We were playing great football and the high press was working well. Macca's absence has meant we are relying on awful players to cover (Luka/Kouyate). The knock on effect was Gallagher having to drop back and play a more defensive role where he has not been anywhere near as effective breaking down the play in the attacking areas.
I honestly believe Will Hughes would have been the perfect replacement for Macca, but he was not fully fit and PV hadn't been impressed with him in training. We have simply been overun in midfield by Villa/Leeds and the fact Benteke/Ayew couldn't hit water if they fell off a ship hasn't helped.

Oh definitely 100% even if we end up in a relegation scrap the games are more enjoyable

I'm trying to be positive in the sense that we are losing by fine margins. I think we've been a bit flat compared to earlier games and losing Macca and Anderson hasn't helped in that regard. Just need to really dig out a result to try and turn the corner again. Trouble is with Everton at home it's one of those that we never seem to win!

Do you think that he'll mention snatching the ball off Luka in the 90th minute against Bournemouth after being sacked from penalties by Allardyce for two equally tame efforts.

or the fact that he was statistically the worst striker in Europe in 2017-18 with 3 goals from 23 good chances ?

or that he started 2018-19 just as badly with the lowlight being his miss from two yards in a home defeat against Southampton.

I don't think he'll be in a position to complain about anyone to be honest.

you are so correct, this football club needs PL football for the income to develop the ground and to build a team that can hold its own in PL. I can remember the days when the only time we saw a decent team was if we made it to the 3rd round of the FA Cup. There are many examples of teams who were in PL and their fans demanded more entertaining football, for example Charlton and look where they are today!

If we maintain our current ratios (Win 20% Draw 47%), over the 38 games then we should manage 41 points which should be enough to guarantee survival for another year. All this of course supposes we do not have any serious injuries as this may upset the balance and there is certainly no room for any more errors or bad performances. I do also think we have to be realistic about what we can realistically achieve under the current ownership, it certainly is not a top four finish as some suggest. We will never have the investment or funds that are made available to the top six clubs in this league where in most cases their bench and squad players would probably be worth more than our whole collective 25 man squad. We have to also be realistic about the academy and the U23 squad both are great to have but they will not supply the quality players in sufficient numbers to guarantee our survival in the PL so will always be reliable on having a good scouting system that can pick up quality players at the right price. I'm more than happy that we develop in to a safe mid table PL team so that the club can get the revenue its needs to improve our ground and team even if at times the football has to be boring to avoid relegation.