S-Clarke

People are putting too much thought into how to 'get' at the Lovren/Lallana types, when really they should focus on making SMS as flaming loud as they can by supporting Southampton.

Looks like they've failed to end the 'quotation' marks, and that's just an opinion of the paper.

Blimey, he got a job in the end!

Andy Carroll's career as a professional patient has been blighted by the occasional appearance for West Ham United

He's going down the Dean Ashton route, only difference is that Dean Ashton was a good footballer.

We lacked serious balance on the left side with Yoshida there. Although he did a good shift, our 'style' requires the full backs to get involved in the attacking area's. Yoshida was required to do that and it didn't really work, what with the additional requirement for Elia to provide slightly more protection due to his lack of pace. We did miss a natrual left back there, totally. I think we'd have looked a lot more fluid with Bretrand.

Given that Pardew wasn't shortlisted and that Koeman won it today, I doubt it.

Liverpool have 2 games before we play them, this will be a factor - given that Gerrard and Lucas are also out, so they can't rotate as they'd have liked to. It's a game I've looked forward to for weeks. I really sense a good thing about this match, I reckon we'll be totally up for this. Liverpool are good going forward but suspect, as we all know, at the back. Lucas has been a key reason in their return to 'defensive solidity' (as well as the dropping of Lovren ) - so it was no surprise to see Spurs look so lively against them. I think Emre Can will drop into midfield, almost guaranteed, with one of Kolo Toure or Lovren coming into the 'back 3'. Jordan Ibe will probably continue as a wing back, and although he's talented, we've got players with more experience who can hopefully give him a very nervy night. Let's keep him and Moreno occupied defensively, and we will have nullified a lot of their attacking threat and pace. What annoys me about the media is how Liverpool are always revolutionary, always amazing. They had an horrific start to the season, they've picked up since they've had a run of what you'd call ''easier games'' and surprise surprise, Brendan Rogers is being called a tactical genius for stumbling over a formation. Just like he was this revolutionist last season or something. No, he just had Luis Suarez. They're a decent enough side and a threat, but this will be their toughest away day for a good while. I'm confident.

Easy to say that now, but the reality is that we'd have not looked any more threatening with him on the pitch. The lack of service and lack of speed of play would have still been the issue.

Good luck, Boca.

Traffic is stupid in the City generally it doesn't seem set up to cope with 32k people on a Saturday (+shoppers, + ships) Oh the days of L1 games against Wycombe where I could wander out of the ground with no hassle and be home by 10 on very empty roads..... That whole rail bridge thing does need sorting though, there were a few 'incidents' last night - and as the Away fans often walk above the stationary mass of home fans, you do realize that if they ever decide to do anything worse, then you simply are stuck.

Given that Yoshida should be our new striker, we could do with keeping Turnbull.

I wonder if Sherwood will get this one He keeps plugging away...but no one wants him!

Impossible to say. Jay Rodriguez was on course, but took a set back. And too much is being made of it just being a case of buying a striker and all is solved. It's not. We just need more life and movement from the likes of Tadic/Mane/Elia (and now Filip) and we'll see Pelle scoring again.

He's having a storming time at Swindon it has to be said. They love him down there, calling him a class act with great technique (can play anywhere they say). Pleased for him, he was another one from the crop of Reed/JWP/Shaw, which again hasn't been a bad intake!

He was one of the most frustrating refs we've had this season. Did my flaming head in. He had no control of that game after about 30 mins. Both teams can have valid cause to criticize him as he was all over the shop.

Nothing radical needs to happen other than us gambling a bit more in the final third. We're too safe, too predictable. As someone said above - shoot! Have a shot, it might go in, it might be deflected, it might lead to a corner, a handball...who knows! But it's more likely to have some sort of opportunity at the end of it than another sideways pass.

