Cronky

When was that?

Man U had their period of domination because they had the best manager of all time, and they have a big income stream due to their large support base. It wasn't down to huge outside investment. Likewise Liverpool were well managed over a long period of time, and once success is achieved, it can generate its own momentum. In the modern era, with meg-rich owners with bottomless pits of money, there needs to be some form of financial regulation to ensure that we don't end up with one club in a dominant position. What we're seeing now with Man City has no previous parallels. In recent weeks, they haven't just beaten their rivals like Liverpool and Arsenal, they've completely dominated them. And really, whatever you might think of FFP, those are the established rules which clubs (including City) have agreed to adhere to. If City have not been doing that, then they are guilty of cheating and there is no game if competitors are allowed to get away with cheating.

This will be as tough a test as we've faced. Our players will be entering a bear pit and the opposition will be pumped up for it. Fortunately we have the best manager in the league and there's no-one better at getting his players in the right mind-set.

Looks like a major talent, but doesn't seem to be linked much with other clubs. Maybe there's some question marks about his application / attitude or something like that.

Disgusted we didn't make double figures today. Hope Eddie reads the riot act.

You’ve misunderstood. ‘Always do your research’ was a message to myself and an acknowledgment to this board that I’d got it wrong. Peace and love.

He is something of an unsung hero in his second spell and our promotion season. Keegan received all the attention, but Terry Mac worked his socks off every game and made a big difference.

Indeed - always do your research. He just looked so waif-like amongst those central defenders.

The usual picture at this pressure point of the season is for the teams that have over-achieved to crumble, and for the clubs with the better squads to restore normal service. I think we're seeing this with Arsenal and Man City unfortunately. But I'm backing Eddie to defy convention and close it out. He has that combination of steel and calmness, but he will need the help of our home crowd. We'll have some sticky moments, and they'll need to be patient.

There's a lot of hype around Ten Haag and what he's supposedly achieving at Man U - it got very irritating after the Carabao Cup Final. So yes please, a Brighton win.

I don't think we're going to spend nearly as much money in the summer as some journos are assuming. They look at the Saudi billions and think we're another PSG or Man City. It looks to me like they're going to stick to FFP and a careful, long-term build. So for that reason, I don't think we'll sign Joao Felix, and Eddie is known to be not so keen on loan players. I've not seen a lot of him playing for Chelsea, but considering that he's about 5 foot tall and has been asked to play lead striker in a disorganised team, I thought he did really well. Lovely skills and not short of courage. PS - The Samu Chukwueze link may have more substance. He looks to me like an enchanced version of Miggy. PPS - Just took a look at JF on You Tube. OMG - him and Isak together. Won't happen, but those two would wreak havoc. PPPS - And that Chukwueze forming a front three with them. Please someone make it happen. They would destroy any defence.

He's certainly changed the way the game is played at the top level. My hesitation is that he's only managed Barca, Bayern and Man City.

Aww.... he's even kind to animals.

Well I'm in the ABC camp - anyone but City. Apart from the concerns about the legitimacy of how it's been achieved, their primary objective from day one has been to completely kill off all competition and establish a monopoly. Things have moved steadily in that direction over the last 10 years, and I can't believe that people want another Bayern or PSG.

We may have been lacking a certain psychological edge. When we play one of the big six, we have the status of underdogs and we're strong in the face of good opposition, and perhaps also play with a bit more caution. This felt like the first time we've played a really good side, but with the mindset that we ought to win. I don't think we were complacent, but it was Villa who were the ones who could claim underdog status, and we didn't really cope with their aggression and energy. Having said all that, we had a few chances at 1-0 down, and goals can change the whole momentum of a game. Overall, we didn't deserve anything, but defeat wasn't inevitable.

Thought Chelsea played well between the penalty areas, but that's not where games are decided and the lack of a finisher told on them. Even so, if they'd scored first it could have been a different story. For once, the team played with a bit of passion, and the Champions League seemed to give them a bit of extra motivation. For once, they actually looked like a team. There's no shortage of potential in that squad, but I assume that because of FFP, the new manager will have to wield an axe. Could be another 'season of transition'.

I can only surmise that if they get in a comfortable position and the opposition has to commit men forward, they have the talent to take full advantage. If the game is tight or they go behind, they find it difficult to break a defence down. I think they put a lot of eggs in the basket of Nunez, but it hasn't worked out. On a related issue, why don't they play Alexander-Arnold further forward? His defending is notoriously suspect, but he's brilliant on the ball.

I agree with this. There isn't an area of the team that can't be improved. That's not to say that the current squad is doing badly at all, but several players are performing to their limit, and could be upgraded for the general benefit of the team. We only have one player in Isak who is a regular starter for their national side. We're doing well because Eddie is squeezing the max out of each individual.

Ah, now that's worth knowing. I thought it may have been something to do with how he performed against Brentford.

I think we were already aware that our squad is nowhere near as good as our league position suggests. How we've conceded so few goals is one of Eddie's great achievements. Yesterday we came up against a team that was able to expose that. I'd agree with the view that Longstaff would have added more defensive solidity and that might have kept us in the game for longer, so maybe Eddie underestimated the Villa threat. He's made so few errors in his time here that it feels odd to say that. But this is our first bad result for such a long time. A good result next week will see us right back on track.

He was robbed of the ball in his own half a few times today, and their first goal came after one of those incidents. He wasn't under any great pressure - he just looked awkward on the ball and the opposition scented blood. Eddie has a tricky decision to make.

When I first saw the selection, I thought we might be in for a change of plan, with a 4-4-1-1, and Gordon having a free role around Isak. We played our usual 4-3-3, but that left a CM trio of Joelinton, Bruno and Willock. Without Longstaff, that looked a bit weak.

We've been getting away with a slow back four and no DM all season, but today we came unstuck. They dominated us physically. I don't think it was particularly down to a bad performance by us. If that had happened against one of the big six, we'd be accepting it. But we don't expect that from a team outside that group. However, they've been getting a string of good results recently, and we could see why. The fact is, our team has been over-achieving for the last 15 months. Let's not get too despondent when we lose to a good side away from home.

Open up the Dark Arts box, Eddie.

We're losing most of the physical battles, and our lack of pace at the back is getting exposed. Not without hope though. A goal will change it.