Oh no! Another away defeat for Town. Another away game without a goal. While some fans are losing their minds with worry over Town’s recent results, it’s worth bearing in mind that the performances haven’t been that bad. We’re not creating enough chances, and not scoring from the few we do make. But it wasn’t all bad. Here are my player ratings for the 2-0 defeat against Everton.
Lössl – 6 out of 10
Seemed unusually cautious when kicking out from the back. Made a good save in the first half and couldn’t have saved either goal.
Malone – 6 out of 10
Looked nervy at times and was caught out of position. However, he does get forward and provides an outlet down the right.
Schindler – 8 out of 10
Typically solid and made some great tackles. He provided cover for Malone and looked assured at all times.
Zanka – 5 out of 10
I initially thought he’d had a pretty good game, as most of the time he was solid. Watching back on Match of the Day revealed that he could have done better for both goals. It would be a stretch to say he was at fault, but he could have made it harder for Everton in those key moments.
I think he’s been great in other games, so it’s reasonable to expect the odd bad day from a player new to this league.
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Smith – 6 out of 10
Overly cautious when we had possession in Everton’s half and failed to put quality balls in. Defensively solid but not at the levels he was playing at last season.
Mooy – 7 out of 10
I think we rely too much on Mooy to do everything for us with the ball. He played very well at times and made Rooney look poor in the first half. Set pieces remain a problem for him though, too many failed to beat the first man. I find this weird, because in open play he can ping them 50 yards perfectly into the run of a team-mate.
He spent a lot of time with the ball at his feet waiting for a player ahead of him to make a move and often nobody ran for him. While it’s easy for the rest of the team to give him the ball and hope he’ll play a killer pass, he needs options in front of him.
Williams – 7 out of 10
A disciplined but not outstanding performance. Did a lot of dirty work in front of defence but didn’t drive us forward like he’s capable of doing. Slotted in well at centre back when we changed the system towards the end.
Kachunga – 6 out of 10
Positive and aggressive, but still not creative enough. He’s looked better in the last couple of games but didn’t look like he’d score or create a goal.
Ince – 5 out of 10
He’s got all the attributes of a top class player but he looks very low in confidence. His decision making in the final third was poor and he didn’t make the most of his chances to attack Everton’s defence. He had a couple of shots, but the positions he was in required a stunning strike or a defensive blunder to lead to a goal.
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Quaner – 6 out of 10
Made some good runs and tried to get balls into the box. The quality of his final ball wasn’t great but I think he was unlucky to be subbed at half time. (I’m bound to say that, because I’m a huge Col fan.)
Depoitre – 7 out of 10
Put in a good shift and forced mistakes out of Everton but unfortunately couldn’t exploit them. He didn’t receive enough quality service so spent most of the game competing for aimless long balls.
Substitutes
Palmer – 6 out of 10
Looked rusty and out of touch. He’s been out for a while, so it’s understandable but he looked like he wasn’t quite up to the speed of the game.
There was one moment where he played a through ball from the edge of the box to try feed Tommy Smith, which reminded me of what he’s good at. His through ball failed, but he’s capable of bringing other players into the game and improving their performance with his link play. I’m looking forward to seeing more of him.
Mounié – 5 out of 10
I’m not sure it was his fault, but the quality of our performance nosedived at the point he entered the game. We played two up top and tried to go direct but it failed miserably. Everton’s defence, which had looked shaky earlier, never looked troubled by Mounié and he still looks like something’s not quite right.
I’ve heard some pretty unkind comments from Town fans about him, but I’m not ready to write him off yet. He was sensational in the opening game at Palace, and played pretty well in the other games before his injury. Since coming back to the squad he’s been mostly poor, but I believe he can come good.