Cronky

They were overwhelmed last night. They couldn't cope with the atmosphere and the aggression that we put into our play. Having said that, they are a young side, with some home-grown players, who try to play skilful football, so it would be good for the game if a team like that can compete at the top. Not at our expense, of course.

It feels like we're back. I've never completely lost faith in Longstaff. With the pressure off, he looked a lot more like the player that we thought he was two years ago. I'd like him to stay.

Chris Waddle was pretty bad when he first made the first team, but that can be put down to inexperience at that level. I was astonished at the player that he became. He's the only one that springs to mind. Well done, big Joe.

I offer two pieces of slightly contradictory conventional wisdom. 1) It is easier to coach good defending than good attacking, because the latter requires natural flair. 2) A team is strong from the back forwards, and the middle outwards.

I was in the same year at school with his son, so I should have remembered him. Another senior moment.

Yeah, I think it might be a good time to get him. He's dropped out of the spotlight a bit, and Everton seem to be strapped for cash. Some good coaching can get him to the level where he ought to be. It seems that we're also trying for Osimhen, who looks to me like a similar player. With these modern single-striker systems, it's great if you have an all-rounder who can give you a bit of everything.

He seems to have got worse as his career has gone on. He looks huge. I wonder if he's been using the weights too much.

Out of interest, any other players whose name is a palindrome?

I've only seen glimpses of this lad, but he actually looked quite strong, in addition to being technically gifted. He didn't look like a lightweight ball player who would get bullied at the top level. All the current signs point to him making the grade.

If this award is made by a fans vote, then it's meaningless, so it's not something I feel too strongly about. The LMA award is the one that counts, and depending when that vote takes place, I think he's in with a shout. Of the five players that were brought in, one isn't very good, one got injured early on, one needed a bit of easing in and the performances had already started improving before he made an impact, and the other two were squad players at other Premiership clubs. Big Dan Burn made a significant improvement to the defence, and we might not have stayed up without him IMO, but Eddie has over-achieved on what was available to him. We were as bad as Watford and Norwich, and needed to improve to get past Burnley and Leeds, but Eddie took us beyond that. The other factor is the pressure that he was under, taking on a big club in a desperate situation, with low morale amongst the squad and the supporters. He's shown guts as well as intelligence. Sorry to pontificate, but I'm genuinely moved by the warmth and high regard in which our man is spoken of by his players. I'm just a little bit proud of my club now.

I thought we we'd had it after the summer transfer window closed. Thanks to our new owners and an inspired choice of manager, we've made it with two games to spare. Great stuff, and hopefully a fair bit to look forward to.

My feeling is that Howe's more aggressive style has improved our performances against sides of around our standard, but we've come unstuck against teams like Spurs and Man City who are able to defeat our press. You could argue that we should have been more cautious against those teams, but at the same time I can see why Howe would want to retain a certain pattern of play in a consistent way. The new signings have helped, but all in all I do think that Howe has over-achieved with what's been available to him.

A few months ago, some were touting him as the best player in the world, which I thought was overkill.

Good shout. Great finisher and tailor-made for that Liverpool side, but the hype has got way too much.

This may come back to haunt me, but Declan Rice. A good player certainly, but I haven't yet seen a performance which suggests he's worth £100m+.

John McGinn Joe Gomez

When Americans take over Premiership clubs, I always wonder whether they've really digested how difficult it is to get a return on your investment, or just break even, and how big the risk is of losing loads. In their major league sports, there are all sorts of protection for owners - salary caps, draft procedures to ensure a more even distribution of talent - and more significant - none of the huge financial implications of getting relegated or losing out on Champions League places.

On reflection, this will come as no surprise to Howe and the squad. I think they've been dealing with this kind of attitude for some time now. Howe will assess the state of play and decide whether this latest statement changes anything. Ultimately, the guy has made himself look stupid.

Unfortunately, even if they turn up tired and a bit dispirited, they still have enough to beat us comfortably. It's very difficult to get the ball and retain it against them. They strangle the opposition.

That is a terrible thing to say in a situation where we still have important games coming up and team morale is crucial. Howe will now have a tricky decision as to whether to play him. There have been so many warning signs about the player's general attitude over the last few months. He's off at the end of this season.

I know what you mean. There's no rule which says that a team with 43 points can't be relegated. The media often proclaim that a team is safe or sure to win the title prematurely. It only takes 2 or 3 results for the picture to change and the pressure to be back on. And I don't fancy going to Burnley for the last game still needing something. Hopefully it's just the pessimist in me talking, instilled after so many disappointments over the years.

Beaten but not disgraced. I can't think of a single, clear-cut chance we created, unless you count the offside ones. They played their offside trap very well.

Considering the opposition, we're doing okay. The big difference comes in the final third, where Liverpool are deadly. We look rushed and don't have quite enough precision.

That's a good read. Brains and passion in solid harness. It was interesting what was said about our pressing game. Rafa and Bruce didn't consider that we had the players to press higher up the pitch, and just had everyone behind the ball asap. I thought they were right. And whenever we did try to press, it looked indecisive and unco-ordinated, and obviously the whole team needs to be committed. Eddie hasn't introduced the sort of full-on press that Liverpool and Man City do, but somehow when the team does try to press, it looks like the players know what's going on, and who should commit and who shouldn't. The next three games will be a big test, because we're against 3 teams with the pace and skill to beat a press. I wonder whether Eddie will make some adjustments, bearing in mind the experience with Spurs.

Sorry folks, just looked at the link again, and it said that Southampton will not listen to any offers for JWP, from us and Spurs. I got carried away by the excitement.