verlaine1979

It's just a question of quality. Both their second and third came after we squandered great attacking positions through Moi's indecision and Che's agricultural finishing. Though to be fair, it's not as if City were under the cosh until the pen. There was plenty of panic in our box the first ten mins of the second half that suggested they'd get at least one more, and so it's proved.

Cancelo passes better with his wrong foot than any of our players do with their dominant one.

Finishing makes the difference, as always. Adams and Armstrong just both strike the ball poorly and that's never going to change.

Broja is running on th shoulder of his CB when we bring it forward, but Elyounoussi doesn't trust himself to play the through ball. Goes wide instead and another block. Got no creativity down th middle.

It's vanishingly rare for a player who isn't a great striker of the ball to be a great passer. Che is a neat, tidy cog in an unexceptional attack.

As a 20 year old playing his first season in the PL, he's no better or worse in build up than any of our other forward players, all of whom make wrong/safe/poorly executed decisions in build up more often than they make the correct one. Our play in the final third over the past two games in particular has been pathetic, with Che and Elyounoussi every bit as culpable as Broja.

Bednarek is such a weak link in our possession game. He practically shits himself every time he has the ball at his feet, and if Romeu isn't open less than six feet away, he goes back to FF every time

No excuse really. We were absolutely on top for 20 minutes after their goal, but didn't make anything of it. Final ball always feels hopeful rather than purposeful.

Che on his heels in the box as usual.

Err are we looking at our now-annual 9-0?

Our only idea seems to be trying to nick it round the corner out wide, and it isn't working.

If they want cover for Reese James, I wonder if there'll be a deal to be done swapping Livramento for Broja, Anjorin + a bit of cash.

I don't think it's a coincidence that we seem to have a lot more space and time on the ball with defenses stepping out less against us now that the entire world knows we have a striker who will absolutely murder you for pace given five yards to run into.

No one specific. But I'm not a football scout, so that's fine. Emmanuel Dennis only cost Watford £4m last summer, so there are better players than Che going for less money if you know where to look.

He's... fine. Don't rate him as a finisher (two misses in the six yard box last couple of games) but he holds the ball up well and often picks a pretty good pass. Obviously streets ahead of A Armstrong who looks like a player from another era, but I don't think it would be hard to upgrade on Che if we're valuing him at £25m.

I suspect even if we'd signed Broja on a permanent last summer, if Dortmund came in looking for him to replace Haaland, we'd probably be seeing the back of him after a season anyway.

I was sitting next to John Miles at a wedding a few years ago and told him how that song was inextricably linked to the experience of supporting Saints as a kid. Must be odd when you make something like that and it ends up having a meaning completely outside your knowledge and control. Very charming and funny guy.

Mentioned this on the JWP thread. We're definitely passing a lot more crisply between the lines, with Armstrong and Ely tucked in more than Redmond/Tella/Djenepo have been. Our attacking midfielders are finding pockets of space, and our defensive midfielders are looking for them through the middle rather than going wide. Having a threat through the middle at No. 10 is something I feel has been missing pretty much since Lallana left, so it's nice to see variety back in our play. I'd also imagine that the danger of Broja getting in behind has completely altered the dynamics of how teams defend against us, as we haven't had a striker with that kind of power and pace in forever.

JWP and Romeu seemingly playing a lot more forward balls between the lines the last two games (also a lot more 1-2/triangular moves around the box). Is that just a result of having Elyounoussi and Armstrong tucked in to receive in the No. 10 positions rather than Redmond et al hugging the touchline?

Conte - what a f**king c**t.

How the f**k did that not get given.

Bednarek having a bit of a mare out there though.

Cantwell on loan to a Championship club. Wasn't he spoken about in the same breath as Madison for a while?

This is the main question with Armstrong. Is he lacking composure or awareness? If the former, then an increase in confidence might elevate him, but if it's the latter then he may have been flattered by the pace and space of a lower league, and never translate it to the PL. He can clearly hit a ball well under the right circumstances, but he'll need to start doing that reliably soon, as he'd not got outstanding strength, control or straightline speed.

(Caveat - none of this is intended to suggest that I think Alli is in Le Tiss's class - he isn't. But the answer above pretty clearly consigns any future MLT to the dustbin too) Begs an interesting question. Would you sacrifice the pleasure of seeing MLT play and the goals he scored, if in return we'd remained a more solid lower-half team and avoided our relegation and wilderness years? I don't think I would. Sublimity beats mediocrity every time.