S-Clarke

Yeah, this is where I'm at. I feel quite sad watching him because he's just not there anymore, he's never recovered from the injury he had in the middle of last season for whatever reason. He's lost his pace and his finishing/touch is still as erratic as it ever was, so he's pretty useless nowadays. I never saw the sense of signing him on a perm, was nothing more than a club PR bit of a business. I'm not sure why Ralph went along with it, as we've now filled the squad with someone paid quite well, who isn't capable of impacting this level.

I'd be better there than Walcott.

His second half showing was better imo.

In all seriousness, what's your view on the game? All I ever see you do is attack posters with childish comments. You probably have some decent views and opinions, but they're lost in your continuous belittling of others.

Agreed, he put in a good shift when he came on and the game actually turned. He kept the Chelsea defenders occupied and played on the shoulder really well. Won the ball back and played a great ball to Smallbone who had a great chance.

Yeah, Diallo was excellent. He's got stronger, which allows him to hold off the opponent with his upper body and use his agility to turn on the ball. He's always been quite a skilful player, but he's added a bit more steal to his game now. Wonder if there is a way we can get Diallo, JWP and Romeu in the same team - stick Diallo in a more attacking role.

Nah, didn't think he played well there really. Whenever we were attacked he was pulled all over the place, got caught way too up field on a few occasions as well. He covered well, but as a 'centre half' . no. please, never again.

My MOTM tonight, looked good on the ball, good in the air and a nice turn of pace about him as well. Defo cult hero vibes with his 'passion' and his leave everything on the pitch attitude. He's probably prone to some calamities along the way as he plays on the edge, but that was a good showing.

Second half was excellent, we had much more control over the game and probably had the better chances to win it in the end. Long actually came on and helped us stretch the game a little in the end. Less said about Theo the better, needs to retire and someone close to him needs to have an honest word with him. It's like prolonging a dead horse. Overall though a good effort, just the luck of the draw on penalties really. Lyanco my MOTM.

Really frustrating, as we've played the game plan well - the counter press, the winning the ball back well enough. But the final third is beyond inept, let's be honest. The final pass is either the wrong pass or misplaced, or the touch of Adams or Tella is just too heavy and it gets away from them. It's like a little lower league team against a bigger side, we're huffing and puffing and giving a good account but we don't have anywhere near the right level of quality to hurt them.

He may have looked interesting at CB in training, but that's because he's defending against Redmond/Moussa/Theo/Elyonoussi etc. Put him up against decent footballers and it will be a massacre, it's not even in the realms of 'give him a chance', he shouldn't get a chance to play at CB because he's not a defender let alone a CB. Insanity if he's there.

You'd have got Damari Gray or Townsend for nominal/no fee's, and significantly lower wages too. Wouldn't have shed a tear if we let Theo go back to Everton and we'd brought in Townsend on a freebie, or Gray for £1m. But the club didn't want to lose the PR opportunity I don't think.

Not alone at all, that's how I saw it which is why I was fairly confused by the boos at FT? (what i heard anyway) I wouldn't say Burnley were 'attractive', but it was a decent game. Burnley are no mugs, too many people were assuming this was a standard win - but there are a lot worse teams in this league than Burnley.

We'll play on the break I imagine, which is arguably perfect for him to show his talents.

It's because he's brain dead, you can't coach the mental aspects - that's just part of them as a player. He may have all the tools technically, and he does have the pace, the touch, the skill...but his mind is the problem, hence why his decision making at crucial moments during a high pressured situation is an absolute disaster. He'll always be one of those 'almost there' kind of players, but he'll never make it to the top or become mega consistent because of his lack of footballing brain.

I agree, I've said as much since day one. We're not exactly blessed with quality in that 'Right mid/right 10' position, so let's stick KWP back in and put Tino in front. Lots of attacking purpose and lots of defensive cover there. Tino did switch off defensively for the first goal yesterday, so he's still raw around the edges in that element. His game comes to life in an attacking sense...so play him further up, please!

