austsaint

Shaw is outstanding and is headed for the top. Go back to the Cardiff game and you will see several assists when he has got in behind the defence and provided opportunities not taken. The young player I fear may not kick on as expected is JWP. I am still not sure what his right position is; if it's attacking midfield then there is little evidence of forward thrust or many incisive passes. If it's DM then robustness and tackling are not great. I see parallels with Simon Gillett and even Surman.....never quite delivering on promise. Would like to see more of Reed to compare the two.

There would not be many Prem teams turning away Jack Cork. Has hit a couple of impressive long range shots at goal lately too....surely he has impressed MP over the past month or so.

Tough game; I keep thinking of the Man City game with a weakened side though when we conceded early and it looked like being a blow out. I know it won't happen but I'd consider playing Lovren in Morgan's role alongside Davis and Cork and leave Yoshida at CB. JWP just does not look a 90 minute player in an intense game and even his set piece and dead ball delivery has not been great lately.

Pound for pound (value for money) Steve Davis must be the best bit of business for ages. Great touch, skill, awareness and mobility. He, Cork and Scheiderlin dominated midfield today.

Quite apart from the awful defending - Lovren excepted - it was the lack of creativity and run in attack that stood out. Two pieces of great skill by Lallana and a cameo from Ramirez at the end was about it.

I don't think there would be a person on this Forum who would disagree with you.

AP is no w@nker = If you listen to his post-match interview he is very fair and complimentary to us - greeted MP and Adam pre-game as well. He deserves our respect for his contribution to the SFC, as of course does Nigel.

Glas Go, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and imagine there isn't a hint of one culture/one language in your comments = it really doesn't matter what language MP speaks in his press conferences - a lot of what is translated is honest, open and clear; unlike other Managers we have had in recent times. What matters is how good a Manager/Coach MP is, and thus far I'd say he is doing well. There is much more insult and offence in your statement than my reply, but I doubt you would see that given the history of your posts. Happy Xmas.

Get out of your bed sit and broaden your horizons.

Sums it up for me too; inspiring to watch that today. So pleased for Cork - the only player we really missed of those unavailable was Boruc. Great first half from Luke; Chamber looks like he has developed physically since pre-season. Our passing and movement for long periods was outstanding with Davis, Cork and Lallana instrumental. Jay is an x-factor with his speed and directness and Osvaldo's performance probably proved that one up front out of he and Ricky is the way to go. Courage from Lovren and Fonte.

Sums it up for me too; inspiring to watch that today. So pleased for Cork - the only player we really missed of those unavailable was Boruc. Great first half from Luke; Chamber looks like he has developed physically since pre-season. Our passing and movement for long periods was outstanding with Davis, Cork and Lallana instrumental. Jay is an x-factor with his speed and directness and Osvaldo's performance probably proved that one up front out of he and Ricky is the way to go. Courage from Lovren and Fonte.

Are you any good at picking winners at the track?

Let's hope the OP moves to Spurs....well matched.

The goal post was one of our best defenders on Saturday to be fair.

Agree with this. Todays loss may diminish some of the recent hype from commentators and journalists - we are a good, developing side, but we're not in that top bracket (yet).

I must try and watch the French National side to see who is keeping him out of midfield - they must be good. Apart from his usual high octane rugged tackling game today he delivered several quality passes in the attacking 1/3 to set up attacks.

Just superb today, and so was Morgan.

Van Nistleroy making it 2-1 after Danny Higginbotham had given us the lead against Man U. thus condemning us to relegation - I think that was the game when Roy Keane made several smug gestures about our demise.

Any one know how many Arsenal players are involved in International duty this week?

Two things I learned from watching the game (TV) today. JWP is not just a dead ball delivery starlet - he runs hard, tackles, harasses and is starting to pass the ball with penetration. The other thing is an appreciation for how well Fonte is playing this season and why Yoshida can't get a look in.

Totally correct - a freakish event; plus his save early in the 2nd half was top shelf to keep us even. He is great value.

Sums it up though - an unchallenged award.

w*nker of the month

w*nker of the month

Maybe not a legend yet, but as good a CB as any going around. Whoever scouted and recruited him should get a Xmas bonus.