Hull vs Arsenal Match Ratings

[hackajack]

No way was he getting to that. Blame Clichy for backing off, Djourou for losing his man or even Kolo for not picking him up when he ran behind Johann

 

[progman07]

Actually, just watched it again - I was wrong, it was Djourou who lost Cousin, not Touré.

Yep, and average Al stood on his line transfixed like a kangaroo (or a deer) in your headlights.

I mean WTF did he think he would do with a bullet like header from 5 meters?
WTF goes through his head (if anything)? he simply has to come to those balls.

I watched it several times just to analyze who's at fault and who isn't.


Before the deflected cross:
Djourou was marking Cousin well. Almunia had a good position. Clichy gave too much space for Mendy.

After the deflected cross:
Djourou was at a position where if the cross hadn't been deflected, he would have had advantage. The deflection fouled him and he lost his control over the situation for a second, then he couldn't recover. Almunia had to think about other options, too. What if Cousin headers for other place than the near post? What if the ball gets to the player at the far post? That header came from a few yards out. He didn't stand a chance. Should he have come out? That deflection made it difficult (not that he would have come out anyways, but in this situation it was the right decision) for him.

 

[Biggus]

No way was he getting to that.

So what would you do if you were the keeper Hacka?

 

[Biggus]

Almunia had to think about other options, too. What if Cousin headers for other place than the near post? What if the ball gets to the player at the far post? That header came from a few yards out. He didn't stand a chance. Should he have come out? That deflection made it difficult (not that he would have come out anyways, but in this situation it was the right decision) for him.

Its obvious you're not a goalkeeper.

If you stay on your line and allow the attacker to get to the ball first 5 metres out-

You're dead.....Simple as that. You could argue it many ways before, but only one way now. It obviously wasn't the right decision as the ball ended up in the net.

 

[Klaus Daimler]

Biggus is right. It was some horrible decision making from Al. I found it a bit ironic since he was much more decisive otherwise when coming out and collecting stray balls in the area but there you go.

 

[asajoseph]

Djourou was at a position where if the cross hadn't been deflected, he would have had advantage. The deflection fouled him and he lost his control over the situation for a second, then he couldn't recover.

I'm not sure I follow this.

What if Hull had just put in a higher looping cross? Djourou would not have been well positioned then, would he? There was a fraction of a second between the time the ball left Mendy's foot and hitting Clichy's - Djourou wasn't spending that time adjusting to the flight of the ball during that time.

He gave Cousin too much space in behind him, and ultimately allowed the ball to drop in over his head. Cousin had too much space all along, and once the ball was crossed, Djourou couldn't get close enough to him in time.

It's not a massive mistake, because the cross was basically perfect after the deflection, which would have made it difficult to defend anyway, but that's just the way the game goes. Hull were very fortunate in this regard, because 99 times out of 100, the ball wouldn't have dropped where it did.

 

[Biggus]

Biggus is right. It was some horrible decision making from Al. I found it a bit ironic since he was much more decisive otherwise when coming out and collecting stray balls in the area but there you go.

Yeah, you don't stop headers from 5 metres out on the line- you must try to stop them 5 metres out- basic stuff really. But he did okay apart from that, that's average Al. :| Nasri and RvP were great though.

 

[Double_H]

the stick Almunia gets here is Unbelievable

ill go and watch the goal again just to make sure

 

[Classy_Gunner]

Almunia did not have the time to come and get to the ball. Simple. It was a bullet header anyways which keeper usaully dont save .

 

[Klaus Daimler]

the stick Almunia gets here is Unbelievable

Not really. I think Al's been one of our best players this season - generally. Yesterday he did a mistake though, and if you can't admit when he's having a bad one you lose credability when you voice opinion about his good performances. There are lots of people who're giving him way too much critique of course, but I haven't seen it in this particular thread.

 

[Double_H]

the stick Almunia gets here is Unbelievable

Not really. I think Al's been one of our best players this season - generally. Yesterday he did a mistake though, and if you can't admit when he's having a bad one you lose credability when you voice opinion about his good performances. There are lots of people who're giving him way too much critique of course, but I haven't seen it in this particular thread.

Klaus mate i just saw the goal

if you want me to PM you a Link i will

THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL that he can go and get the ball

if he had the speed of Theo and the jump of Michel Jordan
he cant

tell me you want the link

 

[Biggus]

the stick Almunia gets here is Unbelievable

ill go and watch the goal again just to make sure

Well Double you don't have to look at that one, there are plenty more similar ones, buried from a few metres out whilst Al is planted on his line.

People will say "what could he do?"...... :idea: Attack the ball cut out the danger, because if the attacker gets there first its a tap in.

 

[j'nuh]

the stick Almunia gets here is Unbelievable

ill go and watch the goal again just to make sure

Well Double you don't have to look at that one, there are plenty more similar ones, buried from a few metres out whilst Al is planted on his line.

People will say "what could he do?"...... :idea: Attack the ball cut out the danger, because if the attacker gets there first its a tap in.

I've always wondered why Al cant predict balls being deflected and exactly where the ball will be deflected to a few second before the actual deflection. I mean Lehmann could definatly do that. I guess its just plain stupidity.

 

[Klaus Daimler]

the stick Almunia gets here is Unbelievable

Not really. I think Al's been one of our best players this season - generally. Yesterday he did a mistake though, and if you can't admit when he's having a bad one you lose credability when you voice opinion about his good performances. There are lots of people who're giving him way too much critique of course, but I haven't seen it in this particular thread.

