Deeg67

I actually think all three goals are more on the defending than Ward. It's just that Mads was papering over a lot of that and Ward (obviously) can't do that. Not starting Facundo - that's on Ruud.

Yeah, I'm all for giving Ruud a chance to prove himself but not starting Buonanotte is... puzzling. He's literally been our best player.

Why is Iverson not an option? Certainly better than Ward and no questions about his fitness, if not sharpness.

In their last 180 Premier League Matches, Brighton have 60 wins, 60 draws, and 60 losses. That’s gotta be pretty unlikely.

This is the correct answer. Every team near the bottom of the table has fans who believe they’re doomed. Only three will be right. The bottom 6 or seven have huge flaws just like we do, and Southampton looks truly cooked. It’s like the guy who goes camping in bear country with his friend, wearing running shoes. The friend says “Dude, why are you wearing running shoes?” “These woods are full of bears.” The friend laughs. “You can’t outrun a bear. They can run 30 MPH.” ”I don’t have to outrun the bear. I only have to outrun you.”

Brighton last week?

Who's voting against Ruud LOL

If that relaxed you, I'll have what you're having. Yeah, 31 shots from WHU is not the same as 31 from Liverpool. But I still think defensively we looked extremely shaky (largely thanks to the midfield). Mads had to make several excellent saves. Work in progress, just the first match. As far as the other way it's pretty straightforward - quick, counterattacking football. It almost looked like the Claudio title year at times going in that direction.

Unless it's one of the real power clubs I just think Vesty is vital to have out there. So much of our buildup starts with him.

ITA, thought he was very effective.

31 shots from West Ham, yikes.

They’ve knocked out two League 1 sides, don’t sell them short.

Hey Ruud, Don’t be a cad Take our bad club, And make it better And remember, Ricardo really should start Then you can start To make it better

Who knows what will happen with Man City the way they’re foundering, but if they really do loan McAtee out in January I would hope we’d make every attempt to make that happen. Ruud’s system looks a lot more palatable with a true attacking mid like that in place. We’d have some serious competition for him, though.

If we want a guy to get us organized, believing, and competent for one season to survive, Moyes seems like a pretty solid bet to me.

Is this “Moyles” thing some kind of inside joke I’m not aware of, of just a bunch of mooks misspelling his name?

After that shltshow that’s what you choose to complain about - the one thing all night that actually made sense?

Agreed, he’ll be worth that (or close) to someone not us. At his age and doing what he’s doing in the toughest league in the world? That number is very realistic. Not only does his game pass the eye test but he’s producing goals and assists.

There’s no question we look way better in possession with Vesty on the pitch. He also gives us another option on set pieces, which we’re going to need to keep being efficient on in order to succeed. I still think the best move with him is using him selectively. Against teams where we figure to have a decent amount of the ball, he starts. Against the top six or eight clubs use him as a bench option if we’re (inevitably) trailing late. The notion of using him in a three or as a CDM against those sides is an interesting one but it’d be a big gamble, and there’s no evidence Cooper is inclined to set us up that way.

We'll be fine. I think we clearly have more than the bottom couple of sides, and Cooper has a way of doing just enough.

We just look more composed and dangerous building from the back with Vesty out there. Maybe not the best option when we'll have 30% of the ball but against our rivals in the bottom half, a must-start for me.

Shhh, narrative.

Like it or not, Ayew is a valuable player for a team that’s going to be near the bottom in possession, relying on set pieces, and probably in a tangle to stay up right to the end. He does a lot of little things like holdup play and drawing fouls, and he’s useful in training ground ploys off corners and free kicks. Not glamorous, not pretty, not the LCFC we’d all like us to be. But the goal is to survive and he can help us do that.

Here's the thing with Cooper. Somehow the whole usually manages to be more than the sum of the parts. First off, I don't see how anyone can question the will of the players to fight for him considering how many points we've scavenged with good second-half performances. Second, the numbers bear it out - we're good on set pieces. Clever. When you're a club trying to survive relegation, that's a vital component. And third, his in-game management yesterday at least is trending up. Still lots of questions to be asked. Generally speaking, the style of football is not easy on the eyes and he needs to be more attacking from the opening whistle. But somehow Cooper teams find a way to stay up and he does deserve some credit for us being mid-table.

I know only complaining is allowed here where Cooper is concerned but would you rather have issues with the bench or the starting eleven?