Before I get to my grades, let me say a couple of things. First off, until you accept that we just aren't good enough to win the League this year, the easier to take results like today's. We are at least a dynamic class striker and probably a solid, consistent centre back away from challenging Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal for the title.
Second, I do these grades as a reflection of a players contribution to the team and their effort to solidify the whole and be a sufficient cog in the machine. Rarely does one player's performance win a match, about as close as I've seen anyone do that was Steven Gerrard's efforts in the 2006 FA Cup final against West Ham. Anyhow, moving on...
Pepe Reina C+
Finally got a clean sheet after going the whole month of October without one. The usual solid performance.
Riise C-
A strange effort from the Norwegian. He didn't participate much on attack than usual, but didn't really make any mistakes otherwise.
Carragher C+
Solid as usual. The yellow card was rubbish.
Hyypia C+
Seemed like the Hyypia of old at times. Staying back was a good idea.
Finnan C+
Typical Finney, did his job on defense and contributed to the attack.
Babel C-
Would have liked him to play in front of Kuyt instead of on the left. His effort might have been affected by lack of rest, but for the most part he was ineffective and held on to the ball too long at times.
Mascherano B-
I expect more from him, but he was pretty much my Man of the Match and controlled the middle of the field throughout.
Sissoko C+
One of the better games I've seen him play this season. Was patient and composed on the ball and made some solid tackles.
Gerrard C+
A goal would have accentuated his effort tremendously, but he was playing 'out of position' most the match and occasionally looked beat.
Kuyt D
Dirk is not a true 'out-and-out' striker, so I might be being a little harsh on him. At the same time, when he was gifted the opportunity to show what I feel is his best element, his passing and vision, he failed miserably to do so and basically made me look like a donkey. Not sure what happened to the cheeky, creative Kuyt from earlier in the season, but we need him back and fast.
Benayoun C-
I don't want to use the analogy of a 'headless chicken' here but Benayoun seemed utterly useless out there. Like Babel, he tended to hold on the ball too long with defenders closing in, and wasn't so much as detrimental to our attack as he was simply daft overall. Probably his worse performance of the year.
Crouch C+
Well, well, well, Crouch finally utilized his strengths and put in a solid showing. More of using his height to manipulate the ball is what we have him for. Enjoy the praise while you can Crouchy, we play again on Tuesday.
Kewell C+
This was only a taste of what King Harry can offer. It's no coincidence that once he got on the field and when the attack started going through him we became more of a threat to score. With him and Gerrard on the pitch, we're going to run opposition's batty.
Well, there you have it. Had Kewell played the entire match, I'm quite comfortable in saying that we would have probably scored and he would have probably been the Man of the Match. Javi takes the accolade though for being the central figure of our side and the wrecking ball that we have him for. Cheers.
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