Gallowgate Toon

Good point, grinding performance. Commentator I had called that Shelvey pass 'a simple, strsight ball' After 6 games, I feel pretty confident we'll be alright this season. Could've been much better with some simple investment but I don't think we'll go down.

Have to admit I feel this way myself. Just seems to have been an utter load of shite spouted about us since day 1; from how good we are, to pretty much saying we're down after 2 games, to fans, to controversial incidents. An aspect I miss about the Championship.

Was interesting because Sidwell on 5 Live the other night was saying he was the best finisher he'd played with in his time at Stoke. Strikers are streaky, tbf. A couple of games seems very little to judge him on his goalscoring.

He's very hit-and-miss against deep sides unless he has something to ping the ball in towards or everyone is making space for him. It's where his lack of athleticism and ability to consistently beat a man gets the better of him. We've got two athletic young wingers in the squad, they have to have a part in games like today.

Interesting that Rafa played Merino the further forwards of the pair. May have just been me, but it looked like Shelvey had put a small amount of weight back on. He certainly didn't look as slim as the Spurs game/preseason.... I liked how they were interchanging positions. You could see as soon as Shelvey came on that they got players to stick to him, having someone who could fill the role and take some heat off him was actually nice to see. Just a shame that neither had more direct targets to consistently play towards. Agree - we looked pretty anonymous in the final third. That's what you get much of the time with Perez though. They had 11 men behind the ball for the last 40 minutes of the game and restricted space really well after going up, tbf. I'm not sure how Rafa thought we were going to open them up enough without someone to aim at and mix the tempo of play up.

Interesting that Rafa played Merino the further forwards of the pair. May have just been me, but it looked like Shelvey had put a small amount of weight back on. He certainly didn't look as slim as the Spurs game/preseason.... I liked how they were interchanging positions. You could see as soon as Shelvey came on that they got players to stick to him, having someone who could fill the role and take some heat off him was actually nice to see. Just a shame that neither had more direct targets to consistently play towards.

Really good again - he's a gem. I wish he'd had a little more confidence in some of his passing in the second half, felt like he had some more direct options at times but chose not to take them. Probably smart and what Rafa wants, but sometimes we need to risk it a bit more.

I thought Merino and Shelvey showed some decent understanding, tbh, and it'll only get better if they start. There will absolutely be games where the two should play together, like.

I've found him fine recently but today was one of his days where he delayed every decision and it really wasn't good - it just slowed us down. He and Hayden should've been off after 60 minutes.

Murphy is raw but would've been absolutely no harm in trying him out today for the final 20. We needed some more pace and direct play out wide, especially with Ritchie off the boil.

As Perez is pretty much playing as a second striker and not a #10, I'd honestly look to try Gayle in the same system with Joselu in certain games. They could rotate between that second role accordingly.

Joselu's link up before today has always looked very decent to me. He wasn't at it today, though.

The most annoying thing is this is the sort of game we should be drawing when we don't play well. Absolutely moronic decision from Lascelles with that free kick, man. Frustrating.

Yeah, I'm not feeling Hayden at this level yet. Doesn't deserve to start the next one, IMO.

Not good enough. Had chances, didn't take them, stupid mistake from Lascelles cost us a needless goal. Thought Rafa made a really poor choice in keeping Perez on. He was having a poor second half, slowing everything down, and it totally allowed Brighton to sit deep and nullify Gayle without a focal point around him. Joselu will get stick for the last 2 games but that's still too small a sample size to judge. He wasn't in the game enough is my biggest criticism.

Poor defending.

Again, fairly comfortable and had some good chances. We should really have buried one, as should Brighton.

Don't we have a relatively high number of shots per game? We're hardly West Brom. We attack quickly and efficiently when we have the ball. I watched the West Ham and Stoke games with a neutral and he enjoyed both.

I'm pretty sure Lejeune is right-footed. I also really want to see him play more but he'll get his chance soon enough.

The best thing about him is his touch on the ball. He shows some outstanding close control - so aware of everything around him.

Loved seeing him back. Great sight to see him flying up and down, like. He'll be a massive asset this year.

Shelvey's a better overall passer, no doubt. He can do it all. Merino is good at it but he's less creative.

More than half of this league is s**** though. We'll be fine Aye. 4 of the 5 teams we've faced have been 'shit' and we've been pretty comfortable in and have deserved to win 3 of those, should've drawn the other. There's plenty more in this league just like it. Also, Stoke finished top 9 three years on the bounce until last year. They're hardly shit; they're average.

Have always felt with Rafa in charge we won't go down. There is quality in this squad, they simply need to be managed correctly.

Hard work and some genuine quality. Top result. Should've been 4-3!