Manchester United v Fulham Player Ratings

Manchester United survived a far more nervier finish than they would have liked as David De Gea struggles continued.  RVP popped up for a trademark classy goal, but did precious little else, and Wayne Rooney picked up a bizzare gash which will somehow keep him out for a month, and the best player on the field was not wearing a red shirt.



Manchester United

De Gea- 4 - The inconsistency continues. He seems a bit skinny for a keeper, doesn't he? And if you can't grow a full beard, then just keep the peach fuzz at home, (speaking from experience here)

Rafael- 5 - For all that he offered going forward, he was equally a defensive liability.  Showed his inexperience again by committing two inexcusable fouls in the dying moments.

Carrick- 4 - Some defensive midfielders make great center backs, some do not.

Vidic- 6 - Hardly called on to defend, classy own goal.

Evra- 6.5 - The type of performance we've come to expect from Patrice. Always offering that out ball for his midfielders.

Cleverley- 7.5 - Took advantage of the acres of space given to him. Distributed nicely. Not as much a defensive liability as Scholes either.

Anderson- 3.5 - Looked tired after 30 minutes, couldn't believe Fergface left him in as long as he did.  Not sure if God himself could have stopped Dembele today, but didn't do himself any favors for repeatedly diving in.

Valencia- 9 - The rating is as much a reflection of Briggs poor afternoon, but you can't ask anything more from your winger than to consistently deliver inviting balls which is exactly what he did.

Kagawa- 8 - No problems adapting to the prem so far, he's been given the keys to the offense.

Young- 5 - Excellent chipped cross to set up third goal, but that was one of the few highlights in what was otherwise a fairly forgetful afternoon.

van Persie- 6 - Brilliant goal, otherwise a peripheral figure. Never really linked up with Kagawa.

Fulham

Schwarzer- 5.5 - Could have done better to prevent the rebound leading to the second goal.

Riether - 7 - In the right place at the right time every time, brilliant last ditch defending.

Hughes - 6 - Mostly reliable, a few miscommunications with his partner.

Hangeland- 6.5 - Has grown accustomed to life in the Premiership, provides a great calming influence on his teammates, and isn't bad on the ball either.

Briggs- 3 - Yes Valencia is a handful, but continually allowing him to fizz balls in cannot be your strategy, simply over-matched.

Duff- 6 - Great goal, was the benefactor of an awesome deadball routine which I wish we saw more of.

Diarra- 5 -Useful in a tackle, but sub-par on the ball

Dembele- 10 - The kind of player that shows you a glimmer of the ball, and then takes it away, must have evaded 20 challenges using the same trick. But what earns him the rating is how many times he won the ball back for his team. Strong, pacy, just outstanding.

Kacaniklic- 6.5 - Got the better of Rafael more than once. Wish we'd seen more of him on the ball.

Ruiz- 5 - Doesn't quite have the physicality for these types of games. Clever player, but needs to work harder on defense as well.

Petric- 6.5 - Made the most of what limited service he had, and won the free kick for the first goal.

Man of the Match - Dembele
Flop of the Match - Anderson
 

Newcastle v Spurs Player Ratings

Both teams will need to improve if they want to come in 4th or 5th in the league again as they last year. A dressed-down AVB's Spurs looked like a team who had just lost one of the top 5 players in the league and are still struggling to find their feet.  Gylfi Sigurdson was certainly not the answer to their prayers they might have hoped him to be on this day.

While Alan Pardew was cementing his reputation as classiest manager on the British Isles, his team were lucky to come away with three points in what was a somewhat static performance.  They should be sending a Christmas card to Rafa Van der Vaart who didn't do his defensive reputation any favors by gifting the magpies what would be the winning penalty.


Newcastle

Krul - 6.5 - Excellent shot stopper, begs questions as to his foot-skills.

Simpson - 6-  Did well after an early yellow card, Bale did him a favor by drifting inside.

Taylor - 7.5 -Rock solid at the back, him and Coloccini have to be in the conversation for the leagues top pair if they can stay on the field.

Perch - 6 - Looked rather comfortable at CB where he'd looked like he didn't even belong on the pitch in years past. Safe to say he's shed the title as worst player in the Prem.

Santon - 5.5 - Was done in by the tricks of Lennon, but who wouldn't be?

Tiote - 7 - Imagine him when he's fit.

Cabaye - 4 - Failed to get involved in the game and his delivery wasn't great.

Guitierrez - 7.5 - Endears himself to his fans by applying his defensive insticts, and is a handful going forward down the left wing as well.  His brief cameo at center mid in the second half highlights his versatility, great player to have at your disposal.

Ben Afra - 8.5 - Rumored not fit to play beforehand, he was in fact the difference in this match. It remains to be seen whether his African strikers can get on his wavelength.

Cisse - 4.5 - Dissapointing.

Ba - 6.5 - Save from an incredible finish, Ba too offered little impact to the game, though he was at least more willing to try and find space.

Anita - N/A - First game jitters for sure.

Spurs

Friedel - 6 - Like a bottle of wine, old Brad.

Walker - 7 - Never realized he had such a long throw on him as well, as if he doesn't have enough tools already.

Kaboul - 6.5 - Much improved last season, and showed a newfound poise on the ball we haven't seen in years past.

Gallas - 5.5 - Shaky at times, but just about got the job done to use one of my least favorite cliches.

Assou-Ekoto - 7.5 - Played some delightful diagonal balls, and offered the width when Bale drifted inside.

Sandro & Livermore - 5 - One of them needed to be a bit braver.

Sigurdson - 5 - What do you know about pressure?! He knows something of it now.

Lennon - 8 - I maintain that Aaron Lennon should be starting for England no questions asked.

Bale - 7.5 - Needs to resist the temptation to drift inside.

Defoe - 5 - I wouldn't trust Jermain Defoe as a lone striker no sooner than I'd trust him to hand in his homework.

Man of the Match - Ben Arfa
Flop of the Match - Cabaye