shurlock

Difficult to make sense of the game - didn't think we deserved to lose the game; but didn't think we did enough over the whole game to win it, though ultimately we had the clearest opportunities. The first 45 mins were very hard going as was the beginning of the 2nd half. For an area that's been so crucial to everything we do, our central midfield was threadbare today. Burnley were able to ping diagonal balls into the central midfield at will; they were first to most second balls; while Cork and Hammond didn't establish any kind of foothold to offer Lallana and Guly the ball in more advanced positions. That Hammond was substituted did not surprise me - nor is it surprising that their MOTM was Bartley, a CM who was here, there and f**king everywhere. Either way, it was a shock to the system to see the centre of midfield so overrun. I thought Richardson and Jos had very good games. Richardson got up and down really well and delivered a hell of a ball for Lambert who hit the bar. Jos was probably my MOTM, though I wish he was a bit meaner. For all his good play, he should not have let ROdriguez win the header that led to their goal. Fonte, by contrast, had an iffier game, though he became more assured in the 2nd half. KD also didn't particularly help by not communicating with the defence. The real question mark is Fox. Thought he rode the crowd pretty well; but with Harding breathing down his neck, its a hard call who should be starting. Defensively Fox tends to position himself too close to the CBs for my liking whereas I like Harding's willingness to play man-to-man with the opposing attacker. Going forward, I thought Fox was slightly reluctant to attack the space in front of him, hitting balls from quite deep. By contrast, Harding is always willing to get to the line. But where Fox is head and shoulders above Harding is his delivery - some of the balls delivered from corners and setpieces and crossing positions (when he did get further up the pitch) were simply unplayable and are alone worth goals and points. Thought NA's substitutions were good but only to a point. Chaplow steeled things up in midfield; while Schneiderlin allowed us to switch and stretch play quicker. Things opened up in the 2nd half but its worth bearing in mind that they played close to a full strength team in the cup and were pushed to the final minute (so I wouldn't attribute things just to our fitness as some of the posters above mention). More surprising is that De Ridder didn't come on. On a very general level, I thought we flattered Burnley and did not sufficiently exploit their weaknesses. A common feature of Eddie Howe's teams is the tendency for full backs to play as virtual wing backs. It put us under pressure; but it also meant there were acres of space behind them - when we got runners behind the FB notably through Richardson and Chaplow, we were pretty lively. But we didn't do it nearly enough. The game was crying out for some pace - and De Ridder might have offered it. And even if De Ridder isn't the right man yet, we still need pace. Lack of pace also made it easy for the back four to play a high line and contain the likes of Connolly and Lallana who cannot be expected to work eye of a needle openings every week in the heat of a frenetic away game. In the end, we got back into the game by singling out their RB and hitting diagonal long balls to Lambert on that side- the only problem is that he should have been finishing, not initiating such moves as Lallana's tame headers from very good positions showed. It was hardly total football; but showed that NA was happy to mix things up and opt for pragmatism; the return of Barney will only help us in this respect. All in all, can't complain about today - we could have won it in the final minute, though its hard to see how Lallana could have struck the ball cleaner with the defender pulling on his shirt; and if he had justifiably gone down its unlikely that the ref would have rewarded anything but a yellow card. Just as cynical was Burnley's attempt to work a quick free kick while half the team had gone for refreshments only to fluff it, resulting in a decent possible break only for one of their players to go down. On today's performance, Rodriguez didn't justify the hype or the £5m+ valuation - apart from a few tidy touches (largely low-risk stuff), he was well marshaled and never really threatened KD. Thought the ref was OK - could have quite easily brandished the cards out and stopped play (as players went down)- but allowed the game to flow. Our lot was OK; but like the performance was pretty subdued. Anyway a point is a point and will be more than happy for the same against Cardiff

They're not a good side - they look lightweight as f**k. If anything, they have shades of us in 2008/09 - a young side that's pleasing on the eye without being truly clinical but full of defensive soft spots. Am sure Rodriguez will come good at some point; but he's been pretty poor this season. Turf Moor's always a tough place to go to -and so I'm not taking anything for granted; but I would say they are the weakest team we've played this season - bar perhaps Barnsley.

Thought it was interesting that Cortese wants Newcastle next round of the league cup.

Remember you saying the players absolutely love Cortese because he's a big believer in player power etc (through another one of your 'sources'). Rare words to hear spoken about a chairman. I guess you still maintain this?

I want promotion - its what drives the competition. But I absolutely love the championship: proper games, proper clubs, proper fans. Every game is hammer and tongs and with no shortage of skill.

