Team Spirit

I agree with Evans, no stand out teams. I said it before game 1
Last season I picked out the top 2 (wrong order)
This season I haven't got a clue, expecting a close fight for the top 2

pontus sucking up to cooper after his 'really looking forward to forming a partnership (with pennington)' comments from a couple of weeks ago

Team spirit is important for bonding, especially on away days... our great side of the 60's/70's may not have reached the heights they did without a few bottles of gin on the team coach

...milky reaches for coat

Things are positive and TC has fitted in well and quickly.

That said we need to remain balanced. For every positive of 3 successive clean sheets is a reminder the opposition have hit the bar in each of those matches.

For me, defence is fine at the moment so no need to change anything. The left back situation needs to change - We need to either play CBJ or sign someone.

Anita should be in mf, either alongside Klitch (or O'Kane).

We need 3 quality, proven signings. Not someone who has done well in Seria B. Snodgrass would be perfect. Imagine a forward 3 of Alioski/Saiz/Snodgrass behind a striker...

We then need 2 strikers. A replacement for Wood - I like the look of Zahore but expect him to go to the PL.

We then need one other striker - Maybe someone with prior Championship experience who knows where the goal is. Like a Kevin Phillips...

In the perfect world we need 2 strikers, left back and for me a central midfielder.

To be honest as much as I hate to say it, I think Cardiff are in it for the long haul

Id be testing cardiffs resistance regarding zahore thats for sure

I get what Evans is saying, there is no obvious team.

Like last season, Newcastle were relegated despite going unbeaten in their last 6 games, had a fantastic manager and great squad with proven Championship quality.

Brighton had just missed out autos by a goal the season before.

This season, all 3 relegated teams have come down in a bit of a mess. Wolves have spent big money but it's on players new to this league. Wed and Fulham will be up there but neither have really improved their team from last season. Villa have added players but it's a big jump from midtable to autos.

Agree 100% about the team spirit shown by the team on Saturday. Lots of good things to admire in the performance and tactics, but it was the effort and commitment which really impressed me most.

Of course we need to see quality, power and pace to maintain a serious promotion push through a season but its the commitment and willingness to chase every ball and lost cause that will underpin any successful campaign and also keep the fans onside with the team.

Great to see Leeds showing it, now lets keep it going.

I know it's early, Jonty, but take a look through the goals last weekend and tell me if there is anything to match the elegance and efficiency of our two strikes at Sunderland. There are plenty of huff and puff goals, or individual strikes or clever one-twos, but for me, Saiz' feint and whipped-in cross for Dallas was in a different class. It was so elegant and deliberate, you could have had another couple of defenders and the ball would still have ended up in the net.
You don't have to watch every minute of every game to know that this was something special. It's not to say we can expect this every week, but we are capable of unravelling decent teams in a couple of moments.
For a long time last season, we were gritty and unyielding, stealing goals and keeping the opposition at bay. This season, we look like we can control games and strike fast when the opportunity presents itself.
Glass still half-full, Jonty. I said before this game that if we won, we would be contenders. Not only did we win, we controlled the game. We were the better team and for long periods, Sunderland had no idea what to do. How many games like that did we play last season?

this league is far too competitive haha... I wouldn;t regard anybody as contenders until the last 10 games... at least 15 teams have a decent chance of being promoted !! - in a sense I wish I was neutral - would be a very exciting season haha