Cardiff City threw away valuable points in a dreadful 2nd half showing. It was like a different team, and as such players have been rated according to their performance in each half:
David Marshall / Peter Enckelman 6 / 5
Very few saves made by either, neither was convincing.
Mark Kennedy 6 & 5
Kennedy allowed numerous crosses in from his flank, and that outlet ball to Bothroyd is getting ridiculous. Some dreadful crossing and an all round forgettable performance.
Adam Matthews 7 & 7 M.O.M
The clear choice for M.O.M, Matthews showed more fight and enthusiasm than the rest combines. The only player happy to carry the ball, he was a credit to himself and will have won even more fans. His decision making can be wrong, but he was actually very good and let down by his team-mates.
Gabor Gyepes 6 & 6
A partnership with Hudson looks unlikely, Gabor was strong and commited but allowed John etc too much space at times. Needs more gametime, and a more mobile partner.
Mark Hudson 5 & 5
The chronic lack of pace leaves others exposed, Hudson showeed no leadership and can in no way be considered a replacement for Roger Johnson – this was a poor performance, and without improvement – Hudson will soon become a fans target. .
Joe Ledley 5 & 4
The worst performance I`ve witnessed from a man who looks a shadow of his former self. No momentum, intent or flair – Ledley was just a body in defence, and passed only backwards or sideways – what has happened to our homegrown hero?! Dire.
Gavin Rae 6 & 4
Hard-working in the first half, off the pace in the second. Does Rae really contribute enough for a central midfielder? When crying out for someone to carry the ball, Rae was unable to step up and was at fault for the equaliser.
Peter Whittingham 7 & 5
A great goal to put him atop the Championship scorers list, but other contributions were sparse. We needed genuine width and for his to go outside his man, that`s not Whittingham`s style and as such – his threat was nullified. Hard to criticise when scoring so freely, but he`s unable to boss games and was a spectator second half.
Chris Burke 6 & 5
Can be devastating, but Burkey was closely marked and off the pace. Some awry passing and wasteful possession – he was the man we needed to carry the ball, yesterday it didn`t come off. Hopefully, this was a one off.
Jay Bothroyd 7 & 5
Very good first half but when forced out wide, we have no one in the middle! Jay`s contribution was hugely important but he faded second half through lack of service, he lost interest but for once – could you blame him?
Michael Chopra 6 & 5
Although not scoring, he showed moments of genuine class in the first half. The only time he got the ball after the break was by closing down (which he did very well) or dropping 20 yards deeper and losing all his attacking menace. Needs a goal.
.. a dire spectacle .. utterly gut-wrenching for those of us who travel over 100 miles to get to home matches .. you’re unfair to Chopra [and to a lesser extent to Bothroyd] – Chopra worked hard throughout but was forced to come back time and again to do what should have been done for him – Roy Keane described Chopra as a ‘fox in the box’ when he took him to Sunderland .. here there’s no point in being in the bloody box because, apart from Bothroyd and to a certain extent Matthews and Burke, no-one gets the ball to him and he has to go looking far away from strike positions .. you’re also unbelievably generous to Rae and Ledley in giving them as much as 4 for their 2nd half displays ; Rae simply either lost the ball by failing to connect or by passing it away, and Ledley simpy passed the ball BACK to Kennedy again, and again and again : not only should they both have been taken off [even Taiwo, certainly grand old Scimeca, probably the groundsman’s dog could have done better] they should be docked a week’s wages ..
Cant fault Chopra for effort – but as for impact, it was rubbish. I agree its hardly his fault as the service was non-existent. Must be incredibly frustrating for such a talented player
i like your ideas on scimeca he was a class act in centre mid but feel his days are over due to fitness problems but hes a player we kind of need as he holds the ball up and controls midfield and has good passsing technique also