Gallowgate Toon

I reckon we'll sign 4 this window, tbh. We'll move super slow but I think we'll bring them in. The quality, I'm not so sure about though

Knowing nothing about Saivet other than some basic journo tweets, the partnership would be infinitely better than Anita-Colback, I'm sure. I'm pretty happy to keep Sissoko as a wider player, I think he's more useful there tbh, but want a winger and to move Gini into 10 permanently.

Shelvey and Saivet as our new central partnership? The latter certainly sounds like he has an athletic, defensive edge.

Genuine question - isn't that what Sissoko is supposed to bring? I haven't watched enough of you this year to say. Not really a subtle enough player to be so consistent in the middle, tbh. Doesn't really like the dirty work side of the game, either.

Perez isn't a natural fit for the left but he's more natural out wide than Wijnaldum. He's a much more aggressive dribbler, is probably better picking it up in less congested areas (he's been caught overdoing it in central areas, recently, IMO) and has a decent cross on him - his left isn't bad either. It'd be great to see Thauvin get a run there with the remit of getting early balls into Mitrovic, though.

That's our best chance, IMO - it can't happen with Anita. If one of, if not both, Sissoko or Wijnaldum plays as a CM, they need a proper defensively-minded player with them.

Good to hear. I think the LM experiment worked for a bit but he's a prime player to work off a target man and, at present, our best goal threat so keep him there and use less of a drifter on the left. Who was playing where by the end?

Wijnaldum looked more involved in the middle, how did he do? I think playing Perez/Thauvin out there would be better for the team's balance; good to see a cross from the left set up a chance...

Have to disagree, I don't see much style. Flores doesn't really have much of a good reputation, either, I'm sure VI mentioned he was a pretty uninspiring, pragmatic manager, for example.

I don't think Watford play good football, btw. They seem to be strong and disciplined and get it up to the front 2 quickly who do plenty of damage on their own. Ighalo is class.

They have two strikers bang in form and a solid, strong team apart from that They also just got promoted. They happen to have a very well organised and forward thinking manager. And bought a lot of players in the Summer. They're a strong, athletic side with a pretty solid core and obvious strengths to play to. We have soft centre halves, weak midfielders, a lack of creativity and no obvious goalscorer. This team's no better than 15th.

Awful. Rest in peace, Pav.

Read the other day he's not abandoned the possession-based stuff, that's still the long term plan but he just doesn't think it's in this lot and is trying to play to their strengths on the counter. Gone way too far, obviously, as the whole set up is based on transitions now whereas we seemed to be mixing it up more before that dreaded international break. I don't actually think his selections are negatively-minded, he just keeps his 4 best attacking players higher up the pitch for opportunities to break as he thinks that's our best chance of getting in on goal while trying to keep our defensive unit more solid. You'd like to think with our coaching knowledge they'd now realise we have to start changing things...

Ozil Get a winger on the pitch and get early balls in so Mertesacker is on the turn. No need for a steelier midfield, here, so Wijnaldum in centre mid alongside Tiote (even if Gini and Perez swap, that'd be better). We can't carry on with this left side - a left back who can't kick and a winger that doesn't stay wide or ever tries to beat his man.

His continued existence is really annoying. I could see why McClaren plays him and Anita, considering our massive defensive deficiencies, but I'm at the point now where I just want to see a change. Get Wijnaldum back somewhere central and a winger on the left.

Interesting that the pen incident came from a cross from the left. You'd like to think that gets noticed...

Some of his one-touch stuff, again, was great in the first half. Such a shame we don't have a good crosser in the squad that can beat a man and then play in a good ball or two per game. He's obviously not the best finisher, at the moment, and he shouldn't be let off the hook for some frankly awful misses that a professional footballer shouldn't be making, but we'll need to play to his strengths if we're going to see him improve. Really hope Thauvin can break into the team soon or we sign a proper winger. Hopefully Aarons can stay fit for a week and manages to get a look in.

Not defending these two but part of this is due to the tactics - two deep centre mids almost on the toes of the central defenders every f***ing game gives the opposition midfield free reign to do as they please in the middle of the park. We didn't start deep, though. We tried to push higher and were getting absolutely torn through. We only looked vaguely competent when the team moved deeper, closer together and tightened gaps. It's obviously hard for a midfield 2 to play against a 3, but especially hard when your two aren't even good in the first place. Central midfield is our absolute achilles, it effects how we defend and attack so much. The two central midfielders were deep and on the toes of the centre half from the first minute, as they have been almost every game this season. They weren't at all. That's why Everton were finding so many gaps in the first 20. We were playing quite a wide, relatively high shape and they were playing triangles through us with the extra man in the middle with massive ease.

He's finding it harder and harder to find space as we have no width to exploit, teams are getting men on him and Sissoko and we're not stretching play well enough. Probably knackered too. He was great for a 10 minute spell in the first half, fell off the map after that. Any momentum going forward seemed to stop after Anita went off, he'd actually played some good forward passes that got us opening them up a bit with one-touch moves. For the great dribbler he is, he's very conservative when up against the full back one-on-one. He should just try and do them.

I do have sympathy for him in that the players, on the whole, aren't good enough and are totally ill-suited, but he needs to do something different now. It's all become stale bar the odd spell.

Not managed these last 2 games well at all - the lack of well-timed subs has been really poor. Needs to give something else a run out now as this shape's just stagnated.

Far too late with subs. Poor.

Anita played some nice forward passes. We've missed him since he went off.

Played alright in patches. Some nice one touch play, for once. Could go a bit more direct at times, though. Thauvin on after 60 mins, please.

This. Why do we always need the 2 DM's on? Didn't McClaren come with a reputation of decent football at Derby? Because our defence is shit and we got broken on with massive ease? Might also want to keep Wijnaldum and Sissoko from doing loads of defensive work?