On Gera, he probably is unlucky. The problem is at what stage does a player who consistently misses chances become more than unlucky?

I was surprised at Davies’ rating too, but as you say, it isn’t by much so I’ll let it go.

As for Bullard, I really think he’s started to play well in the last few weeks. I think he’s slowly making more and more tackles as he gets more confident on his knee, I remember three or four 50-50s that he won against City alone. His corner into Hangeland led to the goal against Arsenal but generally his set-pieces have been poor.

Just feel that asking him to pull his socks up is a little harsh.

Also, I think it’s amazing that a ratings site like this can cut through the mainstream perceptions and rate ‘famous’ players like Bullard and John Terry down, while most (all?) media outlets rate players entirely on reputation. For this they must be applauded and welcomed.

Good post. Couple of things though:

One – I don’t think it makes any odds what rating scale they use. It goes from 5 to 8, and if you know what each means then they could use 14 to 17. Doesn’t mean anything. 5 to 8 is in the realms of intuitive understanding, no beef there.

Second – the Bullard thing, to me, is entirely fair. If you look at the overall season almost everyone has done well. The players who, relative to talent levels, have not performed, are Zoltan Gera (and I’d argue that he’s been more unlucky than bad – at least three woodworks), Simon Davies and Jimmy Bullard. They seem to rate Davies’ season higher than I do, but it’s not by much so no beef really, so that leaves Gera and Bullard.

Given the high standards Jimmy set himself, and when considered over the whole season, there’s no doubt in my mind that Bullard is one of the players who hasn’t played to his full ability. That doesn’t mean that he’s been one of our worst players (although the fact that this was frequently the case earlier on only adds to their case), merely that he hasn’t been the player he ought to have been, hence “pull your socks up”.

Bullard is in the fortunate position of being the only player in the team who seems to get an entirely free role, and I don’t think he has nearly made the most of this. Sure, he passes the ball 60 times a game, and everything goes through him, but is he delivering?

He’s scored now, so that ends the league’s longest streak of futile shooting. He takes all the set pieces, but how many have led to a goal? How many haven’t been awful? His defensive discipline has been good, but not to the extent that he’s actually making tackles.

I’m not denying that he’s the heartbeat of the side, or that he’s a good player for us. But he’s eminently replaceable (Simon Davies can do everything Bullard can) and his form this year has been patchy. Hence the “pull your socks up”. If you want to be “the man”, play like “the man”.

Rich