andym

OS commentary and wm reporter reckoned guzan was fouled. apparently the linesman flagged but the ref gave the goal anyway

why do we seem to play differently with carew in the side. as soon as he comes in we just hoof it long constantly. the sad thing is he is good with the ball into feet and the few times tonight we did pass it we created chances. however for the most part it was embarrasing watching us play tonight, we looked like a lower half team playing away at anfield, everytime we got the ball we hurridly cleared it long and it kept coming straight back. our tactic was to get the odd ball in the box, the odd set piece, get a lucky bounce and nick a goal. that is not good enough at all for an aspiring top 4 side.

didnt deserve to lose, a jammy goal and we were playing the ref as well. however, neither did we deserve to win, a pretty disgusting performance in terms of how big this game was for us. we made no attempt to win the game, apart from a few brief spells where we passed it (and created chances- note to MON) we were appaling with the ball. seriously, i cannot believe how pathetic we were in possesion. we just kept lumping it to carew or gabby all game, but they were always outnumbered so it kept coming straight back. awful tactics. players were miscontrolling it constantly, getting tackled too easily and were too weak trying to tackle liverpools players. we just kept sitting off liverpool and it seemed a lack of effort. and how can our players not make a simple 5 yard pass?? warnocks pass that led to the goal summed us up the whole game. liverpool were crap, they were there for the taking and we had a great chance to cement our top 4 credentials. but we hardly made reina work, and that is 2 crucial games against top 4 rivals where we have failed to score and not really created anything. that is not good enough. after a really good run of games where we played some nice stuff as soon as the pressures on its back to panicky route 1 all day long. that is really disappointing.

we need to use our brains, its wet, slippy the ball is slipping off feet, heads etc so why we keep smacking it long in the air i dont know, as we just keep losing it the few times weve kept it short and on the floor weve looked like creating stuff. milner and downing in particular need to stop trying to do too much and just look for the simple pass. carew has to come short to receive the ball to feet as well, otherwise all we can do is punt it and lose it. and when we have a chance to put in a good ball we need to take it, weve messed up a few times in good positions

we definately have the ability to beat these lot they werent that good against wolves, they were shocking away at pompey and their away record in general is poor. we also have an excellent home record. if we play to the best of our ability we can win, it all depends on which villa turns up. hopefully they will be wanting to prove a point after the arsenal game

the villa team i was expecting NRC has a chance to prove himself and we really need a big game from carew. time for him to deliver

some of the reactions on this and other sites are priceless..... we lost to a very a good arsenal side today who scored 3 excellent goals and apparently our top 4 dream is over, we are not good enough to compete with the big 4 and it is top 6 at best for us. the doom and gloom has returned!! crazy that beating chelsea, liverpool and man u is forgotten so quickly, that we had won the previous 4 on the bounce conceding 0 goals is forgotten, that until today we hadnt lost since the 4th november is forgotten so easily.

cant fault the effort today really, everybody ran around and attempted to get stuck in, but we just looked a yard slower than arsenal it didnt help that every time we got the ball we tried stupid ambitious passes instead of keeping the ball, and as a result arsenal just kept the pressure on constantly, its no wonder we got tired so easily. key moment was the fabregas sub. our midfield looked knackered at that point, arsenal were cutting through and wenger brought on fabregas to take advantage. MON did nothing, it was the perfect time for someone like NRC to shore it up in midfield and get some energy in there but he left it too late with the subs. still 3 points against the scousers and all will be good. at least ash been banned will force MON into using his squad. he goes on about it but hasnt yet, and it showed as we looked dead on our feet today.

1st 5 mins of the game it was all stoke, but then we started to get on the ball and looked dangerous. i really liked how we were passing it around, and playing a lot more through the middle. milner has already played more forward incisive passes than barry ever did. unfortunately our shooting was off first half and we didnt really test sorenson enough, all shots were straight at him. gabby probably should have scored. we did seem to lose our shape as the half went on, and that continued into the second half. i think tiredness had a lot to do with it, players started to miscontrol, miskick etc where they hadnt been before and we just looked slower than stoke. the passing we had doing disappeared and we started to go too direct. it was a very nice goal though from 2 great passes- downing to ash and then a great cross for john. still for all the pressure we seemed to be under in the second half i dont think brad had a save to make, another clean sheet is great!! im very pleased with the 3 points, as over the last week weve had 2 hard away games and then a tough physical game against stoke today. but whats most pleasing is i think we are showing signs of being able to play nice passing football, but we still have the ability to dig in and grind out the results, even if its not pretty. a tough schedule coming up over xmas, but some great results this week have really put us in a great position.

we have not played as well as we can 2nd half, played right into stokes hands. instead of passing it which troubled them in the first half we have just hoofed it constantly

we are not helping ourselves by aimlessly smacking it long as soon as we get it. need to keep the ball!!

need to make a sub i think, we look very tired in midfield

we still look all over the place at the back, need to keep the ball more as we are giving it straight to stoke all the time

wake the **** up villa, being completely outworked and outbattled at the moment

what the **** are we doing, panicking everytime we get the ball and hoofing, we looked good passing it, stoke couldnt deal with it so why have we stopped?

our passing was excellent for 25 mins or so of that half, and it was creating chances for shots on goal. milner, ash downing and stan were all moving about, heskey kept dropping short and stoke couldnt deal with it. the last 15 mins of the half though we slipped back into aimless long ball, and we went very sloppy in possesion, too many players got caught on the ball. need to get back to the nice passing we were playing.

we need to get back to how we were playing with heskey on- quick passes along the floor, movement, working it for a shot. we looked good doing that and created chances since carew has come on weve gone too much long ball and crosses- which stoke can defend easily, and players are hanging on to the ball too much.

excellent result, dunne was brilliant at the back and cuellar was good again. fullbacks solid and brad made the save when he had to. midfield duo of stan and milner were brilliant, jimmy in particular was everywhere, got an assist and scored a blinder. upfront heskey scored a nice goal and was involved in some nice passing, seemed to tire in the last 20. ash, downing and gabby were quiet by their standards but still worked hard as usual. and i think its great that we can have those 3 players not play to their best and still put in such a commanding performance. i would have loved if ash had scored and not hit the post though, inches away from a goal of the season contender i think. the passing and movement was great to watch and i like how we are playing more of that now.

thats better, get it in the corner. cant see why the linesman gave a free kick

come on stop sitting back, its not good for my nerves. get hold of the ball and keep it, we got the extra man!

bit of a silly challenge by young

2-0 up against a team really putting it about away from home and still you're not happy. oh no, im very happy dont get me wrong i just dont like to see players go in half hearted for challenges, annoys me for some reason.

gabby, ash and downing need to get stuck in a bit more, stop wimping out of tackles

stunning goal

ah great football unlucky