HampsteadCanary

Tettey''s passing isn''t great, we all know that, however he looked a different player in the second half. It''s a common feature of the NCFC of recent years that once we score we look like a different team! Amazing what a bit of confidence can do

Wingers are always inconsistent. Just hope he can do it more often than not!

For all those who wanted to see him carry the ball up the pitch, today you got your wish! Thought he had a great game and really caused Blind a lot of problems. We really need him on song, when Redmond has a good game, Norwich do.

We performed at the top of our ability to a man, although our passing was terrible in the first half an hour. We were lucky United didn''t make the most of it, but for once we actually looked like moving the ball up the pitch quickly and made great choices on the counter. Same again at Spurs?

This is also true...and thank you to Jerome for finishing that one!

TJ yes that''s true, but I was really thinking about those instinctive finishes where the ball just drops to you. I''m sure there''s no difference apart from them being few and far between. I guess it just seems to be a common problem for us, that type of finish.

The question is, what''s the difference between finding yourself unmarked at the back post and smashing it first time into the net in the Championship and the Premier League? Pressure? The goal is still the same size, as the Messiah used to say...

Interesting reading about Adrian Forbes saying he wished he worked harder in training, thinking he''d made it while Bellamy was still staying behind to practice. Maybe some of our players think they''ve made it too, and aren''t putting in that extra bit of personal dedication that leads to excellence. Or maybe they are... ...It seems to be that reactive, one touch finish that has been letting us down this season. Mbokani seems to be the only forward player capable of doing it, as we''ve seen Jerome, Grabban and Wes scuff those chances. We don''t seem to be expecting the ball to come to us in those positions, maybe they need to work on this specifically. I''m sure Alex Neil is aware and doesn''t need my help, just an observation of a trend.

Quality of defending doesn''t look all that, competent finisher though...

You could also argue that there has been very little consistency in the striker selection. A lot of strikers need to feel like they''re ''the man,'' like GKs being told they''re no. 1. It gives them the confidence that if they miss a chance, they''ll still be in the team the next week. Grabban missed a sitter in his first ever game in the prem, we were all saying he''s not good enough for this league, and that may be true but he was then out of the team, threw his toys out of the pram and has only had two starts in a row, three total appearances. That''s not enough to give a striker confidence, whether he''s good enough or not. I feel Jerome is the only player who''s really been given a decent run of games, and proven that he isn''t the answer to our goal scoring problems. Yes he works hard, but he doesn''t have an assist to his name either, and only 2 goals from 9 starts. Mbokani has been fairly harshly treated as well, having scored something like 2 in 3, and looking like he was at least bring our midfielders into the game more, providing assists for the likes of Jarvis and Howson. If the strikers aren''t scoring, they should at least provide a decent threat to play other players in. So, our strikers are all performing at a similar level, although they''re all in and out of the team most of the time. But if they''re not doing the business, then the midfield has to step up and as of late, that hasn''t really happened! Redmond is the only player to have a decent scoring record (for a winger) this season, and I would certainly start him, and I feel the return of Jarvis will help massively. None of our central midfielders are chipping in either, with Howson and Wes getting one goal each. So basically we''re screwed...

I would love to see two of our strikers on the pitch together. I know we''ve seen Mbokani and Jerome a couple of times, but they''re probably the most similar in terms of style. Would love to see Hooper with Mbokani or Lafferty in a flat 4-4-2. Seems to be working for Leicester, Newcastle and Watford, and they all beat us!

4-4-2 seems to be doing the trick for a few teams this season. I''d play Mulumbu and O''Neill in the middle, Brady left, Redmond right, and play Mbokani and Hooper up front. In January. When we don''t sign anyone....

surely the big clubs are pretty much all on TV each week anyway, if you want to stay at home and watch the top four play, you can now! Just at 1 or 5pm or on Sunday or Monday!

....or a replacement for Jake Keane, who hasn''t exactly covered himself in glory for us between the sticks this year!

