Bailey

There was booing earlier on which I fully understand. Sometimes we are very negative but we have the game won, we are keeping hold of the ball and its not like Howard is under pressure. Booing in that situation just seems silly and it will just create more tension in the players. Booing can get a reaction from the players, which I think it did early in the game, but at that stage its pointless.

Howard!

Barkley with Besic second.

Barkley played so many key passes today. Very impressive display all round. Was good to see Kone do so well with his little cameo and if he was completely sharp he would have got on that one at the end. Could have had an assist for Etoo too!

I thought that was crazy. Yeh when we are playing slowly and looking to win, but 3-1 up and in control is stupid!

Good performance on the whole. We controlled the play for most of the game but got sloppy for 20 minutes conceded and then we sparked back into life. As much as I was frustrated with Besic in the first half, he was fucking supreme in the 2nd and was almost my MOTM. He was on the front foot all half, none of this sitting back bollocks and he was one of the main reasons we started pressing higher up the pitch. He was making the key plays defensively and Barkley at the other end, even from his deeper role, was making the key offensive plays. Jags and Distin were good enough at the back bar the goal, and Naisy put in a real shift despite not showing his quality. Lukaku good first half, crap second. I thought the Pienaar sub was the right one to help us control the game but it didnt work cos he gave it away constantly and whilst McGeady was largely anonymous I prefer him there to anyone else, just because he can stretch the play. Howard on the other hand can really fuck off. 2 things to do all game and ballsed them both up. The shot from that distance can be difficult but it really wasnt struck with any power and he palmed it into the wrong area. The lack of speed on the shot probably counted against him because he meant he had to generate the power but he has to do better.

Awful challenge. Doesn't look good for Mirallas. Few mins for Kone.

That's shocking from Jags and Howard. Too much space from Jags and Howard palming it straight to him. Should have been our free kick earlier on though.

Lukaku has been crap 2nd half. No surprise he is off.

Besic has been a monster this second half.

Me too! Thank feck!

Naisy! Better from McGeady too! Needed because we didn't half play ourselves into trouble from a good position.

Quality from Besic there. Should be a penalty on Mirallas.

His movement has been fine enough for me. With Mirallas, Mcgeady and Naismith around him, we need someone to play centrally which he is doing and when the ball has come to him he has done well.

Good enough in the end but we started dreadfully slow. I would like to see us get in their faces far more often as they are crap and we would turn over the ball so often. The good points can be mainly summed up by Barkley. They started pressing us high and he was just turning them round and he didnt take them long to drop the pace. The goal was class too. Others have shown spells, mainly Mirallas, Lukaku, Jags, Distin and Baines and others have been a little hit and miss Besic, Coleman, Naismith and then Howard who has had 1 thing to do and cocked it up and McGeady who hasnt really done anything. I have seen a lot of comments from Besic but I cant help but a lot of you are seeing how well he ends up rescuing himself. He is getting caught out of position a lot (especially the first 25 mins) and sitting too deep as well. His recovery challenges have been good but if he read the game better he would have seen the danger and snuffed it out instead of having to lunge in, especially as it hasnt always been controlled. His passing has been terrible (I would love to know what his completion rate above 5 yards was in that first 30 mins) and he was getting turned far too easily for a player of his ability. However since Barkley scored he started pressing more, he has positioning has been better and his passing has been crisper. I dont know whether someone had a word in his ear or whether it just gave him the confidence to do what he should be doing. Anyway we need to come out in the second half firing and put this well and truly to bed, showing the rest of the league what they are up against.

Think he has done really well with the service.

Big deflection but who cares! 2-0!

Yeh McGeady might as well not be playing. He has offered us more than anyone else in that position though which highlights our lack of quality in that position more than anything else!

Much better from Besic last 10. Reading the game instead of reacting to it. Naismith high on energy but low on quality.

Barkley so so good.

Wtf Howard. Lucky boy.

Besic has been awful so far. All over the place.

Barkley absolute class so far.

That's 2 quality passes from Barkley so far.

No intensity whatsoever. Like a bloody training match!