Salopian

A mixture, of course, but the worst would be to sit back, because they will find a way through our error prone defence. Bennett and Rudd must start, with fast attacks down the wings by backs and wingers. Above all we need commitment and a willingness to run and run, as well as passing better. Leicester beat Chelsea yesterday by being quick into tackles, running into spaces and moving the ball quickly. For t

Is the reasoning for two up front for us that if you lack a competent striker you play two less than competent, in the hope that added together they make one? We have tightened up the defence, with the arrival of Rudd and the inclusion of Bennett, although I am concerned about the two fullbacks. Now AN must consider how to maximise our attacking potential. It could mean using two strikers, but as the strikers have managed three or four goals between them all season, it may need the midfield to score more. Of course, if we manage to sign a good striker in January, the whole situation will change.

Apart from Brady not many members of our side would command a high transfer fee at the moment, and some seem to be underperforming. We have strikers who can''t, - Hooper, Mbokani, L:afferty, Jerome, Grabban, but is the problem the poor service they receive, or the fact that we are now playing only one striker, at least from the start? Is the problem the midfield, who are not good enough creatively and defensively? Or is it still the defence who need cover and need more forward players to tackle back? Or tend to lose concentration? We have signed journeyman players because of the cost of replacing so many inadequate players is too high. Or is the problem that we have players who are insufficiently adaptable to accommodate the manager who tries to select and combine to meet the challenge of other teams?

Or is he lacking confidence? He doesn''t seem to want to take on opponents. Is he unhappy at CR, or does he not like the team shapes or strategies, or the defensive role he is called on to fulfil?

Little wonder that Hull wanted to hang on to him! I was a little disappointed at first with what we payed for him, but now I think that he is worth every penny. Neil obviously rates him as our only consistent supplier of passes, sufficiently good to keep Redmond on the bench at starts, and with our new found emphasis on defence and counter-attack he is absolutely vital. His must be the first name on the team sheet each week. What really pleases me is the commitment he shows. I shall remember the 30 yard dash back to support Olsson and the effective tackle he made when he reached the Arsenal player. Very impressive!

The recent defensive improvement leads me to hope that we are not in for a massacre, but as it has done by weakening our scoring potential I can''t see us scoring more than one goal, if we score at all. The best I can hope for is 1-1, but I think that it could be 0-2, as Chelsea are due to come good.

I don''t know how long he has left on his contract, but if he is well down the pecking order if reports are right that we are after Gayle again, and if RVW and Hooper return, perhaps we have to cut our losses and get him off the payroll. But we owe other clubs nothing, and we should get what we can. As an international player, and scoring goals for the Irish, he has got to be worth £1.5m to £2.0m.

I would certainly fancy a more supple Rudd to twist and get to high corner shots as well as those on the ground, and to change direction quickly when needed. At his best before his dreadful injury, I could understand why he was considered for England, and why the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal apparently rated him, if only as back-up keeper. Now he doesn''t command his area, and makes mistakes and misjudgments. I don''t think that he is anywhere near his best at the moment, for whatever reasons.

Seems a promising player, and probably one we need to sign. There may be other clubs chasing him, but unless they have CBs out with injury there shouldn''t be much pressure. Prices are likely to be higher in the window than in the summer, so we have to be prepared to spend silly money. Could we sweeten the pill for the club and for their supporters by doing some kind of swap deal for Hooper, who certainly seems low in our ranking?

Despite the fact that we could be propping up the table by then, I can''t see us spending very much in January. With a defence conceding goals every match by its own mistakes, we surely need one or two players, but I can'';t see the club risking massive debt by lashing out out big money at a time when players cost more than they do in the summer. What could happen is one or two expensive loans, perhaps superannuated CB or RB. The trouble is that not many clubs are likely to loan us quality.

Many people feel that a captain is better located among the back four, and even better in the centre. He needs have much of the play in front of him, to assess what is needed. The captain has to lead by example, in terms of commitment and performance. He also has to keep an eye on where the players are - many of our goals conceded resulted from a defender being in the wrong place, and get them back to where the manager wants. He also has to lead by word, if necessary loud words, to help the remainder stay in position. As if all this is not enough, he has a role in the changing room and around the training area, to encourage and persuade, as well as setting an example. Who could do all this without it affecting his own game?