We played into WHU hands in those final 20 or so mins. They just had 2 banks of 4, very close together. We just kept trying to go through the middle and pass our way through. As Koeman was trying to say (and I saw him trying to put this across a few times) we needed to stretch it, pull those banks of 4 around the place. In reality they had 9 men and we made it too much comfortable for them than it should have been. Even though it was kind of like an attack v defense exercise, there wasn't any real stand out opportunities for us in that entire time which tells it's own story.

Generally a frustrating evening, but not much to be too downhearted by. I just want Tadic and Pelle to find their confidence again, as they're both quite clearly on the floor at the moment. They're both good players as we've seen, but they're overdoing it every time at the moment with extra touches, or flicks etc that aren't really needed. (Not sure if it's a physiological reaction, more touches, try to open up a cleaner shot, or pass up the opportunity to someone else to ''miss'' etc.) Mane and Elia needed to do a hell of a lot more last night. They did frustrate me as with their pace they should have pulled WHU all over the show, but they were so static and their movement was not good or quick enough. Pelle needs more life around him, but it just wasn't happening. We're playing well generally though, we always have good control of games and dominate the possession most of the time - but we need to do more in the final third with that sort of domination. It took Fonte in the 86th min to have the first proper pot on goal to bring a save out of Jusi - what's that all about?? We don't gamble enough in the final third at the moment, trying to be too safe - which as I said above, I think is down to confidence. We've got ourselves into an amazing position, and to play in any sort of European competition next season will be a remarkable achievement - and even though the Top 4 is and always will be somewhat of a slim chance, the Top 6 is the real target.

This is pretty much it. It's very easy to just throw a universal net over Pelle as he's supposed to be scoring the goals, but there's so much more to it than that. I think you're spot on in terms of our predictability, even I knew what we would do once we got past midfield after about 30mins - and it was just bread and butter for the WHU defenders most of the time. We need to speed it up, more movement, more fluidity. We just seemed all too static last night in the final third. We're full of pace up there with Elia and Mane but they didn't use it. The midfielders struggled to make the forward passes because the front 3 weren't making good enough movement to open it up. The too many touches thing was the most frustrating aspect of last night. I personally think that comes from confidence. Tadic and Pelle are the 2 most guilty at just trying too many touches to make it 'easier' for them, rather than just taking it there and then. Obviously, WHU condensed the play a bit and defended well - but it's in those situations where you need speed, width, variation in play. If you're playing a well organised and condensed team then you'll never score if you try the same every time. Backwards, Sideways, Backwards, Sideways etc. Need to see a hell of a lot more life from Mane and Elia in those sorts of games.

I know, I was just making the point that this seems an incredibly unbalanced side. But let's see...!

Adrian, Jenkinson, Tomkins, Kouyate, Cresswell, Song ©, Amafitano, Downing, Valencia, Sakho, Cole No offence, but where the hell is their midfield??? Song is the only central CM in their lineup, what with Kouyate playing as a CB.

Noble and Nolan out for them.

The stuff I stated above was not justified what so ever. This place is guilty of it every season (probably most over football forums to be fair). Fans just snapshot a little group of games and decide on that that player A isn't good enough, player B isn't good enough, we'll get relegated etc. Sometimes it's worth just looking at the entire picture before jumping on the criticizing bandwagon. I'll say what I said a few days ago - how any of our fans can be so vocal against any of our lads who have played a big amount this year is beyond me. They're all playing out of their skins, they'll have ups and downs, but given that we're still 3rd, I'd say they've had many more ups. Enjoy this period, I wish people would stop trying to find reasons to criticize or search for a scapegoat. There really is no need.

See, I don't think half of the stick he received was anywhere near justified. ''He's another Ali Dia'' ''He's not a footballer'' ''He's not even fit for L1'' ''Sell him ASAP'' - that's just pitiful waffle. If it's acceptable to post **** like that when any player loses a bit of form then god help us all. As the sensible lot on this thread pointed out - he showed his quality at the start of the season. You could see his class. That's why it was pitiful and pretty embarrassing to write him off and now why we see certain people who were so vocal against him not posting since.