This post has been merged from a topic called '5 things learnt' by Midlands Eagle

2,3,5 Yes

Other two not so objective

Responsibility Deficit Disorder is a medical condition. Symptoms include inability to be corrected when wrong, false sense of superiority, desire to share personal info no else cares about, general hubris. It's a medical issue rather than pure arrogance.

Sørloth is so far out of his depth. He can't control a football and has no idea where it's going.

Yeah Benteke missed chances, the header from the corner was the only one I was really upset about. The one on one he linked up well and made the keeper work, the one from two yards, well it's hard to beat a keeper who is only a foot away from you. I felt Sørloth should have scored there with the first header as well. Nodding it to Benteke gave McCarthy time to adjust and smother it.

Thought Benteke did the target man role quite well and linked well with Ayew on a few occasions and should have had at least one penalty.

Personally, I think when Ayew is fit (people moaned when he went off but he looked knackered and at that point was just giving away fouls) he offers the movement to play as the lone striker if we revert to 4231.

To me, the much bigger problem was the midfield and the gameplan. Watching all three strikers today, the centre halves or Luka would have the ball, have no forward options so Benteke/Sørloth/Ayew start making runs ready for the long pass but it doesn't come. All three of them had to spend half their time trotting back from being offside because the pass was delayed. Even when Benteke came short at one point, Sakho still tried that ridiculous pass to PVA through 4 defenders that didn't work once. Right now we're mot playing patient, possession football. We're playing ponderous, predictable football.

We could have Harry Kane up front, the service is so inconsistent it's ridiculous. People also moaned when Andros went off but he was awful. He has one highlight moment a game, hitting the bar against Liverpool, an early cross in the last two games, and after that he's running around like a headless chicken who can't pass or control the ball.

Then you had Luka and McArthur playing exactly the same role in the first half and neither doing it well.

Jimmy looked better im the second when he pushed forward, but Luka has had a very poor start to the season. His passing is awful and his decision making and positioning are very suspect right now. Oh, and his dead ball delivery is very hit and miss. Watching him drop so deep to get the ball, at one point he dropped alongside Sakho to take a pass, then turned and passed to Kelly along the same line, which Sakho was perfectly capable of doing himself. He needs to stay further up so that in those situations the player with the ball has two options not one. His leadership was completely non-existent after the first goal as well, the body language from everyone was bad and he just stood there. Then started lunging in wildly. Would honestly rather see Kouyate start or Riedewald and Luka dropped.

Schlupp might as well have not been on the pitch. He was irrelevant in defence and attack, and only seemed capable of taking a 5 yard pass and then giving it straight back to a player who hadn't moved.

You can't win games when your midfield is that bad. When Kouyate came on we suddenly had drive and a bit of decisiveness. In the first half Luka got the ball to counter with 30 yards of open space in front of him. Instead of carrying the ball he tried a ludicrous pass with the outside of his foot and suddenly we were under pressure again. Kouyate had similar situations twice, both times he drove forward into the space and caused Southampton a problem.

When Meyer came on he wanted the ball. He demanded it. His movement was good, he can take and give off both feet. The two of them simply have to start the next game, whether they both sit and McArthur pushes forward or Meyer plays off Benteke/Ayew and Luka or Riedewald hold as well. No more 442 please.

I'd need to see the first goal again but other than that I thought Kelly had a decent ish game. He also offered better crosses than Townsend in the second half.

AWB is going to make mistakes but he's learning a position the hard way, so I don't mind that. He and PVA and Kelly kept going though. Wayne has every right to be frustrated with his teammates. He rescued us a couple of times, saves a pen and then we waste possession and chances carelessly.

Employee of the month is a good example of how someone can be both a winner and a loser at the same time.

The proof in the pudding will be after the break. Roy has a little time to have a good reassessment of what he is trying to achieve and where it is going very wrong. If he serves up the same failed game plan and sticks to players who quite clearly are not on song, then the cat will be out of the bag.

Three players stand out for me as underperforming/not good enough for the first 11 from yesterday and they were Benteke, Townsend and Schlupp. Our problem then is who plays in place of them? I still have our best 11 including Loftus-Cheek and Cabaye and of course the missing Zaha. I’m confused as to why new players purchased still aren’t up to speed to be starters from our first game onwards. We are now 5 games in and playing a weaker 11 in our league matches then we had playing for us last season? Even though I said Townsend, he would be in my top 11 playing up front alongside Zaha. Perhaps Ayew? The big center forward doesn’t seem to work for us with Roy’s way of playing/players we have so we need to go back to a stronger midfield as McArthur and Luka need quality help In midfield?

This is exactly what I was stating on HOL a couple of weeks ago.For me, he has been disappointing and perhaps his performances have not been criticised as much as all the focus is on Benteke and the continuance of his abject displays.