YNGLEGIONNAIRE

Based on absolutely nothing except the way his game has developed under Rafa's guidance I think he's seen as the cornerstone around which Rafa wants to build his team. If the fat one tries to profit from the sale of Lacelles I think that would push Rafa over the edge .

It's ironical that we're in this precarious position yet we have two guys in Lacelles and Diame who , on recent performances , can each be credited with having a galvanising effect on the team . Colossus would not be a misplaced adjective for either of them on current form . Long may it continue . And if Shelvey can maintain the level of commitment and performance that he displayed yesterday we will be fine .

We still debate about the torturous years and having managers who had no strategies or structure for developing the club and the team on the pitch . Send them out and hope for the best is basically what we've had for years , it had gotten to the point where a hell of a lot of us didn't even want the team to win , because the charlatans at the helm were credited with any crumbs of success . Here we have a genuine , astute and hugely respected figurehead as our manager and we are doubting his methods ? I know things can be frustrating at times , but this guy knows exactly what he wants from every player in every position on that pitch , and he wants every player on the books at all times to know what's expected of them . The fact that a great number of our playing staff are not up to the job is a major issue.Rafa will stick to his guns... We need to stick with Rafa.

Surely we must see the bigger picture here. Rafa is not in it for the quick fix , and thank God for that . He is setting out his blueprint for " the Rafa way ".. which we found out in the Championship , can be frustrating at times... but with which he has won so much in the past . He wants this model to run through every fibre of the club... Which means he sees this as a long term project . The problem lies with how long it takes for him to be provided with the resources he needs to complete the task . As far as this season goes he has been shafted as far as the quality needed for the job in hand .

Agree... We were ecstatic when we beat them at our place so let's not forget we are just up from the Championship so the double completed over two established PL teams recently shouldn't be underestimated . And in those two games Rafa demonstrated what he could achieve given the right backing . Our attack looked full of purpose .

Recognisable fret emerging to our attacking play via the WHU & Stoke games

It's the only win we've had there in the PL. Seem to recall we won there in the Coca Cola Cup(?) under Keegan in the mid-90s. Won 0-4. Was serious trouble before and after the game apparently. Aye. . Was there and it was like the wild west... Just gangs attacking each other left right and centre but you couldn't tell who was who

Spot on

Like the majority I'm desperate for Rafa to pull through this . But he does make errors of judgement . Darlow , Elliot or Woodman ? What about recalling £ 6.5 million Sels from his loan ? .. a Rafa signing and an even worse keeper than Darlow or Elliot

Nobody else in the squad with his skill of fluking a goal

Elliot is a reincarnation of Mike Hooper struggling to live on a slimming world diet

There's a tangible improvement to the atmosphere thanks to the dogged efforts of the singing section and flag displays . You can feel that even the recent slump in displays and form on the pitch haven't seen a return to the days of apathy in the stands . Of course having a manager we all want to believe in helps . The crowd tried to lift the team yesterday and it just feels like a proper stadium again

Was in the metro centre tonight . Heard a couple of lads tell him to get rid of Joselu.

Murphy the only positive from this showing. Worrying that we have neither an attack that will even give the opposition something to concern them , never mind score , nor a keeper to win you the odd point when you're "up against it". Between the two "business ends" is a squad struggling to match the standards required in this league . And when the best manager we could have hoped for is not coming up with any answers it's difficult to see a positive outcome . Even with huge investment any new players would be required to hit the ground running . Hope this is just me panicking but the signs are not good.

Is "newly promoted teams are soon "found out " a statistic ? Maybe I'm just misguidingly quoting the revered TV pundits . But I'm certain that my post should have said "there " and not "their"

It's an oft quoted statistic that newly promoted teams are soon "found out " after a decent start . Everyone's found out that we're toothless and can attack us without fearing much in return . Not so long ago their were those amongst us lauding the fact that we hadn't list heavily. 7 goals shipped in 2 now.

The sentiment of retaining Daryl Murphy would have been much better than signing Joselu was echoing around where I was sitting . As a footnote I think our fans efforts were commendable in trying to rally the "troops "

Sorry, my bad

Not strictly true about not having been given funds to invest in a keeper... 6•5 million for Sels wasn't it?

Thought first half was decent. Agree with a lot of comments but don't understand the lack of concern that we're losing to the "lesser" sides home and away and have the real big guns to face yet. I would consider our fixtures as a reintroduction to the PL up to this point to be fairly undaunting, much worse to come .

Ah well... maybe just as well , but having said that anyone know if his form has picked up, wherever he is ?

Even more satisfying if Bolton do them on Tuesday. .... Ameobi . Alnwick. Armstrong.

Simplistically, maybe Mike can see the adoration the fans have for Rafa and has no intention of sanctioning the financial backing required in January. ... He wants out before the backlash... A backlash so severe it would inhibit and devalue any following deal? Thus quick sale preferred?

So refreshing ( and humbling ) to see our club with a manager who can mould and drill a set of players into a genuinely stable and capable unit after the recent chancers we've had in charge. As pointed out above , give this guy quality tools and who knows what he'll achieve , it's almost scary to dare to believe what could happen , after all this has been a soap opera club for so long . Rafa will make mistakes ( eg. Mat Sels ) but what he has already resurrected from the pits of despair that we had become makes him a candidate for legendary status.

Agreed, plus the more positive fan groups there are the better. A rivalry wouldn't be too bad either if it was all about trying to make each end the loudest etc. As long as it's all in good spirits of course. Was just about to say the same about the rivalry thing . It was one of the elements that contributed to the special match day atmosphere of the old SJP . In the days when the Gallowgate had no roof there was "banter" between the different sections of the ground , such as the "scoreboard" , the "paddocks" the "corner" . If the noise used to dip the different sections used to goad each other , thus raising the volume levels again all round the ground. Another element to the match day experience was the buzz and build up around the town for hours before a match. Saw signs of this on Sunday and the march by the GF folks to the ground was a fantastic effort to reignite the spark around the stadium. Signs are good for the return of " The Fortress SJP ?