1 shot on target is plain bad

This result sees us take a step back in the Top 4 place we're aiming for. Bad result and a very average performance in my opinion.

Reina was barely troubled. The defenders all did their jobs well and I can't fault anything with them. Hope Agger is ok.

Our midfield and attack is where all our problems lie.

- Downing - I'll admit he had a horrible game today. Completely anonymous in the first half. Beat his man once if I recall correctly.

- Henderson was decent. Good positioning and looks to be settling in. Still seems to play things a little too safe at times, but he generally has good vision.

- Gerrard was decent, but far from his best. Always tried moving our attack forwards and it's a shame no one was creating spaces for themselves.

- Adam - God I cannot stand this guy. It's aggravating watching him play sometimes. He started off well with a couple of brilliant passes, but over the course of the game just too many careless passes. (He wasn't the only one) His crosses were terrible today as well. Most of all, this guy does not seem to have a footballing brain. Very rarely seems to make the right run.

- Kuyt - Bad first touch. Had SOME decent hold up play, but for the most part was careless. And how did he miss that open header.

- Carroll - I knew we were not going to start him and rightly so. We looked more threatening with him on, but ultimately against a tough defense like Stoke, he was always going to find it hard to get on the end of crosses.

We seem to have no tactics moving forward. Whenever one of the central players has the ball, 2-3 players run towards him so that he can make a simple, safe pass. Our players move, but it's never towards goal.

And how many times were we in positions where we needed someone in the box and there was no one there?

The depressing thing about all this? We've seen it week after week this season and it just doesn't seem to be getting addressed.

Worst game of the season after Spurs away for me.

Simply disgusting, and the coaching team got it terribly wrong.

Not arsed really, as I don't think we have the consistency to finish 4th, so even if we won it'd be a false dawn.

I have said before, end the trophy drought and make better decisions in the next 2 windows and we'll be in a good position for the next league campaign

One of the worst games I've seen all season.

Whenever we get close to the top four, we f*ck it up. &%@^#&@#

Still confident we'll get there though, only if we win the Carling Cup though.

After watching the game, I too was incredibly furstrated and not a little bit angry about the result.

Kuyt's performance left me utterly baffled. He was simply terrible yesterday. The best chances of the game fell at his feet, but he proved utterly incapable of converting them. Don't get me wrong, I like Kuyt. However, I think his form this season has hurt us just as much as Carroll's. It's because of Kuyt's form that I wouldn't mind seeing a new striker come in during the window. (Whatever happened to those rumors linking us to Steven Fletcher?)

Adam had a rough game, as well. I think he has the ability to become to play the "Alonso-role" in midfield. However, I am not convinced he has the guile and tactical intelligence to do it consistently. Some days he just seems lost and incapable of making good decisions. Unfortunately, yesterday was a day that we needed him to be on top-form, and he could not deliver.

I am convinced that Downing has the ability to be the attacking winger that we desperately need. I believe he showed that quality in his time at Aston Villa. However, at times he has seemed utterly incapable of reproducing those performances for us. He has had a few games where he has put in a good performance and threatening down the wing. On the other hand, in far too many games he has simply disappeared. Unfortunately, yesterday was the latter. He was completely ineffectual in the attacking midfield role, and I was frankly baffled by his selection over Maxi's in a game that could've used the Argentine's positional intelligence and situational awareness.

I actually was buoyed by Carroll's performance. While he was unable to affect the game in the manner we all hoped, the team looked far more dangerous with him upfront. Moreover, Kuyt got several more chances once Carroll came on, because of the attention Carroll demanded from the Stoke defense. If we do end up buying a striker, I believe it should be a poacher that can play off of either Carroll or Suarez. After last season, I thought Kuyt/Maxi could serve in that role, picking up the scrappy little goals here and there. However, with Kuyt's form and Bellamy's limited ability to play in successive games, we may need to pick up another attack (either a poaching striker or an attacking RW/RM).

In summary, I was PO'd after yesterday's draw. For a club of our prestige and ambition, that result was totally unacceptable. It was a perfect microcosm of our season to this point; we were unlucky not to convert and at times seemed devoid of the necessary creativity to break down and finish off chances. In addition, it certainly did not bolster our top-four chances for the season. However, I think the team is still capable of achieving the top-four finish we are longing for. I continue to believe we are several players finding form away from becoming an extremely dangerous side week-in and week-out. As it is, I believe in our chances to beat any team in the league in any given fixture. However, we are just as likely to slump to a draw (or worse) against any opponent. If we fail to reach our goals for the season, it will be because of this inconsistency.

That said, I tend to agree with Sepi and YNWA. We should not eschew the league, but we may want to consider prioritizing the cup-ties over league fixtures. I know this is the mentality of many smaller clubs, but it is the best chance for achieving European football next season and boosting the moral of everyone attached to the club. Those two things could help affect the changes that will put us in a better position to challenge for a top-spot next season in the league. Besides, it would feel really "F'ing" good to see our boys lift a trophy this season after all of the obstacles and difficulties they've run into this season.