My Observations

[carrow77 0]

So, from what I''ve seen we have power, pace, strength, look to go on the attack & have a strong team ethic. We are proving to be a match for anyone so far all of which is good to see.

We have depth too which was proven Saturday when we brought on Redmond etc to help change the game.

Would like to see us strengthen at the back as is well documented but sure this will happen in Jan. We also need to find a way to get our strikers firing, I''m sure Mbokani will get goals and gives us that physical presence that we have lacked in recent times...I''m hoping he will turn out to be a Drogba-esque type striker which will help us unsettle defences.

MOTD highlighted Ruddy''s mistakes but in the bigger picture he had made some great saves this term and is certainly up to the task.

A win against a resilient Leicester side will surpass all our expectations and leave us in a healthy position at this stage of the season.

[GJP 79]

Cameron Jerome brings presence and pace that unsettles defenders.

[carrow77 0]

Agreed but could do better at times

[Spillay 180]

Good post, you make a quality point on the potential Drogba comparison, he certainly has all the attributes to be that kind of striker. It seems quite a few were already writing his obituaries after ONE bloody game (vs WBA) where he probably wasnt even 100% fit and ofcourse it takes time to gel and develop understanding with your teammates. Yesterday he showed what he really can do, although I expect AN will probably keep him as a sub for the last 30 mins of games when Jerome is tiring to give us that extra push, for the time being.

All in all though, a promising start, the next 3 games all look winnable. Onwards & upwards hopefully :)

[Gunthorpe 0]

Agree lets get 7 points in the bag from these 3 games

[grefstad 0]

My expectations were 15 points from the 10 first games.

We now have 9 from 7 games. 6 points from the next 3 games will meet my expectations.

Given that the fixture list was very kind to us in the 10 first games, we really should have 1.5 points avg per game from those 10.

The unfortunate loss at home vs Palace has not been rectified yet, in terms of points, but the draw against Stoke has been made up by unexpected points at Liverpool and West Ham.

Based on balance of play, and "justified" results, I''d say we are 4-5 points worse off than we have deserved, but I guess other teams may well claim the same..

[Highland Canary 76]

Allowing for the fact that we have only one ''big six'' team in the next group, six points from the next four games would keep us on target for 39 points.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

You need 10 - 11 wins to stay in this league and we have 2.

We almost had 3 on Saturday which was a shame as you need to take them when you can.

It will be interesting to see how Leicester come back from their result and I''m glad McClaren got some pressure off him from his side''s draw as I want him in charge against us. Potentially, we could be his nemesis and pay him back for Derby''s goal at the end of last season.

[westcoastcanary 0]

carrow77 wrote: "Would like to see us strengthen at the back as is well documented ..........."Sorry but it ISN''T "well-documented". What is well documented is that we need to defend better as a team. Too many posters seem to have a fixation that "defence" refers only to the back four. We only "need" better players in our back four in the same sense that we "need" better players in goal, in midfield and up front. The idea that some affordable upgrade on one or two of our back four will somehow magically make up for the defensive vulnerabilities caused by  midfield lapses is simply untrue. If people can''t get this into their heads with regard to our team, I suggest they look at Arsenal. They have two vastly experienced and very capable internationals at CB  but the team''s defensive vulnerability is exploited match after match. Do people really think that replacing Mertesacker and Koscielny is the answer for Arsenal?

[grefstad 0]

No matter the phrase "defend as a team", it can not be denied that poor attempts of clearing the lines or stopping crosses (both Olsson and Martin failed to shut out Payet''s cross for Sakho) is costing us points.

Ruddy was unluck on his punch for the West Ham equaliser, but ultimately it is a personal error costing us, as so often before. And no, I don''t forget the superb stops Ruddy had in the game, but in isolation, the punch miss cost us.

[grefstad 0]

Having said that, if Jerome and/or Howson score on their big chances, we would not be debating points loss in the 93rd minute.

A littke bit lack of quality in both boxes, at vital times in the game, was enough. Bad luck, yes, but we would have got away with it in the Championship, not in the Premier.

[westcoastcanary 0]

[quote user="grefstad"]No matter the phrase "defend as a team", it can not be denied that poor attempts of clearing the lines or stopping crosses (both Olsson and Martin failed to shut out Payet''s cross for Sakho) is costing us points.

Ruddy was unluck on his punch for the West Ham equaliser, but ultimately it is a personal error costing us, as so often before. And no, I don''t forget the superb stops Ruddy had in the game, but in isolation, the punch miss cost us.[/quote]With

respect, aren''t you missing the point. The most effective way of

stopping crosses is preventing

them in the first place. A player of Payet''s quality, in space and

unchallenged, can put in a cross which the best central defenders in the

world will be lucky to cut out (and/or not put in their own net). Whoever was left exposed, as Martin et.al. were on Saturday, was on a hiding to nothing.The pass had already been well and

truly sold (pardon the pun).