It wasn’t a bad performance, it was more defensively solid than it has been. Hit and hope after a little bit of distracted defending and we’re nowhere near a second ball. Goal, mistakes get punished. That phase of play happens. We’ve had a goal dubiously (but probably correctly) chalked off and missed a 3-on-2 sitter. I could see signs of excellent mentality at times and I suspect with the form we’re in, mentality might be coming into question. I’m at QPR on Saturday. I’ve not witnessed a loss or a draw in the flesh for a good five years, so brighter times are around the corner.

If you don’t do enough to win, you run the risk of losing. We’re ending up on the wrong side of that equation when we’ve done enough and when we haven’t. Not promising.

No urgency. You can’t force it, I get that, but the central defenders are far too slow to get it forward.

Tronstad struggling with the team’s shape and speed of the game.

I’d be livid if it was given against us, is the thing. We need to permanently make space for Hill, he’s adding a lot of security.

Weird line up, but I don’t hate it (save for a recognised striker and Siggy not starting). Dolan’s started brightly, as have the front four as a whole. Hyam storming forward as a stopper is a role he is visibly not comfortable with. Weird one that we keep asking it of him. He’s positionally solid, dashing forward nullifies this trait. Carter’s clumsy, so I get why you wouldn’t want him doing it, but maybe just don’t have a player doing that? Intrigued to see what happens, we need to walk away with something here and a clean sheet is top of the wishlist.

In the end, we didn’t have the killer instinct or the stamina to stand up to this challenge. “Men against boys” is probably a fair assessment, literally and figuratively. Their forward line wages are probably our whole squad’s wages and while that’s not the most telling of metrics, it’s a good shorthand for what we saw today: a gulf in quality. I don’t dislike our shape and formation in certain games, I think it can get us somewhere. Today, though, we clearly needed three in the middle. It should have been a three, with Sigurdsson, Moran and Szmodics up top. A much closer affair, likely. “We’re going to score more than you” only works when you actually do that. Somewhat prone to overthinking it, but this style of play is set up for developing players that will go on to bigger and better things. Those who give their all in our squad deserve better, but this is what the CEO has publicly instructed the manager to do. The manager could merely be giving the CEO what he wants. Szmodics, Moran, Brittain and Pickering had good games. Carter and Wharton could do with a spell out of the first team. I’d be cautious to add Hyam to that, but he’s looked poor recently. We move on, Coventry is a tough-but-winnable Wednesday night challenge and QPR should net three points. COYB.

Good finish but Leo was barely competing for that. 4-1 is poor, even against the team I think wins the league at a canter.

He’s not able to do the full 90. Don’t think he has the fitness (yet) to do that and his mistakes creep in as the game goes on. Some excellent moments but the mistakes and the fitness need to improve. Fingers crossed for a 5-minute Semir hat trick? “Give the lad a chance” I believe the shout is?

All rather aimless at the minute, but 20 minutes left, so we have to be a bit more strategic than tactical and stay in the game long enough to push towards the end and try to knock the wind out of Leicester’s sails. A draw here is a good result, playing to keep that aim alive is alright. I want more than we have on the pitch, unfortunately. Dolan and Markanday have basically the same attributes and flaws, which are easy to marshal. There’s no recognised striker, no aerial threat. We’re hoping for Sammie to find a second rabbit in today’s hat, which is a big ask of him every week.

He’s played one good through ball and couldn’t get on the scoresheet in a 5-2 hammering of Cardiff, so you can see why.

Yeah. Siggy will feel he had more in him, but I’d rather have him available for more games and fewer minutes. He’s had a good game today and looked neatly aligned with the other forwards. But I want him starting the next game and the one after and so on.

You’ve got to use some kind of indicator when you’re being sarcastic, people will get upset.

Don’t threaten me with a good time.

Pickering does well there to cover for Hyam and Pears’ inadequacies. And Adam Wharton dawdling. Can see that the effort of the opening hour causing mistakes. Markanday is done for today, decision making has been poor and it’s causing moves to break down.

Think that was proven a myth?

It’s less than 20% of games played, the table is always slightly exaggerated at this stage. If we’re there or lower by November, then it’s a time to get concerned.

I’ve honestly always liked him. Great story, great player. Plus he has to put up with that for a wife, so he’s got a free pass from me. She must be a nightmare.

That’s a well-worked goal and a magnificent finish.

We’ve had a good pop at them here and probably unlucky to only have one. Expect the next 15 to be in their favour as they grow into the game.

I haven’t lamented the Kaminski sale to date, I’m a believer in constant regeneration, but you have to wonder if Kaminski causes or allows the volume of goals we’ve conceded. I don’t think he can be that much worse at distributing the ball than Pears seemingly is at literally every other goalkeeping task. I don’t know what Leo looks like, have t seen the Carabao games, but if the staff don’t think Leo’s better than Pears, then what else can he do?

Fettis was pretty bad.

Telalovic is some distance from being the answer to the striker problem. Unfortunately for him, he’s going to need to find a lot extra in his game to challenge, as evidenced today. Leonard would have got the nod if fit and Telalovic doesn’t get the nod as the only recognised, fit striker. Even still, there’s four players with goals to their name up top. It’s a dynamic front four, but one of compromise. Sammy’s not a natural centre forward and does prefer to find deeper pockets of space/play between the lines, so cutbacks from the bylines could find nobody in the middle. I’m not optimistic, I think two in the middle will struggle unless they are responsible and switched on, but JDT may view home advantage as something to press. An opportunity for the players to impress against one of the top teams in the league. I said earlier in the week that this game won’t define our season, but we should be aiming to give a good account of ourselves. If we have ambitions of premership football, we need to be causing problems for and bloodying the noses of teams like Leicester.

Really poor decision, as was Macallister’s earlier in the season. It can get rescinded, they can suspend the officials involved for a week, but the impacts that each has on the games are irreversible. They might yet win this one, but I’d be asking Howard Webb for the head of the next official to incorrectly award a red card against one of my players, if I were Klopp. I’d probably go direct in the match itself. EDIT: ref’s got the look of Steve Kean about him, so he’d definitely get a whack from me.

Feel a bit for Buckley, I’d initially thought Wednesday would do alright (after watching their second leg semi-final and playoff final appearances) and try to vaunt up the league. He’s somehow managed to walk into a bigger shambles than Ewood. Glad he’s getting minutes and I’m certain he’ll learn an awful lot between now and January, but I’d be of a mind to recall him if their downward spiral were to continue. There are only so many positives you can take from getting beat most weeks.