Normally cup half full

[Burnleyareback2]

That’s not burnley, we are throwing games

[bfcmik]

Pope has had a mare, Long showing we should have gone with Tarks and Dunne (who can at least play on the left of the 2), Taylor and McNiel looking VERY ordinary (as Dwight has been known to at St James' Park in the past, alas), we looked good for 15 minutes then we scored and stopped playing again for the rest of the evening. Disappointing at best, verging on unacceptable for long spells.

[Juan Tanamera]

Me too but I can't think of anything to defend that performance.
If there are problems within the club, then that's where it should stay and not on the pitch.
We need Ben Mee back asap to bring some stability to a wretched defence.
Even Nick Pope is throwing in a few wobbles.

[Andreshotboots]

Totally agree. Where was the famous fight? Not at the races for the first half, improved a bit and got a goal, then went to pieces and down without a whimper..so many players look off the pace still and out of form it's worrying..the off field circus seems to be affecting them on it..

[WazzaClaret]

I'm the same, normally can pick positives out but I feel utterly dejected and cannot see where points will come from other than against Fulham.

[GDK]

A proper pre-season is clearly so vital for how we want to play. It's all very similar to the way we started the season two years ago.

The international break is coming at a good time. We need Mee back and to keep Tarks. Keep those two fit and the squad is good enough to stay up even without another signing, but Sean has to take a lot of responsibility for the negativity and lack of confidence that is affecting us. His attitude needs to change now or we could be cut adrift.

[Granny WeatherWax]

Tonight is about Dyche. It’s not about whoever we could have spent £15m to £20m on. It’s his tactics out there and he’s responsible for what we saw. New signings help, but it wasn’t the problem tonight. Serious chance we could start November without a point.

[Woodleyclaret]

We can only improve
Subs usage has always been an issue for Sean and I would have hooked Dwight at half time.
I would also pull him out of U21 squad he looks jaded which is a worry
But the usually lively Josh looked jaded too
Our lack of challenges for Saint -Maximin to run past un -tackled is a major concern
The Dale Stephens at Brighton was not afraid to drop an opponent when needed,our version waved an aimless leg at him for a very soft opening goal
If we have players who are not up for the fight it's time to get some of our young subs on

[jackmiggins]

Poor performance against a poor team. Continually pumping high balls up front (did Wood win any of those?) and deep crosses! Their substandard defence must have thought it was Xmas. Crosses from the byline would have crucified them! Why did Dwight keep drifting into the centre? Only narrowed our play and offered no flank. Whether that was managerial or fitness driven is a mystery. Only Bardsley, Westwood and Barnes put in a shift last night. Questions, questions? Very disappointing

[Silkyskills1]

A proper pre-season is clearly so vital for how we want to play. It's all very similar to the way we started the season two years ago.

The international break is coming at a good time. We need Mee back and to keep Tarks. Keep those two fit and the squad is good enough to stay up even without another signing, but Sean has to take a lot of responsibility for the negativity and lack of confidence that is affecting us. His attitude needs to change now or we could be cut adrift.

Not too sure that the return of Ben Mee, although welcome, would alleviate the problems we are currently enduring. Getting 'Tarks' back was supposedly going to tighten things up but we've shipped 6 goals in the 180 mins. he's played.
Our 'situation' off the pitch is now clearly manifesting itself on the pitch. Poor players, players out of position and certainly one that I believe thought his future was elsewhere.
For me, the 3 league games we've played have reminded me of days not so long ago when as a Championship side we were drawn in a cup tie against Premier League opposition. Plucky but ultimately not good enough though I realise I am creating a new definition of plucky to describe last night.
The club is so dis-united now and the mentality we were so used to witnessing has been and will continue to be eroded. Losing games will always happen but I'm more than of the opinion that at the moment this team is on the back foot before the first whistle is blown and is probably getting used to defeats which, of course, is totally unacceptable.

[GDK]

This downturn in form always happens eventually when either Mee or Tarkowski are out for any length of time. And thankfully things usually improve when they are both back in the side. Sean has been irritating with some of his comments recently but I do agree with him about the injuries. Add a fully fit Mee, Jay Rod and JBG to last night's team and we're a different proposition.

As the Gibson farce proved we might be better off being patient and not making any panic buys if we're confident these players will be back soon. We pay Sean the big money to get us through these tough periods. If we had the cash to bring in top quality replacements whenever needed we wouldn't need such an expensive manager. He needs to recognise that and get back to doing what he does best.

[Silkyskills1]

Just not at all convinced that the 'heart' and ' desire' is there in enough quantity now. Still believe that Tarkowski expected to be away by now. Any football club requires unity throughout and for a small club like ours in a league like this it is absolutely essential.

[Vegas Claret]

Just not at all convinced that the 'heart' and ' desire' is there in enough quantity now. Still believe that Tarkowski expected to be away by now. Any football club requires unity throughout and for a small club like ours in a league like this it is absolutely essential.

that is why clubs bring in players, most teams who win leagues freshen up the squads to keep that hunger there. As it is, even with a full squad we can name the starting 11 every week and we will be correct 99% of the time - it's a huge issue for us and the short sighted approach to recruitment over the last 3 years is coming back to bite us