Ratings Review

Carvalho shines, while Ameobi feels the force

By Peter Fraser   Last updated: 17th September 2008  

Ratings Review

Ameobi: Not at his best

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After the hysteria of transfer deadline day, a takeover of a Premier League club, two managerial departures and an international break, skysports.com's Ratings Review is back.

Life returned to normal, or as close to that as is possible, in England's top flight with a reliable fixture list restoring stability following the moves of Dimitar Berbatov and Robinho, the Abu Dhabi United Group arrival at Manchester City, the departures of Kevin Keegan and Alan Curbishley, and England's victory in Croatia.

But with that drama in mind, I was pondering two issues as I journeyed to work on Tuesday morning. I) What is the world coming to when the prospect of John Sergeant ballroom dancing is considered by some to be a highlight of the TV calendar? And II) perhaps the more relevant, how would Sky Sports readers and writers react when returning to the task of analysing domestic footballing performances following the aforementioned rollercoaster?

If the events of the past fortnight are anything to go by, a host of sensational scores are likely to be in store as we prepare to compare and contrast opinions from the interactive Player Ratings pages for the latest batch of matches, with dizzying highs and depressing lows.

Here we offer an overview of players who have proved a hit with readers and writers, those who were as successful as Fabio Capello in Zagreb, and the individuals who proved a miss, those who were as successful as Steve McClaren... in Zagreb.

Where better to start than the best of the bunch, the cream of the crop, the top of the pile? And here we need look no further than Arsenal's hat-trick hero Emmanuel Adebayor.

The Togo striker was handed a full marks 10 from reporter Steve Pass, a regular name in Ratings Review, for his role in the demolition job of Blackburn Rovers. You did not disagree, offering a weekend's best average score of 9.3.

In fact, only one member of the Gunners squad (Jack Wilshere) who took to the field against Blackburn failed to score seven or more. It is tempting to suggest Mr Pass has fallen foul to the wave of frenzy surrounding English football, but the quality of Adebayor and co at Ewood Park seems to justify lavish praise.

Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho was also awarded a writer's 10, but, with a readership average of 8.7, the Portuguese appears to have been a tad fortunate in his outing at City. Perhaps skysports.com has been caught up in the phenomenal tales of recent weeks?

Elsewhere, there appears to be agreement over Aston Villa ace Ashley Young as the winger was offered a nine from scribe Ben Linfoot and an overall mean of 8.5 for his part in ensuring Tottenham have made their worst start to a Premier League season.

Yours truly managed to maintain calm, despite a chorus of, 'ASHLEY OOOT' chants, when watching events at St James' Park on Saturday to hand Hull schemer Peter Halmosi a nine (8.5) for his efforts in the downfall of Newcastle.

Other players who made a mark include Liverpool super sub Ryan Babel, Portsmouth striker Jermain Defoe, Wigan forward Amr Zaki and Fulham playmaker Zoltan Gera - all notching journalistic and average scores of eight and above.

Nothing especially out of the ordinary with those who impressed, perhaps it is the players who caught the eye for the wrong reasons who have suffered from the recent wave of breathtaking stories?

You may guess that Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has been punished for his mix-up with Wes Brown against Liverpool, and you would not be far wrong as the Dutchman was handed a four and 3.3, respectively. But he is not the worst.

It might be wagered that Wigan centre-back Titus Bramble will have paid the price for adding to the potential for a DVD of his gaffes hitting the shops around Christmas, but you would be way off.

In the eyes of scribes Ashley Marshall and Linfoot, West Ham frontman Dean Ashton and Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes are the serial offenders of recent outings as the duo both receive a rating of two.

The kind-hearted might suggest that injury-prone Ashton's latest fitness setback was more than enough woe, but Marshall is obviously keen to punish at every turn, while Linfoot sums up Gomes' Monday night blunder in one word, 'awful'.

However, readers appear more forgiving. Ashton only receives a 3.8 and Gomes a 4.1. The greatest villain in your eyes is Shola Ameobi as the Newcastle striker possibly suffers from the unrest surrounding the Magpies with a woeful average of 2.5.

So a search for spectacular and dramatic scores has drawn limited results with readers and writers demonstrating similar judgements with regards to rating the latest group of performances.

But there is one that almost slipped through the net as Mr Pass is again in the spotlight (I wonder if he receives an appearance bonus?) when we demonstrate that we are happy to own up when things are a little wide of the mark.

Blackburn's Danny Simpson, on loan from Old Trafford, appears to have got off lightly in his debut against Arsenal as he records the greatest difference in scores with a writer's seven clashing horribly against a four from ruthless readers.

It is possible to interact with skysports.com throughout the entire Premier League season and you can analyse performances via the Player Rating tab of every fixture.

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Comments (4)

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Ryan Cresswell (Newcastle United fan) says...

for me i think thats not correct ameobi is far better then Emmanuel Adebayor

Posted 14:46 19th September 2008

Stitch Keating (Arsenal fan) says...

It's ridiculous to give such low scores to van der Sar, and particularly Gomes who made a couple of fine saves, just for one crucial mistake. It's not a true reflection on their performance.

Posted 09:50 19th September 2008

Richard Sadler (Aston Villa fan) says...

I think Newcaslte have got more to worry about than whether Ameobi is gonna be sold or not. Proud to be Villa x

Posted 12:56 18th September 2008

Andy Smith (Newcastle United fan) says...

I think you're spot on with your score for Ameobi, once touted as a successor to a certain Mr. Shearer! Surely January is the time for him to be shown the door.

Posted 11:20 17th September 2008
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