Cabrone

Drops far too many clangers, not consistent enough and transmits a panicky air to the defence who then try and overcompensate. If fit I'd have KD or even Cropper before him.

22 points in the bag from first 14 games should see us safe long before season end. Ossie scored, hopefully he'll go on a run now. Media love in over and now reality kicks in.

If KD is out how good is Cropper, could he do a job for us? I really have little faith in Gazza, makes the odd good save but always looks like he's going to drop a clanger. Hopefully against Villa it won't be critical but he's not up to it. Would be very interesting to see Ramirez and Osvaldo paired up, got a feeling those two could combine well.

He's obviously a top draw finisher yet it's not happening for him (yet). Class doesn't just evaporate overnight so what's happened? Also he's not alone, Ricky and JRod have been fairly subdued too. MP needs to get busy on the training ground, it's criminal how all this talent is being squandered.

If Artur is injured then KD should step in but it's a major blow. Just highlights the thiness of the squad, think we'll be conceeding a few over the coming weeks.

Rhodes should be given a chance in the prem but not with us and certainly not for £10M. Ossie is in a different class, just needs time to adapt (and a good run of games).

Same for me except I'd have MLT for JWP. Couldn't leave Mattie out, just wouldn't be right, besides he'd have a ball supported by big Vic and Morgan + still score a load from pens, free kicks and spectacular shots.

I want him to have a good run in the team as he's a class act. The key player for me, a fully firing Ossie could shoot us into a very high position in this league. Still think that a Lambert \ Ossie combo could work with Rickie in the hole.

Artur is fine, he's a quality keeper who had a brain fart - it happens every now and again and unfortunately he got stung. The Stoke goal was a freak. Swirling wind, not enough time to adjust to the conditions and a crazy bounce. No fault apportioned. 7 goals conceeded in 13 games is outstanding and still the best in the premier league by 3 goals. Give the guy a break, he's earnt more than a little slack.

The slagging he's getting shows just how good he has been and the standard he's set for himself. Cockups like today's were commonplace in our goal last season before he got in. He's our no 1 by a long distance and I'm sure normal service will be resumed.

Like a lot of other fans of a certain age it has to be Heath in 84, that cup was ours and he stole it from us. Flattened me for quite a while that one did.

After the game you see him talk to the opposition manager and having a laugh and a joke so I presume he can talk English to a decent standard. The fact that he uses an interpreter doesn't really bother me, sooner or later he'll start to talk in English when he's good and ready. 3rd in the table and playing blinding football is what matters to me.

We should go to the Emirates and give it a real go, no-one expects us to get anything out of it so the pressure should be off to an extent. When I look at any possible Arsenal combination whilst there is undoubted skill I keep on wondering where are their gritty ball winners? Schneiderlin and Wanyama should have a huge role to play in this game, strangle their supply and our defence should be able to mop up the rest. I'd love to see Cork in there but he just hasn't had enough time out there to be brought into such a high profile game IMO. I'd like to see Ossie play up front with Lallana behind, this should be his kind of game against a skillful but penetrable defence. Sooner or later he's going to click and when he does we'll get a big boost. Ricky and JRod on the bench for an impact in the last 25 mins. Boruc Shaw Lovren Fonte Clyne Wanyama JWP Schneiderlin Davis Lallana Ossie

Quite a game to start with, an 8-2 victory. The 6 we put in the 2nd half was one of the most amazing halfs I've ever seen.

Great stadium, I preferred it to SMS but times move on and the Dell was a stadium of its era. Wierd shaped stands and a big cage in the corner for opposition fans, the local hards would go down to the open aired Archers and exchange pleasantries esp when the more notorious teams were in town. Atmosphere could be incredibly intense due to the players playing virtually ontop of the crowd. I remember being at the front of the Milton and being so close I could pretty much reach out and touch the players. Some of them took some real s**t, esp the GKs. Due to the cramped size quite a few players ended up head first in the stands when the couldn't slow down fast enough. If you are a football romantic you'd love the Dell, if you are a football pragmatist you'd prefer SMS. I loved the Dell.

If we could get at least 2 points from the next 2 games then I might just entertain the thought that we have a slight chance of squeaking into the top 6. Top 4 is not going to happen with our current squad, it just isn't deep enough.

Two draws at best but if we were to beat one of these I actually fancy Arsenal, they may be brilliant at times but they do have a midfield that we can overpower and a defence we can pierce IMO. Hopefully both games will be crackers.

Dissapointing, not because we lost as Sunderland aren't a bad team (too much disrespect generally on here) but because we tamely surrendered a quarter final place in a major cup by selecting a second string XI. Why was Kelvin playing? He's at the end of his career - Boruc should have been on and if not Boruc then Gazzaniga - assuming he was fit. We should be going for it in all competitions otherwise what's the point? It's not as if we have a trophy cabinet bulging with silverware is it. Fans want to win things and the attitude that the league cup is irrelevant is pretty sad IMO.

Luther Blisset, Milan regular and Italian Anarchist pin up boy. Luther Blisset - anarchist hero

We aren't going to get top 4 but we could win this one. Silverware is good for standing and morale, raises the profile and gives the fans & club a buzz. Top 4, if it were ever to happen would take several seasons, a cup win is a stepping stone on that path. We need to take this one seriously, maybe swap a couple of first teamers out but put up a strong team. If we lost this one because of a weakened team I'd be gutted.

If what we have done so far was to be continued throughout the season 8th is doable and would be a realistic target. However if Ossie fires up and we stay clear of big injuries + strengthen in one or two areas in January then maybe, just maybe we could gatecrash top 6. Ossie is a key man, just a moderate number of goals from him ontop of our already stingy defence would add a lot of extra points. That said, the converse could happen and we could fall down to 12-14th. Top 6 = beyond all expectations Top 8 = realistic ambition 9th/10th = par for the course

Full strength, always play to win. This cup is our most decent chance to actually win something this season, need to give it our all.

Can't see Stoke getting more than 1 goal against us but I can see us getting at least 1 goal. Draw or win for us.

Very premature. As much as I like the guy and am impressed by him he's got to hang around a lot longer yet. Ricky's a legend and if Dejan cotinues like he has done for another 4\5 years then he'll be one too.

Palace - too weak all round Wham - goals? Fulham - old team on a potential downward spiral