Skysports.com trawls through the weekend's Premier League ratings to see who caught your eye.
Agbonlahor takes top spot, while Konchesky has a week to forget
Skysports.com towers must remain impartial at all times while covering the weekly round of Premier League fixtures. But you, our valued readers, can be as biased as you like in your assessments of which players had an absolute stinker and which deserve special praise.
With just one week down, it is clear that many of you are not in the mood to accept mediocrity this season, with the inclement British summer appearing to have dampened the annual sense of optimism which greets the start of a new campaign.
Having taken a glance through the weekend's player ratings, it will come as no surprise to hear that those sides which suffered opening day heartache, with Tottenham seemingly the hardest hit, topped the list of shame.
Spurs supporters were led to believe that this was finally the season in which North London would have two realistic top-four contenders, but a lacklustre 2-1 defeat away at Middlesbrough would suggest otherwise.
Juande Ramos' men looked more Sunday League than UEFA Champions League on the banks of the Tees, with Benoit Assou-Ekoto apparently the worst of a bad lot.
Reporter Lewis Rutledge was obviously in a forgiving mood when he handed the Cameroonian full-back a 5 in the wake of the Riverside disaster, while you were far more ruthless in your assessment - giving the African a dismal score of 3.5.
In another moment of madness from Mr Rutledge, the 8 he handed to Assou-Ekoto's fellow defensive culprit Jonathan Woodgate appears slightly exaggerated when compared to the 5.3 he averaged from elsewhere.
However, he did redeem himself by picking Boro centre-half David Wheater as his man of the match, a sentiment backed up by those who handed the England hopeful a respectable average of 8.
Spurs' arch-rivals Arsenal got off to a winning start against West Brom on Saturday, but while our scribe Nick Hext comfortably picked out Samir Nasri as the star man, he obviously saw something no-one else did in Baggies defender Leon Barnett.
A rating of 8 would suggest a stellar performance at the heart of Tony Mowbray's defence and certainly not deserving of the lowly 5.6 he was awarded in the public domain. As always, though, these things are subjective and it is virtually impossible to say who is right and wrong.
The undoubted star of the opening day, well Sunday actually, was Aston Villa's Gabriel Agbonlahor. A seven-minute hat-trick should not be sniffed at, and the flying winger has deservedly lapped up the plaudits for his awe-inspiring display against Manchester City.
Our correspondent Steve Pass gave the Brummie forward a perfect 10 in the wake of his magnificent treble, while an average of 9.3 from happy Villa fans saw him top this week's roll of honour.
Hanging onto Agbonlahor's coattails in the race for ratings glory was Chelsea's prodigiously gifted Portuguese ace Deco.
The diminutive playmaker sparkled in the Stamford Bridge sunshine as he inspired the Blues to a 4-0 hammering of FA Cup holders Portsmouth.
The former Barcelona man provided the heartbeat for the comprehensive success, and even pinged a late piledriver into the top corner for good measure. As a result, Deco more than deserves the 9 he received from both Nick Hext and the watching world.
Pompey, meanwhile, head back to the coast with their tail firmly between their legs, as none of their players managed to break the 5 rating barrier in Sunday's contest.
In a weekend seemingly dominated by impressive debuts from continental talent, Bolton's Johan Elmander silenced those critics who questioned his ability to fulfil a hefty price tag.
The Swede ran Stoke ragged at the Reebok Stadium, getting on the score sheet in a 3-1 win.
He certainly made an impact on the Trotters support, who gave the front man an admirable rating of 8.8. Meanwhile, yours truly is feeling slightly sheepish after piling the praise on midfield schemer Joey O'Brien, only to see the Irishman secure a lowly 5.6 from the punters.
Dishonourable mentions at this point must also go to the Potters' defensive duo Andy Wilkinson and Andy Griffin who should hang their heads in shame at the sight of 4.1 averages.
While Stoke floundered in their top flight opener, Hull revelled in their new surroundings.
The Tigers came from behind to see off Fulham, their 2-1 win inspired by summer signing Geovanni.
The former Manchester City man topped both our and your ratings, although Seol Ki-hyeon secured an impressive 8.2 for the beaten Cottagers to push the Brazilian magician close.
Of those who failed to trouble the scorers at the KC Stadium, Paul Koncheskey slumped away with a dismal 3.4 - the lowest individual score of the weekend.
Manchester United are unlikely to have too many afternoons where their star man can only lay claim to a miserly 6.1 rating, but that is precisely what happened against Newcastle.
The Magpies were unfortunate to only take a point from their visit to Old Trafford, and unsurprisingly boast the star men of the contest.
Shay Given made a number of impressive saves to keep United at bay, and was awarded 8.9, while Jonas Gutierrez was another eye-catching debutant, easily securing the man of the match award with ratings of 9 and 9.2 from our reporter and your good selves.
Everton and Blackburn may have conjured up a five-goal thriller at Goodison Park, but there few, if any, stand-out displays.
Sky Sports journalist Laura Slatcher picked out Rovers striker Jason Roberts as her star man, giving him an 8, while David Dunn, with 7.7, topped the supporter polls.
He was hardly helped by the fact that he was playing out of position in the centre of midfield but Everton's Phil Jagileka plumbed the depths, and a 4.4 rating deserves to give him sleepless nights.
Liverpool's trip to Sunderland on Saturday evening provided little in terms of entertainment, with Fernando Torres' sole strike briefly lifting the game above the mediocre as the clock ran down.
The baby-faced Spaniard was awarded a 7.9 on the back of his goalscoring exploits, but his team-mates Robbie Keane and Damien Plessis were not so fortunate.
Much is expected of Rafa Benitez's men this term and the Reds supporters were not happy with their opening display.
New signing Keane was awarded 4 and 5.1 respectively, while French midfielder Plessis fared even worse, scoring 4 and 4.6.
That leaves us with just one game to go, and we may as well end as we started.
It does not take a genius to realise that a player who bags a match-winning brace will feature highly on the ratings card - and Dean Ashton's double for West Ham in a 2-1 success over Wigan tipped him past the 8 barrier.
However, the performances of Wilson Palacios and Chris Kirkland have caused disagreement between scribe and supporter.
Palacios' Sky Sports rating of 9 is some way higher than the 6.7 the Latics fans deemed appropriate, while Kirkland's 8 was knocked down to 5.4 by the JJB faithful.
So, what can we learn from the opening ratings of the new season?
It is clear that Spurs supporters are growing increasingly impatient with their charges and are unlikely to accept further failure.
Debutants appear to be the way forward, so expect the chequebooks to come out before the transfer window closes.
And, finally, it is clear that certain members of the Sky Sports team need to have their eyes tested before being unleashed on ratings duty again this week.
