DuncanRG

When did he say that?

The Townsend who's shown flashes for England and rarer flashes for Spurs, absolutely. The Townsend who's only shown flashes, no thanks. Not encouraged by his tantrum with Pochettino.

It's really difficult to imagine us playing without a strong, tall striker. When's the last time we went regularly without one? At least seven or eight years, and even further back if you want to remember the last time we did it and played well. If we're going to bring in a genuine alternative to Pelle - or even a replacement - it will require either a similar type or a rethink of how we play which I don't think we can do in the middle of the season. I'm not sure what Koeman has in mind but I suppose what he might fancy is someone to plug the gap left by Rodriguez. I'd be very pleased to sign someone of that ilk but don't have any suggestions. As for the names mentioned: I'm a fan of Remy's when he plays properly but I question his commitment and his wage demands. Austin is a hugely expensive injury risk. Callum Wilson is promising but little more at this stage, and obviously isn't an option for January anyway. I don't watch any foreign leagues but suspect the best options are from outside the Premiership. I was fascinated by our interest in Javier Hernandez but that's a dead duck now. I agree with this, too. I'd much rather have a Cabaye or Sigurdsson with Pelle than Davis with another striker, good as he is. I quite fancy Wijnaldum if Newcastle go down.

Have Palace spent much more money than us? What about Leicester?

This season is likely to be be the first time in 5 years we don't improve our league position year on year. Frankly, we're due a bit of standing still.

Fair play to 'em! Perhaps we can even recover some pride by losing to eventual semi-finalists or something

Well, it doesn't say Wanyama is definitely going to Arsenal, so that's one difference!

Arsenal make Victor Wanyama their number one January transfer target (John Cross/Mirror) Names Porto's Gianelli Imbula as a potential replacement we've been looking at. Discuss.

Maybe the best defensive signing if you exclude keepers, but that's not saying much considering only a couple of major teams bought in that area. Alderweireld's his only rival, and considering how improved Spurs defence is I'd probably pick the latter. Clyne might be a shout as well for consistency, though Liverpool fans will know that better than me. Neither are anywhere near the best signings overall, not over Mahrez, Cech, De Bruyne, Kante, Cabaye... Schneiderlin might prove to be one of the best but hasn't done so yet.

Portsmouth or Eastleigh, obviously

He was rightly criticised after the Villa cup game for being lightweight.

He did look bright yesterday - put his effort either side of Guzan and we'd all be singing his praises!

Most teams play 4-2-3-1. Big physical starting strikers off the top of my head: Pelle Benteke Giroud Carroll Gomis Costa Gestede (though he hasn't started for Villa all that often Lukaku Mitrovic So yeah, quite a few do it and many do it with success.

You know you're talking trash when you specify a position as random as 14th. Refreshing to hear the MOTD pundits less gloomy about our performance, though I don't agree that we'll be 'reasonably happy' with the point!

Pelle is very isolated at the moment. Sticking Mane in the hole might be a solution but we could equally serve him by moving the ball quicker and regaining our width. Fonte and Van Dijk are taking two or three touches before moving the ball out wide, giving the opposition a chance to get tight to Bertrand and Cedric.

When's Mahrez shown this form before? You'd think Southampton fans of all people, who spent five years worshipping Rickie Lambert, would know the difference between a late bloomer and a flash in the pan. In an ideal world they probably would, but it's also a risk to sit back and hope all your rivals do the same. I think that's partly why Man Utd lobbed so much money at Martial, and he didn't have a quarter of the visibility Vardy has.

This is more than form, he's showing class and qualities that every team want in their frontline. It's not like he's a fox in the box who's been lucky to stick a few goals away over 11 games, he's earned them all through clever movement, pace and deadly finishing. In fact, in many ways he's what we want Mane to be. He won't keep scoring every week, obviously, but he won't lose those abilities. He'd be an expensive gamble in January but if he maintains a high level for the rest of the season the big clubs will be competing to sign him. That's why they appear to be 'interested' at the moment, making enquiries and keeping an eye on things, rather than leaking stories to the tabloids about 'sensational swoops'. I'm a bit baffled that people are talking about £30-40m for Mane. If he fulfils his potential we might get a figure towards the lower end of that scale, but he hasn't been playing nearly well enough to justify that so far.

I couldn't watch the game last night, but why is Caulker a pub team player now? Surely a bad game is a bad game, as his City performance was a good one?

We all know Chambers is the shining example, but he also gave Gallagher his debut and many other opportunities, brought Reed into the fold with the first team and gave debuts to McQueen, Rowe and Sinclair. He played Ward-Prowse in practically every league game (sometimes from the bench) and, of course, helped develop Shaw as well.

I didn't mention Pochettino, but I do want a manager who can do what he's doing at Spurs. He did it to a lesser extent with us.

The last handful of our games or Villa's games? They really are diabolical. Plus I'm sure we'll be desperate for a win too after last night.

What's the mean? Is sitting 10th in the table, having finished 7th the previous year, a rapid regression? Think you're overdoing it there.

Who saw a Schneiderlin in Schneiderlin?

Worth remembering that, with the possible exception of Koeman, our last three managers have taken us to another level without appearing to be a 'step up' at the time they were appointed. At this very early stage, more than a year before Koeman is likely to leave, all I want is someone who believes in academy players and can successfully blood them.

Hope you enjoy the sport, at least! This feels an awful lot like the build-up to the Norwich game earlier in the season.