Gallowgate Toon

To be fair, Shola's little bit of link-up in the box with Marveaux (before he slipped) showed the potential of having a good target man. You can't forget how cumbersome Shola is, he slowed down a lot of moves today and lost the ball a number of times trying to be too clever when he had options around him. A proper target striker would have been popping the ball off a lot quicker and would have allowed us to build attacks, and momentum, better. Take last night's team and put a proper left winger in it, alongside a striker with some ability on the ball and we'd look far more dangerous.

Is Ayew more a winger or a striker?

we don't have any actual wide players full stop except for Obertan and maybe Sammy. Its a bit of a huge problem It's massively problematic, like. We were so narrow today and there was just nobody that stuck wide who can deliver a ball, Marveaux and Ben Arfa in the team meant we were always coming inside and that didn't suit our strikers. Sammy actually kept wide and stretched them out a bit, his productivity is just nowhere near good enough.

Going to be turd watching him persist with 4-4-2 for the foreseeable. We just don't have the right personnel for it, both out wide and up top, today showed that.

I could see the theory of him playing but he's just crap, Gouffran links play with more pace and actually moves well, really poor decision.

If our manager wants to play 4-4-2 then a striker capable of linking play and a left winger. Criminal today that we had no delivery from out wide, it was far too narrow.

I respect him for wanting to play 2 strikers and was curious to see how it would work today but we simply don't have the right players for it. There's not enough width or delivery in the squad and we desperately need a second striker to link play effectively, Shola is just way too slow to be any good in that role.

I know he's not a winger but I expected more of him, in all honesty. I was looking forward to having a left footed player on the left but he drifted in too much, making us even more narrow, and I don't remember him crossing the ball at all in open play. He simply just doesn't have a winger's mentality, he's not direct enough. Sammy was more dangerous when he came on but his delivery is absolutely woeful.

Much better.

This. He was solid, him and Anita were pretty vocal as well.

Plenty of the ball, some nice passing interchanges but generally blunt and far, far too slow.

How did he last 90 minutes?! He's just too slow, both physically and mentally. Tried daft things far too often too, like trying to Cruyff turn 3 players on the edge of the box.

Played some lovely passes and was solid. He was my MOTM.

Just doesn't have the physicality to compete in a midfield battle, AM is the only position he can consistently play in this league.

Decent team (bar Shola) if that's what it really is. Going to be good having a left footer on the left and 2 creative midfielders on the pitch at the same time.

Probably Giggs but Williamson's injured, he doesn't start training again until Monday.

Well for now yes, but once Remy is fit and if we sign some more players i wouldn't be adverse to dropping Cisse at all. That's why I said come Saturday I'd be delighted with: HBA Gouffran Remy

We need as many goal threats on the pitch as possible, Cisse and Gouffran are our only true goal-getters, they both need to be on the pitch come Saturday.

Marveaux and Ben Arfa supplying Cisse and Gouffran's movement should be a real threat, I really hope that all 4 start this weekend.

I didn't catch the second half, how were Colo and MYM at CB?

Krul Debuchy MYM Colo Santon Ben Arfa Tiote Sissoko Sammy Cisse Shola Could well be that.

Pardew will only get stick if he fucks up the starting 11, which he could do. The team pretty much picks itself at the minute but it wouldn't surprise me if Shola and Sammy start with Gouffran and Marveaux bench-warming.

From what I saw, he should have stayed on last night. As always, he was a willing runner and was economical with the ball. Really underrated player.

Gomis and Thauvin?

Didn't realise he'd said we need more players in the squad and he hopes the chairman spends money. Fair play for saying it in public.