Stottie

Just when you thought the club couldn't lower your expectations any further....

I thought the same, albeit with him as a right mid with a right back behind him, not as a wing back with us playing 3 CBs. We can't be any worse at 4-4-1-1 than we are at 4-2-3-1.

If we're still spending more than other teams, it doesn't matter if they are Carr's tenth or eleventh choice. He should get us players that are better than other teams. He should also get us players for the positions we need. Watford managed to sign most of their squad in the summer and they have twice as many points and are organized/professional enough to concede half as many goals.

With the squad as it stands, 10 With our position, the other contenders, and McClaren talking about new players as if it would be natural for him to get them, 8.5

I wonder how many times we've defended it in training.

Aye a hoof that Colo watched, and Conor Wickham had time to hesitate and half miscontrol. Some "tactics".

Has Ayoze touched the ball?

Being done by Conor Wickham ffs. This is rock bottom.

Cacapa struggled with basics like the bouncing ball too.

If there's a whip-round to pay for it, I'm in!

This is like watching under 9s football.

jammy twats

TAKE THAT YOU SMARMY BASTARD!

Needing a reaction, he goes for Cisse. Christ, this could be painful.

We were poor against Bournemouth for sure. Based on quality chances created though, I would have said we were more unlucky against Stoke than lucky against Bournemouth, so its swings and roundabouts. If that's the best Bournemouth can do when clearly on top in a game, they will be relegated. I think most people would say we were hard done by against the mackems. So going into last week's game, I thought we could have easily had a couple of more points on the board. Our defending against Leicester though was simply inept. We also failed to create anything at home, while losing, against one of the leagues' worst defences. Based on that alone, you'd have to say we looked like a cert for relegation. There were no positive signs at all.

I wasn't too concerned going into last week's game against Leicester, but it was a huge step backward. Our worst performance of the season. It was much more alarming to me than our current league position. We need to snap out of it straight away.

A better CB than Colo and a better CM than any we have now shouldn't be that hard to find, even in a winter window. I'd be tempted to go to Man U, get Valdez, and give them whatever they want for another player in return for making that happen. Say 10 guaranteed starts for Tyler Blackett or McNair, or Pereira or one of their other fringe players. I think either of those CBs are the finished article, but they'd put much more effort in than Colo.

Shelvey is quality. Don't know why Swansea would want to sell though.

Gouffran ffs. I'm clinging to the hope that since we looked reasonably motivated against the mackems, we might manage it again against Pardew. If they're not up for this game, we are well and truly ferked.

This for sure. Goalscoring is a definite art. I can't understand why people were so unquestioning of Man U selling Javier Hernandez. A completely proven striker in the Premiership and the CL and he went for under ten million. The same with people saying Kane was going to be a one season wonder, the new Michael Ricketts. Just look at the positions he takes up, his balance, and how he hits through it. Austen looks the real deal too. You can't fluke that many playing for a bad team.

We are TURBO TURD!

Only one clean sheet for them this season, an awful game if you saw it against Mr. Front Foot himself Alan Pardew. Palace lost it when one of their defenders dawdled on the ball late in the game and Vardy pounced. Hopefully we'll be up for it and have a go at outscoring them. I can see it being end to end.

Everything points to a Norwich-type open game. They're a determined team for sure, but are riding their luck to be as high as they are. They've only conceded two more than us. Second in the league in long balls, so over the top or knock down from Ulloa is a clear strategy. Bottom of the league in short passes per game and a lower average possession % than us, so we should see plenty of the ball. They concede loads of goals for an average number of shots conceded, so no keeper heroics by the sounds. League leaders in goals from penalties, five, which is two more than anyone else and five more than Arsenal, so may be prone to going down easily. Pretty good in the air in terms of challenges won, but not so many goals from set pieces.

17 PL goals in 45 games. Turned 22 in the summer. 10 goals in 11 England U21 appearances. Should be a handy PL striker for a good while yet. The U21 top goalscorer record includes everyone from Shearer and Lampard to Francis Jeffers (joint top), Carl Cort, and Shola. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_national_under-21_football_team#Leading_goalscorers I looked it up because I remember hearing Shola was top, but it must have been among regulars at that time.

I think we'll be okay. That said, Bournemouth type injuries to key players and we won't be, so I kind of hope we won't be too well placed in January and two or three players get bought. Twenty something points by mid January and you can see Fatty leaving things as they are. The brinksmanship we had last time, and that year the Bosingwa howlers kept us up. If the whole thing about transfer windows is just a bluff and they have no intention of buying anyone, we need every single point we can get any which way and pray that Ayoze, Mitro, Wini, Janmaat etc. stay fit.