Saunders is hurting us more than perhaps any other player at this stage. There's no point trying to build from the back if you've got a keeper as incompetent and hesitant as him.
Mena was presumably not fit enough to last the first half, but he was so bad that you wouldn't be entirely surprised if his substitution was down to performance rather than injury. He looked mentally checked out and overwhelmed. Says a lot about Brillant that a half-fit (and dreadful) Mena was picked over him.
Hernandez looks like a different player. Thought he was excellent today. Best CB on the team bar none at the moment.
Iraola was solid. The backheel in the lead up to the goal was worth the price of admission. Was it him who cleared off the line again? My eyesight is terrible.
Bravo appears to be the most important player in the team when we're playing three at the back. His positional sense is outstanding. Without his ability to fill in where needed we would probably lose by about three goals a game. He didn't look fully fit, but still made his mark.
Pirlo was seriously disappointing. When you have a man advantage you're looking to him to exploit the space and create something. He looked like his only idea was to chip the ball round the full back in the hope of someone quick picking it up (they didn't). He gave away an unforgivable amount of simple passes today in vulnerable positions.
McNamara was OK. He's clearly a smart player, and was in the right place at the right time for the goal. Could do with some more attacking impetus.
Poku was great. The clamour for him from the fans has been kind of embarrassing but he stepped up today. He was our most direct player, and looked like he could make something happen when he got the ball. Got to love his willingness to take people on. I felt like we lost something when we swapped him for Bellouchy. I wondered how we would fit into the 3-2-2-3 system, but he showed he could hack it today.
Mendoza has a lot of speed, and apparently some good technique here and there, but he lacks the positional discipline for this system right now - he seemed to be in the way of a lot of moves, when he should be the guy bounding forward. If his far post volley had gone in in the first half it would've been goal of the season.
Taylor puts in a lot of effort and comes up with few results. I love his dedication, but I worry he lacks the quality to really make a difference when it's needed.
Villa would have been MOTM if he had stayed central. He did an outstanding job holding the ball up and bringing in his teammates. I am staggered that he was shunted out wide after NE went down to 10 men - he was completely isolated and completely wasted out there, it basically nullified our advantage. Whether it was a result of the tactics or a lack of effort, he spent most of the second half standing on his own on the left wing, uninvolved in the game, and squandering any chance we had to capitalize.
Martinez looks OK in one-on-one situations but he doesn't have the same positional discipline as Mata, and it showed, when we were inexplicably cut open multiple times by a toothless NE front line in the second half. I think he'll look much more comfortable in a back four.
Mullins is not a target man. He was always doomed to fail spearheading the attack like that, but he should have done better with the late chance he had. I don't really think either Vieira or Kreis knows what his best role is on this team, or what specifically he offers. I certainly don't.
Ballouchy is a cipher. He seems to alternate between trying to be a cute playmaker and a safe holding player depending on the game. I admire his versatility, but he usually ends up being the proverbial master of none. As I mentioned, we took a step back when he replaced Poku.
Can't remember the exact attendance but it sounded disappointing for a sunny Sunday afternoon. I said it when the schedule came out, these long homestands are not a good thing for cultivating support.