This is one that went a wee bit under the radar and, to be honest, I am kicking myself for not spotting it earlier.
Player ratings.
They are something I glance at every now and again after every match just to see how journalists and pundits view our player’s performances but there was so much to talk about after Saturday’s 1-0 win that I didn’t pay much attention to them.
Until this morning.
I was pouring over the performance ratings to see if there was anyone that stood out that may not find themselves in the running for the team on Wednesday night.
The reason I do that as well is as a Celtic fan, I sometimes have the green-tinted specs on when looking at my team’s performance.
We all do it. It’s only natural.
So, to get a perspective from others in the game generally lends some balance. Even if it is from the MSM.
So imagine my surprise when I came across this one.
Anthony Ralston, on the BBC, was rated a 3.71 for his part in the Aberdeen win.
3.7.
Really? I can’t really remember Ralston doing anything that warranted that kind of rating so I did a little digging.
Sofascore rated the Scotland defender as one the best players on the pitch at 7.6. He had a 91% passing accuracy, won 5 out of his 7 ground duels and four out of 8 ariel battles and two out of three dribbles were successful.
Not bad considering the majority of our play was from middle to front on Saturday.
Now, I know Sofascore isn’t the most accurate barometer of player performance so I went the old fashioned way and compared the BBC to other media outlets and this is how they varied:
The Scotsman: 8. They said Ralston ‘put down a marker’ to Alistair Johnston
Glasgow Live: 6. Ralston ‘did well’.
90 min: 8
The Scottish Daily Express: 6. “A busy first half at both ends of the pitch and had the challenge of Duk to deal with. Some really nice passes forward at times but seemed to lose composure.”
Hell, even The 4th Official was more impartial which is incredible considering their leanings: 8. “Effective down the right with his relentless overlapping runs and link-up play high up the pitch.
“Maintained his composure at the back by covering the ground behind him.”
I would love to know how they have come to that conclusion.
We all know how they’ve come to that conclusion….
What on earth could you possibly mean Sep?
i wonder what alan mcgregor rating was having being creditied for the winner
Ralston set abda in on goal with sublime pass his crossing has to improve remember how nanny players were in the aberdeen Box it’s was near impossible yo pick a player out missed one big tackle allowed dux to run at defence I think that was only defence duty he had so bbc were judging him defencely only yes but he was in aberdeen half more than his on