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To come up with these figures we ask forum members to rate each player’s performance in the concerned game out of 10, which we then average out to get a rating representative of the fans’ views, we also collect a few user comments to summarise how the player did and show a few different viewpoints from the board. The top scoring player is man of the match; the lowest is mug of the match. This time 23 members cast their votes and shared their opinions.

Newcastle visited the Boleyn Ground on the back of four straight losses and clearly were intent to set the record straight as they came out of the blocks firing and put in almost as good a first half a performance as you’re likely to see this side put on. The scoring was opened 16 minutes in by Cabaye after he beat a man and finished from the edge of the box, following a swift charge up-field led by Gouffran, to score the first Newcastle goal in nearly 5 hours of Premier League play. A few good chances followed without conversion until after the half hour mark when Rémy converted a Sissoko cross following some nice build-up play.

Unfortunately the half ended on a sour note as a comedy of errors resulted in a Williamson own goal from a Krul rebound after Carlton Cole was gifted the ball. The home side, as you’d expect, were buoyed by this and came back into the game in the second half, with poor finishing from both sides keeping it 1-2 until Cabaye sealed victory and topped off a magnificent performance with a well-taken free-kick.

As you might have guessed, Cabaye, in what looks likely to be his last game for the club, was the ToonForum man of the match having excelled in his free role at the 10 position, scoring two goals and pulling the strings throughout to earn an average rating of 8.61. The mug of the match for the third time in his last four games, and seventh for the whole season, was Shola Ameobi with a rating of 4.84. He was brought on with half an hour to go for the much lauded Anita and failed to make any real impact on the game, as the change gave West Ham a foothold in the midfield while we switched to a more direct style.

Changes such as the above combined with West Ham gaining momentum in the second half negatively impacted Pardew’s rating (4.70) as the fans were split into two camps; those who accepted that we were set-up well and got a good win away from home, rating his performance around 6, and those who thought the win was in spite of Pardew, rating him around 3-4.

Krul – 5.63 (Ratings ranged between 4 and 7)
“Did okay, could have done better leading up to the own goal and as always his distribution was suspect. Otherwise largely uncontested.”
“Should have done better for their goal, needs to stop taking all our free-kicks ”
“Didnt have much to do, unlucky on the rebound for their goal, perhaps he should have pushed it to one side of the goal but i’m not sure he could have reacted in time from that sort of range”

Yanga-Mbiwa – 6.37 (Ratings ranged between 5 and 7.5)
“Did alright considering he was being played out of position again.”
“Fails to impress me as a fullback. He did surprisingly well getting forward but was out of position a couple of times and never really looked comfortable.”
“Showed his CB roots as he made almost as many clearances as Taylor and more tackles and interceptions than both CBs combined.”

Williamson – 6.13 (Ratings ranged between 5 and 8)
“He won many vital headers today, and some more great tekkers.”
“Did nothing wrong for the goal, apart from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Had an excellent game I thought”
“I dont think it was his fault for the goal but I can’t remember him or Saylor getting a head on any WH cross.”

Taylor – 5.63 (Ratings ranged between 5 and 8)
“Helped defend against the likes of Carroll pretty well. Not good enough at times though.”
“Completely missed a vital and easy header for their goal was good other than that.”
“What exactly was he doing for their goal? I thought he was meant to be good in the air, yet this game he lost every aerial duel he entered. Made good use of the ball when he had it though.”

Santon – 5.24 (Ratings ranged between 4 and 6.5)
“Allowed Downing too much room at times, but otherwise decent apart from that dangerous challenge on the edge of the box (something he does too frequently).”
“Poor at times, didn’t do enough going forwards either”
“Would have preferred to see him at right back while Debuchy was banned.”

Anita – 7.35 (Ratings ranged between 6 and 8)
“Amazing. How he got taken off is beyond me.”
“Amazing midfielder . Some of his distribution and movement was absolute class. That pass for to set up Sissoko for the cross for the second goal was outstanding.”
“so good on the ball. We look so much neater in possession when he plays. I was disappointed to see him taken off.”

Tioté – 7.17 (Ratings ranged between 6.5 and 8)
“Another dominant captain Tioté performance, stepped up and kept things ticking with seemingly all of our possession flowing through him.”
“Steady, broke up play well, drifted out of the game a bit in the second half after they resorted to the long ball game.”
“Good performance but not as good as in other games this season, should have disrupted West Ham’s attacks more in the 2nd half, but then with the ball bypassing midfield quite a bit perhaps he didn’t have the opportunity”

Sissoko – 6.50 (Ratings ranged between 6 and 7)
“Contributed to some of our better attacks in the first half but some silly decisions in the second”
“Good assist and all-round play on the right, making chances and doing his share defensively. As always though, he lost the ball a few too many times with errant passing and runs down blind alleys. Seems to have more chance to shine without Debuchy charging past him on every attack.”
“Good work for the 2nd goal. Missed a great chance though and some poor play that he should have done better on.”

