S-Clarke

on 72 mins, a 1-0, that ball should have been launched as far up field as possible. I'm all for playing football from the back, but there are just times in a game and games in a season where you just do what has to be done. Swansea weren't going to create anything as we nullified them in general play, which makes it even more frustrating as we gave them that goal. They didn't have to work.

That's pretty much as I see it. If you go back looking at the midfield, then you're looking too far into it. The mistake was the clearance, as straight forward and simple as that.

Doubt it. Will be a very nervous and tight game though. 1 goal will decide it IMO.

TBF, if you want something from the kiosks then you need to leave at around that time. Any later, you'll queue up for 20mins only to be told there's nothing left.

Got a hunch that the fate of either manager rests on this game, although QPR's is in a slightly more precarious position. I should see it as a positive that QPR haven't won yet, but that makes me bloody nervous if I'm honest. They're going to win at some point with the players they have. But at least we're going into it with QPR still in the same state, with the same manager. I don't rate him and neither do QPR fans. Glad we're not going to get the ''new manager bounce'' from this game that I felt was inevitable a few weeks ago.

Villa lead, not good at all.

You're right about Mayuka, still very much an unknown quantity whose reputation is growing due to not playing. Similar happened with Tadanari

We had a couple of moments where we got in behind, Swansea threw their bodies on the line and blocked. I just don't think we played that badly today.

What a weird thread.

Maybe we could have seen Mayuka at some stage, but if NA had taken off Gaston and we'd still have not won he'd have been hung out to dry.

We were alright though, In control of the game. I didn't feel there was a need for any radical changes. He's been criticized for making the subs in the final third before, and now he's criticized for not making them. He can't win.

Very little wrong today in terms of the team, and the setup. We had a good shape about us, closed down well and retained the ball intelligently throughout the middle of the pitch. If there was one criticism, it was our lack of final third impact at times. I thought we should have worked their back 4 more than we did, as we had the game in our hands at stages of the game. I was delighted to see Cork back, and felt he added a much needed energy and grit to the middle - as well as being able to see, and make a simple pass to retain possession. A nice solid debut from Shaw too, didn't do much wrong and has good pace to recover when needed. The substitution was understandable though, as he was out on his legs towards the closing period. The goal was embarrassing though, again. The blame has to go to Gazza who played the most ridiculous pass you're ever likely to see, you can't really blame Yoshida because Gazza set him up for a fall there - although one criticism i have of Yoshida is his lack of strength, he was pushed off the ball by Nathan Dyer for petes sake. Overall we should have won that, we didn't, and it's the same old avoidable goal that cost us it. If we did that last year we'd have been punished, so god knows why we're doing it this year. One of our back 5 seem programmed to see red at some stage within a game. Maybe one day we'll keep a clean sheet...

There was nothing wrong with the selection, the subs or the tactical setup today. One avoidable goal cost us the win. Which is very frustrating, because we did little wrong today.

Eh? we have a special one here.

I doubt he'll start. NA said as much in his last pre-match conf. - he hasn't been able to put out a settled back 4 all season, and he's now got the opportunity to do that. I doubt he's going to change it around again.

Poor effort at a wind-up thread. 1/10

If true, Brendon Rogers is slowly turning Liverpool into an NPC team.

Taking off my saints hat for a moment, I've never got the crack with Appleton. He's got alot of respect and a decent reputation, for pretty much failing at Portsmouth. You can throw all the sob stories you want at it, but he's had more backing available to him than he should have had, and with a squad full of the players they have in L1 should mean they're higher in the league than they are. Pretty sure his reputation is just born out of pitty rather than any real talent. Not sure what direction Blackpool are heading in, going backwards faster than anything.

Always been a good goal keeper, liked him when he was at Norwich and hoped we'd have been in for him in the summer. Celtic took the opportunity to steal him for a small fee though.

Personally, at this stage, I think it is the right call. I've said before that we're coming up to a crucial period of games. I'd prefer to be going into that period with a manager who knows the club, rather than a care-taker position and then a new guy. It would be a bit of an upheaval at the wrong time. I don't take the idea that he hasn't gone because we haven't got anyone lined up either. If he does go, there will be a period of a caretaker manager and we'll get the usual ''the start for a manager has begun'' articles. So those thinking that NA will go and someone will just walk right in are wrong. It's a brave call, but I think it's the right call. NA deserves his shot this month, I don't think there's anyone who wants to get this right more than him. On Monday there was a sense of going back to basics, and let's hope he can lift the confidence for Saturday.

Too lightweight for CM as well IMO, same as the rest of our midfielders. Too easily knocked off the ball.

How would starting a CM at CB improve things?

From what I've seen, Rodriguez and Lambert aren't great together. Too similar in places, although Rodriguez has a bit more life about him in terms of movement and pace. I think we need to carry on as we started, 1 up top, Rameriz in his natural number 10 position just behind, with the 2 wide players joining in. That'll work. it's just what happens when they attack us.

Austin has a great record, but is very ''billy sharp-esque''. Comes alive in the box, and doesn't do a lot in the build up. I agree with others, he's in the mold of being one of those cracking lower league/championship goal scorers, who'd do an ''okish'' job in the PL but wouldn't get a hell of a lot better. Jay Rodriguez has much more to his game in my opinion, and in time I believe he will turn out to be the better buy. Just my opinion though.

He is on around 30-35k per week, comes from a decent source. At a similar level to the rest of our top players, Lambert is close to that as well.