verlaine1979

Not sure a couple of Tadic back-heels after 80+ minutes when we (were) 1-3 up really counts as a decent passing game. For most of the match our passing in the final third has been very sloppy.

Yup, as an attacking team, we don't have a problem with style we have a problem with personnel, which means we more or less have to default to crosses from wide as our main source of chance creation. This game has been almost laughably open in the middle, but Davis has been completely anonymous as an attacking force - if he was ever capable of running a game from #10, surely it would be this one?

Would like to see Romeu come on. Seems to be the only one of our CMs who shows up in the box during open play.

Our attacking play in the final third is woeful. So much possession, so little movement, so few penetrating passes.

Besic looked excellent during the last world cup, and I was annoyed we weren't in for him as a replacement for MS. Haven't seen much of him since, so interested to see how he does today.

God forbid anyone's talent should see them descend into cliché.

Nice finish, but the attacking play was almost as comical as the defending.

And one of the main reasons why the machine can be so very dull to watch for large stretches of the season...

I think you're mixing it up with 'pillage'.

JWP seems to be first choice penalty-taker when he's on the field, but that's probably the case less than 50% of the time. Based on ability to strike the ball cleanly and likelihood to be on the pitch, I'd have thought VVD should be asked to put in extra practice as our regular penalty taker. On the subject of Davis, his passing was rubbish today apart from a nice ball that won Pelle's penalty, but as you say, he wasn't alone in contributing to an abject first half performance in midfield.

Good grief, you do love a drama, don't you?

Leaving aside the fact that he's a hugely over-rated propaganda footballer for a moment, I was referring specifically to the run of games since he came back into the team against Swansea. Look back through the match threads - quite a lot of criticism of his wayward passing and general sloppiness in possession.

If Vic comes back, drop Davis and keep Romeu & Clasie in the side. SD has been toss in possession for the last couple of weeks, one well-struck corner aside, so it's not as if we'd lose any attacking potency.

The first successful cutback takes the ball onto his right foot with the goal completely open The hesitation isn't because he's forgotten what country he's playing in, it's because he doesn't feel confident striking the ball with his right, which you can tell because he takes a further tiny touch on his right before he tries for the second unsuccessful cutback. Criminal lack of confidence in what should be basic technique.

That is f-ing unbelievable. Not confident enough with his right foot to place the ball 5 yards into an unguarded net.

Blimey, even one of his flicks just came off!

Isn't this the exact formation we played against Chelsea when they comprehensively steam-rollered us for about 70 minutes? Playing five at the back with a midfield containing 2 DMs and Davis is just too conservative against sides with decent creative players. No outlet and no central attacking threat invites constant pressure, which is exactly what we saw with Chelsea camped on the edge of our box for the majority of the game (65% possession and more than twice as many shots).

The issue comes when people start mistaking a great run of results for a great run of performances.

Pretty abject, apart from a very crisp finish at the death. If you put VVD in central midfield or up front he'd probably be our best player in those positions too. Says a lot about his talent, and a lot about the rest of the squad.

This is dire so far.

We were on a good run, but to say we bossed the last 6-7 game before these two losses just isn't true. We had good results against Watford and Palace, and then went on a run of sneaking wins and draws by the odd goal, helped in no small amount by a couple of superhuman performances from FF. Last night is what happens when the defence of a team that doesn't score enough goals stops performing miracles.

Crosses have been our main/only offensive weapon pretty much all season (and the latter half of last season too). We don't have anyone with the skill or composure to run a game through the middle.

Of course, the only reason this is being commented on is the fact that Pelle consistently chooses to go for the elaborate flick rather than fight to hold up the ball. If Saturday's error was just a one-off I'd imagine most people would be forgiving, but in Pelle's case there's a clear pattern of behaviour that he refuses to learn from.

All the criticism of Pelle I've read subsequent to this game has been about his repeated decision to go for a poorly executed flick rather than trying to control the ball and then fight to keep hold of it. At that juncture in the game, you send on a good solid 'old school' centre forward because you want the ball to stick rather than immediately coming back after every clearance, so to play the way he did on Saturday was basically either lazy or stupid.

The most egregious thing yesterday wasn't the flicks (which he's been doing without success for about the last 18 months in case anyone hadn't noticed) but the fact that it was such a simple pass to Cedric that he ballsed up - it was a five yard sidefoot to an open man, and he managed to underhit it allowing Kenedy to intercept. Pelle's biggest problem is that he's careless, which is forgiveable if you're a 1 in 3 striker, but not if you're the kind who can go ten games or more without a goal.