The Win Against Hull - Some Reflections on Formation: Guest Post by Jack After a win on penalties against Everton we carried that confidence through to a fantastic second half display to dispatch relegation contenders Hull. That might all seem very well but our first half performance, which was terrible, must not be overlooked. The one major change between the two halves was the change of formation and it is clear to see that it hugely benefited us. Surely Sam must learn from this that the 4231 is not suiting our current personnel. Valencia and Downing’s talent has looked marginalised when they’ve been pushed out wide this season and it did yet again at the weekend. Many would say that we play the 4231 at times to accommodate Nolan and let him feed off of Carroll. This would be true but we cannot blame our accommodation of Nolan upon him and his performance which was very good today compared to how he can and has been of late. We also should have learnt that Song thrives a lot better when he has the freedom of the middle to himself. He looks so much better with runners to his right and left than when he has Noble alongside in front of the defence. When Noble is in there with him, Song looks a little bit shackled. Whether this was a fault of the formation or Song’s recovery from illness we can’t be sure but we can say that he was a lot better in the second half in the 4312. Player Ratings: Adrian – 6 Didn’t have much to do apart from celebrate second half goals. Distribution was consistent and the few efforts that Hull had, he dealt with comfortably. Two mistakes of note, he passed the ball straight to David Meyler but the chance didn’t come to anything for the opposition and he also fumbled a cross late in the first half. (6.4) Cresswell – 7 Played well, very impressive on the ball and wasn’t too defensively troubled other than Chester giving him a few things to think about before half time. Saw a good first half effort fly wide from long range. He looks to be brimming with confidence at the moment. (7.2) Tomkins – 6 Played the majority of the match before being withdrawn on 76 minutes with a hamstring strain. Was absolutely terrorised by Sone Aluko at the start of the game; he could not deal with his pace or skill and could even have conceded a penalty early on. Possibly should have scored from a 12th minute corner but headed over from a few yards out. Grew into the game and was relatively untroubled in the second 45. (5.9) Collins – 7 Only managed the first half before being subbed during the first goal celebrations with a minor back injury. Was much better than his fellow centre half; aerially dominant as always and bailed JT out on a few occasions most notably on the ‘penalty’ chance for Aluko. (7.1) Jenkinson – 7 Exciting to watch when on the ball, always presents an option down the right and has the confidence to run at the opposition with the ball at his feet. Tentative first half but massively improved once given more freedom of the right flank in the second half. Good in both attacking and defensive departments on the day. (7.2) Noble – 4 Incredibly frustrating performance from the vice captain. Gave the ball away far too many times and when he did complete a pass, nine times out of ten, it was sideways or backwards. His play was almost entirely negative throughout and we greatly improved when he was subbed off for Amalfitano. His best moment probably was a jinking run down the right before providing a good cross. (4.2) Song – 8 Much better performance than against Everton and improved steadily across the 90 minutes; looks to be getting back to full fitness and sharpness. He supplied an inch perfect through ball for our third goal and put a good ball that bypassed the Hull midfield into Valencia who set up the second. (7.6) Nolan – 7 A huge step up from some of his performances this season. Could have had two goals today as one beauty of a half volley flew just over the bar and one chip struck the woodwork late on from what was honestly an impossible angle. Did a lot for our interplay in and around their box; there were still a few Kevin moments with some badly wayward passes but as I say, much better. (7.3) Downing – 8 Stewie was brilliant as soon as he was put at the top of the diamond; he just couldn’t be so influential out wide. Looked extremely dangerous in the second 45 and finished Hull off with a very cool finish for the third. He also almost assisted Nolan for a fourth with a beautifully clipped ball. Running off the ball was good, he really does look a class act. (7.5) Carroll – 7 Stole in with strikers instinct to get the scoring started. Won a good amount of headers but found it more of a challenge against Dawson and Davies than he has in previous weeks. There were a couple of good crosses from big Andy as well! Not quite the amazing performance that we witnessed against Everton but he is greatly improving in every area of his game. (7.2) Valencia – 8 Another great performance against Hull, it’s the second real glimpse of class we’ve had from Enner, the last being in the reverse fixture when he rocketed in from outside the box. His shot was spilled by McGregor to allow Carroll to tap home for the first. It was his pass that supplied Amalfitano for the second and it was him alongside Downing providing an option, although not needed, for the third. His running, dribbling, shooting and passing was impressive – very strong overall performance. (7.9) Reid – 7 Assured performance, handled anything they offered in the second half expertly. (7.2) Amalfitano – 7 Looked classy when he came on and made sure everyone watching knew that when he dinked over McGregor for the second. Surely he deserves a few starts on the right side of that diamond. (7.2) O’Brien – 7 Came on to close the game out and replace the injured Tomkins. Did exactly that despite it not being much of a test. Made one particularly good sliding challenge which is worth noting. (6.8) bit.ly/1J2VhRP
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 18:31:21 +0000
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