Cabrone

Normally I'd expect us to come away with nothing and the odds are that this is exactly what will happen but this has been such a topsy turvey funfair ride of a season we might get lucky and hit them in a downswing just as we are in a full on purple patch. We did it last season and I was there to see it so what the hell, why not. If we were to upset the odds and beat the Arse at their ground a question for the statto's out there......when was the last season we managed to beat Utd, Chelsea and Arse away? Have we ever done it?

Sunderland would be in with a shout for fan base and history.

You can see why Austin is a natural goalscorer, he has that instinctive knack of knowing where to be at the right time. Drifted away from the Utd defenders and just waited for that ball which was dispatched accordingly. Made it look simple but no Utd defender managed to track him. I think the guy could be a bit of a legend here if he sticks around long enough. Looked like a toss game but 3 points are all that matters. What a turnaround in form over the last 2 weeks, long may it continue.

Exactly what we need, a real goal machine. Can't believe the club got him for £4M, an absolute steal from our rivals. Chuffed to bits about this one, should be able to start picking up a lot more points now.

Phew, 3 vital points and even more importantly a reminder that we can play decent stuff. Let's build on this and get a few more wins to remove any doubts about this season. We are still a bit toothless infront of goal though, need some more firepower from somewhere.

Villa are nailed on but after that it's anyone from the teams mentioned - including SFC. We are twisting in the wind at the moment.

Alan Pardew looks to be doing a fantastic job with Palace, bet the Newcastle fans are kicking themselves. Wonder how things would have been if he had stayed, always rated him myself.

Norwich lost once in the last 5, Bournemouth lost one in the last 8, Sunderland looked lively and up for a fight on Saturday and Newcastle were unlucky not to get anything at Arsenal. All these teams look a lot better than us at the moment. Only Villa and Swansea of those beneath us don't look to be in good form. Villa are almost nailed on to go down, they need around 30 points from 18 games - that's Europa form, not going to happen. Swansea like us are in poor form, if I was a fan I'd be very concerned. We on the other hand have lost 7 of our last 9 and look toothless. Yes on balance we should get out of this but to think that SFC can't get dragged into the mire is naive.

We're twisting in the wind at the moment and the teams below us bar Swansea and Villa look to have a better spirit than us. Newcastle looked good yesterday, Sunderland look to have their tails up, Norwich are on a little run, Bournemouth have lost 1 in their last 8 and you'd assume that Chelsea will wake up at some stage. We on the other hand look poor infront of goal, have disgruntled elements in the changing room and the morale does not look good. We can pull this one around but we need to get moving ASAP. Those who are concerned are right to be.

Well our form is certainly relegation material and if we get caught I fear for us. Not yet but getting uncomfortably close.

The reaction after their goal was telling, heads down, shuffling back to their positions. No player was cajoling, encouraging or scolding the others. If this team gets into a relegation dogfight do they have the grit to get out? I don't think so. Lost 7 of 9 and beaten by a poor Norwich team. Our form is relegation standard.

Ben Arfa would really add some goal power and if the likes of Palace can get Cabaye then why not? https://www.clubcall.com/le-championnat/puel-wants-ben-arfa-exit-1794040.html

I agree with the sentiments of the article, it feels similar to 2004 when SFC took the wrong turn and crashed. However I think now is better because SFC has more competent people running the show and potentially could tap into more cash but it does feel that the club needs to decide which way to go. Do the club push on or pull in the wagons? Those dark days cleared the deadwood then slowly a head of steam was built that saw us crashing through the divisions and stayed with us till last season. This effect has now fizzled out as we enter a new era. TBH both the ambitious and conservative camps have good points, the ambitious say that if we don't push on we will fall whilst the conservatives say that if we overreach we'll crash and burn a la Leeds and a bunch of others. Personally I struggle to see how we can really break through the top 6 in a consistent way let alone the top 4, our support just isn't big enough and the big boys have so much financial advantage over us. Maybe a defensive yo-yo approach is the way to go. Build up good young players, sell them on for a fat profit, always put emphasis on youth + a small number of key transfers, prioritise up and coming managers and aim for Europa at least every 2/3 years whilst building up a financial base to take on the big boys and slowly slowly become a bigger force. But then again isn't that what we are trying to do at the moment? More immediately a proven goalscorer is needed but I wouldn't be surprised if the club play the percentage game and don't spend based on the fact that: -Villa look dead and buried -Sunderland look half dead -There are other clubs that look more likely to go down that us Risky because we could get sucked in and if we do I'd seriously question our grit and determination to get out but I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't buy.

I think he's potentially a class act and should be a bigger part of the team. He's never going to be your traditional target man but just behind the CF he'd be a real box of tricks, pulling the strings and weighing in with his fair share of goals. I'd be gutted if he disappears without ever having been given a good run out as I think the guy could be very good for SFC.

Jeez where did that one come from? Brilliant result and what a first goal, hit first time and completely banana'd it. Eat turf Cech. TBH I'm a bit ****ed - played like lemons for best part of 2 months and then put the Christmas stuffing right up the Arse. Got to keep this intensity up now and get the momentum rolling, we're not a bad team when we have our heads screwed on. Still would like a consistent goalscorer as I can't see Long doing the business week in week out whilst Graziano is carrying an injury.

Sadly I can see 3 losses, a relegation dogfight and very low morale based on what is currently being served up. Big Ron needs to kick some ass and shake this team up, they are sleepwalking into trouble. A consistent goal scorer is a priority in the Jan window too.

We'd have some competition for him IMO, proven prem goalscorers are valuable commodities and QPR won't let him go for less than £10M or even £15M as was quoted earlier on in the season. I'd like him though, he knows where the net is and is too good for the champ.

Work on their psychology, they seem to give up before the final whistle and consequently hand the points over on a plate. When Leicester came down they went 2 down but never gave up right till the end and got their deserved point. We also do need a goal scorer, Austin is the obvious choice but there may be others. We are too reliant on Graziano and he's buckling a bit.

3 goals scored in 7 games says it all really. Need a goal scorer and it won't be cheap. Austin may cost a bit but what price relegation? I hope the club have someone lined up, we need to pull out of this nosedive ASAP.

We were poor but to be fair Pool looked very good, looks like Klopp is having an effect up there and if he can keep it going then they may go a long way. We need to learn from this and quickly get it out of our system with a win against Villa. Thankfully the fixture list has given us a great chance to get our mojo back ASAP. Been a strange topsy turvy season so far, cups have been poor but the league has been overall not bad.

They've lost key players and haven't replaced as well as we have. We seem to turn player losses into business opportunities and make money out of them, much better than most other clubs anyway - including Swansea.

I wouldn't go on stats (there are shots from 6 yards out where the GK has no chance and shots from 20 yards out where the GK has more of a chance for example) rather than watching the guy perform. My idea of a good GK is one that doesn't make silly mistakes and on that count he's a very good keeper, he saves what he's supposed to save, doesn't do anything silly and occasionally pulls off a great save. I'm certainly happy with him and when Fraser recovers it's going to be a real battle for the vest. 2 very good GKs battling it out for top spot is good news for SFC.

Mickey Evans - cult hero

Pulping Sunderland was great but honestly last night was probably the best. OK the Chelsea players are having a wobble but they are still a class team and will pull it back - for us to go there, lock horns and end up outplaying them was outstanding. Shame that there's another international break now - last night would have given us some real momentum.