Gallowgate Toon

We played well all second half, tbf. Cisse should've levelled within minutes of the second half.

Whilst I doubt Mitro and Perez would've performed as well starting as they did coming off the bench last week, I would've started at least one of them for this. It only works as a motivational technique if they feel they have a legitimate chance of starting because of their sub performances. They'll probably be fine coming on today but it won't last long. Reckon SMC is taking no risks here and thinks starting experience should see us have a better team attitude from the off.

Mahrez's run of form beats anything HBA put together here, imo. He looks a better player overall, some of his decision-making is just mint.

Mahrez, man.

de Jong is clearly a very technically talented player, as well as very intelligent, and his style of play is probably the most suited in our squad to breaking through teams that sit deep and get bodies behind the ball (which is what I expect Villa will do). I'd prefer to see us trying to pass through opposition like that rather than dribbling. So let's pick a guy who's done f*** all for us creatively as opposed to the guy who's got us goals and assists this season, reducing his contribution to 'dribbling?' Who said anything about dropping Perez? I'd play both, I just think you're being incredibly dismissive about de Jong's ability as a footballer. Your argument was about skill and trickery, not scoring goals, so you reduced his skillet yourself

de Jong is clearly a very technically talented player, as well as very intelligent, and his style of play is probably the most suited in our squad to breaking through teams that sit deep and get bodies behind the ball (which is what I expect Villa will do). I'd prefer to see us trying to pass through opposition like that rather than dribbling.

If you keep Mitro and Perez on the bench after their performances, you take away some of the motivation to put their all in. At least one should start next weekend.

The pass that set up the infamous Cisse save was mint. Didn't even look, just pinged it right in Papiss' path first time. I really hope he starts against Villa, I think he could make a massive difference as his one-touch play is just so quick, it should open up spaces for us much better around the box.

Gini, man

Maybe not a bad idea in theory. The fear with that plan is that Thauvin isn't in any way proven as a creative force for us yet Of course, but I've been slightly more encouraged by his recent (sporadic) cameos for some reason. If there's a game in the league for him, this is the one to start. I think de Jong could be a massive asset for times like this too. Some of his one-touch stuff today was the exact type of play we'll need, especially with Gini ghosting in.

Villa will probably come to sit deep and I don't think there'll be enough space to dribble through from the off. Thauvin's a good technical player and this is the exact sort of game you'd expect his best qualities to come through: slower pace, more emphasis on shorter passing combinations, need for tighter control. Same with de Jong.

Controversial, perhaps, but I wouldn't start him next week. I think we need to try something different for these sorts of games and would go for something more technical that somehow revolves around de Jong, Perez, Wijnaldum & Thauvin.

Head coach McClaren has previously admitted that his team are too quiet – on and off the pitch. But the players finally had something to say as they attempted to reorganise after a challenging first half. “Half-time was a big, big test for this team,” said McClaren. “I thought we’d competed well and were really disappointed and angry with the goal. The players at half time were great. It was a win for the players, this. They were terrific at half-time. “I’ve come in at half time before and the dressing room has been quiet and disappointed. “But it was so vocal, and there was such a determination amongst the players not to lead down the normal path of losing the game. “The response in the second half was fantastic. I think we grew, got stronger and deserved the win.” Asked who the “big voices” were in the dressing room, McClaren added: “To be fair, there was so much going on. “Robbie Elliot, (Fabricio) Coloccini – to be fair all of them, all of them. It was a question before of we couldn’t get anything from them, (but yesterday) we couldn’t shut them up. “Everybody took it on board, and that is the pleasing thing for me. “We’ve not won back-to-back games for over a year, and not had a comeback win for about a year, so to do was immense. Encouraging, actually. About time this lot started to show more desire and general balls.

I thought he was pretty solid. Showed some good link up, decent positions off the ball again, him nicking in for a header got the move started that saw Cisse save his shot. I'd start him at Villa, I think that's the game we'll need him more than any other. It's easy to forget he actually needs to adapt, even just to playing football rather than the league itself

If he had a credible partner, I think he could work in a middle 3. Needs someone physical to do more of the dirty work, though.

No risks and it worked for us.

His finishing has been very hit-and-miss. He could've had 6/7 already.

I think he's shown some great skill in his time here, already, more so than his physical side. Some of his one-touch link play is absolutely brilliant and he's shown some great vision on several occasions.

I wouldn't say that, like. We're still massively short at CB and CM and we won't get much consistency until that's rectified, IMO. But we've got goals in us so the confidence boost should at least help us on that score. At least now if we go behind our heads shouldn't drop and that's been a big issue for us all year. Next week is a huge test. We're usually absolutely awful when we open up our shape a bit due to our lack of athleticism and I'm not expecting much from the winnable fixtures we've got coming up.

The current style is far away from how we started the season and he seems to have just gone for something more short-term, not that we were playing any different when we last looked competent 6 weeks back or so. I'm not that bothered about a philosophy, for now, our players are too mish-mash and any longevity in style is going to take some smart recruiting (HA).

I wouldn't say that, like. We're still massively short at CB and CM and we won't get much consistency until that's rectified, IMO.

He's our best player, IMO. He's a fabulous footballer and is always, always looking to find a position to score. I thought Sissoko was a bit turd today and would consider dropping him for Villa. Wijnaldum inside right with Janmaat pushed up, Thauvin on the left for some actual supply from both sides of the pitch.

Impressively, we actually kept shape and the players did the dirty work to help us grow back into the game.

They should be rotated based on form. They weren't playing well for a bit, it was changed, they've now come back sharper and at least one of them should start next week. We've ignored the squad game for too long. It's worked, here.