Zverotic was immense.

[alfie]

i actually thought Zvorotic stopped and let naismith go, didn't see anyone running back at all (was streaming it here in belgium, so may have missed something).

Stockers -I think had his best game for a long time
Zvortic - Showed he can push Riether which is a goof thing
Riise - Less said the better
Hangerland - Solid and led well
Senderos - One of his better games (still a mistake waiting to happen)
Kaca - Better than the weekend, his pace will kill some teams
Parker - Superb as always (just my opinion)
Kara - Outstanding performance for an old man
Tarrabt - Some nice touches but not his best game
Kasami - Finally showing what we hoped he would be
Berbatov - A good performance from the mecurial one
Amorebieta - Far beyyer than Riise on the left, for me he should start with Hangers
Bent - Lively performance, a good sing

Overalss for me it was a good performance (Riise aside), not everyone is going to have their best game every game, so Tarrabt will shine another day, I thought Berba looked sharp tonight, yes he slows play down but overall his effort & desire was there and in the 2nd half he looked bery controlled. Bent made the difference for me though that is when we had an outlet and berba could come deeper, which allowed Kasami and Kaca more freedom.

Kara tho was my man of the match if only he was 8 years younger.

It amazes me sometimes why people keep slating Riise, yet again he received no cover in front of him and  continously had 2 players to deal with, still i guess someone has to be blamed each game, at least it was not Senderos this time.

[Deanothefulhamfan]

Both players were terrible on the left, riise had no protection, tarrabt had no support.... Hence both there performances were terrible. Both gave away the ball numerous times. The unfortunate thing is Riise can't get forward, and he can't defend. So what use is he? Jol obviously saw the same as he was quick to take him off.

Riise gave the young lad far too much time and respect, he got beaten by his man on every occasion. Coleman actually was not that attacking in the first half, it was the second half he came to life.

Amboreita came on and looked far more solid in the 25 minutes than Riise did in the 65.

[Riverside]

Performances:

Stockdale- good performance. Great save.
Zverotic- did his job well.
Senderos- solid.
Hangeland- solid.
Riise- woeful.
Taarabt- rubbish.
Karagounis- superb.
Parker- solid.
Kaca- better than Chelsea, not great.
Kasami- worked really hard, played well.
Berbatov- frustrating, good to watch. Typical 2012-13 performance.
Amorebieta- great LB and CB, has to start.
Bent- extra forward made all the difference.

Agreed with all the above
It is always good to see a post from someone who clearly at the same game as me ( there are times I wonder when I have been to a different game !)

[Pluto]

Performances:

Stockdale- good performance. Great save.
Zverotic- did his job well.
Senderos- solid.
Hangeland- solid.
Riise- woeful.
Taarabt- rubbish.
Karagounis- superb.
Parker- solid.
Kaca- better than Chelsea, not great.
Kasami- worked really hard, played well.
Berbatov- frustrating, good to watch. Typical 2012-13 performance.
Amorebieta- great LB and CB, has to start.
Bent- extra forward made all the difference.

Agreed with all the above
It is always good to see a post from someone who clearly at the same game as me ( there are times I wonder when I have been to a different game !)

I also agree with all these and was at the game- I sometimes do wonder if you get a different perspective on player performance at the cottage than you do watching on TV.

[RoyTund]

One decent game in the Carling cup and people want him to play instead of Riether?!  Riether is a model of consistency and we are lucky to have him.

Hoping Zverotic can play left side.

[filham]

It is good to know that we have reliable cover for Reither at right back and the left back problem also seems to have been solved, Richardson and Amorebieta both look comfortable there.

[nose]

One decent game in the Carling cup and people want him to play instead of Riether?!  Riether is a model of consistency and we are lucky to have him.

Hoping Zverotic can play left side.

He looked very good but LB is where I would be looking, Riis is ok (can't understand the abuse he seems to get) Richardson is playing better but will be injured soon, but this new man can use bioth feet and looks the part. But Reither is probably better, but nothing like a bit of competiton to sharpen things up.

[God The Mechanic]

Riether really hasn't been the same player over the last 10 games or so that he was at the start of last season.  A lot of it at the end of last season could have been down to tiredness, he'd played every game up until the 35th/36th league game so it would be understandable.  But this season he just hasn't been anywhere near as good, even as good as he was before his partnership with Dejagah really took off.  This isn't to say he has been awful, should be dropped and that all his good performances have been forgotten
A bit of competition for his place may give him a bit of a kick up the arse to pick it up again, which can only be good.

[shnlwswlkr]

For me, whilst we don't have a decent natural left back we should start Hughes and Hangeland in the center and Amorebieta in left back, he is far better than anyone we have in that position! And it finally seems like we have good RB cover!

[HatterDon]

yep on current form id give him the nod over reither for the next game.

Wow! That's one hell of an endorsement. I really wish I had been able to see the match. Amorebieta getting better is not a surprise, but Zverotic better than Riether? Wow. It really has been a good summer transfer period.

[TonyGilroy]

Zverotic was a very pleasant surprise last night.

Very assured, he seems a proper player. Read the game well, got forward, put in some good crosses, got tight on his opponent. We're being told that he can play anywhere across the back and in midfield and I can believe it.

Amorebieta looks so good at left back that it seems a shame to play him anywhere else.

Some big decisions on who gets picked moving forward but, in theory, we look good defensively. Now sort out the midfield. Shaving 5 years off Karagounis' age would be ideal. it felt like there were two of him out there last night both very good.

[Barrie]

Like that Zverotic was not afraid to be positive in possession too, made a couple of really good incisive forward passes in the last third.