SaintSteve

6th place will be a tremendous season.. didn't expect any higher so lets hope we can finish above Spurs.

Pelle needs a rest... the forward momentum stops with Pelle in a central position; he makes no runs. When Long came on the pitch opened up and that was why we created through the middle for the goal.

I wanted Tottenham to win.. far prefer Poch to Mourinho's tactics.

Another striker would make little difference to our current form.. we have too many players below par at the moment, Pelle is just one of them.

He was certainly a class act today and has improved under Koeman no doubt.. I would return to 352 with Fonte, Yoshida and Alderwiereld plus the wing backs.. we also score goals with that approach.

He doesn't inspire confidence full stop.. decision-making poor, slow to get down to shots, stands too close to his line and looks half asleep between the sticks. Thank god we have a superb defensive unit with Fonte orchestrating everything. We need to bring in another top quality goalkeeper for next season to put him under pressure - then we might see Forster step up a level.

JWP is not ready for top level games.. too slow and adds little to the game.. and his one clear skill at set pieces was poor today. Why Davis was not moved forward second half is a mystery.

Complete idiot... obviously not bright enough to adjust his questions once Koeman had questioned why he was at the press conference

A lack of a striker was not the issue today... IMO Koeman should have started Mane to play close to Pelle. With Elia one side, Tadic another and no-one except JWP close, goals are going to be hard to come by... lets face it, JWP could have played all week and wouldn't score.

In real time Bertrand touched the ball and we did not think it was even a foul... however, have watched the playback and its clearly reckless and i doubt an appeal will make any difference

JWP had to score the 1st half chance.. and Forster should have done better with their goal.. just one of those games.

Replace with advanced midfielder who scores goals.. but its a bit late in the window to achieve that.

6 - shot saving great, decision making poor, command of penalty box poor.. not as good as Boruc.

I think Koeman may well review his position if we were to finish top four and still lost Alderwiereld, Schneiderlin, Clyne et al. He could become disenchanted knowing that team performance is irrelevant as money is the prime motivator.

if you think he's at that level then you need help

Starts tonight v S Africa

Intelligent footballer but lack of pace may inhibit his progress to being top-class in an advanced midfield position.

Yes, but I notice the Premier League Injury list has moved his return date from 31st Jan to Feb 7th.. assume that came from the club.

Our workrate is phenomenal.. and I thought Reed was very impressive in the heart of the midfield.

Top four for me every time.. a good cup run is a welcome bonus

5th.. still think Arsenal may eventually overcome us.

This.. and Fonte has basically said the same in his post match interview. What is surprising is that Durham expects us to come and play expansive football against a team that won its last 5 home games.. naive.

Get real.. we are not going to waste silly money in January. A Striker maybe the 'maybe' Koeman referred to this week in terms of signings. I would think he would trust McCarthy as an emergency CB if we are unlucky before Yoshida returns.

For all the runs down the channel he does... he's simply not good enough to start games for us. Ball control is woeful which results in him losing the ball at critical times in our attacking moves. I would think Elia will start before him in our next few games as Koeman must get frustrated with him. No penalties today, just strong challenges from a typical McCarthy side.

McCarthy certainly has them well organised at the back; with no shortage of agricultural football. Wanyama and Davis vied for MOM but for all Long's running, his ball control is sadly missing.. not good enough to start for a top four team; missed Mane.