RobM

IMO, he looked slow and short of match fitness, nervous and indecisive in both games I've witnessed him play. I'm sure he has been training hard, but match fitness comes from playing competitive matches and Arsenal really isn't the game to introduce somebody who isn't 100%. Against Spurs he seemed reluctant to come and claim the ball, almost hesitant at times. I'm sure the post-match thread and view from those at the game was full of poor-performance comments (putting aside the bottle incident) about him that matches my opinion, but I'll happily stand corrected. It was similar for the WHam game, I even remember the Sky commentators saying he was having a 'mare and it was a game he'd want to forget. So sure, I appreciate it's only two games, but that's all I can judge him on. We've signed 'keepers before who have shown their class immediately, Boruc unfortunately didn't. All IMO, of course.

But IF Boruc plays like he has done in his other games for us, we will be doomed. It's a tough call, but his track record for us isn't on his side.

Then I don't understand the comments about certain relegation without Lambert. He is one of our best players for sure, which means we should not sell him, but that doesn't mean we would be relegated without him.

Given how strong Arsenal are in attack and how free-scoring they are right now, is it the right game to introduce a new defensive+GK combination? We know how critical it is and how the defence and 'keeper need a good understanding, so IMO consistency will benefit us more than change. Plus Boruc, for all his experience and reputation, hasn't really worked for us yet, even against weaker opposition than Arsenal.

We really are in a terribly bad place if we cannot possibly survive without Lambert. No team should be so reliant on one player, as just one injury could destroy the team.

Adkins said they gave Clyne until yesterday morning but he wasn't quite ready, which suggests he isn't far off. Agree that Ramierz should start, this is the sort of game that suits him, whereas Stoke really wasn't.

Money isn't everything, but since he has been regularly playing Premiership football, perhaps football was the motivation? Playing for England perhaps? Training with the best possible players around you? Many reasons other than money could explain why he left us when he did. He made the right choice for his career, but unfortunately that was at the detriment of our club (money aside, which isn't everything...).

Oh come on, get with it, missing one of the eight chances we had as a team is clearly worse than conceding three goals... if it's Guly that does it.

Agreed, but that IMO is Gazza. Gazza has shown he has the talent and potential, just lacks experience (football and life). What we need now is immediate solidity and control in this position, somebody who has the experience to just step in and get on with it. Since Boruc was brought in after Gazza and Davis, yet cannot make the starting 11 ahead either of them, it seems his playing days here are over.

Guly made one goal, was excellent defensively (moreso than any other attacking player in recent games), put in more dangerous crosses than anybody else but Puncheon and without knowing hard-facts, I'd say he covered more ground than anybody else too. Without him we wouldn't have gotten a point. He did not cost us the game.

No doubt about it for you as you think we're awful (not sure why you spend so much time talking about how crap we are if you don't enjoy it, but that's another conversation). For many others there is plenty of doubt about us going down, as we have shown we have enough to compete, as today showed.

As the game went on, they battered us. It was never there for the taking in the second half.

Then you would have seen how hard we had to defend, how many chances they had, how many goal line clearances we made and how much more possession they had. We did exceptionally well to be ahead, even with a gifted goal, so this is a very good point.

Equally, gaining a point away at a team we were not expected to beat is a positive for us and we're still four points ahead of Reading.

What game were you watching? We were defending against them far more than we were attacking. It might not have been pretty, but they were playing their own game well and giving us a very hard time. We were gifted one goal and scored two good ones, but they still attacked and attacked.

Given you predicted a loss before the game, knowing they were without two of their key defenders, surely it's a point gained?

We now drop into the relegation zone again.

Quite. Guly played excellently today, both in attack and defence.

If you watched the game it's quite clear - they were on the up, on the attack and we were defending for our lives.

Biggest 45-mins of the season so far, IMO.

Then they are idiots who I clearly didn't pay enough attention to, sorry for missing that.

That's not true though is it. People never said he was crap, but that we needed more mobility that he wasn't offering and perhaps we should try something else, or someone else. That's not the same as saying he was crap, which he obviously is not.

Fancy a wager on that?

I suspect one or two SaintsWeb regulars will have exploded by now, given Guly's excellent first half performance.