By Wasim
December 15 2008

The first half was fairly even, although Portsmouth had one or two better chances. Shay Given dealt with that and we just seemed to raise our game in the second half. It was a real team performance with several players standing out.

This win keeps us out of the relegation zone, and with Tottenham next, we could be heading towards the top half of the table, provided we keep playing at this level. Well Done lads, today was a performance being proud of.

Portsmouth match player ratings

Shay Given (8) - Made some crucial saves, when called upon. Excellent response from Given, after a below par performance against Stoke. A world class goalkeeper we are so lucky to have.

Habib Beye (8) - He was superb defensively. Won key challanges in the air, made some important blocks and generally, apart from maybe misjudged high ball, he was solid in defence.

Fabricio Coloccini (6.5) - He didn't necessary have his worst game for the toon, but he did have a busy afternoon handling Defoe and Crouch. Eventually he came through that test and we got our clean sheet, so he'll be delighted with that.

Sebastien Bassong (7.5) - He did fairly well. Strong in the air, and calm throughout the match, he looks far more mature than his age says.

Jose Enrique (7.5) - He had a great chance in the 1st half, and then raised his game in the 2nd half, setting up Martins superbly, for our 2nd goal. He did seem to leave a lot of space between him and Bassong which Portsmouth almost profited in the 1st half from, but having survived that he can be pleased with his contribution.

Jonas Gutierrez (8) - Another classy performance by Jonas, topped off with his superb pass to Owen for the 1st goal. Contributed defensively, while looking dangerous when on the ball, he was arguably our best player today. His dual with Kranjcar was great to see, and the fact he came off the better just proves what a quality signing he has been.

Nicky Butt (7) - Butt along with Guthrie, won the central midfield battle for us which was key. Although lacking in pace sometimes, he certainly did contribute to one of our best halves of the season thus far.

Danny Guthrie (8) - A performance worth noting. Yes he seemed to be passing the ball back and side ways a lot in the first half, which may have frustrated some fans, he did however have a great 2nd half, which was topped off with a stunning goal. The fact we had more space in the 2nd period, allowed him to show off his passing ability and for me he is our best passer of the ball. Delighted he got a goal, because he deserved nothing less.

Charles N'Zogbia (7) - A very quiet 1st half from him, but was much more involved in the 2nd half. Helped out defensively as well and should keep his place in the team despite Duff now being fit again.

Michael Owen (8) - Great finish which got us that crucial 1st goal, and he deserves a lot of credit for our 3rd goal as well, for it was his pass which put Ameobi into space. Worked hard to track back also, particularly early on.

Obafemi Martins (8) - A very lively display from him, capped off with a nicely taken goal. Our best moves generally involved him and his pace was used brilliantly on the counter attack in the 2nd half when Pompey started chasing the game. The fact we didn't use Viduka from the bench also shows what a great job our strikers did.

Substitutes:

Shola Ameobi (7.5) - Did nicely when coming on and claimed the assist for Guthrie's goal.

Man of the Match: Jonas Gutierrez

Portsmouth v Newcastle: Player Ratings

Discussion started by TyneTalk (IP Logged), 15/12/2008 17:12

TyneTalk
15/12/2008 17:12

Portsmouth v Newcastle: Player Ratings

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nathan robinson
15/12/2008 22:45

Don't think you can give any player under a 7 really, though I do think that these ratings are pretty much right, was just an all round good performance which I hope we can build on between now and the busy Christmas period.

Given, Beye, Coloccini, Guthrie, Jonas and Owen all included in the BBC Team of the Week. We had the most players chosen in it this week.

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HelpToonBart
15/12/2008 23:17

Overall I agree and pleased to see enrique coming on.

Zogbia was poor and will probably find himself replaced. (Stupid Boy not taking his chance while duff was out, unlike bassong / Taylor)

The problem with Jonas.
He's not milner or nobby and we now look pretty ineffective down the right and overall unbalanced. Not sure how we put this right.

I like jonas but how do we keep him in the team and get him and beye doing what enrique and zogbia / duff do????

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wasim4nufc
16/12/2008 09:16

I understand Jonas doesn't have what Nobby had, but he finds his way to be just as effective. Nobby was a great crosser and provided balance to the right hand side, however Jonas has had two assists in the last two games, and his always a threat when on the ball. I liked Nobby, but I'm just as happy having Jonas on the right.



Wasim's Sport Blog

Toon4life

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nathan robinson
16/12/2008 11:38

Jonas is like a mix of Milner and Nobby but with more pace.

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ToonBart
16/12/2008 12:22

Jonas is nothing like milner or nobby. They could easily be relied on to get down the right and whip crosses in. Jinas much prefers been inside midfield rather than on the wing.

I still like Jonas as a player, i just think we have an unbalanced team that relies heavily now on the left wing. Virtually everything seems to go that way and lets be fair, zog or duff are not great.

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wasim4nufc
16/12/2008 16:24

Lets not forget the defensive work Jonas does for us. He tracks back a lot, and although his not an old fashioned winger, he is still effective because of his ball skills. Furthermore his played 269 minutes less than Milner and has only one assist less than Milner has. If you look at our strikers currently, Martins and Owen, they are both short, so I can't see why people are complaining about Jonas being something different to Milner and Solano.



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senyabtoon
16/12/2008 16:55

Wasim you hit the nail on the head there about Owen and are midfield ok Owen is pretty good in the air but deadly with ball to feet and oba is better in to feet or in behind it shows that the front players are getting chances with less crosses coming in and the midfield is now running at defenses or playing through balls for martins to run on to but its nice to see with our front men fit we have plan b to with shola / viduka lump it to the big man!! we real do have the nucleus of a good team just need a bit more strength in depth

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