Minty

That's arrogance for you.

Fair enough but I disagree. Had individual players not been poor today I feel we would've got at least a point and maybe 3. We need to have the courage of our convictions and stick with what we're doing in order to learn and develop it. We will not develop a consistent and successful side in 4 games, and probably not in 14. I fear too much is expected too soon.

Yes we were. We should all bear it in mind when reviewing our entire season so far. But not judge the team on this one game in isolation as some seem to do.

Whilst I agree he wasn't great today, I think a lot of centrebacks will struggle aganst Burgess... he used his height and strength to good effect today and he is a major threat. As usual, and with respect, there seem to be too many judgements made based on one game.

IMO it was individual players, especially Gillett and Schneiderlin, whose below-par performance were main contributors to our poor performances today. They are pivotal to our game in both defence and prompting our attacking play, and conceded possession too much today. Hence, I agree with many that substitutions should've been made earlier, but do not think that it was the tactics that were at fault. As LGSC intimates, it matters not what plan you play to, if individuals are misplacing passes and not on their game, chances are you will still lose. That said, I accept that changing things a bit more may have improved things, but I find it unlikely when key players are not on their game, but it is a possibility. We'll never know though.

I thought the officials got most things spot on today and I think the referee was generally very good. I had the benefit of tv replays at the time but he did not and I believe all three officials got the clear majority of decisions correct.

No ones mind should be changed after one game. After 10 maybe. After one is just knee-jerk.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing... the exact same starting line-up played very well at Derby and won, and earned their starting places IMO.

I did not say it was a one-off, I said it is one game in many... including the poor ones AND the good ones. You seem to forget the two games in the middle where we clearly improved on those things and won. So any trend that was developing, was quite clearly worked on and put right at that point. Today we lost for different reasons... we had too many players playing poorly, individuals not reaching their previously high standards AND opposition who played well to take advantage of our shortcomings. My point however, was more about not using this one game to judge everything on, just as I fully agreed we should not judge ourselves on our wins.

He's seen what I also perceived to be our main failings today... holding midfielders not fulfilling their roles and overplaying it at times. There was more but they were key, especially the former, as they're such pivotal players in both defence and for prompting our attacking play. It's small comfort but I have yet to take issue with anything he says and I always see games the same as him. No hiding... calling it as it is, with a clear idea of specific things that need working on. This break is good for us IMO.

Lol... sorry but yet again we have some people making comments as though today was the only game we've played and that it's how we're going to play for the next ten. Criticism is most definately valid for today's performance, but to think that we cannot improve on it or that we've reached our 'peak' is silly IMO. Plus, I think there is a certain irony in that we were berating some quarters of the press for not recognising how well we played vs Derby and Brum, with so much focus on how poor they played, and here we are IMO, doing Blackpool a disservice because I thought they played very well and deserve a lot of the credit. A few players had poor games, which contributes massively to the team effort given that our game is based around keeping the ball moving around. We still tried to play the right way but wasted possession too much and we need to learn from that. I agree that subs should've been made earlier but, as usual, some of the sweeping comments and criticisms lose sight of the bigger picture IMO. Today was a harsh lesson and has raised numerous learning points. It does not mean we're going to be relegated, it does not mean 'we're sh*te', it does not make Gillett and Schneiderlin 'lightweight'... it is just one poor game that needs to be judged as such alongside all others. The team have set higher standards for themselves and I have no doubt that they realise they did not meet them today. They put the effort in and so I feel it would be churlish to criticise them too much as they tried to do the right things, but today it didn't work. I still found it entertaining and much prefer what I'm seeing to last season. Lets use the break wisely, get a rest, regroup and then get back on it at QPR.

I don't recall anyone calling them that at all. There were reservations aplenty but if anything the anger at the time was purely vented at Lowe and co, and it was recognised that JP and Wotte weren't to blame for anything.

Another option for hire are these guys: http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/ Far cheaper than most other rental places. Run by togs, for togs (to use an extremely overused phrase!).

Sounds like you've got plenty of recommendations but I would add Nandrews to that list, just off Shirley High Street... I forget which road exactly they're on but it's the town end, near the car wash place. Better halfs family have used them for years, always done a good job and good value. Shrek uses a place on Empress Road and always speaks highly of them too but he's in Brazil at the mo and I can't remember the name.

Indeed, that and the next line were the highlights for me, and it's something our fans need to remember aswell as our young players. There will be setbacks. But it's important to remember that they will ultimately help us improve, so don't get too frustrated or annoyed... get behind them and believe in what is happening.

Twas mentioned on another thread, but it's worthy of it's own.

How about this? Item 260173322544 on ebay... Buy it Now and they're based in Kingsclere so maybe you could pick it up today?

How about outdoor type places... Blacks or Oswald Bailey or Millets?

The opposition will always be described as poor if we play well and win, because comparitively, they will be! The difference comes in how the journo's decide to portray the game... do they focus more on how well we play, or how poor the opposition are? So don't hold your breath!

That Daily Mail article is very good, and there are a few good points in it. One which I think all fans need to read and take note of however is this: 'But if you lose and learn why you lose, it will make you better. It will make you a winner in the end. Don't hide yourself. That's what you have to believe in. 'It is no good for a manager to start thinking: "Now I have to do it another way." You know what you want, so go for it. If not today, tomorrow. If not tomorrow, the day after. Ajax were not born in a day.' Fans need to remember this. Someone else alluded to this in another post this week... we will lose games and we will play poorly at times... maybe often, maybe less so, but it will happen. Our reaction to that is important and hopefully, now fans are starting to believe in JP's methods, we will all get right behind the team and coaching staff no matter what the most recent result.

Do you need the zoom? You might consider the 300mm f4 prime if you don't and you need more than 200mm. The 100-400 is an excellent lens if you can handle the push pull. Some people find it a bit too weird.

Look at where our goals have come from, and you have your answer... Lallana and Holmes have both weighed in, and chances have fallen to the entire forward quartet in msot games... that's the whole point of the formation and the style of play... it creates openings for various players. And so farm we're playing it very well and just need a slightly sharper cutting edge to really kill games off sooner.

Fantastic result, well done lads. Particularly like the comment about 'the boys just grew up'... They know what happened last time vs Brum and stood up to them. We had to withhold some pressure and came through. A valuable win, even if they did rest some players... So did we!

The majority of our game sounds very positive... creating chances, defending ok... and I actually think the fact that we're not winning might be a good thing as it means less chance of complacency creeping in. Keep going lads...

I'm on that road also but found it quite uplifting as it is the first real production I've seen taht actually deals with all of the issues, and not just one or two, and explains how they're all so interlinked. Even for those of us who are on that road, it helped reaffirm my intentions to do my bit.