When have we ever seen our luck even out over a season? When was the last time we were given a soft pen in this division? Probably when Holty was still playing for us! Wes was probably going to try and trap it as it came over his head, he was barged to the ground by a challenge that doesn''t make contact with the ball. Penalty.

What about: Ruddy Brady Martin Bennett Bassong Olsson Mulumbu Tettey Hoolahan Jerome/Mbokani Grabban So a 3-4-1-2 designed to stay solid but make as much use of Hoolahan as possible. Wes was devastating when we played Holt and Martin in front of him, this is a way of playing him with options in front and out wide without compromising our defence. Wes has been good at tackling back as well recently, and I think actually puts himself about more than Howson ironically. I''d love to see what Hooper would be like alongside the beast Mbokani as he looked his best when with Elmander. I guess we won''t know til January, maybe never!

He did run his socks off, but we never got the ball away early enough for him. Thus he was constantly offside, or up against three players. I still don''t think he''s as intelligent with the ball as Mbo, as he just decides to wallop it against the defenders rather than try and find a man. We didn''t play to his strengths tonight, I''m surprised Wes didn''t come off for Jerome as the centre of the park was looking ok, but we could have done with more of an outlet at times...

I think having scored four this season, he definitely is improving! However the last few matches he has been poor. He''s not the only one though. I think Neil played him tonight to give him the chance to go out and prove that he should play on Saturday. Did he do enough? Probably not, but there aren''t many other options, apart from playing players out of position. Could play Olsson and Brady left, Whitts/Jarvis right.

Interesting how short Olsson is! I had no idea, he''s 5''7. No wonder he always seems to be beaten at the far post for headers coming in from our right hand side (whittaker not stopping them!)

I''m sure SAN knows what''s wrong, maybe the players just aren''t good enough to execute what he wants. They all need to play at 100% to stand a chance in this league, and that has only happened on a few occasions, and when other teams weren''t quite at it.

Should the 4th goal have been offside? Surely if there''s a player on the penalty spot going for the ball and someone comes in behind him then the first player is interfering with play? Just thinking on another day, we hit the post twice, could have had a penalty and that fourth goal is debatable. We don''t seem to get a lot of luck; no penalties, no lucky deflections etc, but you make your own luck. We need to be first to every ball on Saturday, and show West Brom that we mean business. Whether that means changes or not remains to be seen, but we need points!

I found the comment on the whole team being comfortable receiving the ball very interesting. I think this may be the key to BJ''s departure, as he never looked really comfortable running with the ball at his feet and this is something AN really wants in a player, definitely if they''re in a wide position. Remember the game under Lambert against Swansea when we started with a midfield of Fox, Surman, Howson and Wes and blew them away? Not as good as our current players, but still they were our best ball players then and proved that with the right instruction they could win premier league games without needing to be overly physical. Surprisingly, part of winning football matches is having players who can receive the ball, control it, pass accurately and then move. This was severely lacking under Hughton, whether by ability or instruction. I can imagine Mulumbu eventually coming in for Tettey for this reason, and maybe Mbokani replacing Jerome as they are both better ball players and just as good athletically.

I think if we''re still around the same position by January (wishful thinking perhaps, but not impossible) then we may have a better chance of securing someone of that calibre. The performance levels of our current players may allow the club to buy their replacements, but then that''s football!

Are we impressed? I thought Mbokani looked sharp when he came on and was unlucky not to score (as Jerome and Grabban have been too). I think the most pleasing thing was his use of the ball, he looked like he would be able to play in any of our other three attacking players with a bit more guile than the other two. Also very pleased Jerome is off the mark, we could have really good competition for that spot now. COYY!!

Surely Kevin Nolan, Ravel Morrison or Ben Arfa would be worth a punt on a free? Ravel Morrison looked very good for a while, if anyone could get him to knuckle down it would be Alex ''I''ll break your balls" Neil! Doesn''t solve the defensive problem though... I saw Marvin Sordell was released as well, could he do a job as a fourth striker were we to send Grabban out on loan?