S-Clarke

And managers. Let's not forget Hughes treatment of him. He was about to ship him off to Watford for £15m.

I dunno, I'm of the belief that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. You also have to factor in that we have Forster, Gunn and Lewis on the books, you'd need to lose two of those before we even broach the idea of a new GK. I'm not sure GK is a position we need to fiddle with too much at this moment in time though tbh. For the first time in a long time it 'feels' as if we need to focus on adding a little bit of squad depth rather than replace first 11 players.

What has McCarthy done wrong?

Maybe a little rusty, but I'd have to say that his best form for us was in the 'restart' games, as opposed to over the entire course of the season. It looks as if that was nothing more than a purple patch really. if you look at his influence on our team over a consistent period (a few years) then we concede lots of goals when he's in the side, it's just a general theme. He's improved, don't get me wrong, but he's still not good enough to be a starter for a team with aspirations to be in the top 10.

They are without Kalvin Phillips today, and he is crucial to their midfield. Their stand-in (Shackleton) is a young lad and probably not ready just yet. Rodrigo would add quality as well and he's not playing either. It just shows that they don't quite have the squad, no surprise just yet. They'll have enough to stay up I think (going by the dross down there this year) but they'll need to baulk up that squad for next season.

West Brom could threaten Derby's record. I've not seen such an ineffective team at this level for such a long time. Incapable of defending or scoring.

Or just refund everyone the entire ticket price now and admit their mistake in even selling them from the outset.

This would automatically make it feel a much better weekend!

Yep, that's the one! Quite a miserable result all told. Think it was Saint Maximan who scored, he likes a long range hit.

Yeah wtf was that all about? 12 mins they should have had, apparently. Good sign of your teams quality and managerial ability if you need 12 extra minutes on every game to ensure you get something. Not quite sure I'd use that angle if I was a manager. He should have been fair that they were well beaten and the end scoreline flattered them, as it did.

I think that's what he's cut out of his game, as I said he's simplified it. He used to try and do stupid things with the ball or get caught in positions he shouldn't be in, but he's just using his brain more now.

Brighton strike me as one of those sides where everyone compliments their football, but they never actually pickup the results. They look very blunt, but their build up through the middle is tidy.

It's a tiny bit hysterical but also a little bit of realism. Ings is crucial to us and how we play, how we counter press, how we pull the channels etc. Take him out of the site we are all of a sudden less clinical and less dangerous in the final third. If it wasn't for Ings, we'd currently be sat in 16th/17th on 3 points. If it wasn't for Ings last year, we'd have been relegated. He is absolutely critical to us which is why I fear every time he gets tackled.

Why is Pogba so highly rated? He may be technical, but he has no idea about positioning on the football pitch. He is brain dead as a footballer. Baffling why teams like Real Madrid wanted him at one point.

I'm pleased with how he's picked himself up, he was a calamity at the start for us. But he's simplified his game, he has better positioning and is now actually able to use his genuine advantage in defending (his height/power).

He certainly earned his money worth in that 2nd half. It's a shame we left him so exposed at times though!

I like Vokins, I thought he came in well last year (esp. against Brighton at home) and didn't look out of his depth. I'd have no issues giving him a game there, I'm fully expecting that to be the case. I'd agree with Redmond for Ings a well, thus putting Walcott through the middle. Maybe playing just off of Adams. Walcott is probably the 'closest' replacement we have for Ings. Chances of Bednarek? I guess if it's concussion he won't be. I'd rather throw Salisu in than have to witness another Stephens 45 mins, he was awful today.

If the caveat of that was a 'bad injury' to Ings, then I don't think as many would have bitten any hands off!

I do think we took our foot off in the 2nd half, we didn't manage it enough full stop. But I still think the score line is an unfair reflection of the actual game. 4-1 was probably fair, the last 2 goals villa scored were because we were a little bit disjointed due to the injuries - like you said. But I don't think we had enough control full stop in that 2nd half, certainly not on the right hand side - that was a real concern for me. KWP had an absolute disaster of a game, that's who they targeted throughout the 2nd half, but he had no help from anyone either. It's a weird feeling though, good win, 3rd in the league...13 points after 7 games...but like others have said, there's a sour feeling all over it - mainly due to the injuries I think. Bad ones to Ings or Ryan and we may need to re-asses our season targets.

Nice to see this thread is making more of a regular occurrence again! Shows things are going in the right direction on both sides...

Everton's bubble has burst then. I hate the start of season waffle some of the pundits come out with, it's similar to Spurs as well. The top 4 will be the usual, just a little more tightly packed this year I think.

It's very difficult to say, the worry is that the knee is a genuine weak spot for ings - it always will be, any impact or incorrect movement in that area is going to be a huge concern for everyone. It's been my biggest fear to be honest, for his sake and our teams sake he needs to be fine - couple of weeks max I hope, that's prob the best case. I just hope the club don't play cloak and daggers with this one and they tell us from the outset the state of play.

Nah, that was very bad and you knew from the outset. He was stretchered off as well if i remember correctly.

Pretty rubbish after 60 mins really. Dreadful collapse. Can't go doing that or we'll start losing lots of games. KWP had a disaster and Armstrong didn't help him defensively at all. Stephens presence seemed to unsettle everyone. We were ripped apart down that side all half. Injuries are the main worry though, it's made this result feel very sour.

FT. We win. Feels a lot worse than it did 30 mins ago though.