steve_69

You also have to bear in mind we lost our only specialist left-back, our most effective winger, our captain and most accomplished CB, and arguably our best CM for 4-5 games. With such a thin squad we were always going to feel the impact of those injuries.

Aye. I guess that depends on who we can bring in to replace him. For example, if we sell Mitrovic and bring Sturridge in on loan, i'd say that's probably good business.

Not doing well enough with the sub-standard tools he's been given

Yeah, it always works out well when you write off a player after what, 6-7 games. Give him a chance FFS! There are plenty of players who cost 5-6 times what Lejuene cost who have also struggled to adapt to the pace of the PL. We don't have the luxury of waiting to see if he adapts, he's costing us points at the moment and he needs to be dropped, as a mater of urgency. No we don't but we haven't exactly got a load of options have we. Lascelles is back now anyway so Lejeune will probably be dropped. As Rafa has said many times, we are where we are because we did what we did. If you're only able to pay up to £10m for a CB you're not exactly shopping at the high end of the market are you.

For me he kind of is to be honest. Partly because any criticism directed at him is diverted from where it truly belongs, but also because he's by a considerable margin the best manager we'll ever get under this regime. If we get taken over, he spends 50 million+ on new players and still isn't getting results then I might have a few words to say, but until then for me he's bulletproof. Ditto. Yep.

Yeah, it always works out well when you write off a player after what, 6-7 games. Give him a chance FFS! There are plenty of players who cost 5-6 times what Lejuene cost who have also struggled to adapt to the pace of the PL.

For me he kind of is to be honest. Partly because any criticism directed at him is diverted from where it truly belongs, but also because he's by a considerable margin the best manager we'll ever get under this regime. If we get taken over, he spends 50 million+ on new players and still isn't getting results then I might have a few words to say, but until then for me he's bulletproof. He’s not like no person is he is making some poor decisions and should be open to question about it. Everyone has sympathy with the restrictions the fat c*** has put to him but he certainly still isn’t beyond criticism when deserved. The team selection and tactics used in the last couple of months certainly deserves questions being asked. I keep saying he is not a god. Just don’t understand why there are many supporters seem disgusted when a managers decisions are being questioned when a total of 6 points out of 33 has been accumulated over the last 11 games surely any manager would be under the same scrutiny at any club given the same circumstances. Because we finally have a manager we can absolutely trust because he has succeeded everywhere he has been. You might not agree with his team selections or his tactics but that doesn't make you right if we don't win. It also doesn't mean Rafa has made a mistake. It's in our nature to question things that any manager does, it's part and parcel of being a football fan, but the FACT is Rafa knows far more than any of us and the most likely scenario is that he's right and you're wrong, hence the reason he's a world class football manager and you work in an office?

I’d play Shelvey every game from the start, but we scored 2 tonight and probably created another 4-5 decent chances. Our issue tonight wasn’t a lack of creativity, it was a lack of defensive competence and that’s not something Shelvey wouldn’t helped with.

Chris Wood, Jonathan Walters, Sam Vokes, Ben Mee, James Tarkovski, Charlie Taylor - the list goes on.

The argument always seems to be Pardew,Rafa, Ashley or transfers etc etc. Burnley have a totally average squad and a far less decorated manager who is making the best of it. You can’t compare our squad with theirs FFS! They have average PL players, we have good Championship players. They also have a shitload more experience than we do, which makes a huge difference.

I’ll reserve my judgement until after January

True but doesn't explain leaving Shelvey that does it, if you're so short on quality you don't really leave out your one creative player. If it's because he doesn't trust Shelvey in a two then make it a three and even then, he bloody well trusted Shelvey in a two against Liverpool, i think the no trust in a two is utter bollocks. Yeah, I do agree on the Shelvey thing. He should be the first name on the team sheet for every game IMO

You have to take into account that our Championship standard team has been without 4 key players during this shit run, arguably all of which are PL standard - Merino, Dummett, Atsu, Lascelles. When you’re working with a squad as shit as ours, the last thing you need is for it to be made shitter due to injuries.

I’m beginning to think we need another centre back as well. It’s the only position I thought we were well stocked in but Lejeune needs time that we don’t have and Clark is looking dodgy as fuck

We can’t defend for shit! That’s the most worrying thing about this run. And whichever of you Lot said Darlow is better than Elliot, you must be fucking high!

He’s having another absolute stinker!

We’re getting murdered in central midfield. We need to take one of the strikers off and go 5 in midfield.

To be honest I’d probably accept Nigel Farage as our new owner if he ran the fucking club properly

Kevin Miralles on loan would be nice. Hopefully Fat Sam doesn’t rate him and continues to leave him on the bench

As a newspaper or online publication, there's no easier way to generate traffic at the moment than to comment on our takeover. We're all so desperate for an update that we'll hang on any titbit of information and head straight to any website that offers it. The fact is no one knows anything, they're just best guessing like us. So far we've heard £350m in instalments over 3 years, £300m in one payment with a relegation clause, £250m in a lump sum with no clauses. That doesn't strike me as a group of people ITK. I'm still quietly confident.

When I look at Henderson I don't see any attribute that is above average. Shelvey might be average in most areas but he is an exceptional passer of the ball. What is Henderson's outstanding attribute? I've never watched a game when he's been playing and thought 'wow, Jordan Henderson has had a great game'. Granted i don't watch him that often but it seems his upper level in terms of performance is just 'good' or 'didn't do anything wrong'. He never takes a game by the scruff of the neck like Gerrard or puts in a truly standout performance like Lampard, Mata, Fabrages, Eriksen, Ozil, Can, Wanyama, Lemina, and given the position he plays in i guess these are the players he needs to be compared with.

Jordan Henderson is punching way above his weight IMO. Take all those quality players with exceptional movement from around him, stick him in the England team and he shows his true standard. Bang Average! There's no bias on my part either. I could've give a shit that he's a mackem, he could be called Jordano Hendersinho for all I care - he'd still be bang average

He's only been playing in the Premier League for what, 3-4 months and for most of that he was injured. Plus he didn't have a great grasp of the language when he arrived did he? Lascelles has now developed into a good CB but he was written off by a lot of people, people who are now eating their words. I reckon he'll come good. There's enough there to suggest he's a decent defender. There aren't many defenders who come into a struggling, newly promoted team in the Premier League and look like world beaters. Look how much City paid for Mangala, Stones and Otamendi - you could argue that they all faired even worse than Lejeune in their first seasons. Lindelof at Man Utd looks turd at the moment and he cost a fortune as well.

Who would you name as an average player from another team out of interest? Jordan Henderson

Hopefully, with a takeover on the horizon and it almost certainly being dependent on us still being a Premier League club, Mike will bend a little bit on certain things. I can't see him releasing more transfer funds but relaxing the wage structure a little bit and allowing Rafa to pay loan fees would definitely help. We know he's a risk taker but he's not just gambling with our beloved football team this time, he's also gambling with his potential £50m+ profit.