poitier

I quite like Puncheon and for the right price I think he would be a good option, but I think his good form at the end of last season and start of this would mean he wouldn't be attractively priced now.

Fair play to him, he did well today, particularly first half, but against very poor opposition.

Let's see if he can keep that up.

I'm not surprised he is good at drawing fouls, I see that hair and I want to rake my studs down the back of his calf myself

Thankful for the win, but we nearly paid the price for not going for the jugular in the second half when we were in control. First half was very good though, cracking finish from Gabby.

Good performances on the whole by most of the players, but thought Zog was ineffective, Westwood quiet and Sanchez had little positive impact on the game.

This will not be a match for lovers of the beautiful game.

0-0 or 0-1 I fear.

I don't really rate Cleverley and I'm not sure that he would improve us much. I suppose an £8m fee is fairly par for the course when players like Jake Livermore are being bought for that much too, but it does feel a bit like scrimping and saving all year just so you can take all of your money into the back garden and set fire to it.

We need a soccer player who is good on the O fence.

I don't think he has the strength to play in the middle of a three man attack. Despite his many faults, at least Gabby can hold the ball up with his back to goal because he does have the physique.

I thought he actually played with some fire in his belly yesterday until his legs ran out. Good to see him putting the effort in.

I'm surprised he is being played in the middle, expected him to be used as a wide player. He has done quite well so far though, very industrious but not really shown that much quality yet. Better to come, I think.

All the best teams are built on the defence, we are heading in the right direction.

They seem to have been a bit of a bogey team for us since we sent them down. I think they still have better players than us, but less of a gap than there has been over the last few years.

Got a feeling it could be 0-1.

I am glad Hutton had a good game and hope he can keep it up, but I don't really understand why he is suddenly Saint Alan - his previous rubbish performances were McLeish's fault, he is a great pro who just wants to play football and even getting praise for joining in the celebrations when we score.

Good to see Hutton getting involved in the celebrations yesterday.

 

"Win bonus".

 

I don't think the miss was that bad, the defender was right at his feet blocking the line to goal. Yes, he should have got it on target, even though it would have been blocked, and a true quality player might have controlled it, let the defender sell himself then tap it in. But remember some of Benteke's misses last season, it's easy to say someone else would have scored it but that ain't always the case.

 

Heskey would have finished that chance.

 

Only if it ricocheted in off the corner flag.

I don't think the miss was that bad, the defender was right at his feet blocking the line to goal. Yes, he should have got it on target, even though it would have been blocked, and a true quality player might have controlled it, let the defender sell himself then tap it in. But remember some of Benteke's misses last season, it's easy to say someone else would have scored it but that ain't always the case.

Pundits have really been talking Stoke up while tipping us for the drop, so a very satisfying result.

I thought Cissokho was excellent, very solid defensively and surprised how much he contributed going forward.

Considering how little practise we get at holding onto a lead in the last few minutes, I was impressed by the quality of our time wasting

It's a shame the way his career has just fizzled out over the last two years, but I think he is probably third in line out of our current fit strikers.

With Benteke back, the spine of our team looks more like top 8 than bottom 3. I also think Richardson will be a good player for us, so if Cissokho is decent then the left side should be ok, bit worried about the right side though.

I think Westwood got too much praise in his first season, but definitely progressed as a player last season. He has grown in terms of being more physical and more vocal than he was, scored a couple of goals, more of a presence all round. He still has some way to go, but he is improving and seems to want to put the effort in to continue improving.

Last season so many of our players regressed, whereas he grew, so for that reason I hope he continues to get a fair share of game time.

Sorry to see him go, he has talent.

Lowton is a half decent player, but he isnt a defender and isnt as good a midfielder as Albrighton was. I don't really think loaning him out is going to do us much good as he is unlikely to come back as a better player, selling him would be preferable.

I think the only wide players Lambert will be using are wing backs.

I have always liked what I have seen from him, hope he gets a chance.

I have visions of this mobile phone thing being a Dom Joly type 'What...no, I'm in the managers squad meeting...no, it's rubbish'.