Funny how BBC's Live Text noted that the last goal was offside, but the match report doesn't. More big club favouritism / lazy journalism?

Getting back to the point. Losing at home to Man City is no shame. Losing at home to Brighton, Watford, Southampton and Wolves on the other hand...

I don't buy this "if we push forward they will tank us" talk. Frankly Hodgson sets up each game, whether against Huddersfield, Brighton, Man City or Chelsea, exactly the same - sit deep, deny the space in behind etc etc. Problem is that s*** is never going to work because the opposition know that Schlupp and PVA are an open door.

Hodgson has only plan A, irrespective of the quality of the opposition, there's nothing else in his locker.

Edited by southnorwoodhill (14 Apr 2019 4.45pm)

As Jimmy Greaves once observed: "Football's a funny old game."

Well, losing 1-3 at home to Man City isn't exactly side-splitting, but in a game which elicited not even a yellow card, the most remarkable component of our performance for me today was Christian Benteke's start, and Roy Hodgson's persistence with him throughout.

Tell me, Roy: was that a bet? Was it a contractual obligation? Was it to contribute to the player's personal Premier League stats, with a view to making him a tad more saleable?

We're not quite in a parallel universe with this guy (Benteke, I mean) - it's just as if he's slightly out of phase with ours. A striker who, not only can't strike, but also now seems flatly resigned to refusing to do so. Why should we pay £120K a week, or whatever it is, for that?

Today's execrable display included a six-yard box heading opportunity, which he inevitably missed, but worse, a knock-down for a non out-and-out striker in that self-same part of the pitch. Surely that's what you're there for, fella.

And if your mojo has thoroughly deserted you, then you could at least haul your seemingly overpaid butt back up the pitch and help out defending, as per Messrs Zaha and Townsend, rather than standing there, statuesque, waiting for the perfect pass, which will never be delivered, because ironically, even if it were, you'd still somehow contrive not to connect with it.

I suppose that a somewhat fortuitous 39 points (17 goals scored in the last 15 mins, 10 pens from Luka) renders all of this somewhat academic; but it could all so very easily have been otherwise...

Firstly, apology’s.

I’m a fan not a tactical genius otherwise I’d be in the game coaching or managing and not on a fan forum discussing. As has been written in the last few posts, we had nothing to lose. They did not take there foot off the gas so much as we decided to have a go. I’ve watched every minute of every game this year and I’m not calling for Roy’s head, far from it, but as a fan I, like many others, are bored silly of the way we play. It can be forgiven to grind out a result when relegation is in the balance but not when we can have a free hit.

We are not moving forwards and we will lose our best players if we keep playing like this. Would you want to play for a team like ours if you had Wilfs skills or AWB promise?

We need to push on now and using the remaining games would be a great time to try out some new tactics and set ups. It can’t be a coincidence that every striker who has played for us over the last few years has suffered. I feel sorry for Teckkers (although I don’t think he has helped himself either). Bats looked good when he started and within a couple of weeks looked like garbage. As I said it can’t be a coincidence.

Sorry to dissapoint you, BUT, VAR is not there for that. Its there for offsides, goals, cautions/dismissals, penalties & mistaken identities, oh & of the ball incidents.

I'm a blind man, i'm a blind man, now my room is cold,
When a blind man cries, Lord, he feels it from his soul.
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