Despite last night's defeat, I'm still fairly upbeat. Firstly, its so much better watching us taking control in midfield, which players like Krovinovic and Sawyers are integral to. I know ball possession isn't the whole story, but you will find that on average, teams with most possession create the most chances.
I think Billic is now working out his strongest team and formation. He has several very decent wide players to choose from. Its a question of who is most effective setting up goal chances.
In the middle Austin should be very important. He seems a self-confident bloke, but he obviously will need help. Just thinking back to the team with Kevin Phillips, he was a prolific scorer, but there were lots of others making runs forward from midfield who got on the scoresheet. I'm hoping we see something like that.