Gallowgate Toon

I agree with H. I simply cannot see this superb technique everyone talks about. Even if he puts his goolies back in he'll never make ripples in the PL. Some of his touches are absolutely outstanding, as is his close control. When he was arsed and in a great run of form, he was holding players off and dribbling through etc. I think he'll always be someone that plays within himself and never try to run games, somewhat; but if he plays for the right team for him next season he'll bag close to 15 goals, I'm sure.

Actually you are wrong, he was ever present until the end of November when he picked up a knock, the next game he was supposed to be on the bench but refused, the next game he played was against Palace where he strolled about and clearly didn't want to be there and after that was the Oxford debacle when he was pulling up his socks watching a 4th division player run past and score. Not long after that a lot of Swansea fans were celebrating, not believing the luck. I honestly thought he would help save your season as he can do it if he really tries, I wasn't so confident he would remain mentally with it past the end of the season though. I thought he'd been dropped in early November.

The Swansea improvement is also a bit unfair to cite. He hadn't been playing for them that much when they were doing poorly. Their better results came with a new manager, iirc.

His short passing is also good, like. And you can't teach the vision he has. The ball for Perez against Bournemouth being a prime example. His close-range dribbling is also good, as are his set pieces. He's poor defensively and not the most mobile (but I don't think he's as bad as being made out to be, on that front) but he's still a very decent technical footballer who will piss the Champ. With the right state of mind and in a system that suits him, he'll perform in the PL.

Ritchie?! He's looked pretty average in the PL games I've watched him.

Was pap against West Ham & Watford early doors. We aren't going to sell him because he's been pap. He had some good performances and poorer performances in the season openers, he was OK. Like most defenders of his type, the partner is very important.

I thought he started the season OK, was reasonable in that period when we actually won some games but then he went downhill. Been generally good for the final stretch, especially when paired with someone that complements him.

The styles are different but I expect Mitro to post his Jupiler League numbers in the Champ.

There's a few worth keeping and building on. We need to create a spine to this side, an identity that goes beyond this division. Will be glad to see the back of many.

Think a decent team will snap him up and he'll be great. He's just completely unsuited to being in a struggling, against-the-run-of-play side. He seemed like such a good character, never been so disappointed in a player, tbh.

He's not that strange. Cabella, Thauvin, Marveaux were all similar. Very talented but didn't relish the close quarters combat nature of English football much is how i see it. It's still a much more physical game here than it is on the continent. Some can handle it like Ben Arfa, but that can sometimes be a problem for managers with huge egos and we end up giving them away because they don't fall in line with the tit in charge. Wijnaldum seems absolutely fine with the physical side of the game, to me. He'll regularly hold off bigger players when under pressure etc. When he was in such good form around Christmas, he was pelting it around for 90 minutes too, still making lung-busting runs at the end of matches.

He's the strangest player I think I've ever seen. Really good footballers tend to want the ball, he seems to have no desire for that. So disappointing.

It's easy to say 'he got it wrong' but it also depends on the mentality of the players. I actually thought we started OK; we had more of the ball for the first quarter of the game, IIRC, it seemed to me that we tried to start quick but lacked the edge for whatever reason. It was after that we eased off/got nervous that it wasn't going to be easy and they grew into it, that was when we gave them far too much respect as the players' poor mental resilience shone through. Poor finishing when well on top fucked us over. Colback and Mitro, man. I think there's a tiny, tiny slither of a chance that he could stay. He seems to strike me as a man that really wants to build something, now, and I don't think he'd mind a year in the Championship on the way to growing that. He nigh on went 2 years out of the game, after all.

If only we'd bought a goalscorer in Jan Mitro could make it as a 15-a-season PL striker in time but that's not now, awful it was put to him and Cisse to keep us up. I hope he stays and continues to develop here. We've got some promising young talent at the club, I just hope we can keep the core and mix it with the right level of experience next season.

I think the mackems will lose on Wednesday, just to make the last day excruciating

Tragic performance. Absolutely no clutch in this team at all.

You fucking twat.

We need to f***ing make this count, like. Just don't sit off them.

Giving this lot far too much respect.

Reckon the mackems will pick another 4 points up this season. Hope creeping in. If only we'd drawn at Norwich, man.

You say pressure, but I'd see it as a boost as one of their fans considering they'll now see it as being completely in their hands. Of course it's ultimately a benefit to be in control of it for themselves, it's whether the team - who've not been used to getting to safety like this in recent seasons, iirc - can cope with that sort of pressure. They've always struck me as a better underdog side, they've always seemed to knack up the 'easier' games in previous years.

How much have they been out of the bottom 3 this season? There's added pressure on them now that they're seen as favourites. It's not like past seasons where they've pulled out underdog victories against 'big' sides. Their last 4 games has seen them get 5 points, I doubt they'll get anymore than that for the next 4. This is their level under Big Sam with this squad, drawing a lot. There's potential for us to get better under Benitez for these last 3. I'm going to be optimistic

They're picking up a lot of draws - 5 out of their last 7.

Exhausted

Not sure his move to start Cisse was a good one, here. We'd have a better chance of bypassing their press with Mitro starting.