SNSUN

Yep, or weaken Newcastle and get Lascelles. Not that I think Newcastle would let their captain go. Klose? Koné? A few domestic based ideas.

Back from the game - I think the cheers for Long's goal were more because we didn't have to sit through another half an hour in the bitter cold watching that turgid crap than for the winning goal itself! Honestly it was a dull game, but we were in total control of it. I've never felt so calm about our defending, especially as the back 4 worried me pre-match. Norwich offered nothing; they came for penalties and we struggled to break them down. Thank God for the winning goal. Even the wife (Norwich fan sitting silently to my left in the Chapel) was relieved when Long scored. Ratings as I saw it: Lewis 6 - never will a keeper have less to do. This was not a test for him. Martina 6 - poor in attacking sense until the last 15 minutes when he started to care a bit. Stephens 6 - looked composed at centre back, though was not tested. Yoshida 6 - again had little to do. Distribution was OK. McQueen 7 - our most promising attacking outlet. Clasie 6 - needs to dictate a game more. Reed 7 - thought he was composed before he was replaced. JWP 6 - tried a few things, but tried too hard at times. Sims 7 - tried hard to make things happen, looked lively. My MOTM just... JRod 5 - bad day with little service. Looked frustrated at times. Long 7 - was really trying all game, never gave up. Looked better in the middle. Subs: Redmond 7 - looked bright when he came on, we picked up in attack when he was on. Romeu 7 - bossed the midfield when he came on. Showed more offensively than Reed. The ref wasn't flashing about the cards which was good. One thing to note negatively about our performance besides the misplaced passes was that for all our possession, which we had a lot of, there was no cutting edge. We're missing an attacking midfielder to link midfield with attack. Maybe the formation needs tweaking...

I'm having a lucky w*nk in the Chapel but getting some weird looks. FFS I paid for the ticket, I can do what I want. ;-)

First game tonight since the Royal Oak closed that I've been able to have a couple of pre-match pints. (As wasn't drinking last time.) Where's a good pub on the South side of the stadium? Chapel Arms? Standing Order? Or should we just aim for the stadium and drink there? (Usually park in Eastgate) I miss the Oak for pre-match atmosphere. :-( Suggestions please!

"That's our left back spot sorted for the next 10 years" was one comment from the Mancs when Shaw signed for them. Yes he had a nasty injury, but he's just not hit the heights he did when he was with us. He's still got talent - he has "Spurs signing" written all over him.

I think I read that away goals count in the second leg, but only after extra time. Keeping a clean sheet at home tonight was huge. Great win! Whatever happens at Anfield we deserved a win, actually we deserved more goals. Performance was good all over the park, my man of the match was Maya. He was immense and showed we don't miss Fonte. He got his head to everything. Jay worked hard, as did Redmond who might have got it had one or two of his other chances gone in, and Romeu was close to getting MOTM. But Maya - great performance. I worry about Tadic's petulance a bit, he doesn't look himself at the moment...

Well that was unexpected. Only 160 minutes against Liverpool's attack to go to keep a clean sheet... We can do this! A second for us would calm the nerves a tad! COYR

Tough game. I reckon Liverpool will be well up for this after their young side was embarrassed in the FA Cup. They might see this as their "bonus trophy", when at the end of the season, if they win nothing else, they can say "at least we won one cup." Then throw in the fact that they will likely face United in the final if they win, which the TV stations will get all excited over. But God do I hate them. I really, really want us to show up tonight, put recent form behind us and give ourselves a great chance going into the second leg. My prediction? Head says: We put on a performance tonight but for all our huff and puff it's a lack of converting chances that lets us down. I'm having it as a score draw tonight, with them getting the better of us in the second leg. Heart says: We stuff 'em!

I saw a couple of games of his when he was at Sheffield United. Thought he'd be a decent signing for us at the time, one for the future. As for players outside the Prem currently, Lascelles at Newcastle would be a decent signing, as would Fulham's left back sensation Sessegnon if we ever sell Bertrand.

All the more reason we should be signing him, weakening our relegation rivals. #firstattemptattrolling Sigurdsson does a lot in an attacking sense but he's not worth £35 million by any stretch. I was reading Planet Swans the other day and some on there don't even rate him that highly.

I see the replay is Wednesday 18th and he club are already selling tickets. Is that set in stone or can it be messed around with by the BBC sniffing a cupset? Anyone know?

I always thought demanding new players means you've failed at coaching the ones you already have...?

As a lover of domestic abuse, I hope my next wife supports Portsmouth. (Joking of course! My sister doesn't favour a football team.:-))

This my Norwich-supporting wife's birthday today, and that's her present sorted. A replay is a worse result than a loss. An extra game is what we didn't need. Still in it though, I guess. Might think differently in May if we're at Wembley.

In, just, but he needs to pull a couple of miracles out of the hat in the transfer window, along with some decent results in January, or I'm reconsidering my vote.

Hate to say it but I agree. £60 million is a cracking amount of money. He'll be tough to replace but it's not impossible, and that is 2x£30 million signings to improve the team or 3x£20 million signings. (Blindly ignoring the fact we'll probably spend about £10 million of that and bank the rest...)

Can't believe we're losing to WBA. Jeez. I know they're better this season but they're not Barcelona. I've never been so glad to be working.

True, but he does have a better than 1 goal every 2 games ratio (albeit in Holland), gets a few assists, is tall, and is only 22. For those reasons I'd say he's worth the risk. I doubt he'd be that expensive either. I still think we need to strengthen the whole backbone. Fonte needs replacing long term (I firmly believe VVD will be here at least until the summer), we still need a midfielder to boss the middle of the park, and of course we need a striker. I'm looking forward to the transfer window but I won't be glued to Sky Sports News like most years, as i really don't think we'll be that busy. The top 6 will be though IMO.

I always back he managers initially, you have to give them some time to put across their philosophies, tactics, signings and ideas before the team can gel, as rarely does any team just click when they get a new manager. Look at Conte at Chelsea this year, they took a while to click but now they're flying. In Puel's case though I've become a tad doubtful. The signings made in the window were OK, but to put such faith in Redmond when everyone could see we were a natural striker short was concerning. Some of the results this season have been good, but some have also been worrying too. I do however like the way he's given youth a chance. As to whether he should be 'in or out', well clearly he should be in, after all this was never going to be more than a transition season. It's not his fault that the traditional top 6 have all learned from the Leicester lesson, and if 7th is the best we can achieve this season, we're well in the running for it. IMO He should be judged at the end of this season to see whether we're making strides to improve, or regress into a team that sits lower mid-table or even battles relegation. We have a decent defence at present but I'm looking to see how he deals with the possible exits of Van Dijk (a huge hole to fill) and Fonte, and of course whether he can sign a striker.

Nope! Feliz Navidad! :-)

Merry Christmas motherfunkers. I'm off out to show youngsters that kick scooting is a man's game. :-)

Pardew will sign him for his next club... Swansea. Put your Christmas on it. (Don't!)

This. Similar pace but Long offers more at present. Redmond would be a better impact sub when opposition legs are tiring.

JRod for Berahino? **** that!

Just got in 20 mins ago and whizzed through the first half on Sky+. I just caught the JRod goal as live. We look confident but Bournemouth are a team with goals in them. I'd be more confident with a third. Boufal looking great so far from what I've seen, he also works so hard for the team. Tadic coming on