Lush Vlad

Yep. And the fact that he is our best option as a 10. Means we certainly don’t have one and shouldn’t bother trying that formation.

Exactly! So it gets sung twice in the wrong place. I knew I wasn’t imagining it.

They've almost managed to get the words right and all. Better than what our fans sing, anyway. I always hear Scotswood Road in the first verse and sometimes twice in the second

Gordon has done nothing to show that he is capable of playing as a 10. He is limited technically and his passing is pretty bad IMO. I don't think we have a 10 in our squad. The only one who could possibly do it from a technical standpoint is Bruno. But he isn't particularly mobile to put it politely and I think with the players we have. Our build up is reliant on him moving the ball further up the pitch and getting on it a bit deeper. I think the game would pass him by playing there and we wouldn't find him anywhere near enough. Murphy back in would be a step backwards. He isn't good enough to be starting for a Premier League team who wants to be top half/in Europe.

Did I imagine us finishing 4th with him in goal or…. Keepers make mistakes. It isn’t anything new. He is making a few more than you’d expect this season. But I still think he brings a lot of positives to this team, personally. Even though like all of our squad. He seems below his best. Which is a concern, but another discussion entirely.

I think that is an instruction, mind. No DM to pick them up and Schar or Burn/Botman often aggressively follow their man as far up as into the other half of the pitch.

What about when we finished 4th and he was in goal I think like most of our players, he has been below his best this season. I also think if we want to fully evolve as a team. He will need to be upgraded in time. But I do still think whilst it will be simple enough to get a keeper better with their feet. I don’t think it will be cheap to get one that matches or beats him as a ‘keeper’.

Strand Larsen at Wolves is doing really well. I’d never heard of him until this season. But every week on the highlights he seems to be scoring old school centre forward’s goals.

I was just thinking this pottering about and sulking after yesterday’s game. I think one, possibly two of our big name players will be on their way in the summer. Especially if we don’t get Europe. With what they are worth to us and the market as it is with FFP. I’m not sure there will be a huge market for say Bruno or Gordon. Isak is different. You’d imagine the elite level clubs will all be interested. But his injury record is starting to look patchy and he’d cost so much. I wonder if clubs would pull the trigger at say £100-120m?

Yep. The same story all over the park. Not sure who it was who said about the partnerships we have built up in this team and it’s what made us so good and now it seems lacking. That was evident yesterday. A lot of miscommunication with who is doing what, where the pass is going, what run to make etc. I’d like to chalk it up to a bad day at the office. But it’s becoming too regular now.

I agree with this. Before he joined. It seems like he played more as a right winger in his career based on the below: https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/anthony-gordon/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/503733 He is just having a poor season and it doesn’t seem to matter where in the front 3 he plays. I thought he has arguably been at his worst on the left. Not sure if teams have just figured him out and we struggle to get him in space and isolating a defender. He’s a bit below his levels because of injury and/or burn out. Whether it is still a mental thing after we were trying to sell him in the summer. All of the above? Whatever it is. He doesn’t seem right at all. Not to go all amateur psychologist. But his body language and demeanour seem off. Doesn’t look as arsed about the game, winning the ball back after he’s lost it yet again, tearing about like a dog going after a ball. That was what made him so good.

He was their best ball players yesterday. He really is brilliant on the ball. Seems weak as piss for a CB, mind. Barnes ragdolled him late on and I didn’t think it was a foul. Seems to happen to him at least once a game whenever I watch him for England.

I thought he actually looked ok on the right? Not like he had a good game or anything. But he was our best attacking player. Incredibly low bar to clear, mind I feel like with an actual striker on the pitch. He might have had an assist. I reckon we would have had a shot, at least.

He has been below par this season. But I don’t think he’s been as bad as people have made out. He was dreadful yesterday, mind. Most of his forward passes seemed like they were straight to a Palace player. When it wasn’t even a hard ball to play. Especially for someone as good as him. Like the rest of our team. He seemed to panic and struggle with his attacking passes. Moving him further forward didn’t help us yesterday. Even though Tonali was our best player by a country mile in the deeper role. His lack of mobility certainly stood out on the right. Perhaps why Howe has been so reluctant to play him there in this system?

His passing radar was fucked all game. Like Solid Snake let off a chaff grenade that only affected him.

I thought there were a few dodgy moments. The Sarr/Munoz chance was down to slack defending from both him and Burn. But they made amends. He’s been brilliant this season. For the most part, he was great again today.

Not really a massive issue. Callum Wilson has just returned to full fitness.

Brilliant performance. Pretty much the only player to come out with any credit. Hall was good for most of the game. But some of his defending was criminal. I guess Tino was solid enough and Barnes was ok on the right. Proper straw clutching here, mind.

Can’t grumble too much. As he got us our undeserved goal. But in the words of the late, great Ray Wilkins ‘MY WORD’ he was shite (again).

I’m an unashamed Pope fan boy. Personally think a keeper as good as him will be disappointed with that. I think he should have saved it. However. It is poor defending and I don’t automatically assume getting beat at your near post is always keeper error. I feel him for a bit. As he was quality otherwise……

It actually hurts me to say it. But I’m now similar to this.

Not even sure what you’re on about here. You’re generalising, as none of this shite appplies to me. The same as your comments about the prediction league (that I don’t play in). Like that should have any bearing on the result and how we played. So because a depressed bunch of fans predicted a draw or a loss off the back of a shit result against West Ham. That means it’s an ok/decent result? We can’t factor in anything else? Like the fact that we played like a League Two team that have been on the piss all week. The fact that without great last ditch defending, solid goalkeeping (until the end) and shit finishing from them. They would have been out of sight before we scored off our only chance all game. Go on with your myopic views all you want about this being a ‘decent’ result. Maybe that would ring true if we hadn’t just been beaten 2-0 at home by a dreadful West Ham side and we’d put up something close to a performance today and not the utter AIDS we served up. You’re just playing Devil’s advocate at this point. That performance was indefensible. I love Howe and it is not all on him. Certain players need a good hard look in the mirror IMO. EDIT: I was pissed last night may have went a bit OTT. Sorry. But the general point still stands.

West Ham are playing well