Best goal scored: Guly's against Millwall Best Champagne moment: the string of 30 or so passes at Barnsley Best game so far: Ipswich Best player at this stage: Lallana Most Improved player: Richardson (Hammond had a great second half of season last term, so I wouldn't say his current form is really an improvement in a strict sense)

Of course, even these comparisons should be treated with caution. In addition to the fact that we're currently riding a wave compared to say 2008/2009, probably the worst season in our history, finances are tighter today than in the past, games took place at different points of the season e.g. xmas festive period (Forest 2008/2009) or the business end of the season (Leeds 2006/2007); while others were televised (Leeds 2011/2012) and discounted or linked to big cup games (Forest 2008/2009). Not to mention the reputation/attractiveness of the opposition has changed as their form has ebbed and flowed over the years - all these factors and many others would have affected numbers from game to game and make straightforward comparisons difficult.

Why? Apart from Barney, nobody can genuinely lead the line, hold the ball up, provide genuine power and directness up top. I would have been surprised if Guly (though he's not bad in the air), Connolly etc would have got on the end of some of the decent crosses delivered by Holmes/De Ridder.

Better but again not conclusive as no doubt there were other factors that may have accounted for lower attendances i.e. the fact the team wasn't winning/supporters were suffering the relegation blues. By contrast, we're now enjoying one of the best runs in our history. All these factors would have to be controlled for.

But those figures tell only a small part of the story - the best and most accurate measure is how big our crowds would have been if the ticket tax and other things that are supposedly pi $$ing off fans had not been introduced. Its hard to know this crucial counter-factual; but citing other teams attendances adds no light on this question. Mate, you should take a dummies course in statistics and the use and abuse of evidence.

A v.lightweight attack but, at least, we have goal threats across midfield.

For all his cleverness, link up play and fox in the box finishing, his gesture of support to the argyle fans last season still stands out. While our players were celebrating with our lot and the plymouth players had slunk off the pitch, he was the only one to go around their ends, clap and show some sympathy for what is a horrible, abject situation. No theatrics; just a genuine touch of class. A serious man but in the best sense.

check the extended highlights with different camera angles- their rb is playing him on.

F**kin terroni!

Napoli fans are just a bunch of upmarket Turks, no different from the Galatasaray and Fenerbahce scum who like to take cheap shots.

Barry Davies commentating on the Ipswich game still in it?

Not unreasonable, esp with the greater number of away games and some tough home games. On its own, its near-playoff form. What with our start, would leave us in or very close to the auto positions.

As you say, those comments suggest an improvement on Forest (and he wasn't the worst defender against Forest) while acknowledging that there's room to get better. Besides one or two comments, they're hardly unconditionally negative. Some of the posters think he will get better; others question less his ability than whether he's what we need from a CB (unlike some, I don't think we need another carbon copy of Jaidi but that's just my opinion). If those are the extent of the concerns and there are more comments, including Solent that thought he had a decent, steady game - indeed, he got more MOTM votes than Fonte, I suggest opinion isn't particularly divided. Nobody has said he has set the world alight; and clearly its early days and the big test will be on the road. But for now he's done more than OK and I don't know what more can be expected. Btw, another of our rumoured targets, Ridgewell, had a shocking game yesterday.

How many points do you think we'll get?

You said its rare a player divides opinion so much - that there's no consensus about his ability. I don't see much evidence of that here after yesterday's game. That's the conclusion you have reached after asking quite legitimately how he did, no?

It was a great result and I have a lot of time for Chris Hughton, a decent and honest manager. Think his post-match comments were spot-on: while we deserved to win, the game turned on our finishing. Apart from our goals, I can't remember us creating that much, their keeper making too many saves or us really getting behind them with pace. I really like Connolly -I was calling for his return well before Barney's injury- but with him, Lallana and Guly, we do sometimes look a bit lightweight. We are also quite reliant on eye of the needle stuff which over the course of the game can become predictable as legs tire and we become more narrow. Crazy to say when we've knocked in 19 goals in 7 games but it would be nice to have a plan B, some pace and/or power to mix things up.

Was subject to one at the Ravens-Steelers game in Baltimore last Sunday - separate lines for women, kids and men. To be fair, it was no more intrusive than what you get at away games, albeit this was more systematic. Guess the yanks sports fans are mollycoddled in a way we're not.

He's smarter than his tweets and his A-Z of Nietzsche quotes suggest - q.like him, though he's fast becoming a parody and pantomime figure. Still would prefer a team of 11 Nemanja Vidics, ruthless and totally committed players but who do not make a song and dance about things.

A name mired in middle-aged defeatism. Saying that, seems to be quite popular on the footy manager circuit= Nigel Adkins, Nigel Clough, Nigel Pearson etc, though with the exception of NA, they too appear slightly fed up with life.

Do they differ or are you just looking for trouble? From what I've read, with the exception of um pahars and one or two others (and they're perfectly entitled to their opinions), the vast majority of posters thought he had a decent game. There's no real division - except that you ignore these posts and choose instead to respond to/endorse the one or two slightly critical ones. Why? Are they just more conducive to your slanted view of the club and desire deep down to justify why you feel the club f**ked up in its transfer dealings and panic bought a Celtic reject that's invariably doomed to fail here. Because that's what it looks like when you are selective with opinions/feedback and you look a right c*ck for doing so.