Sheaf Saint

Just seen the Mane chance again. What is he doing? why isn't he leathering it? Trying to side-foot the ball into the net from there just makes it far too easy for the keeper. And they really need to sort out the offside rule. Kane can't be deemed to be not interfering with play when he is that far offside, because he is directly affecting the position of the defenders who know full well he is offside and are trying not to play him onside. Not to worry, we've always got the ever-reliable Shane Long on the bench. He'll come on and score a hat-trick for us to rescue this.

And there it is. Lots of good possession with no end product, and a comedy goal given away at the other end. Just like the Villa game. Can't see us getting any more than a draw from this now. And just as I type that - more sloppy defending and another very poor goal goes in. FFS Saints. We are definitely going to be in a relegation battle if we can't sort this sh*t out.

Agreed. But still not taking chances. Mane needs to be putting his laces through it when Tadic squared it to him, rather than trying to pass the ball into the net.

In all fairness to Davis, he came closer to scoring for us today than anybody else did. It was only a truly outstanding save that kept his header out.

I don't think it's fair to blame Koeman for this one. The tactics were OK, both in the first half and then when we changed shape and brought on Tadic and Pelle. The problem is that we are severely lacking quality in our attacking play. We only created two real chances today, with Davis drawing save of the season from Hennessey, and Long doing what Long does in injury time - a PL striker simply has to be doing better with chances like that. One positive to take from today is that Gazzaniga put in an excellent performance and made some crucial saves. Good to see that he is much improved from the 'rabbit in headlights' act that he used to do when called up to the first team.

Disgraceful to allow someone like Cabaye that much time and space in the box. Where the he'll was the marking?

What a save that is. Should have been 1-0 to us there.

Are you completely forgetting that he got injured in pre-season and spent a long time out of the first team before he even had a chance to establish himself? Even the most talented players will struggle to make an immediate impact in that situation, so I think Clasie deserves a little more time to prove himself before we pass any kind of judgement on him, don't you?

What does any of this have to do with his intermittent inability to control the ball or play a simple 10-yard pass?

No surprise to see Wanyama subbed. He's been dreadful again today. Time for Juanmi to deliver the goods now if we're taking off our most creative player for him.

No changes at HT by the look of it then.

Please not Long. He's only even slightly effective when you give him balls over the top to run on to. When he plays against a team that defends deep, which Villa are sure to do now they have a lead to protect, he's just an empty shirt that offers nothing.

So predictable after our wasted chances. Watch them play an 8-1-1 formation for the rest of the match now, like Stoke did when they took the lead, because we have proven time and time again we can't score against teams that defend deep and in numbers.

I thought it only fair that I credit Trousers for this

That absolutely has to be at least a yellow card there. What is this ref on?

Sheesh. We should be 3/4 up by now. Its going to be one of those days isn't it.

Stek seems to be coming in for a bit of stick from some on here, but I honestly don't know what people were expecting from an average keeper who was brought in on a season-long loan to cover an injury, knowing full well he will drop to the bench once our number one keeper is fit. FWIW,I don't see that he was at fault for any of the goals last night. Liverpool's finishing was outstanding, but serious questions must be asked about the quality of the defending which let them into those shooting positions in the first place.

But Clasie was at least on the bench against City. Cedric wasn't.

The fact that he wasn't even named on the bench would perhaps indicate that he wasn't fully fit. His eye injury was aggravated in the Stoke game, so perhaps Ron and the medical team feel he needs time to let that heal properly. The only other explanation would be perhaps a disciplinary issue. But I fail to see why Ron would drop him from the squad completely and put Martina on the subs bench instead, based purely on ability and performance.

I think this is the context for Vic's dip in performance, not a lack of motivation but a flimsy set of midfielder around him, especially with Clasie absent. An interesting theory, but it doesn't in any way explain or excuse his seemingly total inability to control the ball or make a simple 10-yard pass when under no pressure. He's been gash all season so far, and it has nothing to do with the quality of players around him. I guess his head just isn't in it any more, but if he thinks that his performances this season are going to earn him a big-money move to a CL club next summer then he is seriously deluded.

No point moaning about the penalty decisions not given. After Pelle got kicked, the ball fell to a Saints player anyway and we still couldn't do anything with it. Although I do think Hughes' comments that we were getting desperate and going down looking for penalties was a little disingenuous really.

If it was away, I would be inclined to agree. But these are the home games we really need to be looking to win if we are to mount a challenge on the top 6 this season. Stoke would be happier with a draw than we would be.

Which shouldn't be a problem once Long and J-Rod are fit again.

He's been neat and tidy on the ball, apart from perhaps a couple of slightly wayward passes. He's linked well with the other midfield players and kept possession well when needed, and always made himself available to receive the ball. OK he hasn't created much but that's not the job he has been asked to do today. To single him out as poor against the rest of the team today is wholly unfair on him.

WTF? He's done nothing wrong and had a good game IMO.