Cronky

Both players are fairly young and lack Premiership experience, so it's impossible to tell how long they'll take to find their feet, if they manage it at all. However, left back is a problem area, and Almiron is likely to be an improvement on our current options, so overall I'm not too disappointed. The big fingers-crossed situation is whether Rondon stays fit.

What did you have to say that for?

Always seeking to get involved, takes responsibility, can pass as well as put his foot in. His emergence is a real bonus.

You wonder what the point is in having an experienced ref in there to explain the decision (which after all is a fairly standard one), if they're then going to carry on regardless.

We're still hanging in there, and there's a chance we might get something from the game. A second goal for City would open the floodgates though. Rondon has done very well with very little. His fitness is vital for us. On the debit side, Yedlin is a real liability.

It amazes me that pundits and commentators on TV are paid for their knowledge and then it turns out they don't know the rules. If you take a free kick when the ref asks you to wait for the whistle that's a yellow card. That's basic.

Admittedly I've only seen him on YT, but I've not been impressed. Hopefully better than Atsu, Murphy or Ritchie though.

Yeah. Tries hard but he struggles to keep hold of the ball when put under any pressure. Mind you, that could be said of a lot our squad.

Good shout.

Looks like a very good all-rounder. I wouldn't talk of potential, I think he's arrived.

A mistake, but not that bad a one. The ball was swerving and bounced right in front of him. He's a great shot-stopper, but not always sure of himself when coming for crosses. That's his usual weakness, but still our best keeper for some time, as others have said.

Whilst there's Rondon, there's always hope. But we need to get lucky. Ayoze has been very poor. Just can't keep hold of the ball.

I can only think that doubts about his defending have held this player back. Either that, or he's struggling with a long-term fitness issue. Such a shame, because he looked great on the ball, and often when he came on, it seemed that the whole mentality of the team became more positive. Hopefully, he'll come good in time.

First time I ever saw the Toon was 1968, at Old Trafford. Man U beat us 6-0, with Best getting a hat trick. He absolutely tore us apart.

According to KK himself, he hasn't been banned. He just doesn't feel that he would be welcome. Whatever the rights and wrongs, when you try to sue someone for £25m, they're not exactly going to roll out the red carpet afterwards. The Modric transfer is a bit of a mystery. I can remember that after the deal went through and rumours of KK's unhappiness surfaced, Chris Mort actually wrote in the following match programme that we had actually outbid Spurs in terms of salary and transfer fee, but Modric opted for Spurs regardless.

He's always been quite error-prone, though there has been some improvements over time. The calls for him to be in the England squad were premature.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45313122 I think that's the statement from Owen that has got Shearer a bit annoyed. He's practically admitted to conning people for the last years of his career. What complete mugs we were for buying him.

The two signings I was most pleased about were Rondon and Ki, and we've seen little of Rondon and nothing of Ki so far. The whole atmosphere around the club is a worry though, and I think we'll have a situation similar to last season, with every club below the top eight, at some stage or other, in danger of going down. It really depends on how we react to that challenge.

Expectations went through the roof after last week, quite unrealistically. It was down to earth with a bump today, but he can still do a useful job for us. I mean, there are reasons why Chelsea don't want him.

Two poor sides, but Cardiff played with more heart. Ironically, the red card seemed to ease the pressure on us a bit and gave us the jolt we needed. The ref was a homer, allowing the crowd to make his mind up on a few occasions. We seemed to lose out with quite a number of 50-50 situations in the midfield. Ritchie, Shelvey and Diame aren't particularly sharp and I think the balance doesn't look right.

I'm interested to see what Ki can bring to the side. Shelvey and Diame did okay but they're both a bit one-paced.

He'll be an important player for us, because he can create something out of nothing, but I don't think he'll make the grade at Chelsea. That bad first touch which caused him to fluff that easy chance is the weak spot in his game. He often gets away with it because he's so quick and strong, but not always. Still, our man of the match for sure.

Damarai Gray looked ready to fulfil that huge potential of his. He should have a good season. Pogba looked in great nick - I think that's the best I've seen him play for Man U. Sanchez often lost the ball in good situations. He also looked huge, like he'd been overdoing things in the weights room.

Leicester looking good. Man U looking short of coherence and confidence. And is Alexis Sanchez actually as good as his reputation suggests? I have my doubts.

I think the reality is that Rafa is actually more happy with the signings and with the people that he's working with than he was making out during the transfer window. If I'm wrong, and he was as unhappy as he was suggesting, then he should have quit.