Cronky

It's a bit scary, but most of the sort of players we are now looking at will probably only want to move to a CL club. We're way ahead of schedule, and of course European football does place an extra burden on the players' fitness and preparation time. But it is what it is and we have to keep trying to progress. In the event of us finishing in the top four, we'd probably have to field very weakened sides in the domestic cups. Reasons to be cheerful are that we will have achieved top four with players like Murphy, Burn, Willock, Almiron etc, so they have shown the ability to keep us there, in theory at least. We just need more squad rotation. And I think we will be an attractive proposition. If Eddie achieves top four with the current squad, a number of players will be looking at us, wondering what's going on, and thinking we're a good option in terms of their own individual development. PS - Actually, I often wonder what the fuck is going on.

I've always rated OAC highly. Obviously there's a question mark over his fitness, but if Eddie can sort that out, and if his wages aren't a problem, then yeah. We've not seen very much of him lately, so let's not dismiss this out of hand.

Actually, Jack Colback didn't hide IMO, and I was on the painful end of many a bruising argument on here about him. Interesting what you say about 'spacial awareness'. The prime example of that for me was Dalglish, who despite his lack of pace was something of a magnet for the ball, and always seemed to receive the ball in space. I also remember a game against your lot which I think we lost 6-2. Scholes was a one-paced player, but somehow we never got anywhere near him all game.

He often used to say that to me.

My parents met in Eritrea. If it wasn't for Eritrea I wouldn't be here. No sarcasm please.

We've probably got different perspectives on what constitutes the 'old days', but the insularity of British football dates back 100 years, when football in different parts of the world began to take root and develop, while Britain took no notice. When we finally entered the World Cup in 1950 and lost to the USA, and got hammered by the Hungarians in 1953, it was the wake-up call. It's been a long road since, trying to catch up with the skill levels of continental players, and learning to not just rely on physicality. Ironically though, it's that competitive, higher-tempo element in British football that makes it attractive to viewers abroad. The seeds of that popularity were laid in the dawn of the TV age in the sixties, where English football was shown live on the continent while we had to wait for the highlights on MOTD.

I find it hard to rate Southgate in comparison with previous managers, because I think overall he has better players to choose from. I think he's reaping the long term benefits of the Premiership, where young players now get better coaching, watch better players, and have to reach a higher standard technically before they reach the first teams of their clubs. I get frustrated when he still picks Kyle Walker and two defensive midfield players, but overall the technical aspect of our team work does look better. The other quality that Southgate has is his ability to shut out criticism and stick with his own judgement, which I think is essential for a national manager. Too many previous England managers have succumbed to pressure and picked the latest favourites amongst supporters and newspapers. And perhaps the pace and nature of the job suits him. Eddie Howe is a far better club manager, but a lot of his methods wouldn't really work in the national job, where the manager has limited time with the players.

Samuel Iling-Junior Two footed, pacey and close control. Unfortunately, the world and his wife seem to be after him.

Let's campaign for the re-instatement for the one club per city rule, that existed in Fairs Cup and the UEFA cup until 1975. The only trophy that we've won during my lifetime was down to that. We finished 10th the previous season, but three clubs that finished higher than us didn't qualify because of that rule. They can only say no.

Well it’s certainly true that supporters of all clubs have a tendency to scapegoat players, and social media has exacerbated the problem I suppose I haven’t seen any particular piece of play, or any particular match, where McTom has stood out. Obviously as an opposing fan I haven’t seen all that much of him, and maybe he’s not the type of player that produces the spectacular, but it’s still difficult to get excited about this signing I would say that he’s been unlucky in starting his career at Man U at a time of such instability, especially with Rangnick being given that unclear role and with the crazy re-signing of Ronaldo. Yours has been an unhappy club and he could well benefit from a fresh start in a better atmosphere. Either way, Ten Haag seems to have settled on his best set up, and it doesn’t include him. He has to go.

A dressing room that already looks demotivated. So nice to be viewing this sort of thing from a distance

Thank you for an interesting post, which prompted me to do a bit more research via You Tube. There seems to be no shortage of opinions about this player. The gist seems to be that he's not trusted as a CB, unless it's on the right side of a three, as with Scotland. He's not a great DM, because he's not quite nimble enough to receive and use the ball under pressure in that vulnerable position. And there are question marks over him as a box-to-box player, because although he's very athletic, he's not particularly technical. The general view seems to be that he's box-to-box, but there now isn't a situation vacant at Man U for that kind of player, and the current system seems to work well. I'm a bit dubious about these hybrid CB/Midfield players. We had one in Isaac Hayden, and it didn't work out. Even with the best of their kind, say Declan Rice, I wonder whether they're a bit of a jack of all trades. So I'm wondering what Eddie has in mind here. We have Bruno in the anchor role in midfield, who is very good at keeping and using possession, but isn't a tackler. We seem to be getting away with it, to an extent where I'm questioning whether a specialist DM is really necessary in modern football. Longstaff is more box-to-box, and is probably the player who most closely resembles McTominay, but I'm not sure whether that's a position which really needs upgrading. We also have Joelinton and Willock as options. Finally we have Schar as CB in a back four who is actually very good at moving forward with the ball and opening up defences that way, but who will need replacing because he's in his 30's. So unless Eddie sees McTominay as a replacement for Schar, I'm really not sure where his value to us would lie. Having said all that, Eddie has made a number of decisions in his time here which defy conventional wisdom, but which have worked out well. (Covering myself in the event of future quotation )

The emphasis he places on a high level of fitness is interesting. He has held back Bruno, Isak and Gordon from starting and part of it is so that they can receive the high intensity training that usually is only done in the summer. Obviously muscle fatigue makes it impossible for players to do that kind of work and be in the right state to play in the first team at the same time. Effectively he’s prepared to take the short term hit of holding a good player back for the greater long term benefit. With all the pressure on a manager to get results, that takes courage as well as brains.

