Kelvin's Local
Jack Armstrong
Two games to go, about time to enter the monotony of the summer. How do you rank the squad?
Darlow - 5 - Disappointing season. Poor shot-stopping, poor organisation, beaten from range frequently and flaps at crosses every week. Quite simply, he's been below average and Newcastle will be hugely underwhelmed.
DDV - 7 - In the chance he's had he's impressed. It's bemusing to me that he was dropped for Darlow again and has continued to be in the wilderness.
Lichaj - 8 - Good first half to the season and a superb second half. He's our #1 right back now and a thoroughly likable bloke to boot.
Kane - 6 - Utterly mediocre. You can see he has talent but he's failed to really impress in most of his chances. He's just taken up a spot that an academy full back would have benefited from.
Mancienne - 7 - Sensational start to the season, frustrating end. He's got talent and is arguably our best centre half but he's no midfielder.
Hobbs - 7 - When fit he's unstoppable, he's just too injured too often. A must-pick when available though.
Lascelles - 6 - Improved of late, but still shown too many causes for concern. Newcastle will be less concerned with him than Darlow, but still concerned.
Wilson - 6 - An excellent player and of that there's no doubt but he's not shone like he should. The red card against Watford leaves a foul taste.
Collins - 5 - Scored a goal that extended his brief stay but reverted to mean thereafter.
Fox - 4 - He's just a poor, poor footballer. His passing is dangerous, his crossing is wayward, his long balls are aimless and he's often a liability defensively. First out of the door in the summer for me.
Cohen - N/A - Started like a house on fire, and ended like one too.
Antonio - 9.5 - Has the odd off-day but he's one of the best players in the league and lights up a game like Collymore. An unbelievable talent and an absolute steal at £1.5m, bravo to Pearce for that one.
Burke - 6.5 - A bit of a lull in the middle of his season but otherwise he's been consistently creative and surprisingly quick. His crossing is excellent and chips in with more than his fair share of goals too. Age is a worry though, how long does he have left?
Reid - N/A - Our best player, but never ever fit. Such a loss.
Paterson - 4 - Very disappointing from all aspects. I feel Pearce handled him badly and his confidence was drained completely from the word go. A loan spell out can revive him, there's a sensational player in there when handled correctly and it'd be such a shame to lose him.
Barrow - N/A - Hasn't really played enough to be judged. Tricky, but lightweight.
Osborn - 8 - An excellent first full season and a truly exciting talent. The goal at Derby will live long in the memory.
Lansbury - 5 - When he's on form he's unstoppable but for 80% of the season he's a liability. I would sell whilst he peaks in value.
Gardner - 9 - One only wonders where we'd be if we'd signed him in August. A driving force for the entire team and the key for everything we do.
Vaughan - 5 - Be it injury, attitude or form he's just not seen the pitch often enough. It's certainly not ability that's keeping him out of the side, it seems like we made a mistake signing him permanently.
Fryatt - 6 - When he's played he's impressed, but he's just injured too often. He is in no way reliable which is a shame because he's got all the talent to score 20+.
Assombalonga - 8.5 - Well on for 20 goals before the injury cruelly ended his season. He was justifying the fee in spades, but the NFFC curse got him.
Veldwijk - 4 - Not the ideal first season, but it was never going to be. Name one player to make a jump in level like he has and hit the ground running straight away... Give him time and he may turn into a useful asset. He's got all the physical attributes for sure...
Blackstock - 6 - A good 5/6 game spell and otherwise injured. There's a theme developing here, but he's an excellent pro and you can't root against him even if you wanted to.
Akpom - 5 - Fast and tricky but a bit of a waste of time. He's taken up time that would have been better spent with Walker on the pitch.
Walker - 8 - He's an 8 for what we'd expect from him. He's scored an excellent goal and showed that with the right handling he can become a real menace.
Darlow - 5 - Disappointing season. Poor shot-stopping, poor organisation, beaten from range frequently and flaps at crosses every week. Quite simply, he's been below average and Newcastle will be hugely underwhelmed.
DDV - 7 - In the chance he's had he's impressed. It's bemusing to me that he was dropped for Darlow again and has continued to be in the wilderness.
Lichaj - 8 - Good first half to the season and a superb second half. He's our #1 right back now and a thoroughly likable bloke to boot.
Kane - 6 - Utterly mediocre. You can see he has talent but he's failed to really impress in most of his chances. He's just taken up a spot that an academy full back would have benefited from.
Mancienne - 7 - Sensational start to the season, frustrating end. He's got talent and is arguably our best centre half but he's no midfielder.
Hobbs - 7 - When fit he's unstoppable, he's just too injured too often. A must-pick when available though.
Lascelles - 6 - Improved of late, but still shown too many causes for concern. Newcastle will be less concerned with him than Darlow, but still concerned.
Wilson - 6 - An excellent player and of that there's no doubt but he's not shone like he should. The red card against Watford leaves a foul taste.
Collins - 5 - Scored a goal that extended his brief stay but reverted to mean thereafter.
Fox - 4 - He's just a poor, poor footballer. His passing is dangerous, his crossing is wayward, his long balls are aimless and he's often a liability defensively. First out of the door in the summer for me.
Cohen - N/A - Started like a house on fire, and ended like one too.
Antonio - 9.5 - Has the odd off-day but he's one of the best players in the league and lights up a game like Collymore. An unbelievable talent and an absolute steal at £1.5m, bravo to Pearce for that one.
Burke - 6.5 - A bit of a lull in the middle of his season but otherwise he's been consistently creative and surprisingly quick. His crossing is excellent and chips in with more than his fair share of goals too. Age is a worry though, how long does he have left?
Reid - N/A - Our best player, but never ever fit. Such a loss.
Paterson - 4 - Very disappointing from all aspects. I feel Pearce handled him badly and his confidence was drained completely from the word go. A loan spell out can revive him, there's a sensational player in there when handled correctly and it'd be such a shame to lose him.
Barrow - N/A - Hasn't really played enough to be judged. Tricky, but lightweight.
Osborn - 8 - An excellent first full season and a truly exciting talent. The goal at Derby will live long in the memory.
Lansbury - 5 - When he's on form he's unstoppable but for 80% of the season he's a liability. I would sell whilst he peaks in value.
Gardner - 9 - One only wonders where we'd be if we'd signed him in August. A driving force for the entire team and the key for everything we do.
Vaughan - 5 - Be it injury, attitude or form he's just not seen the pitch often enough. It's certainly not ability that's keeping him out of the side, it seems like we made a mistake signing him permanently.
Fryatt - 6 - When he's played he's impressed, but he's just injured too often. He is in no way reliable which is a shame because he's got all the talent to score 20+.
Assombalonga - 8.5 - Well on for 20 goals before the injury cruelly ended his season. He was justifying the fee in spades, but the NFFC curse got him.
Veldwijk - 4 - Not the ideal first season, but it was never going to be. Name one player to make a jump in level like he has and hit the ground running straight away... Give him time and he may turn into a useful asset. He's got all the physical attributes for sure...
Blackstock - 6 - A good 5/6 game spell and otherwise injured. There's a theme developing here, but he's an excellent pro and you can't root against him even if you wanted to.
Akpom - 5 - Fast and tricky but a bit of a waste of time. He's taken up time that would have been better spent with Walker on the pitch.
Walker - 8 - He's an 8 for what we'd expect from him. He's scored an excellent goal and showed that with the right handling he can become a real menace.