Cabaye – 8.61 MOTM (Ratings ranged between 7.5 and 9.5) MOTM
“Two great goals and tortured West Ham all game. Could have had a hat trick of goals and assists. A tad quiet for a portion of the game though.”
“It’s obvious why bigger teams want him and he would be a huge loss. Clearly enjoying the freedom playing with Anita and Tiote gives him.”
“Brilliant in the first half. Drifted out in the second half as we lost the midfield and started to panic. Glad he’s finally playing in a more advanced role now where he’s far more influential. Integral to the team that he stays. Just needs to be supported by more threatening wingers.”

Gouffran – 5.91 (Ratings ranged between 5 and 7)
“Grabbed an assist, cant remember him doing too much more though. Santon was caught out a lot, so he needs to take some of the blame there.”
“Typical Gouffran, a good first half performance at both ends of the pitch, fairly anonymous in the second.”
“Decent first half, but he really needs a rest. Should’ve been sacrificed in the starting line up for Ben Arfa.”

Rémy – 7.20 (Ratings ranged between 6 and 8)
“Great-ish in the first half but faded badly, should try passing the ball sometimes because running at people and shooting doesn’t always seem to work…”
“His movement off the ball is world class. Should have done better against such a poor defence. Hopefully his goal gives him some confidence and sends him on another run.”
“Good chest down and finish for the goal. missed a few opportunities though and should have passed the ball to Anita when he was in a much better position to score.”

Shola – 4.84 (Ratings ranged between 2 and 6.5)
“Did what he had to do. But why was he brought on when West Ham were s****ing themselves every time we passed the ball? They’re better at hoofball than us!”
“Came on and did approximately **** all. again. made worse because he was subbed on for Anita who was playing well. cert for another 30 mins next match.”
“I can understand bringing him on to help deal with Carroll, but once on the pitch he offered next to nothing for half an hour and coincided with our switch of style that played into the opposition’s hands.”

Dummett – 5.62 (Ratings ranged between 4.5 and 7)
“Fine, good in the air. Slightly baffled why he came on though”
“No idea why Pardew swapped our best LB for our third choice LB”
“Forgot how good he was, we’re lucky to have him and Haidara”

Ben Arfa – 5.50 (Ratings ranged between 5 and 6)
“Didn’t do much and lost the ball regularly. Suspect he would have done well if started/brought on at half time.”
“Got an assist! But was let down by a complete lack of support, meaning every time he got the ball in their half, he was surrounded and couldn’t do anything.”
“Tried too hard to impress resulting in him doing too much and losing the ball. don’t know why he bothers though because it doesnt matter how well he performs, Sissoko will get the nod, HBA should try being bigger. Won the free kick for Cabaye’s second.”

Pardew – 4.70 (Ratings ranged between 3 and 7)
“Starting eleven did really well and he set us up right. Substitutions ruined him.”

“Shola for Anita, defending a one goal lead for 45 minutes, swapping LBs for no reason, starting players who looked absolutely fucked, playing MYM at RB.”

“Team selection was lazy – Gouffran and/or Sissoko should’ve been dropped for Ben Arfa, who would have shitted on their defence in the first half, when we were on top. Subs were odd – why Shola, when we were so much better on the floor than them? That sent us long ball, where West Ham have an advantage over most teams in the Prem. Baffling.”

“We dominated the first half because of the line up and strategy he picked and could have led by a lot more. A bit of bad luck on the stroke of half time gave them hope and they came out a lot better. I wasn’t thrilled with his changes but can understand them. When he took Anita off, we were struggling to get a grip on the game in midfield and they were just lobbing it over our heads so he had to change something.”

“We were excellent in the first half, playing some sumptuous football at times that’s representative of the skill available in our squad, but in the second half we ceded momentum (although a certain amount would always go their way after pulling on back on the stroke of half-time at home) and only stayed ahead because of poor finishing on our opponents’ part. Pardew’s subs were, as they frequently are, baffling and seemingly playing right into Big Sam’s hands (Anita off, Shola on, long ball play with lots of possession changes).”

“Would have liked to see HBA start ahead of Sissoko for once and/or Santon on the right with Dummett/Haidara on the left, MYM in the middle too. The first half performance was great however, so can’t complain about the starting XI too much. We should have been home and dry at half time, but a last min goal put Pardew into panic mode and we saw a classic Pardew inspired insipid 2nd half. Backs to the wall and inviting pressure onto us, the players came out with a seemingly completely different mindset where we should have been pushing on from an excellent first half instead we did the opposite.

This was compounded by some truly awful substitutions. Shola on for Anita after 60. Anita was having a great game and we were superior in the 1st half mainly because they couldn’t get near us due to our passing. The substitution actually helped West Ham since we lost that and we then went 442 which helped them out further, playing their game. Us hoofing the ball forward meant we couldn’t retain possession as effectively (compounded by the lack of Anita), which in turn allowed them more attempts to hoof it forward giving them more attacking attempts, a style of play that they do so much more effectively than us. They spannered two easy finishes and our 2-1 lead was living a charmed life for the majority of the second half, Cabaye’s lovely fk at the death making it look a lot more comfortable than it was, on another day we wouldn’t have been so lucky. LB for LB was pointless it didn’t affect the game in any way, then finally HBA gets on, getting half the minutes of Shola; a classic too late Pardew sub.”

Do you feel these ratings are fair, or do you have anything to say about this match in general? If so, do so in our discussion thread here.