Chez

Looking at this game in isolation I thought we played pretty well. I thought the five at the back worked to nullify Palace and get some of our players into space. We dominated and look very comfortable. The goal conceded was terrible. Davis under hit a pass through the wet conditions a minute or so earlier, so we knew he had to make sure. Romeu got caught in exactly the same position shortly before, so we had been fully warned. Very bad mistake then by Classie or was it Davis I couldn't see. I thought the change in formation and personnel helped open them up a little and we deserved the equaliser. But once again we shot ourselves in the foot. We didn't react to the ball quite clearly not going out of play, Tadic let Puncheon waltz past him and it was a poor save. I thought the work rate was good, we created enough to equalise. Hennessy saved well twice, although I thought Juanmi should have buried his chance. I'm very disappointed to go out of the cup. A football club will never get a better chance to win it than when the are a prem side, but yet again we fail. Having said that I wasn't overly disappointed with the effort we put in. We need to start taking chances.

Going rate these days after Fulham spunked £11m on McCormack

He must be on a small fortune. Which counts us out, not that City would allow him to leave now. Never understood why City signed him. Extremely stationary striker, albeit with great strength and a decent finish,. But if you are try to compete with Barca etc. you should surely be looking for more than that. Preferred Djecko myself.

Very good point. Top earners are/have provided the least return. When did Osvaldo's pay off happen? Was that before the season? Will that count towards this years/seasons wage bill?

wouldn't be surprised if Fonte was on that now. Having seen chumps like Osvaldo come in on bigger wages and fail, his agent will have secured a tidy rise when he signed that latest deal.

Two out is nothing, but losing your two best players every season for three seasons in a row?

Juanmi has done little of note, but are these nippers good enough?, even for the bench? Seager seems popular on this board, is he decent? Not seen him myself. Isgrove will have had to improved a lot from what I saw of him in that Sheffield United game in which he looked a bloody million miles away from being good enough for top flight football. How did he fair out on loan?

JWP with Grays pace, now that would be a player...

Where does the money come from? Is there a stockpile in the bank I am not aware of?

Those that did, were they already at other prem sides? I see a lot of players coming in from overseas and struggle initially. If they at a prem side and haven't been playing are they match fit. That can reduce the instant impact

Saying CL but allowing Morgan etc to leave doesn't quite tally up though.

Champions league talk at the start of a season for a club like us just looked ridiculous. Now if we were in Leicesters position right now then there would be no harm in it.

Is being late for a team meeting really that big a deal? I know he has done it before, but not sure why RK didn't on both occasions punish him with a fine and keep it in house rather than tell the press.

Cheers. Glad it's not all doom and gloom.

Strikers put clean through should score. If they don't, they have failed and should be chastised as much as a defender making a mistake that costs a goal.

Do any January signings actually make a difference to Premiership sides in that same season? From what I see new signings, especially from abroad, talk some time to find their feet. Often a full season

I asked you this on the 7 out of 9 thread, with no reply, you perhaps didn't se it, so I will try again: When you say investment, do you mean a new owner willing to literally spend his own money buying players and paying wages (neither of which can be done due to the current rules, I think, although I might be wrong) without ever wanting that money paid back? If you mean, spend money by going into further debt, either to the owner or someone else, then the £60m debt we have is more than enough thanks.

I agree with that. Nothing to do with bad luck, he is just not a clinical striker.

I was specific about his off the ball stuff (closing down) improving, all be it from a woeful starting point. I am not sure I agree with your assessment of his performance yesterday or his general improvement. I am not a fan of his, he is just so slow, but he has a good first touch, which is a good starting point. Whether there is enough to his game to see him shine at this level I am not sure, but I am reluctant to write him off. Do you ever have a good word to say about any of our players?

Lallana and Lovren to come back then?

Better give Bagpuss a call then before he disappears to Lithuania...sigh

What offers for what players have those three clubs managed to fend off?

Explain the £60m debt then? Sick and tired of bull**** posts on here about Katrina and the board pocketing cash yet the finances show we have accumulated a £60m debt, which means the board has spent more than it has brought in in recent times. Players have been sold because they have wanted to leave and you simply can't keep them here when bigger wages are on offer. All we can do is try and match those wages, but how do you finance that? There is no lack of ambition. It's simply about spending the income on the right players and that is very hard to do. We have about a 50% success rate on incoming players, which probably isn't bad, but the problem is that that is to replace successful players going out rather than replacing the underperforming players.

As I said, I've not seen enough of him, but when i have seen him he has run around a lot and put opponents under pressure, usually when we have been in front. Which is great and the fans appreciate that a lot. The sort of thing Cork was outstanding at. And there is no bigger Cork fan than me. But On the ball he hasn't done a great deal and compared with others in training etc perhaps doesn't shine. I don't know. I'm guessing. He's not as good as Davis and that's the position he has played for us. In front of the midfield chasing ball down. With Wanyama suspended I doubt he will be asked by RK to fill the void unless Romeu is injured. In my eyes JWP, who I have slated on here, is improving in terms of off the ball stuff, closing down etc, and Classie is also getting better in every game, although a long way off what I'd hoped he might be at this stage of the season, so I can see RK sticking with them rather than going with Read. Whether that is the right choice remains to be seen. cm is a concern and has been all season.

Er, we do. You are not telling me Classie is not playing a DM role? If that is not his role what is it?