Chez

we don't mark at set pieces. We just stand and wait for them to go offside.

In Diallo we have a player that ,at last, can truely replace Morgan. He is great to watch. First touch is magic and weight of pass has been excellent so far today.

Maybe, maybe not. Forster certainly makes himself big. We need a keeper with the combination of their best traits.

he was right there, but had to tuck in and go to the ball leaving the man free. Not his fault he was overloaded.

Excellent work Forster

no idea what point you are trying to make. Mine is that when you concede you focus on what your defenders did and when you score, what your attackers, not what you opponent does. it was great header. Doesn't mean we could do better.

not sure everyone is blaming him, they (includig myself) are pointing out that when it comes to saves when the ball is not in his arc, he ain't good. He is big, but slow.

why would we care if their defender/keeper had done their job?

Diallo with man right up his arse makes it look easy, which lead directly to the chance. That little bit of quality makes all the difference.

The lauded Forster looks comfortable with ones straight at him, but a low ones, not so much.

Who are you talking about and what made you think that? What I saw was the whole team press high up the pitch from the off, put them under pressure and made them turn the ball over. We were brave on the ball, passed the ball well and looked pretty good. We didn't sit back limply, didn't allow them to dictate or look overwhelmed in any way. It didn't last of course and there was plenty to criticise, but the idea that players had risen the white flag before starting doesn't resonate.

fair point, but if you pay them they will come, especially from the lower leagues. I suggested Justin James when he was at Luton for example. Lloyd Kelly at Bournemouth might be option at left back. Maybe we need to invest in a two footed player that can press both KWP and Bertrand.

we play some nice football at times. We don't have forwards and wingers that do enough in the final third and defensively we are not great. We get caught on the break a lot. There is a lot of room for improvement. Get rid of more deadwood, free wages to sign players, make sure those players are decent and things could come up rosey.

£100m+ wage bill should be enough to pay for two right backs. Shifting Valery and replacing him with genuine young talent will be high on the list of jobs for the summer.

I thought we were pretty brave on the ball, pressed high and controlled the game for long periods. It was a far cry from the United debacle. Some of the goals we conceded weren't great. Bertrand ball-watched for the first, the woeful pass for the third...but City do have some real talent and they really punish mistakes like this, which we perhaps makes every game but get away with. When teams catch us on the break we seem more susceptible than most. To a degree I thought Bertrand at right back and Salisu at left back worked - when compared with the other option of playing Bednarek out there - which has not worked at all well. Stephens did OK, too. He's a decent ball playing CB, positionally solid, but he is not the quickest and felt he gave a little too much time and space. We instantly looked better with Dialo on. Redmond did OK too, but I have to say Tella too looked very sharp when he came on, which is encouraging. We may have found a real gem there. As for McCArthy, I have no idea why he played if Forster is seen as the number 1 now, but he made some great saves which sadly wasn't enough to prevent two goals from rebounds. His kicking is not great and he makes me nervous. I'm not convinced Forster is any better though. That position is a mess. To be honest I feel quietly confident we can beat both Brighton and Bournemouth, which could help to `save' this season. Win the FA cup and all will be forgiven in my book.

Exactly. Ball hits the post (McCarthy may even have got a touch, not sure, but if he did its a brilliant save) and bounces straight out to Gunderwan. Forster wouldn't have got near it, or the Foden shot for their first. He fucked up for the back pass, which was a poor touch, but not everything he dies is shit. I'm no fan, but blaming him for these goals seems harsh to me.

looked a definite pen to me. Have to say the pulling of shirt on Vestegaard for the corner not long afterwards was also not picked up. VAR having a bit of mare.

not a great ball back by Salisu.

get the fuck in there. We are playing pretty well.

Bertrand ball watched a bit. Bloody good save from McCarthy, but to no avail. Shame. Good start before that.

Not sure the changes and line up matters that much. There isn't a huge drop off from our first eleven and the reserves. If it means the likes of Tella avoid injury and we can attack Brighton and Bournemouth games, it's a wise move. Not sure why the keeper needs to change though. Maybe he doesn't want Forster confidence knocked by conceding a hatful? Not quite sure how you beat City unless you have the talent the likes of Liverpool and Man U have and are able to go toe toe with them. Even Liverpool at their best (when they beat city) could only press them for a half. Palace caught them on the break brilliantly, but we don't have either the ability to go toe to toe or the pace and skill on the break. Where does that leave us then? Five at the back, defend for your lives? I'd like us to go for it, not surrender before we start, and press them as though they were an average side. But they are not an average side though are they... Our players are going to have to work their socks off and hope we get lucky. Conceding early will kill us.

I was interested to see what his injury record was like since coning here. 10 games missed in 2019, none in 2020 and 6 games missed so far in 2021, but currently out for a few weeks you'd think. Considering the type of injuries he has picked up, I think has come back incredibly quickly, perhaps too quickly, from injuries this year. I think in recent times he has lost his sharpness and that has contributed to his form falling from its best. Not sure there is any long terms concerns though.

bumping this earlier post by SuperSAINT

that was what was reported in Get French Football News. Who knows how accurate it is.