CanadaSaint

Looking at those different permutations, and bearing in mind that we have a manager that doesn't tolerate slackers, we actually have a tidy little squad.

We probably still have some powder dry for January. My hunch is that we were after Wellbeck but our inability to shift Forster & Co put the kibosh on it for salary budget or transfer kitty reasons. That forced us into a late deal for Ings because the club knew we had to do something up front. Not ideal but nowhere near the sh*tshow some are suggesting.

Sad to hear - he was a real club man and a leader who gave total commitment himself and expected it from those around him. He'd probably have pinned a few of the current lot against the dressing room wall. He managed Basingstoke in the Southern League for a while, and was always very friendly - after the match. I think his goal against Swindon came from about 40-50 yards out, and he didn't know what to do when everyone ran towards him.

I really don't get this fetish for height at the back, especially if we're planning on playing three there. On our transfer fee budget, height comes at the expense of mobility, and mobility is more important than height in today's PL. We bought Forster for his height (there's not much else in his tool kit) and we're doing it with CBs. We badly need a mobile reader back there, and I'm really hoping that Yoshida is going to step up to the role. We also need our DMs to be much more effective in front of the back line. They seem so slow to sense danger.

He had the same failings with Celtic that he exhibited with us, but they were seldom exposed enough for people to suss him. I'll never understand how he came to be so highly regarded - probably part of the "height-over-technique" orgy that developed around keepers. I didn't want us to sign him, and the contract extensions were beyond crazy.

It's certainly not a panacea. While it's great to get a chance to revisit controversial incidents, VAR will really slow the game down (as it has over here in NA) - especially if there's a clamour to expand the range of incidents reviewed. Even with VAR the crap that goes on in the box is still a lottery - sometimes punished, often not. The Mitrovic incident and the yellow for the head-butt on Henderson were beyond laughable. But the most frustrating thing is that Fifa still doesn't have a clear idea of what constitutes handball. The old adage of "hand to ball, not ball to hand" was workable, but that's long gone. If anything, the World Cup has made things even more confusing, so VAR won't help much with that.

Negatives: No points and closer to the precipice. The winner? More pussy defending from Tadic, and Cedric beaten at the far post again - both are utterly predictable weaknesses that we don't seem able to cover. Positives: Some real fight for the first time in ages, Long and Austin seem up for the battle ahead, and now we'll be forced into (what Hughes didn't yet know is) IMO our best CB pairing. At least there's now some room for straw-clutching.

The first half looked like a carry-over from Pellegrino. Whatever Hughes said at half time, we started to see players who - for the first time in months - looked committed and unified. The celebrations at the end looked like months of frustration had just been unloaded.

Okay, that would be why he's not in the frame (head-slapping noise).

Surprised that Martinez isn't in the frame yet. Smart guy, can play good footie, still very in touch with the PL. Might not want to start against Wigan.

Pellegrino is a gutless puke who makes Puel look like Rob Roy.

I think we should start calling him Adele.

Unbelievable. How many times has he surrendered leads by doing exactly this?

How many more times does this cretin need to lose a lead before he understands that his tactical changes are momentum and game-surrendering? And how may more killer goals will come from a Davis turnover in midfield? East was sh*t but he didn't change our tactics.

Most of the responses reflect the only answer I could come up with, after trying to see things from their viewpoint. We are indeed at the most critical juncture that I can remember. Keep the VvD cash and sell some more assets to 'protect' my investment, or trust in the people who have created this mess to spend it wisely enough to stay up. We have an ugly few weeks ahead of us.

You've invested 200 million or so in a football club, and it's rapidly in the process of turning into about 50 million inside the first year. You don't know much about football and you don't have many (any?) contacts in the game. A) What would you do if you were them? B) What do you think they'll do?

Out-fought in sapping conditions by a team that played two days ago. Out-managed by Roy Hodgson. I'm normally an optimist but those are terminal failings.

The Sturridge rumour is probably just a media thing. If we'd really wanted him we would have sorted things out at the same time as we satisfied Liverpool's desperate desire for VvD.

Really nice guy and really smart guy, but he was there because Katharina trusted him to sort out a period of upheaval. We should be thankful for the stability he brought, but I think he'll soon be moving on. His heart is in hockey and he's extremely well regarded, so he'll be snapped up as soon as he makes himself available. The problem is that the Gao family know as much about football and football people as Katharina, so they're going to need someone they trust as well. I don't think that's Reed, although they might. As frustrating as he may be for some of you, this might be a case of "be careful what you wish for".

Has anyone compared our record while Paul Mitchell was here with our record after he left? The obvious implication behind that question is that the mythical "Black Box" was actually Mitchell's head, and that he was making Reed look far better than he really is. And that went for both player and manager signings. At the very least, both while Mitchell was here and after he left, Reed seems to have grossly mismanaged relationships with both players and managers. He might be good at managing his relationship with Ralph and the owners, but the dressing room and the pitch are much harsher judges.

Was it my imagination, or did the players seem more engaged and looking like they were actually enjoying the way we've started to play? Bertrand and VvD - who have often looked as though they'd rather be having an enema than playing - really stood out today.

In the NFL they are very successful at improving the "painfully slow feet" of linemen who are as tall as Forster but 100 pounds heavier. There are purpose designed drills for it. It would be a lot cheaper to get rid of Watson than Forster, and task the incoming guy with doing what Watson should have done long ago - getting Forster's expensive feet moving. Unfortunately, my suspicion is that we might need a brain surgeon as well.

I don't give a sh*t how much we paid for him - or even what the alternative is - but Forster needs to go. Beaten by a header from 13 yards out, that bounced. His foot movement/positional adjustment is - and always has been - awful. That just about sums up Watson's competence as well.

Yoshi could be sitting on 5 or 6 goals - he's missed a few sitters. Says a lot that he's probably had more chances than our strikers.

We are serial over-elaborators and we crowd ourselves out on the flanks, so we have no choice but to stop, turn and go back. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. How often do we play the early ball inside the defender, get around the back, and play the early cross? The defence is well-set before we ever get the ball in, if we ever do. And Forster is exactly what I thought he was when we bought him - a lumbering hulk who can't get down to low shots and doesn't make his size count on crosses.