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned much is how good his assist was for the Anderson goal that was wrongly chalked off. The ball came to him when he was on the floor in a crowded area. Somehow he created the space under pressure to put in a great cross. Only a very small handful of players could have done that.

Well that's precisely what we are doing. Our manager is defying the usual wisdom, and has lots of previous with this and his last club. But given that winning the Premiership now seems to take 90 points, some increased spending would probably be needed for that. There's quite a gap between 4th and 1st.

I think we've put our blip behind us and our players look in a good place, mentally and physically. The pressure on Man U, Liverpool and Spurs is greater and unless we have bad luck with injuries, our squad should be okay. Third place looks possible, in fact. Apart from Arsenal and Man City, every Premiership club will find it difficult to put a long run of victories together. Everyone's either fighting relegation or chasing a European spot, so there'll be no easy points to pick up. I know our squad doesn't look anything like good enough on paper, but we've been sustaining good results for over a year now. It's no fluke.

He's 'economical with the truth' on occasions, same as many in the public eye who have big responsibilities. But he avoids lying.

Mitrovic will get a lengthy ban. With all the concerns about referees being threatened in the amateur leagues, you can't have a professional laying hands on the ref like that. What a big baby.

I don't think slagging your players off in public like that is ever a good idea. And the weird thing for me is that they're already in the top four. It's not like they can seriously see themselves as challengers to the top two at this stage. It looks to me that for Conte, it's winning or nothing. He can't deal with the current position - it sounds like it's him who has lost the fighting spirit.

I think we'll do it. After the Forest game, Neville and Carragher gave two different views about our prospects. Neville thought the greater experience of clubs like Liverpool, Man U and Spurs would make the difference. Carragher pointed out how, every time he'd seen us, we had always been mentally and physically up for the challenge. We seemed to rise above whatever pressure might exist at the time. I could see what he meant, because we don't seem to have off days, and hence we rarely lose. I'm with Carra on this. Whatever happens, this team is not going to step aside and politely let the 'bigger' clubs through. They will have to get past us, and they don't seem to have the consistency to do that.

I can't help but feel that he's been getting the benefit of the doubt over his injuries for too long now. Anyway, it's not really about that particular performance last night. It's about his overall strengths and weaknesses, and whether his style really fits in with the team that Eddie is trying to develop. Yes, he's making an effort to adjust, but as someone else said earlier, he still looks like a round peg in a square hole.

It's one of the things about VAR that still needs a bit of straightening out. When a ref gets called over to the monitor, there's a lot of pressure on him to reverse his decision - otherwise why get called over? I've only once seen a ref stick to his guns (Michael Oliver). It's quite a rarity. On the other hand, I think VAR sometimes calls the ref over when they are genuinely unsure of the right call, and want to share the burden of responsibility. I reckon that was the case here, and in fairness, it was an unusual situation. In reality though, it wasn't a clear and obvious error and that should have been the end of it. Instead, the two parties stumble into a poor decision. I wasn't in favour of VAR for anything but purely factual decisions, but it's working out better than I was expecting. However, it was always going to take a few seasons to get the procedures and grey areas into the best shape. There's a lesson to be learned from this episode.

I've been one of his doubters for a while, and that performance did nothing to change my mind. He'll be good to have around as an impact sub if we're in trouble, but that's it. Unless we give him a free role, with no defensive expectations, I don't think he's worth a starting place. We're a hard-working, passing team and he needs to link better with his team mates and move the ball on more quickly. He's very much an individual whose instinct is to try and make things happen on his own.

I didn't want to sound like I was complaining. And I'm only judging by what came across on the TV. It reminded me of the Stoke fans of a few seasons ago. Fair enough, Forest are a club with a big recent history ('recent' for an old git like me), and they've got back to the top division for the first time in 20 years. I can understand everything being a bit hyped up. But it felt like a bit of a bear pit, and that makes it difficult for refs and opponents to hold their nerve. It seems an important asset for them, because their team looked poor. Apart from the offside decision, which was blatantly wrong, I thought the ref did well. Forest were clearly out to kick anything that moved, and the atmosphere between the teams became very niggly. He managed to keep a lid on it. And our lads did well too. Apart from a period of 15 minutes after their goal, they stood up to the challenge. As Carragher said after the game, we always show up. Our boss does a great job of preparing the team mentally.

I'd have been so pissed off if we hadn't won that game. Forest were poor, but I can see why they do well at home. That crowd creates an atmosphere which makes it difficult for opponents and referees. Credit to our lads, they didn't buckle and fully deserved the win. Overall, a poor decision about our 'offside' goal. The defender made a deliberate attempt to play the ball even though he wasn't in a position to do much with it. I can only think that the VAR official and the ref didn't want to make a mistake and gave what they may have felt was the 'safe' decision.