Heeeeeeeeere's the RATINGSSSSS!!!!

[Harv]

harsh on Bolo, bren! he was very good yesterday. I know you hate him, but credit where its due.....he played one of his better games for us. He is definately better in the middle.

Momo, outstanding....as usual. Im glad people are noticing his commitment and non stop running. He is going to be an all time great red. I said it last year, and he just keeps on gettig better.

I loved that bone crunching tackle on Ballack Welcome to the Prem Michael

Very harsh on Dagger aswell. He was our best defender by far, imo second to Momo for MOM. Dogbath didnt get near the ball, Agger won the majority of the headers, and he strode out of defence with the ball with aplomb. Dare i say Hansen and Beckenbauer-esque. I had high hopes for this boy....and those hopes are starting come to fruition.

Bellamy is going to be the bargain of the season. Great little player.

[Stevie M]

Reina (7) - Sweeps up effectively behind the back four; agile, alert and keeps his concentration very well. A quality goalkeeper.

Finnan (6) - Consistent without being remarkable. Will have better games, but I can't think of a better RB in the Premier League. Probably slightly at fault for the goal.

Riise (7) - Great goal, but honestly the keeper should have done better (not that I'm complaining). Has improved his defensive work and should rightly be considered one of the best attacking LB's in the Premier League.

Carragher (7) - Strongh, consistent, reads the game well, organises the back four superbly.

Agger (7) - Quietly effective. Untroubled and unaffected by expensive opposition. Big season for the lad, but if he continues to develop with this performance as a starting point, we'll have found an excellent replacement for Hyppia.

Sissoko (9) - Awesome display of central midfield mastery. Improved all facets of his game in the last year.

Zenden (7) - Decent performance in what many consider to be his best position. Certainly looks better in the centre than he does on the wing. His ability to be effective in central midfield this season is important to squad resources.

Pennant (6) - Drifited in and out of the game without making any real impact, however did show his crossing capabilities on occassion. With flair players you accept that they won't sparkle in every game.

Gonzalez (6) - Much the same as Pennant and like Pennant I'm pretty confident he'll have much better games. Neith of the wide players sparkled, but neither did either have complete 'mares. Both players are important additions to the team this year.

Garcia (6) - Typical Garcia performance. Always tries to be creative, but it doesn't always come off. A much better performer in the centre than he is out wide, imo, and will continue to be an important resource for the team when we need a little bit of magic. Another player who played "alright" and will have better games this season.

Crouch (6) - Not a great performance, but took the goal well. Works very hard for the team, but needs a partner up front to play off him to be truly effective. Garcia often drops too deep, but Fowler benefits greatly from playing with Crouch. Good link up with Bellamy for the goal and they might be able to develop an effective partnership.

Subs :-
Bellamy (7) - His pace, work rate and creativity up front will be an essential component for us this season. Did well to create the goal for Crouch.

Gerrard (6) - A gentle stroll on a Sunday afternoon for Superman, who didn't need to exert himself too much, proving to all we can actually win things without having to rely on him to do it all single handedly.

Alonso (6) - Like Gerrard, another gentle run out, although did feel the need to put in the odd tasty challenge (which was never a yellow card, as he won the ball cleanly, I thought). We'll didn't need anything xspecial from Gerrard & Alonso yesterday, but there's be plenty of opportunity for them to show their qualities throughout the season ahead.

Aurelio (6) - Gentle introduction in to English football, from which we will have learned little about the lad's abilities or likely impact this season. Will get his opportunity to claim a regular place on the left at some point this season.

Pongolle (n/a) - I don't recall if he touched the ball when he came on, certainly didn't have much time to do so. Suspect he'll either be sold or loaned out by the end of the month in any case.

Benitez (9) - Threw anoth curveball with his "unusual" selections, but ultimately the decision worked and he got his tactics absolutely spot on. Cealrly has more options within the squad at his disposal and proves he has the abilty to use them. We can take hope for the season ahead from this result.

Team Performance (7.5) - Although I've given many of the player's individual performances an average mark, that's to do with their individual impact on the game. As a unit, the team worked very well, held their shape and tried to exploit the individual talents available. We could have been much more clinical but we looked solid and well organised. If we are to challenge for the Premiership this season we must maintin our organisational effectiveness but we will have to be much more clinical in finishing off teams. Chelsea will rarely play as poorly this season and as encouraging as our performance was we will need to be much better than this at times. But as I said, a good and encouraging performance by the team.