Leon Best was, of course, awarded Man of the Match by Tyne-Talk's resident player rater Wasim4nufc, for his hatrick against West Ham on Wednesday night. With strong performances from most of the team, scores were high. Read on to see how the rest of the team faired...
Player Ratings
Steve Harper (7.5) - Made a few good saves on a night in which he did not have a lot to do.
Danny Simpson (7.5) - Very solid at right back. Really has been excellent since he's come back into the team.
Steven Taylor (7) - Picked up an injury which only allowed him to play until half time but hardly looked troubled when on the field.
Fabricio Coloccini (8) - Put in some fine tackles, even when the score was already 5-0 and just looked so assured at the back.
Jose Enrique (8.5) - Barely gave West Ham the chance to attack down his flank and was very good going forward. Linked up well with both Jonas and Ferguson as well. I wouldn't swap him for any other left back in the league.
Joey Barton (8.5) - Fast becoming one of my favourite toon players, he was once again very impressive. Controlled things for us in midfield and it came as no surprise to see him involved in the build up for three of our goals. He is bang on form at the moment and long may it continue.
Cheik Tiote (8.5) - Magnificent in midfield, the Ivory Coast international did well to protect the back four as well as getting us onto the front foot regularly with his passing and drive from the centre of the park. Went off with an injury but hopefully he'll be fine for the mackems game.
Kevin Nolan (7.5) - Took his goal very nicely indeed and really does lead from the front.
Jonas Gutierrez (7) - Played his part in the build up to our third goal and certainly worked hard for the team when he was on. Considering he played with an injury for much of his 60 minutes some credit should go to him.
Peter Lovenkrands (8) - Made some excellent runs, as seen by his movement for the first two goals. Took his goal nicely to get on the score sheet and kept the West Ham defence busy all evening.
Leon Best (9) - What a performance! Many thought he did not warrant a starting berth but he proved all those doubters wrong. Took all his goals well and was excellent in the air, winning numerous flick on's and linked up nicely with Lovenkrands up front.
Substitutes
Mike Williamson (7) -Would have relished being given another opportunity after half time and defended fairly well during his time on the field.
Nile Ranger (5) - Missed a real sitter and still seems to be very raw at the moment. Needs to be sent out on loan.
Shane Ferguson (7.5) - It was a nice cameo from the youngster who seems to be a real good prospect.
When I think of 10 I think of players such as Shearer, Berbatov and Cole scoring five and so I reserve a 10 for those rare days. You are right in that I've never given one but I just feel that it shouldn't be given to someone unless they've done something very special.
To be honest Daraghl I think it also matters who you are playing. Not taking anything away from Best but West Ham were probably the worst team Ive seen this season with Wigan not far behind them. I know you can only play whats in front of you and the lad was just back from injury but when he does it against a top side he may get a 10.
I agree that a hatrick doesn't always guarantee a 10, as you need to take into account who you have played, sometimes you see a great team goal against a very poor side and it gets raved about, and rightly so but if they do it against a top team then it is a better goal
best hit a great hattrick, none of them were easy to finish, and he made no mistakes - cool finishing with no little amount of skill involved. but barton was my man of the match!
I didn't see the match just saw the goals and they were good finishes, but if you are saying that barton should be man of the match then he must have been fantastic, as hatricks will always do it
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