verlaine1979

Dortmund's model is great, but probably only plausible in Germany. They can pretty much guarantee any promising 20 year old they want from any league in the world a couple of seasons of high profile, Champion's League football at a well-run club, and then an easy pathway to sale when the time comes.

Spot on. Nice to dig out a result, but a staggering lack of quality in our build up. Dire.

Great defensive display, but we're absolute gash on the ball at the moment.

That miss today was classic Che. He's just a technically dreadful finisher. He can literally only hit the ball straight in the direction he's moving. Even his finish against united was whacked in a straight line in off the post - no bend to it at all.

Bit of a whiff of Quincy Promes about this one. I'll believe it when I see it (and in that respect, it will be a very loud statement by the new owners if they do manage it).

I suspect that's one of the reasons he looks so special in clips now. It's not that there aren't players now who could wade through challenges without going down, but with the game the way it's been over the past twenty years, what's the point? Take the positional advantage of a free kick which you're more likely to score from anyway, protect yourself from injury, move on. He's got great control, pace and strength, but I'm not convinced a lot of it isn't rose tinted glasses. On that evidence, his finishing was substantially worse than any number of modern greats you could name.

I feel obliged to remind everyone that Steven Davis was massively overrated just to give TWar a bit of a break.

The unfortunate truth about both Armstrong and Adams is that I wasn't at all surprised that they both missed those chances yesterday. Neither of them are technically good strikers of the ball.

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.