poitier

From what i saw last season lowton is a very capable defender, where did you get the idea that hes a poor defender? Rubbish.

 

I rate Bacuna as a better defender, and he's a midfielder.

Our points total from the fixtures we have had is very good. I'm glad that we are getting points on the board, regardless of the performances from a footballing point of view. We are harder to beat than before, obviously a positive and a sign of improvement in some ways. I just think that today has given people a view of what it might be like once Benteke goes, and it is scary.

It was embarrassing how many times we turned away from a pass into midfield just so we could play it back to Guzan to hoof it up the pitch for Kozak, who failed to win much of anything. I'm sure he would appreciate a few more crosses to get after, but he needs to do better.

Happy with a point but pretty hard to watch.

I live in Hull so this is the most important game of the season for me.

 

Worried that if they score the first goal we won't be able to break them down, they win a lot of 1-0 games at home. I think Westwood could come back in for this one, we shouldn't need KEA and Sylla against their midfield.

In 12 months time he will be another one we struggle to keep hold of.

 

There's no way he'd leave after we've supported him through all his injuries. He seems a decent human being does Delph. I think he's happy here and happy with Lambert. I am convinced beyond all doubt he will not "in 12 months time...be another one we struggle to keep hold of."

 

Don't forget last summer we didn't lose anyone anyway.

Well let's hope his agent is also such a decent ethical person...

I think westwood should come back into the side. He offers more composure and better passing than either sylla or kea. Its Delph, Westwood and one of those two for me.

 

Sometimes I wonder  what KEA has to do to get recognition on here. Most key passes and tackles in the team today but you'd swear some attribute his work to other players. Oh well

Very true.

I think if i had spent £300m assembling a squad and then it lost to that Villa team I would top myself. Villa winning was the only result that scuppered me winning £50 on my fixed odds coupon.

An incredible result which defies all logic and was completely unrepresentative of the match, and finally some helpful linesmans decisions. We will never get a luckier 3 points, let's enjoy them.

Think our only chance of getting back into this is if Tonev comes on and blasts one in from 35 yards, which is about as close as we have been to their goal.

Hard to see us creating much, but Hart always seems to have a ricket in him these days so who knows.

CIty raised their game for the united match but haven't looked good apart from that. We will need a good performance from Kozak to have a chance.

I think Vlaar has done well since a dodgy start at Arsenal, better than last season.

At some point last season there were rumours of Arsenal sniffing round him, and I just couldn't understand it at all, and then he went and had that game against Sunderland. But yeah, that was way above his normal standard.

When a right back is a lot better coming forward than defending there is an argument for moving them into midfield, but generally his crossing is very poor, although on occasion he has delivered a very good ball.

I don't get the whole defense hasn't improved thing.Is the defense perfect? No, but we've given up far less goals and looked more competent compared to the same fixtures last year. It's the very definition of improvement.

6 goals through 5 games, 3 of which were arsenal Liverpool and Chelsea. FFS folks.

Have people so quickly forgotten the days when we seemed to concede a goal every time there was a cross or corner last season? Although there have been some poor individual performances this season, more the full backs than the central defenders, we are defending much better as a unit than last season.

Not a lot to get excited about.

I think Westwood is a decent player, but he has been overrated by a lot of people on here, both in terms of his quality and his importance to the team.

Per Opta stats for the game, successful tackles:

KEA 11

Fer 5

Delph 4

Howson 1

KEA didn't do anything eye catching but was more influential than Delph today IMO.

Lowtons been far worse this season than Tonev was today.

 

I don't think it is possible to be far worse than Tonev was today. But a lot of people wrote Bacuna off after one game, Tonev can only get better after this.

 

I think Andi's been given a bit of a hard time. He played well and was instrumental in much of our movement going's forward and helped out a lot at the back. Also, his initial pass to Kozak was great.

Not really, second half Norwich got a lot of crosses into the box. Weimann didn't help out that much then. On a counter attack he lost the ball on the half-way line and didn't track back at all. It's frustrating because he's arguably too good to drop but his form is worrying.

 

 

A lot of people, myself included, were saying to bring Tonev in for Weimann. I think Weimann's place in the team is safe on that score.

 

He did well first half, quiet in the second, but by that time the players that create the space for him to thrive in had gone off.

I thought KEA was the pick of the midfielders today, he won us a lot of ball. Delph was relatively quiet.

 

Bacuna let Redmond get a cross in early on but was very solid after that.

 

Kozak looked decent, Helenius looks like the skills of David Silva trapped in the body of a gangly freak, I think he definitely has something to offer us.

 

I thought that Tonev would be one of those players that both delights and frustrates - hmm...

Weimann looking better today, Delph a bit quiet. Fullbacks have just about done enough, but looking dodgy down Luna's side. KEA has done well, great from Gabby. Tonev not in it.

I was hoping Lambert would have a look at 4-2-3-1, surprised at some of the personnel though.

 

I was confident of a win earlier, but that defence is a bit of a worry. I still think we will win, but could well be a basketball score.

I am beginning to worry that the signing of Benteke was something of a fluke. Lowton and Westwood have been good value for money so far, but if it wasn't for Benteke I don't think Lambert would be held in very high regard for his transfer dealings, tactics or style of play. He is living off that one signing at the moment.

Unusually for Lambert he dropped the ball today.

 

The moment Kozak came on we lost all shape. Gabby and an off form Weimann are no wingers!

Unusually??

He has some good qualities but a tactical genius he ain't.

Very poor today from both the team and Lambert. We never looked like getting back into it after their second goal, yet Lambert waited til the 89th minute to bring Tonev on.

I thought the central defenders actually did quite well, it was the fullbacks that were exposed as the poor defenders that they are.

Our best moments came when we played the ball on the floor, but too often we just lump it up.

Man for man Newcastle are a better team than us, although they don't always play like it, but I hate losing to that smug tosser Pardew.