A game to forget, with us failing to have a single shot on target against a Fulham team there for the taking.
Here’s an assessment of each player’s performance and my marks out of 10:
NUFC XI – (4-2-3-1): Dubravka – Manquillo, Schar, Lascelles, Dummett – Diame, Ki – Ritchie, Perez, Atsu – Rondon.
STARTING 11:
Dubravka – 5 –Didn’t have a single save to make of note but took unnecessary risks on the balm which VERY nearly cost us dearly. Played it short when it wasn’t on and almost gave Mitrovic an early Christmas present as he failed to sort out his feet.
Manquillo – 5 – Some decent bursts forward, but his final ball was poor and he didn’t really manage to get anything going with Atsu. Kept Schurrle quiet but looked very leggy as the game went on and doesn’t look the fittest.
Schar – 4 – He’s been brilliant recently, but he was pretty poor in all areas today. Uncharacteristically sloppy on the ball with several wayward punts up the pitch and pretty unconvincing defensively too. A rare poor performance from him, with us looking shaky at the back all afternoon despite a clean sheet.
Lascelles – 5 – Looked off the pace once again for me. He made a superb tackle late on to deny Kamara a clear one on one and had mixed success against a physical Mitrovic, but he seemed hesitant, a little slow to react and uncomfortable on the ball. If it wasn’t for the goal saving challenge I’d have given him a lower mark.
Dummett – 6 – Did his job without every really being tested. Unspectacular but solid in what he did defensively – it’s just a shame he’s so limited at the other end when we’re up against teams like Fulham who are there for the taking.
Diame – 6 – Sloppy at times, but probably one of the better players in a very bad bunch today. Well below his best, but didn’t give up, kept battling and got on the ball more than most.
Ki – 5 –Neat and tidy but he struggled to get us moving forward nearly as well as he has done more recently. He looked after the ball well enough, but there was too many sidewards passes – with the more limited Diame seeming to get on the ball more than him today.
Ritchie – 5 – One thing Ritchie is never guilty of is a lack of effort, but he was another player pretty ineffective today. Corner deliveries were poor and didn’t manage to get many good balls into Rondon.
Perez – 4 – Completely anonymous. It wasn’t a game where many attackers were able to get much going, but it’s quite alarming how little he managed to get on the ball considering he’s our number 10. Highly ineffective, despite a few improved performances of late.
Atsu – 4 – Tried to get things going with the odd burst here and there, but his final ball was often lacking. A frustrating and highly inconsistent player who almost needs a shake given the way he fails to use his pace at times.
Rondon – 5 – Had so little service and looked so isolated even when we did manage to get the ball up to him in decent areas. Didn’t give up and battled away, but it just didn’t happen for him today.
SUBS:
Kenedy – 5 – Didn’t really run at his man and a few too many of his crosses hit the first man. Could’ve won us a penalty mind.
Yedlin – 5 – Failed to make any real impact in the 8 or 9 minutes he was on.
i find it interesting that we struggled to pass the ball forward when fulham had everyone back behind the ball and we had one less attacking player than we usually do due to playing five at the back. schar who has a fantastic passing range tried to pass it forward at every opportunity. but more often than not his efforts failed and the ball came back the other way. is this because schar is terrible or is it because fulham were so deep it was unlikely that this kind of ball would work. what role do tactics and formations play here. pls write a post about this
Rob(Quote)