question, what does this guy do?
 
Friedel 5. Shouldn't ever be palming the ball straight out into that area for the second goal and on watching it again, I do think that he was poorly positioned for the first/ should have been rushing out and closing the angle. Still still some ridiculous Friedel hysteria here though, he's the best 2nd choice in the league (except perhaps for whomever you consider to be 2nd choice at Man utd.)

Walker 7.5. Perhaps our best player tonight actually. Helped to bail out some of our other defenders' mistakes with his pace, defended well and contributed in attack when he could (though obviously with Salah he couldn't bomb up too much otherwise there'd be a huge gap on the right)
Dawson 6. Pretty poor actually for the first hour or so. Sold Vertonghen out. Incredible last ditch defending for extra time.
Vertonghen 6. Made the challenge that needed to be done. That player was clean through otherwise and I was shocked that 'pundits' didn't seem to realise this.
Naughton 5. Poor first half. Improved second.

Dempsey 7. 2 goals. Didn't contribute that much outside. Never stopped running.
Parker 6. Average.
Dembele 4. Complete and utter shocker in this match.
Holtby 6. Thought it was one of his better recent performances. Still needs to step it up though.
Sigurdsson 6.5. Always tried hard, some good passes, runs etc.

Adebayor 5.5. More involved than recently. Still think his hold up play should be much better though.

Carroll 6. Some good passes and moe tenacious than I would have expected in the tackle.
Huddlestone 6.5. Excellent pass. Did a good job in centrehalf as well.
Ekotto 5.5. Bit of an unnecessary switch I feel and considering his energy, should have been contributing more to attack.
 
Friedel 5

Walker 6
Dawson 6
Vertonghen 6
Naughton 5

Parker 6
Dembele 5

Dempsey 7.5
Holtby 6.5
Sigurdsson 7

Adebayor 6

Carroll/Hudd/Ekotto - 6
 
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