TRC

I don't think he was ever pacey but decent enough. He has seemed pretty slow tonight, reminded me of Nobby in his second stint.

One bit of skill doesn't make a good player, nor does 2 poor games make someone a write off.

Obertan is a fucking odd player. Out of the people on the pitch none will start against Reading anyway apart from Cisse, so I'm not too fussed about extra time.

Who did Fergie come on for? Stream froze.

An overated manager who will get found out this year. Nice bloke though.

Yeah it's a shit competition, and has no real value apart from an easier route to Europe.

Cabaye is just a luckier Cattermole....

long way off yet Up there with Pedro in terms of talent.

Best player we have ever had.

That man is a ledge, read about him in Stu Ungars biography, another awesome read.

Yep especially Sunderland fans, I know a fair few that are spot on. I do know some typical RTG posters though

I need to retire from betting, only 12 quid left in my account. Currently reading Amarillo Slims autobiography, and it just makes me want to become a pro gambler. Everyone should read it by the way.

How was Lloris excellent if they only had one shot?

I don't think Gosling is that type of player, he's more of a Kevin Nolan without the physical presence. Just off Shola tonight he might have been alright.

Yeah but this isn't the sort of game worth risking him for another potential few weeks out, only 4 weeks till the derby, I'd rather play Perch to make sure.

I wouldn't rush him against Norwich, I'd be happy with Perch in there and Anita at right back.

Sounds just like Ronaldo to me

I disagree with the idea that we can't have better backup in the striking department. We had money to spend there which was proved by bids for De Jong and Carroll. We were prepared to pay double-figures for both. As a team building on 5th place with money to spend, there's no excuse for why that shouldn't have been achieved. I know that's a conversation for another thread, really, but it's relevant here. It's certainly frustrating that we don't have a 4th option upfront, regardless of what other clubs are doing. We threw away Best and Lovenkrands, who weren't special but still experienced players who could score goals. We've replaced that with absolutely nothing. And i'm not laying into Shola. As i say, i love the guy and i think he's a good player. We know his foibles though and i'm just pointing out his failures tonight. Can you really argue that he didn't waste chances this evening? Like i say, good player but that's nowt fresh. Ideally we should have kept Best, I'd love De Jong here or Carrol back, but I can't see either of them being happy to sit on the bench at a club of our stature, or we would have to shuffle the squad to accomodate them which could backfire. I think Shola should have scored, but we was on a tough pitch to be fair and he only learned to cleanly strike a football 2 years ago.

Bear in mind Cisse was ill, or he probably would have started. Shola can't really win can he? Saved our arses a few days ago with a quick cameo. He's by no means perfect but look at what the other clubs around us have as back up strikers. Anichebe for Everton, Harry Kane at Spurs? Liverpool? Arsenal? Chelsea? All pretty light up top. We are lucky to have 2 top class strikers, it would be nice to have a back up striker like Hernandez or Dzeko but we can't compete with that

Commentator over here was comparing Shelvey to Gerrard...

How's that? People wanted a back up striker and Shola was our best player tonight along with Bigi signed this transfer window. We kept a clean sheet with a backup defence pretty much. Eh? If we'd strengthened the squad in the window we wouldn't have to be playing teams comprised of utility players, youngsters and reserves. I absolutely love Shola but he shouldn't be the next best option after Ba and Cisse. It's been that way for years. I'm not criticising the performance at all. In reality we should have won but the weakness of the players on the pitch prevented us from doing so against an inferior side. I think Shola is a decent option for a 3rd choice striker, It's all well and good wanting someone better, but realistically who is going to want to come here to sit on the bench and be behind Cisse and Ba. Especially when both strikers aren't guarenteed a start at the moment.

How's that? People wanted a back up striker and Shola was our best player tonight along with Bigi signed this transfer window. We kept a clean sheet with a backup defence pretty much. Ameobi simply can't score. We knew that years ago. He's not good enough to start games in any competition we play in. He was unlucky tonight, and he had no service at all.

Metalist are decent tbh. Your point is pretty much invalid as the beat City.

How's that? People wanted a back up striker and Shola was our best player tonight along with Bigi signed this transfer window. We kept a clean sheet with a backup defence pretty much.

Does it matter if we finish 1st or 2nd in this?