We paid some good money for Brady because of his ability to make accurate crosses and to place good corners. Have they not learned how to use him, and practiced in training? It''s very disappointing, because with Olsson and Redmond in particular also very good crossers of the ball we really should do better.

It''s difficult to know what team to suggest that would stand any chance of holding Everton, let alone beating them. Some of our promising young players who might have risen to the task are out on loan. It''s possible to make some guess of who will play, from Neil''s mention of using some of the more peripheral players, and in this Vadis, Rudd, Lafferty Bennett and Wisdom could be picked, and Lumumbu will surely replace the knee wounded Tettey. I think that if Elliot Bennett was still available, he would surely inject some pace into the back line. Will Jerome get a game to maintain match fitness, or will Mbukani continue to settle in? I have no idea.

the way WBA kept us out once they had scored their goal. We should also learn how to shoot from distance - anything more than about 12 yards and the ball sails over the bar. (I''m not sure if it is just poor technique, of perhaps panic, but we must convert more of our chances.) It''s ironic that two of our best strikers from distance are the Murphy lads, who are out on loan. Above all the defence has to find someone to lead and organize them, - they individually go out of position, or lack knowledge of what they should be doing.

It could be the case, especially if Bournemouth get all the wounded back soon. I am even more worried about 2016. We clearly failed to improve our defensive capabilities, and players who last time were not shown up are now up against top players who have arrived for big money. I can''t see us spending the kind of money we need to spend over the January widow.

Sorry, but with our defence, it''s difficult to see better than 1-1

We have one of the worst defensive records in the Premiership, and that with various combinations in the midfield. I have been concerned about Whitaker''s defensive ability soon after his arrival, and Martin lacks pace and height. The biggest disappointment has been Olsson. All these make good contributions going forward but are lacking in tackling and positioning at times.

Yes - Ruddy seems to have lost something compared with him at his best. He still gets down well to save for a big man, but Rudd seems more supple and agile. Ruddy seems to have lost his dominance of the area, which otherwise would give him an edge over Rudd.

I didn''t see the game, but if Olsson was poor defensively, then this is a worry. We already have Whittaker, Russell and Wisdome who are much better going forward than defending. This means that we have only one really effective defender in Bassong, and at times I wonder if if he is quite the player he was. The consequence is that we have to rely on Tettey to protect the defence. There was even a suggestion on another posting that we should play both Teetey and Mulumbu. If we did this, and also played the less defensive Redmund, we would be back in Hughton days, and with a very weak attack.

We would be playing with three people who are mainly wingers, and I doubt whether Dorrans can provide the creativity on his own down the centre. I would be happier with Howson playing alongside Dorrans and Brady on the outside. If we have to chase the game, there could be room for Jarvis.

It has to be Mbokani, unless he is tired after travelling.

In my opinion Howson has a slight edge, if only in acceleration and over 20 yards where he is as quick as anyone in the club, and also greater variety and technique in shooting. He was not at his best against Leicester, but then nobody excelled, and he was playing out of position.

Given the ability that both teams have to score goals, and the disability in defending, I would expect a score of 2-2, but I could be surprised by a better performance by either in defence.

Very good going forward, and matched WHU, but there is still the concern about failures to defend set pieces, even if Ruddy''s punch was a little unlucky. If a striker could hit a golden patch, i.e. score goals, and the defence concentrate for 90+ minutes, then we could really be motoring.

Granted that Jerome does make other contributions, but his main function, especially when there is only one, is as a striker. He misses at least one chance per match, and he is the specialist player - the rest are midfielders and defenders. I think that when Mbukani is fit, it could focus Jerome''s mind if the new player is given a game or two. What concerns me, with our failure to sign a striker in the summer, is that he is regarded by many as a good Championship player, as we saw last season, but in a few chances he has not been able to step up to the Prem. It can''t be helping him that he is played as a loan striker, faced by two big central defenders usually I fear that the same is true of Grabban and Hooper, and I have still to be convinced by Lafferty.