poitier

Vlaar has played well, Delph has shown glimpses. Both full backs very poor. We have created a couple of good passing moves when we have kept the ball on the ground.

We need someone to be able to put in crosses for the big men, so I think he may be worth keeping for a place on the bench once he has got back into the swing of things, if that means a loan to a championship team first then fine.

Five out of six ain't bad.

Is it really options though, or is this just Benteke's replacement being signed a year early?

Ooh, that Stoke strip really suits him.

Another signing would be nice but not really necessary as I can't see us challenging for anything this season or being in relegation danger. Give this squad a season to consolidate and then add some quality next season in order to push on.

Does Bennett look like he has bulked up at all? If he hasn't I think that is very disappointing, he looked to be obviously lacking in that department last season, and it is easily rectified. If players don't take the time to develop such clear deficiencies then it does make me question their desire to succeed.

Personality wise I think Guzan is the best candidate, but keepers are just not right for the captain's role out on the pitch. I wouldn't want to put that pressure on Delph as he still needs to develop his game a lot, Westwood would be a maybe, but I think Vlaar is still probably the best option this season.

I really don't think Toure had Benteke in his pocket at all, the service to him was poor but he still brought two good saves out of the keeper and easily beat him at a corner but put the header wide.

Terrible performance, the passing and first touch throughout the entire team was very poor, more so first half than second, which makes me think tiredness wasn't an excuse. I think Vlaar has done well the last two games, let's hope that continues. I don't understand why so many people are getting on Bacuna's back. Sure, it wasn't a great debut, but first half he was no worse than several of the team, and he looked fairly steady in the second. It wasn't his fault that Lambert chose to break up the existing midfield by playing him, and let's just remember how many people had already written off both KEA and Delph as being unworthy in the not very distant past.

everything he could do wrong he did... hows that not bad? No worse than the rest of the team that half unfortunately. He has tried t o make things happen.

Think I would put Tonev on for Weimann. I don't think Bacuna has been that bad.

Bit worried about this one, I would be happy with a point.

I would never have believed that we would be capable of stopping arguably the most creative midfield in the league from creating, well, hardly anything. BBC stats showed 3 efforts on target for each team, they won with a set piece.

Can't see us getting anything but I would hope that we last out more than 6 minutes before conceding.

When all CBs are fit I'm not sure Vlaar will deserve a position, but with him being captain I see that as being slightly problematic. Apart from Guzan I'm not sure who else might have the right personality to be captain.

There are several areas of his game that I hope he can continue to improve on, and if he does he will be a hell of a player by the time he reaches his peak years.

jesus christ. the guy played bugger all in preseason, he's not match fit yet. relax Yes, what I meant was that there must have been a reason he wasn't on instead of Clark. I am totally relaxed about it.

Paying £4m for a player that doesn't get ahead of Clark in the pecking order defies all logic, maybe he was carrying a knock or something.

I think the second pen was the right decision, even if Koscielny got a touch on the ball it was still in Gabby's path when he got brought down. The ref was terrible, not something I like to see even when it is generally in our favour.

Let's hope we keep it going for the full 90 mins, not just half a game.

Not a lot of change from last season really, but this can still go either way. Midfield are digging in, I'd like to see Tonev if Weimann fails to improve in the second half.

I can't think of a worse RB than him since Fernando Nelson. He didn't look that bad before joining us, so maybe it is a lot to do with us as a team and/or the management at the time.

Westwood was subbed off a few times when we were chasing games, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one to make way for a super creative AM, with Delph and Sylla being the engine. i think you're off on that one...westwood appears to be the one staple in midfield Yes, for the most part I agree, but I think in the circumstances where we supposedly need this super AM, ie teams sitting deep, he may be sacrificed. I can't really see us attracting a quality AM anyway unless we are offering them a lot of game time, so I would be very surprised if this happens.

Westwood was subbed off a few times when we were chasing games, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one to make way for a super creative AM, with Delph and Sylla being the engine.