He's lost that speed of thought. You can see him hesitate when he gets the ball, rather than know g what to do with it before he get's it.....if that makes sense..

All that's happened to Punch is that his pre-retirement performance drop-off has started early whilst the level of the league has increased.

It's a shame that he appears to be the only player we have who can do the on-pitch organising that every team needs.

Well I think Simon's head is large; always involved in espionage. (Name that tune)

I agree my point of the post was if you bothered to read it, is he appears non effective at the moment. So is the captaincy a step too far for him. Remove the captaincy he may be more positive, effective without the added pressure ? It's a thought from someone who cares about our club. How can we get Puncheon playing at his most effective ?

and it's goodnight from me.......

"my point of the post was if you bothered to read it..."

And the point of my post was to take issue with your unfounded criticism that Jason is 'disinterested'. Or didn't you bother to read it?

I know it's fashionable on here to slag him off whilst ignoring the poor performances of others, but questioning his commitment is taking it too far.

We are all disappointed and frustrated, but Jason isn't the sole (or even principle) cause.

I'm hoping it will all still come good. Like most on here I'd have preferred us to have stuck with what we do best. But we've chosen a different route and it's a time to pull together, not look for scapegoats.

Surely the only question that needs posing is
"Is there anyone better than Punch to play in his 'position'?"

My answer is quite simply, yes.

Spirit of 1974

Puncheon is a liability and that's putting it mildly. He lacks speed and sadly many skills required to play at this level. I counted at least 5 times yesterday where he lost possession when challenged in one on one situations! One resulting in a needless caution. He can't pass with his right foot and his first touch is poor at best. I think he would struggle to make most championship club's rosters frankly, so why is he the first player picked every week? Why he was given the captaincy is beyond me, better off giving it to Zaha IMHO.

I understand he has been a loyal servant to the club over the years but his output has been diminishing greatly for over 2 seasons now. Time to replace him.
Mind you all of the above applies to quite a few others in the squad too. We need to get rid of the deadwood NOW!

"Billy Gilbert really is God"