derry

Where did this come from. The lad has great potential, already a good Premier full back. Weakness, he isn't that good in the air. Until he is he would be poor at centre back.

I blamed Boruc for being a prat. However At the moment wresting/shirt tugging is rife. Either ignore it or penalise the first offender every time to stamp it out but not ignore one and penalise another. It wouldn't matter to me either way who it is if a foul is committed, I accept it but the referees need to be consistent and fair. Nobody could argue that the linesman was correct letting the first goal stand.

Was it? Definitely Downing's hand.

It's all very well WHU supporters crowing about their win and tactical superiority, but without the non intervention of an incompetent asst ref for the first goal and the dubious attitude of the ref ignoring Collins deflecting the ball with his hand and Downing blocking a cross with his hand above his shoulder they may well have been well beaten. This is not the first time this ref teamed with the same linesman has turned a blind eye to game changing events. Against Asenal he chose to ignore Giroud Wrestling Boruc whilst winnng the ball for the first goal or ignoring a Saints player wrestled to the ground whilst choosing to give a penalty for a Fonte shirt tug seconds later. WHU will get relegated if they continue to think that brute force will prevail. Their possession of about 30% in their four wins with a goalkeeper playing a blinder will eventually unravel. If not this season not before very long. The Premier would be a better league without their agricultural tactics. Interestingly his previous clubs have imploded as soon as he leaves. It will happen at WHU as well because the radical way he plays needs to be continued with the players in the club, however no successor will play that way.

VW had a reaction with his injury.

I am really looking forward to seeing our players pinning the opposition against the advertising boards.

I think Wanyama had a reaction to his injury, so left out.

What a pit this place is becoming. I thought we were pretty good but just didn't finish the chances we had. We have taken six points from three away games which is a decent return. So we lost to a Neanderthal football team. So what. The linesman missing offside was a game changer. I think they wouldn't have scored the second if they hadn't been gifted the first. They had one game, win the ball and hit it up front. They won, but I can tell you this, If my team played this way I would give up going. They had more than a bit of luck even the second goal hit Yoshida and fell right for Cole. We played as a team against a massed defence and created good chances. Boruc had no chance with the second and third goals. Apart from the first didn't have a save to make. The weaknesses for me. Davis, plenty of buzz and link but no cutting edge, his game is mediocrity that flatters to deceive. Now is the time to bring in Ramirez. Lambert is struggling because only Rodriguez and Lallana are attackers, Schneiderlin, Cork, Davis are too content in midfield so when Wanyama is ready go back to the early season line up with Schneiderlin pushing further forward and Cork and Davis dropping out. Lovren to come back in and maybe Clyne. I think that might reduce the backwards and sideways a little but enhance the penetration and get at the defence a lot quicker without changing the way we play. Lovren and Wanyama would make us stronger in the air.

But not after 26 games on 22nd Feb.

Sums it up for me. I think we should look for a couple of Lambert types in the UK. There are many over priced foreign strikers that have struggled here in recent times,

Agreed, but Gallagher hasn't started since and is still a long way from being Lambert's replacement despite a good goal v Yeovil and a robust display v Arsenal. I think he will be used sparingly. Who knows his present state after his tragic loss. It could take him a while to come to terms with it. Why I disregarded the Arsenal game. I'd like to see him close to playing, only time will tell.

Good player.

I'm having my computer screen heightened at the moment, otherwise I won't be able to see WHU play their version of possession football.

Would you like to comment on the budgetary pressure on the Physiotherapy dept. Comment I've heard " Nicola gave us a budget and left us to it but now etc"

You missed the beautiful through ball for Lallana's goal.

When Lambert hasn't been playing we have been poor. Rodriguez is lost on his own up front. Lambert is the only player we have that is comfortable up front with his back to goal. We play better with Lambert than without him. As for Saturday Guly and JWP gave us nothing up front, Lambert had nothing from them.

Lambert was absolute rubbish at Fulham. Awful passing and got nowhere near the penalty area.

One has remember that a lot of employees agitate below the parapet whilst the representative has to represent those views to the management. Sometimes the majority demand action when it is impossible to negotiate with an entrenched management, especially when the top man was a former strike leader. (Willie take a bow) Duncan paid a high price for representing his colleagues. Probably his misjudgement was in following custom and practice rather than what was contractually required and was nailed by a belligerent employer imposing the fine print. Everybody is entitled to their opinion whether it is FF, VW or anyone else. I just don't see the point in the ignorant nastiness that appears regularly on this site. I thought that was what mods were on here to stamp out. It's high time they started doing that. A lot of very good posters have abandoned this site and it is the worse for it. Allowing small numbers of posters to regularly hijack interesting threads just leads to decent posters walking away.

Can we win the league, ever, I think not with the present structure. Can we win the cups, of course we can. Because of the tv money survival is paramount. After that we need to go for the cups. Can we win the CL, sentence 1. The structure of the Europa and CL is beyond our squad of probably 15 genuine first teamers. That doesn't include K.Davis, Hooiveld or Guly. We have done marvellously this year but the FA Cup was our best target fanwise. At £1.3m a place, to the bean counter the money on offer if we slip down the league completely outclasses the FA Cup rewards. What worries me is the effect on the better players who are chased by the clubs that can compete and win competitions. Why would they want to stay.

To try and put some perspective on this. The fans at most clubs don't bother with the Cups unless it is SF and F and the attendances are poor. Only the top four seem to get the crowds. The fans by not bothering and the clubs by not bothering are really turning the cups into avoidable competitions. As for the team. There can be little criticism in playing Clyne and giving Wanyama a full game. As for the other changes, Boruc's injured hand showed the desperate situation in the goalkeeping position. If Davis plays the team can't play out from the back. Finish the season with hopefully Boruc staying fit then get another compatible keeper in. He shouldn't have been picked. Hooiveld only if Fonte not fit. JWP needs to find a position, the way he plays is neither one thing or the other, certainly no attacker. Guly showed why at the best he is a last minute sub. Neither of these two should have started and it should have been Rodriguez and Schneiderlin plus either Cork or Davis in my opinion. Any other day the ball would have hit Lambert on the shin and gone in. The ball bounced badly and he hit it too well as it bounced shanking it vertically.

I am really ****ed off at Hooiveld. yesterday he passed across his own penalty area to an opponent because he had to turn right round so he could get his left foot on the ball. That's why he gives away own goals. For a professional he is so one footed it is a disgrace and a major weakness.

I think the bean counter is cutting, Physiotherapy budget cut I hear.

Disappointing result. Yoshida dwelled on the ball then made a stupid pass forward which lost us the ball and led to the goal. K Davis was poor no chance with the goal. If anybody wants to know what Pochettino thinks of the cup. Two home games low prices poor crowds, today just over 16k in a 40k stadium, nobody is really interested any more. Things have changed. when we start filling the ground and selecting our best team I'll get interested. I went to the previous rounds which were like practice matches. And no I don't want to be in the Europa cup because it will be the reserves.

A heap of **** falls out of the sky

Crainey, Blackstock.