S-Clarke

We have certainly become more negative this year, much more direct, bypassing the midfield and going straight for the front. My issue with that is that we don't have the players in attack to play that way. If we had a Pelle up top and some pace in and around him we may get ourselves free kicks, runs in behind, flick ons etc - but we're targeting Adams and he cannot be expected to be a focal/hold up striker. The guy is a support striker who needs someone better alongside him, he can't do it all himself as he's not good enough.

I think that's a really fair view of him. His tactical discipline and 'intelligence' is one of the reasons he's chosen for his off the ball work, but like you say without strength and pace then your impact in this league will be zero without an extraordinary touch and pass, which for him is just bog-standard averageness. I think most of us saw that when he was playing under Hughes after we'd just signed him - he looks so unsuited to the PL. Nothing has changed in those years apart from him being decent in the SPL, and a L2 player would look decent in the SPL.

We have very poor quality in attack, I'd argue Stu Armstrong and Aribo are the only premier league quality we have in those positions, yet they're not shoe-ins. It's a weird one, can only think it's a fitness thing.

I don't think we should pin so much on Lavia, it's not so much the fact we miss him as he's the best player in the world, it's because the quality outside of him as a second 6 is utterly dross (Diallo). Good players in this side stick out like a sore thumb given what we have to replace them with when they're not available. Personally for me I'd have kept Romeu and used him as a squad rotation with Lavia. They'd both still play games, but it would give us many more options and much more physicality if required. I get the club wanted to 'honour' him by letting him return home, but sometimes it feels like they put the players needs in front of the team.

Good point about his mobility, as he seemed less mobile than he usually is. Some of his passing was laboured and not clean, he gave so many hospital passes and misplaced ones. But sticking up for him a little, he had so much ground to cover. He had to cover for KWP when he went forward, he had to cover for Diallo at all times as he's not good enough - so he struggled as the makeup of the team was just all wrong. We spent last season with the criticism that we had no one to really replace Romeu when he missed games, so the club went and got in Lavia - positive. But then the club go and sell Romeu so we're back to square one. Strange one.

I think the most concerning thing for me in the last two games is that the oppo haven't really had to turn up, both Wolves and Villa were shocking on the day yet still had just about enough to beat us. Most Championship teams would have given both of those sides more of a game. This has been something that's bugged me with us for years - we cannot win 'bad'. We have to be absolutely 100% to win any game, yet teams like Villa and Wolves are able to win bad. I feel as low about last night as I have about any game for many years. I can't begin to describe how horrific that was.

He works better in a 3, in a more advanced position. But as a 'two' in a sitting midfield alongside JWP he will get destroyed. As he has done every time he's played there. I guess he's had to play there out of need as Lavia and AMN (i guess) are injured. When Lavia and AMN are fit I'd expect him to be 4th choice for the 6, but he can play in the more advanced positions - but his lack of physicality is still a problem as he gets brushed off the ball too easily.

It's going to kill us, luckily there aren't too many games between now and January, but as it stands today we are weaker in attack than we were last season in both numbers and personal. The fact we're starting with Adam Armstrong says it all really. Need to fix that in January otherwise I don't see how we survive, I can't see any goals in that attack.

No real debate, I can't remember watching any worse. Another good achievement for us, losing the worst game in PL history.

I really don't know what we were trying to achieve today. It's time to stop trying to persist with Elyounoussi and Adam Armstrong. They're not up to it and never will be. Edozie, Aribo, Mara - get them on, get them involved, get them experience. We're just witnessing groundhog day with those current attackers, throw some kids in there who can actually have a bit of directness. For a guy who prides himself on blooding young players, he puts way too much faith in the likes of Elyounoussi/Armstrong ahead of young players.

He didn't have any space to operate in today, and he needs a lot of space because he doesn't have pace, strength and his touch isn't tight enough. The 3 things you need as a PL player really. If you get tight to him and are physical against him, like Villa were, then he's a fraud of a football player as he'll just get brushed off it every time, or loose it because his touch is too heavy when he's crowded. The worst thing I can say about tonight is that he played like a Villa defender and killed most of our attacks. I don't know why he stayed on as long as he did, I'm still scratching my head now. If he gets a new contract I'm done with football.

Terrible, sadly. Had some decent attributes at the start but his physicality always worried me and sadly it's come to the fore. Too weak, too meek. We've got him in there for the foreseeable though with Lavia out.

Because he's been pretty crap for us since day 1, and I'm confused as to why he has a new contract that's all. Not singleing him out, JWP had the best disasterclass I've ever seen.

Forget scoring, we wouldn't have even managed a shot or a pass in the box.

Did we offer him a contract based on a couple of ''good efforts'' at wing back? He was back in his supposed natural position tonight, as a wide attacker, and that 2nd half was as bad as I've ever seen a footballer play. We've done some good things in recent years, but contracts for the likes of this guy and Theo just border on daft.

One of the worst games I've football I've had to endure, and we lost it. Two inept football teams, truly inept. But we just managed to be even more inept. This was as bad as Brentford away, West Brom away and Villa away last year. I cannot think of a single good thing to say about that utter shambles. The players we started with in attack are not enough to sustain a PL team, so we really need to hope Mara, Edizoe and Aribo make a difference otherwise we are done for. We've waited 2 weeks to watch that absolute mess. I wouldn't even class that as a football match, there was very little football played. I've seen better quality at the park on a Sunday and I'm not even joking. They should all be back in tomorrow and the day after to practice touch, and pass - the two most basic principles of football at any level, which we failed to do at all. Time to have a weekend off of football I think.

It's like Bazunu thought we had pace and quality up front to take advantage of those long clearances. We don't.

We have, but I still feel our season (Well, first half) is going to be dictated by our failure to get in a 'proven' game changing attacker. It has the risk of making all the other positive work null and void if we're not careful.

You won't see an attack when we persist with 'those' attackers. It's like Elyounoussi is playing as Villa's front sweeper and stopping all our attacks.

Probably one of the worst football matches for some time, two inept sides. We are just a tad more inept sadly. Attacking wise, hopeless. Adams isolated, Armstrong, Elyounoussi light weight nothing players. Moussa swapping sides with no real purpose. Midfield lightweight as they get. Back 4 solid enough, but in an attacking sense we are utterly hopeless as was expected really. Not sure how many chances Elyounoussi needs to get before he's consigned to the charity shop. The first half of this season is pretty much hanging on Edozie being a superstar. Need to see him at HT as well as Aribo.

This is where it goes too far. I'm all for showing respect and I think it's nice to see at a certain level as this is a big historical moment that a lot of us may not live through again, I didn't have an issue with the football being cancelled and I could see why, but what Centre Parcs and the NHS are doing isn't showing respect. It's just nonsense virtue signalling which is showing zero respect to their own customers or patients.

That's nonsense isn't it. What the NHS is doing is incredulous though. GP's shut for the day, hospital outpatient appointments and routine surgery cancelled (which some people have had to wait months for as it is). Is it just me who thinks that is absolute nonsense? I know it's only one day and it is technically a bank holiday, but it's a bank holiday with little notice so they should at the very least honour the appointments booked. For the NHS to shut down at a time when they're already dealing with a backlog is nothing short of diabolical.

He's going to kill Chelsea.

Jeez.

It would be scandalous to ignore it. I'm not a royalist by any means, but this is an event that over 80% of the country have never lived through. You can't just ignore it and expect things to carry on as normal, it's probably one of if not the biggest news events a lot of us will ever live through. As I said I'm not a royalist, but out of respect and in the tradition of this country and all it stands for then it's only right we follow the protocols set out (which were set out before all of us were even born)