Klaus mate i just saw the goal

if you want me to PM you a Link i will

THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL that he can go and get the ball

if he had the speed of Theo and the jump of Michel Jordan
he cant

tell me you want the link

I've seen it, both on 101greatgoals and when I rewatched the game this morning and my opinion still stands. Maybe the cross is deflected a little bit on Clichy which I didn't catch at first but it doesn't matter. He has to challenge for the ball there because Cousin's coming at full speed against non-moving defenders in the box. Otherwise I thought he did well yesterday but that really is a mistake, mate. We're talking about a player who's 1.91 tall and has the advantage of using his arms - adding another metre to his reach - when challenging for balls in the air. I'm not saying he should be dropped or even that he's prone to make mistakes like this. I'm simply saying that it's a mistake and that he has to take the blame for the goal. You're reading too much into my comment I think.

 

[Classy_Gunner]

No Kluas he could of not come out and reached the ball. Obviously ,the ball took a deflection which maybe caught him him out so he couldnt run out there. It was not his fault and Clichy and Djourou should take the blame .It is always the keepers fault isnt it.

 

[irishgunnerz]

have to say I though Al misread it as well. He didnt seem prepared for the cross, when it was obviously coming. That said, his overall game was quite OK yesterday. Came and collected a few crosses in a bunch of players which isnt huis strongpoint. I'm still more pissed at Clichy for moving away when the ball was in flight.

I think Klaus is right - you have to point the out bad if you're going to defend the good sides of Al.He does get far too much stick, has been for me pretty solid and far more reliable than a number of our first team players - but he made a mistake.

 

[Muharraqawi]

Almunia -6 Couldn't do anything with the goal and didn't have much to do either.
Sagna -7 So reliable once again, his crossing improved but still has so much work to do if he' going to be a good crosser.
Toure -7.5 Decent display from him, dealt well with both Cousin and Manucho and didn't make any mistakes.
Djourou -6.5 Nerves display, held on to the ball for too long at a couple of occasions but a solid display nevertheless.
Clichy -5 Don't know what happened to him, another really poor display and was troubled by Mendy, Gave Mendy far too much space
Eboue -7 His performance in the first half was his best performance so far this season, he ran at the Hull defence every time he had the ball and his passing was better, faded away badly in the second half.
Denilson -7 Another average performance performance from him, did everything needed from him in the midfield and his passing was good, don't think that he really shows what he's capable of as a defensive midfielder.
Diaby -7.5 Great performance, made a couple of good and strong tackles and was again great in dribbling in small spaces, even his passing improved.
Nasri -8 Fantastic performance once again, played all over the midfield and both his passing and his crossing were great, capped his performance with a really calm finish.
RVP -9.5 Was by far the Man of the match, caused trouble to the Hull defence every time he had the ball and was denied by a marvelous save from Myhill, assisted all three goals and worked his socks off throughout the evening, simply fantastic once again.
Ade -8 Good display from Ade, scored the opening goal with a good header, made some good movements and worked hard.

Bendtner -7.5 Was again really good in his super-sub rule, scored a goal and couldv'e added a second but hit the crossbar.
Song N.A

 

[Klaus Daimler]

It is always the keepers fault isnt it.

I suggest you search for the "How good is Almunia right now?" thread and read through it then. It's definitely not always the keeper's fault. In fact, it's rarely been Almunia's fault that we've conceded this year. I like Al and I think he's having a fine season. I, and everybody else who's ever been playing as a goalkeeper, would still tell you that the goal yesterday was a blunder regardless of what we think about his goalkeeping abilities though. It wasn't impossible to punch.

have to say I though Al misread it as well. He didnt seem prepared for the cross, when it was obviously coming. That said, his overall game was quite OK yesterday. Came and collected a few crosses in a bunch of players which isnt huis strongpoint. I'm still more pissed at Clichy for moving away when the ball was in flight.

I think Klaus is right - you have to point the out bad if you're going to defend the good sides of Al.He does get far too much stick, has been for me pretty solid and far more reliable than a number of our first team players - but he made a mistake.

I think that's a very fair assessment (as usual).

 

[Clrnc]

I think it works both way. Had Al came for the ball, he might not have gotten it too given the speed of the cross.

 

[progman07]

Djourou was at a position where if the cross hadn't been deflected, he would have had advantage. The deflection fouled him and he lost his control over the situation for a second, then he couldn't recover.

I'm not sure I follow this.

What if Hull had just put in a higher looping cross? Djourou would not have been well positioned then, would he? There was a fraction of a second between the time the ball left Mendy's foot and hitting Clichy's - Djourou wasn't spending that time adjusting to the flight of the ball during that time.

He gave Cousin too much space in behind him, and ultimately allowed the ball to drop in over his head. Cousin had too much space all along, and once the ball was crossed, Djourou couldn't get close enough to him in time.

It's not a massive mistake, because the cross was basically perfect after the deflection, which would have made it difficult to defend anyway, but that's just the way the game goes. Hull were very fortunate in this regard, because 99 times out of 100, the ball wouldn't have dropped where it did.

What I mean is that if the ball hadn't got deflected, Djourou wouldn't have missed it. As a defender you can't calculate every single possible deflection when positioning yourself. Djourou was at fault because he reacted slowly, but it wasn't a huge mistake.


Oh and Biggus, I dissed Almunia many times during the game (I found his lack of understanding with Djourou several times ridiculous), but at the goal he was not really at fault. Definitely not as much as you want to think.