shurlock

Anfield is his elephant graveyard. Sure he wouldn't change one thing.

Hazard's a left winger, you plum- less a case that they were targeting Yoshida than just getting the ball to their best player. Their play went down our right, even when Toby switched to fullback.

Not sure about 'learning' to retain possession - he was deliberately trying to play the ball first time and it didn't come off. In his defense, it was probably the only way we were going to get behind them (as we did for the goal). Everytime we slowed things down, they snapped back into position and closed us down. It also didn't help that with the absence of Clyne and Bertrand and lack of width, we were forced to play balls inside into the most congested parts of the pitch.

If so, for all we know Yoshida could be playing fullback in a 4-3-3. Either way, can't think of anyone more ill suited to wingback than Tadic.

Tadic as a wingback

Yeh it's just you (was excellent at Palace).

Can't beat a hurried hoof into row zz as Longy comes charging in like a man possessed. Top it off with him spitting nonchalantly and staring defiantly at the Northam, and that's seal-flapping gold. Remember not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.

Now if you could be as magnanimous and philosophical with the likes of Mané

Not sure what your point is - without agile, defensively sound wingbacks, those three are just as likely to get exposed - perhaps even more so. The alternative is that the wingbacks rarely get forward, blunting any kind of width and simply inviting the opposition to come onto us.

A tricky one, one that isn't any simpler IMO if we go with wingbacks. Not sure what the solution is: McCarthy? Toby who's played there for Belgium (though we'll probably need him in the middle for Costa)? JWP who's slotted into fullback in the past. Of course, none of these is ideal - one reason why we were linked with the likes of Sam Byram during the summer.

Disagree - we're extremely fortunate to have Bertrand and Clyne who have the athleticism and defensive quality to play as wingbacks. However, the position is highly specialised and not one where you can plug and play, let alone throw in 'neophytes'. Without the personnel and specifically given our options (assuming Clyne is also out), it's probably more sensible to revert to a back four.

It's not just the opposition you lose to that can be the last nail in the coffin. Managers arguably get sacked ahead of big games in hope that it will jolt a reaction (or even engineer a honeymoon effect). Palace have QPR next in a potential relegation showdown which may in small part explain the timing. Norwich did something similar last season when they got rid of Hughton before the Fulham game (admittedly they had just lost to WBA which was a low in itself).

No chance- like Yoshida a lot but even with with Bertrand, thought he got quite exposed yesterday, especially in the first half. Playing Tadic on the left and expecting him to defend -which we'll be doing quite a bit- sets us up for a fall.

Agree - think it could be a pretty fruitless day for Pelle given how dominant those two are in the air; however if he can free up Mané or Long whose pace will trouble them, we could get some joy. It's all the more important as they tend to press pretty aggressively from the front -as they did last season to great effect- and I can see us being pretty direct as a result.

What are you on about - a £20m asset? He turns 28 next month - what you see is what you get with him. For a player that relies so much on pace, if anything, his value is only likely to depreciate.

Absolutely no chance with the goal. Not sure what Gardos was doing or who he was meant to be marking. Wanyama perhaps could have done better but it was powerful jump by Dann and he's absolutely massive. Decent game by Forster, though there were moments in the first half where he certainly hesitated, especially from open play. It helped somewhat that most Palace balls came in from the byline - think Forster struggles more with the earlier cross from deeper positions.

Gardos as Jamie/Delldays. Mayuka taking it one step further as a meth cook.

Andoru- watched the replay of the goal (as well as being in line with it at the time), the ball came at pace and skidded and bounced off the turf (just see where the initial shot which was spinning hits the post unless you're in denial of the laws of physics -the bounce wasn't high but the ball certainly didn't roll truly and cleanly). So yes the point about it being all too easy to get under the shot stands.

More mongboard magic. He's hit all kind of shots and misses -but some instinct to find patterns in everything -the proverbial image of Christ on a slice of toast- now seems he skies everything. From what I remember the ball came out to him quickly and bounced -and he hit it practically on the half-volley. Now simple physics -unless you are a simplistic cretin- tells you that it's very hard to keep those shots down -that he did so should be praised, not criticised, let alone be concluded that the writing was on the wall from that point on.

Cheers - seems he lost his place once Van Gaal took over.

When did he last play for Holland?

Anelka's move to Bolton comes to mind.

Never mind that the hospital Clarke is staying in was probably initially set up out of religious benevolence. Anyway, all beside the point. You well and truly shat the bed yet seem quite happy to lie in it. For someone so opposed to religion (more accurately, religious fundamentalism), you certainly don't lack in certainty and righteousness. What's your excuse?

Fabrics Fernandes, Inigo Idiakez