Saint Pete

Vital win, especially with Burnley winning. Brighton now right in the thick of it if Cardiff make this a fight to the end. The last 20 shows we still don’t know how to see these games out though. There ought to be spaces to exploit when teams gamble and look for an equaliser but our players seem to lose their composure in these situations and just invite more pressure. Oh well we held out on this occasion and got the crucial 3 points which was all that mattered today. This gives us more of a free hit next Friday against Liverpool now. Would LOVE it if we could put the mockers on their title bid!

I would say that’s our strongest line up at present if we are going 4 at the back. The worry would be at the back so will be a good test for Bednarek and Yoshida. But hopefully with the extra body further forward, we can assert ourselves and pressure Brighton in their own half. Big game this so let’s go for it!

Wow, that's a bonus for us! Saw it was 1 all at HT and Leicester down to 10 men and thought it was only heading one way. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Absolutely. Would much rather he stays in training with us and continues his improvement over the remainder of the season rather than having his head turned by distraction with England. If he keeps playing the way he is (or improves even more) he will get his chance soon enough.

West Ham are an odd team at the moment. If they show up against Cardiff they should win because they have way more talent in their side. But what will their motivation be given that they are in a safe position in the league? How much do they care about pushing on for a potential 7th place finish? Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

All credit to him for stepping up his game this season. There's no way he would have scored that goal last season as didn't have the drive or confidence to get into those kind of scoring areas. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Reluctantly, it probably has to be Long in for Austin for this one. More suited to the chasing game we will want to play away to Utd. Keep Austin fresher for the home games and bring him on late if we are still in with a shout of getting something. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Fulham will have to gamble second half so we need to be solid at the back and clinical going forward to get the 3rd ( and preferably 4th!) Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

I think he's trying to take some of the pressure off the players to be fair. They need to be bang up for this but not scared ****less of losing. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

If Stephens plays tomorrow, you would have to start questioning Ralph's judgement. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Looking at our run in, we simply HAVE to improve our home form, and that starts with getting the 3 points tomorrow. We cannot stay up if we continue to fail in winnable home games. I reckon we need to look to get at least 3 wins at home, which realistically need to come from Fulham, Wolves, Bournemouth and Huddersfield games. Then try and get 1 more win from the other games and/ or a series of draws. It's still very possible for us to stay up but we need to generate some confidence at home and that makes tomorrow night crucial with the games coming up after that. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

I would go with that, possibly Yoshida instead of Vestergaard who worries me in a back 4. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Yes I would start with Austin, get crosses in against their dodgy defence, with Redmond and Armstrong in support to pick up the pieces. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

It's not really that baffling for me. We had a poor squad before Ralph arrived, we have an even poorer squad after the January window. Yes, we had a temporary bounce when Ralph arrived and he has definitely improved some aspects of our play. But we still have poor central defenders who regularly make mistakes that cost goals. And we still have little quality up front barring the guy who only plays half of our games due to injury. That will catch up with you in terms of results in the premier league. The baffling thing for me is why the club saw fit to let Gabbi and Cedric leave without doing anything to help Ralph in terms of replacements. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Should say, Gunn should also have done better with the poor back pass he was dealt with but the problem was Stephens making. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

I was at the game and for the second goal Stephens was definitely at fault, in precisely the same kind of way as he was in the Cardiff game. Giving the ball away under no initial pressure in a dangerous area for us. I don't know what Ralph was thinking of starting him when he had Yoshida available. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Can anyone tell me what Stephens was doing starting this game when we have Yoshida back and available now? I also think Bertrand should be starting rather than Targett. Whether it would have made a difference to the result today who knows but I don't feel we are helping ourselves by excluding players who are clearly better than some of those selected as starters, especially against top quality opposition. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Agree. Never thought they would go down anyway as they will pick up the points they need at home when it matters. We need to finish above either Cardiff or Brighton IMO. Bit of a shame we lost twice to Cardiff really. Oh well, we will just have to pick up some points in some of the tougher looking games. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Ralph also said he wanted a couple of players to improve the team, so I suspect whatever he says publicly he must be disappointed that never happened. As it didn’t happen you agree that the club itself didn’t back the manager, right?

The club have clearly put all their eggs in the Ralph basket and said "he's so good with young players we don't need to strengthen our substandard squad right now in order to stay up". Massively complacent but it's what we have come to expect from those in charge. A couple of wins in January shouldn't have got everyone fooled that we would soar away from trouble from that point on with no improvements to squad to help the manager. Still think we can stay up, but the lack of assistance to the manager has meant that it's going to be very very close again and could go either way. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Long was never going to do much against a deep defensive team like Cardiff. Really surprised Austin didn't start this one. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

It's a fair point to suggest that the January window was yet another complacent **** up by the club though isn't it? Still confident it's fine to let senior players leave with no replacements and wait til the summer? Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

We're not down yet, but today's result means it's more than likely going to be a battle to the very end of the season like last season. Has to be said it's deeply disappointing that the complacency of the club in the January window has made it even harder for us to get out of this mess. I still think we can do it, but has everyone got the stomach for the fight this time around? Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Yep, and we need to be patient if the goal doesn't come early on, or heaven forbid, Cardiff take the lead. I don't expect it to be pretty but any win will do in this one! Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Just watched the highlights. The first one has to be a penalty I’m afraid. McCarthy dives right across Barnes path and doesn’t get the ball. Yes, Barnes makes sure he goes over him, but any striker would do the same in the modern game. Penalty all day long. The second one is much more debatable as handball definitely not intentional. But given that ref was probably looking to give something due to earlier error, silly of Stephens to have his arm straight up like that. Would have been better to just let Crouch head it and defend it from there. Oh well, annoying to concede so late, but probably a fair result overall. The next game is huge, everyone needs to get fully behind the team for that one, whoever is on the pitch for us. Desperately need the 3 points in that one if it’s not to be another dogfight all the way to the end of the season.