AntrimBlack

We are going to start losing our young players if they think they will not get their chance, like Derek Williams. I certainly think that Saturday was an ideal time to bring on one of them in lieu of Jordan Bowery, who in my opinion will never be able to sustain a Premiership career.

He is pretty quick, can beat a man, wants the ball, gets in some decent crosses. There is something there, but his wildness at times just leaves me watching in amused disbelief. Not sure his team mates would find it amusing.

Not particularly good again. Looks frustrated, seems to be blaming everyone else for his problems. Hopefully he will regain his form again soon.

Bacuna got my MOM, very good performance. Vlaar was also excellent. All three at the back were solid. I think both Vlaar and Clark are good with the ball, something Baker lacks, but the guy has a heart like a lion. Dreadful first half. I think Cardiff are a very poor side, and first half we were just as poor. Half time thought we were looking at a bore draw. Got our reward for an improved second half. Kozak was much improved this game, as was Westwood. We needed this win so badly!

We need another striker, whether he plays in the Benteke role or not. When Benteke is injured/not firing we look completely clueless. A bit of proper competition for the Agbonlahor/Weimann roles certainly would not go amiss.

Relegation to the old Division 3 was definitely worse, and, in my opinion, the latter part of the Ellis tenure.

Recent matches have shown that we only have one worthy of the name, and he will in all probability leave at the end of the season, so I think we do need strikers. However, I also agree that we need midfielders. need another striker and about 3 midfielders IMO I agree with that.

Recent matches have shown that we only have one worthy of the name, and he will in all probability leave at the end of the season, so I think we do need strikers. However, I also agree that we need midfielders.

Couple of really good posts here by Richard and BOF.

From what I remember, (re. the Benteke injury) Helenius said when he was bought that he had been bought for the nr.10 or winger roles. I think he has also said more recently that he had been surprised to get even the amount of playing time that he had.

Vlaar my MOM, getting better with each match. But that was a turgid performance. We have players out of form and injuries, but so do all clubs. Trouble is, our squad is not good enough to cope. Whether they need more time or are just not good enough, having to bring in Kozak, Tonev or Helenius does not fill me with confidence. Really thought we would win that one. I hope the next few matches bring some improvement.

I know what you are saying, but I think those chances were more down to Benteke. I think you are doing him a disservice when you say ``running around a lot'', he is still making good runs and getting into good positions even though the final product is not there. I think our attack lost that energy when he went off, and I suspect the opposition defence were happy to see him replaced - I think it must have made their job a lot easier.

MOM yesterday. Getting better all the time, and turning into the guy I thought we had bought.

Yesterday I think proved that Delph is the only decent midfielder we have.

I really like Andi, but I was certainly one of the people thinking a spell on the bench might be helpful to him. Not so sure after yesterday. He is not taking his chances at the moment, but I thought we lost much of our attacking capability after he was withdrawn. Now that he is injured, I doubt if we have anyone to adequately take his place, even though his form has been poor.

Barely noticed him yesterday. I know people are saying the he does the stuff that does not get noticed, but he really needs to impose himself on the game. Not at all convinced by him.

I thought his corners were much better on Saturday, flatter and with more pace.

Same spot every time, and the keeper makes an initial save each time - remarkable.

Very much agree about Agbonlahor. I think Weimann is different though, I think he offers a lot more. You may well be right that he should be dropped, but he could easily play himself back into form, and I am not sure we have anyone else as good as Weimann to bring in.

It would be ironic if he had second season syndrome and suddenly became anonymous. We would in major difficulties then - where would the goals come from. However, fortunately, I think he is too good for that to happen.

We all see games differently. I could barely watch games under Mcleish, it was embarassing at times and I did not expect any improvement, in fact the opposite. I do watch the games under Lambert with some interest, even enthusiasm, because I feel something might happen. Whether the results show improvement or not is a different matter, too early in the season to tell, I think we have not played a wide enough selection of clubs at this stage.

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't Helenius an 'out and out' striker AaB? So why would he be signed to play out wide, where he quite clearly doesn't have the pace to play there, or behind a forward? (although he is certainly more equipped to play there than out wide). I always saw Helenius as a 'prospect' signed to eventually replace Benteke when he leaves next season. Kozak is probably more of a stop gap. Thought Helenius himself said he was bought to play out wide or behind the main striker.

First half was tight, thought we shaded it. Second half we were the better side until they scored, then as usual we looked clueless. We could have won it with the chances we had. Our strikers let us down badly. Weimann was awful, Agbonlahor was even worse, Benteke was poor. And unfortunately these look to be the best we have. Hopefully Benteke was only rusty, but how long will we have to wait for Weimann to get his form back. And must we wait for two thirds of every season for Agbonlahor to find his form. Delph my man of the match, thought Vlaar and Bacuna also were good. Westwood showing improvement, Tonev shows glimpses of something. Good run of games coming up, no excuses, need to pick up points from them.

I hope he realises that by making this sort of remark he will antagonise large parts of the Commonwealth and Asia.

Absolutely what we need to happen. But would probably need more than that to take us forward, as losing Benteke will make a huge difference.