How Does Sidwell Strike You Now?

[White Noise]

A more fullsome example of his qualities tonight - what did you think of his contribution?

[jarv]

6 out of 10..he needs time to settle in. he definitely got stuck in a few times.

[SuffolkWhite]

I like him, I think his touch is better than Etuhu's but does the same job as Etuhu, I can see him becoming a very good signing.

[bigalffc]

not convinced yet but I'm prepared to give him time. Takes opposition players out with his elbows well though :005:

[Mr Fulham]

Another decent performance. Murphy seems to enjoy playing alongside him. Fantastic passes by Smurf!

[Fernhurst]

I was surprised how effective he was in a very tight game where space was at a premium...... couple of very important defensive headers.

So far, early report shows very decent addition to squad.

[The Equalizer]

I thought he was responsible for most of our midfield mistakes earlier on in the game. His passing was erratic and he continuously backed away from tackles. However, he did settle down after about half an hour and put in a decent enough performance after that.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

I thought he was responsible for most of our midfield mistakes earlier on in the game. His passing was erratic and he continuously backed away from tackles. However, he did settle down after about half an hour and put in a decent enough performance after that.

I think he and murphy were getting in each others way (doing a bit of a lampard-gerrard) before Murphy started to drop deeper. Sidwell then settled and was box to box. good performance

[ImperialWhite]

Strange, I thought he did a good job. Always running and winning balls for us (one of the strengths of the entire team at the moment, IMO). But then I hadn't really noticed the elbows, to be fair! (IW: "get up, you time waster!")

Then again, Murphy had another fantastic game, I thought, possibly overshadowing Sidwell's performance. His passing goes without saying, but I notice today how well Murphy handles possession when under pressure, always finding an appropriate pass, or failing that managing to dribble it to somewhere where he can.

[HatterDon]

anyplace but my cheekbone.

[Mr Fulham]

anyplace but my cheekbone.

:005:

[BarryP]

I think as the match went on he proved to be a real nuisance to Newcastle, held and passed the ball nicely out of tight spaces and would like to see him hold his spot in the starting XI.  He did well today and I expect better in the near future.

[stevehawkinslidingtackle]

The Sun dream team ratings has Sidwell the special one ninja 8/10, and Dembele 6/10. No offence but  :tom:

[leonffc]

I thought he did well. broke up play well and used the ball nicely. It looked towards the end he was getting tired with some of his passing but that is expected as he hasnt played for a while

[richie17]

thought he was excellent, a real footballer.  He just seems to get it, knows what to do.   Thought his passing under pressure was good last night, closed them down with real presence and made some strong tackles.  Fantastic signing who seems to work well with Murph.

[sunburywhite]

I agree that he seems to be working well with Murphy, the pair of them seem to work up and down the pitch together. He is also more alert to danger than Etuhu so seems to be in better places to break up attacks.
Murph was well shackled by Newcastle in the 1st half as they recognize the danger he causes but he got one chance to break free and put a wonderful ball into Duff to win the game

[TonyGilroy]

I was impressed. I think he's very Sean Davis like in that he pops up everywhere and is constantly involved.

Etuhu is a mechanical footballer sticking to his task well and playing to instructions. Sidwell goes where he thinks he needs to be and improvises. He'll make mistakes but he's got a good engine and I could imagine him running the midfield in Murphy's absence. I think he'll stay in the team.

[b+w geezer]

Just to confirm agreement with what Tony says there. (Confirm=agreed in person last night). Tony was first with the Davis comparison and "mechanical v improvisational" bit, and I think I may have just beaten him to it on the Murphy's absence aspect. Each of us immediately concurred anyway. Saves arguing.

[White Noise]

Yes, I could see Sidwell doing the Murphy role very well. I think that has been his most played position over the years but he does the defensive stuff well too.

There aren't as many gaps when Sidwell plays. Good anticipation and movement.

[sipwell]

He still needs to work on his passing though. The statistics can prove me wrong but my eyes spotted a considerable number of useless passes.

And he needs to work on his elbow-thingie. I don't agree with people saying it is "natural". It is a deliberate movement not necessarily to hurt your opponent but at least to make your presence real... He should stop it or he'll get booked for it.