sixx

It's a damn shame we weren't able to bring in a proper striker this summer as we could have sent Mitro out on loan. He needs an extended run of games and he needs to prove to the club he can be relied on.

And rightly so! Coloccini wouldn't ever have done that.

Really solid victory today. Rafa is laying the foundations for a very formidable team it seems. Feel like Elliot should have done a bit better in the goal but he made a couple of great saves. Clark and Lascelles seem to be a very solid pairing and my lord is it refreshing having a threat from set pieces. How we managed to get Mikel Merino is beyond me. Just has that class about him. Passing, tackling, closing down and his movement in general, this guy is the real deal. Also was it him that gave Yedlin a right bollocking after giving the ball away late in the game concluding in Diouf's header? Liked that. Good to see Atsu chipping in with a goal but should have done better when he was through on goal. I'm not sure where we would be without Ritchie and his left foot. Such a vital player for us and a real leader to boot. Man of the match for me. Ayoze did well in closing down especially in abusing poor Darren Fletcher all day. Good finish for his offside goal but he needs to get more creative and be more of a goal threat. Can't afford having a #10 that isn't pivotal to our attacking play. Joselu had a rough day and seemed too eager to stick it to Mark Hughes. More than ready to give him a chance and see him start in more games but I wasn't impressed at all today. Lacked composure and confidence but at the very least he's getting himself into scoring positions. Also nice to finally have some competition for spots. Being able to call on the likes of Gayle and Shelvey from the bench is very useful plus we've yet to see something from Murphy and Aarons. Bring on Brighton!

Joselu just doesn't have enough quality. Need another striker so bad.

With it not being shown of tv, you wont get it anywhere other than on the internet. Welcome to the city though, where about you based? Ahh shit didn't notice. Just moved into a flat in the west end last week, love it here already!

Does anyone know a good place in Glasgow to see the game? Just moved here so any advice appreciated!

Great post Heron. Also amazing what defensively Benítez is capable of achieving from our squad. Often we've probably had better players for defensive positions but these days we're just so well drilled. Gone are the days I feared we could concede 5 or 6 goals against any given opposition. Most of the times under Roeder, Pardew, Kinnear and McClaren there was no defensive confidence at all and we were able to crumble against the likes of Leyton Orient just as well as Arsenal or Man City. That's the most important foundation to build on and injects confidence to both team and fans. At least going into games we can know that any team is going to have a hard time breaking us down.

I'm going to give this guy the benefit of the doubt especially since Stoke fans generally seem bitter about selling him. I'd be satisfied with this window if we spent a considerable amount on either a striker or a #10. Maybe we can do with Gayle, Joselu and Mitro until January or later but we can absolutely not do without a #10. Benitez seems very insistent on playing a #10 so it's imperative we have a proper player for that position as there is absolutely no one in the squad who has the first idea of playing as one.

Really glad we brought in Merino. Can't be relying on this wanker.

Send him out on loan for a season. We probably won't be able to recuperate what we paid for him if we sell him in the summer so why not give him a chance to redeem a little bit of his value and confidence. Maybe (probably not) he improves massively and we can sell him for an okay price or decide to keep him.

I'd like to know this as well. Some on here mentioning a 'new spine' to the team which all sounds very, very unlikely and probably irresponsible. I highly doubt Rafa wants to bring in 5-6 new starters to the team and thereby dismantling the team he's trying to build. Two or three for the starting XI at best would be my guess. A centre back to challenge Lascelles' spot, a left winger for Gouffran and a no10 instead of Diame. Of course I would love to see the likes of Dummett replaced but I wouldn't be too hopeful and I'm not too confident either that the club brings in direct replacements for Hayden and Gayle. Are you sure about that? He was happy to chop and change his squad all the time at Liverpool. They made 79 signings during his tenure (not all are 1st team). Now that you mention it - not a 100% sure! Maybe I'm just trying to temper my expectations. At the very least I want to see competition for places as the likes of Lazaar, Gámez, Colback, Perez and Mitrovic are providing very little to nothing.

I'd like to know this as well. Some on here mentioning a 'new spine' to the team which all sounds very, very unlikely and probably irresponsible. I highly doubt Rafa wants to bring in 5-6 new starters to the team and thereby dismantling the team he's trying to build. Two or three for the starting XI at best would be my guess. A centre back to challenge Lascelles' spot, a left winger for Gouffran and a no10 instead of Diame. Of course I would love to see the likes of Dummett replaced but I wouldn't be too hopeful and I'm not too confident either that the club brings in direct replacements for Hayden and Gayle.

We won't be signing many players jumping straight into the first XI I'm afraid. I'm not even sure Ashley is willing to spend money on a striker when there's already one with probably 25 goals for this season on the books. We probably won't be signing a top class centre back either - probably a back up if Mbemba leaves though. Rafa has been allowed to sign a left back and a goalkeeper but neither of them have shown to be better than Darlow and Dummett so I highly doubt these will be areas where Rafa is allowed to splash some cash. However we probably/hopefully will spend money on a winger and a central midfielder. Atsu and Gouffran are leaving and Rolando Aarons uses a wheelchair for all I know. Preferably we should be bringing in two wingers. We have seen how vulnerable we are when Shelvey and/or Hayden are out so that's probably the position Rafa will put most emphasis on as Shelvey has been patchy in the Premier league and Hayden has no experience of it. Bottom line is - we have some foundations of a spine for a team and I'm not seeing Rafa or Ashley dismantling that any time soon. And that's okay for me as long as we address the problems of our most vulnerable areas.

Shrewd signing. Glad to be proved wrong on him and Clark.

We just can't create anything without Shelvey. Worrying.

Pedro being Chelsea's new Lampard. Loves a deflected goal.

Can we just take the time during the festive season to remember his bicycle kick? Glory days.

I wish I hadn't visualized that.

I honestly can't stand people like you.

Find it really strange how so many seem to be in a hurry to offload him. I can understand that if a serious bid comes in but for the first time in donkeys years we actually have some competition in the team and especially so up front. Thankfully Gayle is banging them in but should he go off the boil, get suspended or injured Mitrovic is pretty much our only other option and he offers something completely different to Gayle. Just feels like a lot of people are getting way ahead of themselves, strikers of his ilk aren't really easy to find plus the guy clearly loves the club and hasn't been all bad. Should be showing more patience and give him some time. It's not like we have much to lose.

Diame needs to be substituted. Doesn't really offer anything.

So annoying not even being able to see the game to know where it has gone wrong.

Tony Hibbert.

File under: Alan Shearer, Matt Le Tissier and Francesco Totti.