Whitey Grandad

d.o.b. 27th November 1987? In my day that would have made you a man.

I've had a bit of time to think about this so I logged back in to give my vote to James but now I find that he's not on the list! Last night for the first time I was impressed with him until his awful mistake, but I put that down to poor coaching. He is not a full-back and I don't think he ever will be but further up the pitch I thought he looked very promising. But what is it about our defensive coaches? Surely everyone knows that you don't let the ball bounce? At least he will have learned from his mistake last night and it made no difference to the outcome of the game.

In short, 'we're not very good'.

I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that this tippy-tappy football is going to be the downfall of us. It's ponderously slow, all the action takes place in a 10-yard area that usually involves 3 or 4 of our players, and it does nothing to pull around the 'shape' of the opposition who have plenty of time to get goalside and organised. Last Saturday I mad a special effort to watch what was happening off the ball, away from all the pretty patterns, and there was precious little movement or threat to the other side, especially since our players were outnumbered because our midfielders were tied up in little pretty knots. On the occasions when we did manage to create some forward momentum and we were all crying out for a snappy forward pass it would all break down when Lallana or somebody would suddenly get dizzy and pass it back to the full-back who then rolled it back to Davis. I would encourage all those who are bewitched by this football to make an effort to look at the wider picture at what is happening (or not) on the rest of the pitch.

All except three that I have seen at home.

That thought had also crossed my mind.

We're not in the relegation zone tonight but we're certainly in trouble.

Like taking candy from a baby. Did we have a shot on target?

Not that likely, apparently....

Almost as good as yours...

Pace! I was questioning my spelling of the onomatopaeic word 'kerching'. I was trying to say that you have hit the nail on the head (although that would make a different sort of sound).

Kerching! (spelling?)

So that means neither the ball nor our players in the opposition box (half the time) . In my opinion a large factor in our failure to score goals is the ponderous speed of the build-up play. This pretty football is all very attractive but if we can't pass the ball through the opposition there's no alternative option.

Why pick the Palace game? Why not Hull? I have to admit, though, that was bad. The Watford game this season was very depressing.

I think we can all agree that last season's squad 'underachieved', and I would suggest that this season's squad are, if anything, overachieving particularly regarding some good away wins, but for the first time ever I have found myself unexcited by the thought of going to a home game and from the attendance figures it would seem that several thousand others feel the same.

Their football was no better than our football. They just scored a deflected goal, that's all.

I was at the Bristol match and on that pitch it was impossible for anybody to play football. I was at every home game apart from West Bromwich and Bristol City, both of which I believe we won. I also saw many other games where, in my opinion, we were unlucky not to have won, unlike this season where we never look like scoring. Pretty patterns in the middle of the park are never going to get us anywhere.

.....as opposed to this season's underpaid, useless good for nothings?

I'm not joking at all. At least we won a few home games and scored some goals. And as far as 'endless change, wasted money, underperformance, lack of commitment and questionable effort from some, a worsening financial position' are concerned, not much has changed, has it? There is no power or penetration in this team, a whole dimension is missing.

And somebody in the middle with a killer instinct! And what was Paterson thinking when he was sent clear on the left? Three players busted a gut to get into the box and all he did was wait for their full-back to get back and block. As a result, they were so knackered that they weren't able to be effective in midfield and indirectly it led to Wednesday's equaliser.

Give me last season over this, any day.

This is my view too. There was a moment late in the second half when we had about 4 players bundling upfield and Llalana got the ball on the right wing at the half-way line. It was crying out for a ball upfield but a couple of passes and shimmies later the ball was passed back to James and then Davis. Sometimes it seems as if we are concentrating on making pretty, short passes instead of getting the ball forward quickly.

I can't disagree with any of that. And our players are nowhere near fit enough. James was knackered at 70 minutes.

According to this they (and the FA) will be compensated to the same amount that they would have received from the gate. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1091065/Birmingham-splash-100k-thank-season-ticket-holders.html

It still makes me smile. What happened to it in the end?