S-Clarke

Clyne sums up our team if I'm honest. Full of quality, but occasionally very naive. He'll learn though and he'll prove to be a very good player for us, but he's on a steep learning curve - In many ways it would have helped to have a couple of experienced PL faces alongside him in hindsight.

Unfortunately he looks frighteningly out of his depth. I thought he'd give it a good crack this year, but he is seriously struggling to get near any strike at goal. This is the difference in the PL. I've watched the replay's of him trying to make saves, and it just looks like he's struggling to even get off the ground. I will always remember Davis fondly, he's been a bit of a legend for us over the years, and the last thing I want to happen is for him to become a laughing stock and a hate figure amongst the fans. Time for Gazzaniga to get a shot before it's gone too far.

He really wouldn't have. It's time to move on from the past, and he is in the past and is in the Championship for a reason.

When the fixtures were released, I think it was assumed by most of the footballing world that we'd been given a bloody tough start. That has transpired to be true based on the amount of points we have. So, we've kind of got through the start, still in touch with everyone. I think that's the least we could have hoped for. What worries me most now, If I'm honest, is the pressure that will be on the Villa game. When we play with pressure and tension (I.E Wigan) we play like static statues with no zip, or creativity. We have a young team, who have been heavily beaten today. In many ways, I'd be telling them to forget what's happened before and start the season a fresh. Put all the good work from the Man City and Utd games into it, and we will win. Villa aren't a bad side, they will be a bog-standard mid-table team this year, so it's a game that IMO we should be targeting a win from. I genuinely don't think we've got a bad team. We're young and naive, but full of quality - much more than teams like Reading for e.g (IMO). It's a big learning curve, and we are playing like a side with no experience at this level. I know there were cries in the close season for PL experience, and in hindsight it may have been a good idea for the defensive areas. If we lose this, then I will become increasingly concerned. We're getting into embarrassing territory after that stage and a stage where a certain finger will be planted directly on the trigger.

Anyone who thinks Adkins is out of his depth, at this moment in time, after 4 games, is a bit of a moron. HTH.

That's what I saw in 45mins, that's all I was putting out there. And there wasn't any other positive.

Who knows what happened in that one, a very odd setup that transfer. Confident that it wasn't us who cocked that up.

Fair enough, 3 names - but I don't get that attitude completley. I only want us to sign players that are real quality and much better than we have. (And the club seem to follow the same mantra), Signing average players is when you start heading down the route of a highly paid squad full of Jackbosons and Delaps.

This is where people assume it's all so easy. Name me 3 defenders who you would have signed at £4m each that would have given value for money? If it's that easy, you should be able to name them. We needed a player of Mayuka's pace, fact. He didn't play today because we had no real need to use him, but that was an area of the team I'd listed as a priority to strengthen. I'm not sure where this myth comes from that we're not any good at transfer negotiations. If we weren't any good, then we wouldn't have snared Rameriz. I think that's simple enough to say. Generally, the players we wanted weren't available for the princes we were willing to pay. Would you have paid over £6m for Dann? I know I wouldn't have, but that's that B'burn wanted. Sod that. People seem to have the opinion that the real world of transfers is just like football manager, and you just send a bid of CB1, CB2, CB3 and it's accepted. done. If only, eh?

I think it will become PL standard, in time. The nature is that we're very young, and quite naive. But the quality and ability is there. Unfortunately we've been thrown straight into the deep end, so any failings or early season naivety will be taken full advantage of. In the 4 games I've seen the quality, and we will cause most teams problems at this level. The naivety comes from the ****ty goals we're conceding, but then let's just realise the players who have scored against us. The Wigan result is the one that stands out. If we'd have played as we did against Man Utd, or Man City, we'd have won that and we'd be sitting on 3 points in a much more positive situation. Next week will be huge though, there is no denying that. The pressure on the management, and the players to get a result (Heck,e ven 1 point on the board would be something) will be immense and I'm not sure how some of the younger lads will respond to that sort of pressure - it's the first time many have experienced this sort of game.

We need to get them employed by the club. Alpine, DPS, Dock-p. We'd be Barcelona before we knew it. All our failings would be fixed within an hour. As, of course, it's all so easy to do.

One of your better, and more informed posts in my opinion. Don't agree on the Lambert bit though.

He'll be given more time, but I would imagine NC would be wobbling if we lose at Villa...and then at Everton, let's be honest. 6 games, 0 points, possibly 7 adrift. He might be forced to act at that point - but it's pointless debating that, because we'll be on 6 points ourselves.

Good post. That's all that really needs to be said on this.

Ramirez seemlessly fitted in, and that has to be a major positive for everyone in my opinion. Sometimes these foreign imports take time to adjust, get hassled off the ball etc. - but he was on it, from word go. Winning the ball back, holding off challenges, winning headers. Looks a perfect PL player, and add that to his obvious technical genius and his brain, then we're in an incredible position to have someone like him in our first team. Astonishing signing really.

Play Yosihida as a CB, that's his position. We're going to have to stick with Fox, as we have no other options. I don't think he was too bad today, but he just caught at this level and we will be punished by that in future games as well. But putting square pegs into round holes isn't likley to improve the situation. Agree on Fonte, wasn't bad today - looked assured. Probably best CB, which is a bizarre thing to say after a 6-1, but hey ho. Kelvin - looked lower league. Couple of the goals he conceded were awful, just seems too slow to move.

Nothing to do with bad luck, we deserved that spanking based on that first half. It was only a matter of time.

Wasn't that one 6-1 as well? Pennent and Pires hat-tricks IIRC? on a weekday evening. depressing reading everyone's views that the FA Cup final would be the same.

It was always going to be like that, a bolt out of the blue for some. I'm honestly surprised at our first half display though. Arsenal didn't really need to play that well, we handed it to them on a plate along with knives and forks. Not sure what we've been working on in training over the last 2 weeks if that's a result of our defensive work (as we spent a few days just on defensive shape)

The first half was as bad as we have played this season. If we start that off the pace at Arsenal, then it's game over very, very early. Which was the case. We showed promise in the 2nd half, but it was all too late. Defensively we're not great, there's no denying that. The goals we conceded today were, on the whole, lower-league quality goals. We've got to be doing better than that, otherwise we'll be doing a Derby. But it's only 4 games, we've got this hellish start out of the way. It's done. Put to bed. But, we now need to get points on the board - starting next week. If we get beaten by Villa, then something is horribly wrong - but I think we'll be ok in that one. It's going to be a **** week building up to that though, let's be honest.

''It's only the 4th game, we have 34 more to go''

what an unbelievable ball by W-P. unreal.

fair play to Theo for not celebrating. Respect.

Seeing Theo and Chambo, running at us, from both sides, makes me feel slightly sick.

what is with the amount of space we're giving players on the flanks? seriously? wake the **** up.