I read the ratings before I watched the download of the match and as a result I paid particular attention to Scott Parker's contribution.
So, apologies in advance if my rating kicks off a well-worn argument all over again.
Also, a quick word about Saudi Sportswashing Machine. I thought they defended really well in every area of the pitch and also were quite canny in trying to exploit the inexperience of Caulker and Naughton. They are obviously a better team than their league position indicates.
Lloris 7 - short of coming up for corners and scoring with a header, what more could he have done?
Walker 6 - good pass to Dempsey that led to the foul that led to the goal. Towards the end we saw some of the rampaging overlapping which is his forte (how did he almost get on the end of that Lennon pass?), but his defending still leaves a lot to be desired.
Naughton 5 - great crossfield ball to the Road-runner and some nice little feeds to Bale, but weak positionally in defence.
Caulker 5 - also weak positionally in defence at times. Great breakaway run in the first half when Parker (hang on, let's cut and paste here ...) • Played the ball in front of a running player and laid the ball off first time when we were on a break - would like to see him do more of that.
Dawson 6 - a few unnecessarily hasty clearances in the first half, but some real resolute defending near the end of the match.
Road-runner 7 - some of his best work wasted by our inability to get enough players forward. Worked hard, as usual.
Dembele 5 - well, he did not hide, I suppose. He did slow the game down. He did too many pirouettes. He got caught in possession in dangerous places. Hardly played a worthwhile pass all game. Had one great dribble in their area but most of his dribbles are done in areas of the pitch that are more likely to hurt us if they fail than hurt the opposition if they succeed.
Parker 8 - Pressured the opposition relentlessly. Always available to take a pass. Took up some excellent positions outside of our box, which meant he was usually in a position to intercept. Did a lot more forward passes than you might expect, including two of the best penetrative passes of the game, where he looked up to see what's happening around him before he received the ball, passed to someone outside of the 30 degree cone of vision in front of him (wthout pirouetting first), did something the opposition couldn't easily predict and considered the pass after the one he's making (because, as we all know, a completed pass isn't any good if the person you pass to has no space and loses the ball.
Some passes were overambitious, especially towards the end of the game when he misread Lennon's intentions, but some of his earlier misplaced slotted passes were very close to splitting the defence, except the intended receiver usually had his weight on the wrong foot.
I will now don my pith helmet.
Bale 9 - so much better when we are counter-attacking but his shooting means he is also a threat against paced defences.
Holtby 6 - if he wants to be Peter Beardsley then he needs to get forward a bit more to support the striker. Finds space well. I wish he would get rid of that stupid chav haircut though.
Dempsey 6 - lots of industry and determination, and some flashes of skill (that spin and shot in the second half, for instance and the Brookingesque move that drew the foul that led to the goal). Not sure why he got a bit of stick from some quarters for this performance.
Subs
Adebyourleave 5 - as Jimmy Greaves once said, he traps the ball further than I can kick it. Can be a handful on his day but this was not his day.
Crabman 6 - nearly cost us the game with an unfortunate rebound but otherwise gave us some much needed balance and composure.
Cross country man 6 - Enfield Grammar's star long distance runner was not on for long, but did not do much wrong, and got forward to get in a decent shot.
