AVTuco

I agree, we need to do whatever it takes and then some to stay up. If we go down, we'll stay there for a long time.

Me too!

Did you see him ball-watch when the winger got one of those diagonals and moved inside from in front of him? That was criminal.

Smith doesn't have an established system, there's no strong blueprint in his strategy. He relies on individuals, which has rightly been said here many times. Last season Jack came back and took us up. If we go down, and lose Grealish, how do you think Smith'll do then?

He should have played that ball forward instead of turning around and putting Ezri under pressure. Ezri made the final mistake, but Elmo should've made a better choice.

I was so angry with him since the second goal that killed us was preventable if he'd got out of his comfort zone and not let the ball pass him by. No fight at all in him. I only saw it once so stand corrected if I'm wrong.

Another too young and inexperienced one in a too big role.

Not any worse than all the others, actually better than some.

Ezri, like all our other CBs, could be ok with Mings, but not with the others yet.

We won't be coming straight back up without Grealish. Relegation would be a disaster on many levels.

This is going in many ways the same as it did with Sherwood. He came in and saved us from relegation, took us to Wembley (yes, lost there) and had to buy a new team in the summer. Difference is Sherwood had no funds and lost all of Benteke, Snake and Vlaar. Dean needed a whole team, but had huge funds. End result looks the same.

The writing was on the wall even on this board before the game. We'd just won Norwich, and yet nobody believed in us. Nobody. With the way we played neither did Smith. So, a very predictable result, even if it came after some unbelievably poor decisions and atrocious play. We were half-dead before the game, how do get back up after the way it ended?

I don't have words for that again. El Ghazi taking two mindless shots, Targett sitting on the ground and not bothering to prevent the ball going past him, and the Luiz with an absolutely moronic tackle. And all this after we had just been gifted a one man advantage. I've had enough.

How dumb can we be?

Ok, so now it's officially over for us. A red for them.

The only way for this team to win is by being on the front foot and letting Jack do his thing. We couldn't be further from that.

El Ghazi in for Jota, and I'd be fine with the selection.

Jack's in - we have a chance.

We so need to be on the front foot to get the best out of Jack. If we're not, our best weapon is not used.

That's the plan You're right, but Konsa/Hause were not supposed to be in this position at a crucial time of the season, and CBs are generally more experienced, so that's why I brought this up regarding Konsa.

Felt real good when Finnish pundit Pasi Rautiainen was raving about Grealish during, and after, the Norwich game. He was saying how this kind player is a rarity nowadays, how he is somehow old-fashioned in the way he plays. Calves, socks down, and the hair, mentioned everything. We all know this, but Finns wanted Norwich to win and it was all Pukki otherwise in the studio, so the above made me feel good.

I like Konsa a lot, just wish he had more time to get accustomed to PL. Same goes for Hause. Now they have to learn together, which is a big ask.

You're right, he'd be good at defending, but Dean wants offense from his full backs...

Somehow it feels like writing here should have a meaning, like how would I make us better ... instead of "just" settling for things as they are and cheering. If so, it's natural most posts are negative in nature, even if they are meant to be positive. This creates a negative feeling to the board. This goes whether we're winning or losing, it doesn't matter. The language used to express this is terrible, I wish people would tone down, myself included. I think Match thread is different from player threads. In Match thread emotion takes over, and that's ok in my opinion. Player threads should definitely be more balanced, it would be nice to read some supportive posts there. Even if they don't feel necessary.

Heaton, Grealish, and a moment of magic from Hourihane. That is our recipe. As for the others, I don't know. Our defense looks awfully underwhelming, even if Hause/Konsa played well Thursday. Let's hope they continue that way.