I thought this would be the season that Tella explodes onto the scene, but it just hasn't happened. We can't really be sure as to why, things go on behind the scenes that none of us are really ever privy to. I imagine he'll play mid-week though, so that is his chance to stake his claim for a regular place in the 11. He really should be ahead of Theo though, who should have retired at the end of last season. Theo is nothing more than a PR job by the club, but let's not ensure that comes as a risk to actual footballers like Tella.

I agree with a lot of what you say. The problems are deeper than just the tactics the manager selects, there are a lot of other reasons as to why we sit here today and every season over the last 5, let's be honest. I don't agree that McCarthy is a big mistake though, what awful performance has he put in this season that justifies him being dropped? I think everyone agrees that we need a new goalie as a long-term investment, but in the here and now McCarthy is the least of our worries in my opinion. Our problems this season will primarily come down to a lack of goals, that's all. Ings kept our heads above water, without him we will be paddling to death to stay above it until May I imagine. We needed someone like Daka to come in and replace Ings, we couldn't really afford to go with a gamble from the Championship....but sadly our position means that's all we can really do.

I think he's one of the, if not the most, mentally fragile player we have. The one player you could guarantee will shrink when the going gets tough. If you enjoy what Redmond brings on the pitch then you must have a very low bar!

I think that's a very fair, considered and non-knee jerk post. I'll be concerned when our approach doesn't create chances, but in our last two games we should have scored a min of 3 goals in each game with the opportunities we had. So the approach worked in that sense, we're getting into the right positions but the players the opportunities are falling to are just low down in the quality stakes (or inexperienced), so individually they all need multiple chances to score. In the grand scheme of things, after the start and the teams we've faced, to still have a pretty neutral GD and 8 points isn't cause for flattening the place and starting again.

Brighton are getting absolutely destroyed. This game could be anything.

Exactly how I saw it. Definitely wasn't a 'bad' performance, just a wasted opportunity more than anything. I thought we looked better than Burnley for most of the game.

I thought that was actually a decent game to watch, neither side had any control of it at any point though...that was the prob. We had a very, very strong spell from around 30ish min onwards. Awful miss by both Theo and Redmond, you'd say he'd never miss it again 99 times out of 100...but he probably would to be fair. Broja was a handful, very tidy finish for the goal - tight angle that, don't have anyone else who can finish that clinically. Midfield were ok, Diallo was decent and mobile but I felt we struggle to gain any real control. Best player on the pitch was Livramento, no one close. Perruad, still growing into the league I guess...but nothing special to his game is showing to me thus far. Theo...one fo the worst signings we've ever made in the PL. Pointless waste of time. Nothing more than a fanboy signing, he might as well just retire and become an ambassador for the club or something. Frustrations from the window for me - needed a better number 10. Needed to use the Vestergaard sale to upgrade on Bednarek, as he's struggling to recover from that last 9-0 if I'm honest. Incapable of defending, always wrong side, always shrugged off the ball. Needs to sort himself out. Frustrating overall, but I thought we played well at points and had the better chances in my eyes. This season is nothing more than a bottom half struggle, I'd be surprised to see anything else.

I dunno, when they have players like Cantwell, Aarons, Rasicha, Pukki, Kabak, Gilmour in and around their 11 I think they've got as much as Burnley quality wise. (Although Cantwell is out atm) This is all on the manager and tactics in my opinion. They don't even make an effort to close down off the ball, it's all so, so, so easy. Can't wait to see how much we make a meal of this game in a few weeks!

Norwich already 3-0 down, not even HT yet. They just look totally and utterly out of their depth in every part of their game, every week. I don't know if that's down to the player quality, or the coaching? When you look at them on paper they don't have 'bad' players, they should be at least competing, so for them to be so out of their depth every week must be somewhat down to the tactical approach they employ. I'm not even sure what it is tbh.