saintant

They've never thanked us for allowing them to become the first ever team to lose the semi-final play-off and still go to Wembley for the Final which they made a complete cock-up of against a limited Hull side.

Both Tonda and Azaz defended our tactic of playing out from the back. If done well the idea is that a single pass (Wood to Bree last night) can open the opposition and lead to chance creation which makes sense. They both said the fans need to trust the process and the players which is easier said than done when we are giving the ball away in dangerous areas. It's clear the tactic is going to continue so Tonda needs to drill the side relentlessly at Staplewood so that we get better at it. We also need to realise when someone has been painted into a corner and, at that point, launch the ball as far as possible. Also Peretz needs to work on his part in this system because last night he was way off the levels required with his feet.

I guess the counter argument would be that we've done it in 3 home games (not so much away) won all 3, scored 11 and conceded 3. I rest my case m'lud.

And we've still got Jander waiting in the wings.

Keep him away from chicken dinners because he's finger lickin good.

Yeah, have not been a fan of the signing I guess mainly because I didn't see him as a replacement for Charles. However, tonight he was that experienced head in the middle who was always in the right place and got through a ton of work allowing the likes of Leo and Azaz to work their magic. Downes also seemed to get forward more which adds another string to his bow. Just waiting for a few free kick goals to add the icing.

He won't.

Willing to eat a bit of humble pie as I thought JWP put in a great performance tonight. Nothing spectacular but he was always in the right place and kept things ticking over so the likes of Azaz and Leo could work their magic. Put in some good dead balls as well.

Thought Azaz had another very good game for us including a superb goal. He really makes us tick and takes up clever positions which give our opponents problems. He is a vital component to the team.

I know there's at least one poster who doesn't think he's all that.

Agree with others that Downes has been superb this season. He works like a trojan and leads by example. Deserves the captaincy.

Thought him and Mubama actually did what we needed them to do tonight.

Think the other was straight at Peretz.

Not sure how unless we change formation to a 433

Excellent all round performance capped by 3 great goals from open play. The commentators seemed to think Swansea were on top in the second half but we scored one, Leo was denied by a sensational save, there were some scrambles in their box and maybe we should have had a penalty. Over the 90 minutes we were much the better side and deserving of the 3 points.

Fellows has been superb today.

Excellent first half from us with two well worked goals from open play as reward. Swansea have had plenty of possession but not done much with it so far and we might have added another from the chances we've created. Need to come out fast in the second half and look to finish them off. Hopefully Tonda gets his subs right today. A win here will be very useful against the team that arrived sitting on top of the table.

Very good point.

Maybe but he didn't last season.

Would be ridiculous if they wear that kit considering there is no clash with their all white strip.

Surely they play in all white don't they?

They'll play 433 so a strong midfield which we will need to match. As you say, our problem is that we are top heavy with ball recyclers and short of players who will drive the team forward. I'd prefer Downes as the anchor with two more offensive midfielders but we just don't have the personnel for that and hence I think we're in for some games where we get bogged down and the fans become frustrated. Our midfield options are inbalanced for me.

Is there a presser for this game?

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There seems to be a trend in modern day football for the fitness guys to have a major say in substitutions based on data which is presumably collected from these vests the players wear under their shirts. I read that De Zerbi was hacked off because Spurs have been making data driven subs. I get that there is a need to utilise this info but sometimes a manager has to ignore it and allow a player to carry on especially if he's having a big influence on a particular game. To just bow down to the data seems a bit bonkers to me.