Sheaf Saint

Happy with the points, but just why are we making life so difficult for ourselves when we are leading at home like this? I can only assume it is because of instruction from the manager, but the way we just sit back and invite pressure on our defence like that is going to cost us when playing against a better team than Bournemouth (like it did against Leicester). For the whole second half we had everybody sat back defending the lead, meaning every time we won the ball in defence, we didn't have an outlet up front and the ball just comes back at us every time. It's not rocket science Ron - leave some players up front and then the opposition can't commit as many players forward. Cedric my MOTM today. Played really well and seemed to be the only player in the 2nd half capable of keeping his composure and finding a team-mate with a pass. As for Wanyama - I'm fast starting to think we actually would have been better off if he had gone to Spurs. When he can't be ar$ed to put in the effort, like today, it's like playing with ten men. As somebody else noted - after he was sent off we didn't even miss him; that's how ineffective he was. Should have been subbed on 55-60 mins for Romeu when it was obvious what was going to happen. He's just a liability. I find it incredible that the only person incapable of seeing this is the one man who makes the decisions. So a bitter-sweet afternoon really. A win, a clean sheet, and up to 7th in the table, but my god that 2nd half was just painful to watch.

Indeed. Performance is just the same without him. If only Koeman could see what everybody else could see and brought him off earlier, this would have been so much more comfortable.

Just like the Leicester game. We've got ten men behind the ball at all times, so even when we do turn it over we don't have an outlet, and it just comes straight back at us. It's painful to watch.

And there we have it. He should have been brought off much earlier. He was completely ineffective up until that brain-fart, now he's left his team-mates in the sh*t. I'm beginning to wonder if we would have been better off if he had gone to Spurs TBH.

The problem,. as I see it, is Wanyama. He's jogging around trying not to get a second yellow, and when he does that we completely lose our defensive shield in the centre. His utter lack of effort was just summed up when he tried to side-foot the ball into the net from 40 yards

I cheekily stuck a couple of quid on 5-0 at 40/1, so it would be a double bonus for me.

Never in doubt!

You were saying???

Our crossing has been crap for a number of seasons now tbf. It's no better or worse today than normal really.

Getting closer. Mane had a couple of good chances already.

Why does Koeman insist on playing Tadic on the right when it's clear to anybody with eyes that he is twice as effective on the left????

They have an excellent squad, just lacking a top-level CB to replace Terry (it's obvious why they were so desperate to sign Stones from Everton in the summer). Regardless of how badly they are playing defensively this season, the forward players just aren't doing the business either. They haven't just become bad players since winning the title last season, so there is obviously something seriously wrong in the dressing room.

Mourinho is a dead man walking, surely?

Remember this is Clottenburg we are talking about. Should have sent Costa off for the kick on Skrtel as well if he had seen it.

Had a fairly good game tonight. Set up Yoshida for his goal. Two assists in two games ain't bad.

Overall I thought Targett had a decent game tonight, right up until stoppage time when he got brushed aside far too easily by the Villa player to burst into the box and win the penalty (whch looked pretty harsh on VVD to me anyway). Decent enough performance to see off a dreadful team. Good to see Ramirez get another assist. Regardless of what his motivations are, I think he could make a decent contribution this season. Two lovely goals as well.

Is the draw being televised anywhere?

What time is the Qtr final draw?

5-1 win away at Barnsley in this competition a couple of seasons back?

Yep, got it. Thanks.

Which channel is it on on Sportsmania?

Targett having a good game so far. Doing everything needed in defence and making some good runs forward as well.

Totally undeserved result that. Leicester should have won it because they wanted it so much more than we did.

Sheet. Fonte down and in some pain by the look of it.

He got put clean through on the halfway line and tried an outrageous lob over the keeper instead of running at the goal.