Thracian

It would. Much safer and especially for Shakespeare who'd commendably admitted to getting it wrong at Arsenal. He wouldn't have wanted a repeat and neither would you in his shoes. .

Can't agree about Slimani - he looked sharp, focused and involved enough on Saturday and has a record that emphasises how dangerous he is in the penalty area. i don't know how happy he is but he could sure do himself a lot of good with the involvement he's likely to get this season if he gets his head down. He'll be a likely starter at Sheffield tomorrow and I hope he makes a case for himself.

He'll probably have friends/family up there apart from anything else. Can't imagine he'll be utilised. Don't we usually play the groundstaff in cup matches anyway - or take the attitude that all our cup games are a bit of an inconvenience! There's always some reason half the team's not playing and an air of "we're only picked when it doesn't matter," from the shadow team. I knew we'd lose at Millwall at the death if there was any danger of us needing a replay. Millwall fans say they beat us fair and square but I say they only beat part of us. Our heart was never in it, the same as against Burton Albion and Hull in recent memory. We once had a proud tradition in Cup games. Nowadays we shouldn't have the cheek to even charge for tickets but should instead give em to fans as a reward for their fortitude in being willing to travel at all for what is invariably a much devalued football outing and much more a training exercise for the shadow squad.

Good job you're not the manager. You'd want to play 13 or 14 players at a time or making changes for the sake of keeping players happy rather than acting according to the game's requirements.

Hindsight's wonderful and often ignores the full factors. Shakespeare will have remembered how we sat back and tried to beg the point we were sitting on at Arsenal last season and perhaps thought Iheanesco's potentially dangerous presence would stop some of the home defenders joining the siege.As mentioned communication wasn't the best and rarely is when you have busy pre-seasons both in terms of playing commitments and personnel coming and going. I don't deny James was struggling - King being the obvious replacement - but Mahrez was the weakest link in terms of resilience and Chilwell would have provided an answer to that problem with Vardy/Slimani and Iheanesco up front and taking turns to fulfill what they could of Shinji's role. That would have given us balance, numbers, passing ability, a worthwhile threat and no need to fall back so readily onto the edge of our penalty or to be so exposed on the flanks.

Right from the off I thought Maguire would make a massive difference for us from attacking set pieces bu we're already in danger of seeing so much good in the bloke we ignore the faults that need rapidly ironing out and make him vulnerable as well as classy. a) He often takes too much time on the ball moving out of defence and once or twice every game he gets ambushed and leaves us in danger of conceding a goal because, once caught, there's no way he'll recover to catch anyone with a bit of pace. He has the class to play the ball quicker and I wish he would because it would eliminate the weakness and give receiving players that little bit more time. b) Connected with that is his adventure leaving us vulnerable because on the counter because we've so little cover in a two-man midfield and James is not quick in any case. Brighton didn't ask many questions at all and looked remarkably green but Arsenal scored four times and had an abundance of shots and it will doubtless be the same at Old Trafford unless we're very clever indeed. Either way there's no way we can leave ourselves exposed to either the pace of United's players or passing with a shortage of numbers. Morgan and Maguire will need to be fully focused and strategically connected and we'll need all the pace, energy and numbers we can muster in central midfield along with the resolve to be ruthless on the counter or from set plays. It's not impossible. We've given some great displays against top teams in both The Prtemiership and Champions League. But we can't afford indiscipline of any kind, or much getting caught in possession. Maguire is a wonderful prospect, no question, but he's more to learn before he's a master craftsman in the job and I'm sure he'll know that whatever the praise he gets.

If James' name was King he'd be getting criticised. They are so similar in just doing the simple things quietly.

That was still ouir best performance at Arsenal in ages and we played Ranieri's team when we won the title too. I don't care if Shakespeare plays 11 trombones if we keep winning enough games to stay challenging at the top end of the table.

Enitrely agree - he looked entirely like a decent player doing his best. Even as fit as i've seen him. I'd not just keep him but use him with Saturday's attitude.

How many times does he blow hot for a moment and cold for a long time? Our medics are busy enough as it is.

I see absolutely no problem with Mahrez continuing to play so long as his attitude is right. All his team-mates seem to be accepting him well enough. I imagine most have their ups and downs regarding whether they should stay or not as most of the rest of us do in the workplace. One thing's fairly certain. We'll be less of a threat without him.

It was clear from the manner of our first goal that Mahrez would shine on Saturday. Brighton's left-back looked more like a doorman at The Ritz the way he stepped aside to let Mahrez pass in that first crucial minute. And from that point, Mahrez knew he was in a theatre of fun for the day and took centre-stage with relish. But all credit to him. Given licence, he enjoyed himself and did much to see we won the match. I doubt he'll find life so comfortable against Manchester United and am quite sure he'll get clattered from time to time. Yet it's opponents like United that'll essentially shape his future because they're the sort of teams any prospective suitor will expect him to provide an edge against - a moment of magic to make the difference. Brighton didn't stir enough to provide a test for oxygen in the air.

Nor do I and fail to understand why he's so highly rated. He reminds me of a shunter on the railways. He chugs up and down arranging things this way and that but hardly ever goes anywhere exciting or beyond the confines of the yard. Creative? In artistic terms there's the odd flash of colour but he basically abstract. A King Power blue brick in a turquoise background. Sits in the frame well enough but doesn't stir the soul.

Or too sensible to risk a repeat of the Arsenal cave-in.

It's a bit ironic given all the praise he got but had Morgan made the kind of mistakes Maguire made on occasions today he'd have been slated for them. Our new centre-back might have scored a goal on his Premiership home debut and thrilled us with a few clever runs, passes and touches but he very nearly gave an unnecessary goal away with a lack of concentration. Morgan did a lot of our defending today while Maguire enjoyed the kind of freedom he'll certainly not get every week and the clear sheet speaks volumes for the entire defensive department who limited what was a seriously ordinary Brighton side to little more than crumbs. Mahrez was our virtuouso man of the match by some distance for all that he was effectively "waved through" to make Shinji's opening goal after 52 seconds as if he'd told the full-back he'd left his boots in the goalmouth and needed to get them quick before Shakespeare noticed, prompting their full-back to just step aside. Shinji looked to have evolved a new style for 20 minutes or so, performing like a Far Eastern-featured Gerd Muller in trying to sniff out chances within two or three yards of the goalline. And he might have had a hat-trick. I had no problem with Shakespeare being reluctant to make much in the way of substitutions. The team was doing its job - as seemed to be at Arsenal the previous week - and there was no need to even think of mending what wasn't broke and risking another calamity. Gray will doubtless get his chance, or his next chance I should say, when the opportunity arises. It was a solid if unexpansive performance today and as Shakespeare said himself, it was good and right to put some points on the board. .