Minty

Frustrating evening, dominated large parts of it but a combination of poor decisions and a lack of penetration/finishing means we lost. We need to look on this as a valuable lesson. We played better than I thought we would given some of the injuries and the fact Clyne also went off. Thought Fonte played pretty well at right back in fact. All this talk of 'bubble' bursting is just an easy way out... IMO we still have plenty to play for and aim for, and if we continue to work hard on cutting out some of the mistakes that have crept in, and work harder on converting our possession into goals, we can still make a good stride forward this season. The key to remember is that our rise won't be overnight. We're improving on last season by far already, and if we learn these lessons, continue to strengthen the squad and keep the faith then think where we could be in a year or two. Rome wasn't built in a day. Have faith.

There's a fine line between thinking we're bigger than we are, and aiming high. There's nothing wrong with aiming high IMO, otherwise how else do you improve? Childish is a silly description IMO...

There never was a 'bubble' except to the media and easily led fans. We had a great start, we did well, we've now had some poor results. Most sensible fans didn't overreact to the good start, and they won't overeact to these defeats. We're a work in progress, and these are valuable lessons.

Everyone enjoying the blame game?! We've not played badly overall, but we've made some bad decisions and been punished. Still time to get it back, we'll see. No need to go OTT, it's something we'll learn from.

Just need to keep our heads and our belief. Not look to force the issue too much, or play too direct. Don't panic either. Poor goal to concede, Yoshida didn't deal with Agbonlahor, and perhaps that's a little rustyness from not having played yet this season. Other than that, we've dominated most of the half and there is a solid platform to build on. Now we need to push on and score. Twice. Keep the faith.

Careful, that almost sounds like you have some respect for her...

I'm not drawing any line... I agree.

IMO, that's a bit like saying 'well, yes, this human may well be in a cell that is 3m x 3m all his life, but he's got a 40" HD tv to watch, gourmet meals to eat everyday and a wide range of books to choose from'. They shouldn't be bred in captivity at all IMO. It is not their natural environment. Absolutely right it should not be - but that doesn't mean they can be excused for the things that they are, IMO certainly, doing wrong.

I accept all that. But humans are individual. I'm not even talking about men 'versus' women here, just that everyone is different, and so by making everyone do something the same way, when it could have clear medical implications for some of those who do it, is wrong, and actually potentially detrimental to the forces as they lose people to injury. There are some standards, probably most, that would not have any impact. I agree that wherever possible, our forces should all meet the same high standards. But are we so regimented (pun intended) that parade stride distance is more important than the health of some of our forces? What is to gain? Agreed, but a completely separate point.

The joke is trying to make everyone do the same thing. It is entirely feasible that by forcing anyone (men or women) to do something which is not within their comfortable range of motion, can cause injury. Whether that's a reason for a compensation claim is another thing, but medically, there is an underlying point that needs addressing here.

Well you're entitled to that opinion and I do agree that the understanding between a back 5 ia important. But today, the goals had nothing to do with that IMO, because they were moments of individual decision making. Clearly we'll have to agree to disagree but as I said earlier, I suspect the consensus would agree with me. Your 'clappies' comment, just like your earlier meltdown, is completely unnecessary though. Shame you cant accept alternative views with some maturity and discuss things like an adult though.

Ok well I dont that much difference in the questions but I'll go with yours... and the answer in my opinion would be yes... because they were individual situations that no other player directly influenced. Assumng you think the answer to your question is no, perhaps you could explain why? Quite why you needed to start along this path with your 'Jesus wept' comment still baffles me. Your lack of respect or tolerance for alternative views is not a good quality IMO.

Are you capable of debating the point at hand? Care to clarify my question? Do you think Lovren would've prevented their goals, given that they were individual errors by specific players, who were NOT Lovren's replacement.

Absolutely. I just hope the players and staff channel that disappointment towards improving, rather than it being a case of 'oh well, it was Arsenal who are rather good, so lets forget about it'. They didn't blow us away, they didn't carve us open... we could and should've done better. So lets make sure that next time we do.

lol, thanks for that reasoned reply. So just to clarify, you think that had Lovren been on the pitch, Boruc wouldn't have done what he did, and nor would Fonte have grabbed the shirt? I'm not going to, but I would suggest I have more basis for using the phrase 'Jesus f*cking wept' than you do, and I would bet hard cash that most people on here would agree with me.

Boruc and Fonte? So nothing to do with Hooiveld, who replaced Lovren. What's your point?

Nothing to get too despondent about today... although the goals were really disappointing, the fact that Arsenal couldn't score against us without us providing the assist is something. We weren't at our best, the injuries clearly didn't help, although credit due to Hooiveld who played well, when many would've expected that change to be something Arsenal might exploit. We want to be near the top of the table though, and so preventable goals can make all the difference. We could've come away with a point had our players not been so silly, and we should use that frustration to motivate us to be better next week. As Adkins would say, don't get too high when we win, don't get low when we lose. Recognise how well we've done overall so far this season, and keep building on it.

Go on then, I'll bite... why?

That's interesting... suggests to me that Gaston hasn't fully bought in to our way of playing/MP's plans, but that's just my interpretation.

I think it's worthy of a separate thread... I tend to assume the Transfer thread is more about potential targets and HCDAJFU's... this is more about the team/squad as a whole, and our club policy.

Ah well, in true 'I only care about players from my club/county' style, at least Carbs got a few...

Sorry, that article casts plenty of aspersions on Flowers, but in what way does it suggest the Ageas Bowl development is in trouble, or that EBC need digging out of the sh!t and taxpayers will lose more money?

Well done Keith, onwards and upwards!

My favourite reply since:

"Half True"?