Cronky

And he showed impeccable judgement in letting the ball bounce harmlessly off the bar on those two occasions.

We really needed that goal. Until they scored, they weren't in it, and we lost momentum. It's a raucous atmosphere and Forest's tackling looks a tad over-enthusiastic. Shelvey looks a red card candidate.

There seems to be a lack of good leadership on the pitch, and I do wonder about Zaha's role in that. He seems to be bigger than the club. He has his moments, but generally he's proved to be not quite good enough. He often seems to walk around with this indignant expression on his face, as though in exasperation at the mere mortals that he's forced to play with.

I don't think Rafa can be seen as a safe bet any more. He doesn't always get on well with people, and it needs someone to get that team to get quickly. I think they need to be a bit bolder than that. I'm a bit stumped because it needs someone with experience, and I can't think of a good fit. It doesn't look like a job for an up and coming manager from the lower divisions. Gerrard made some mistakes at Villa - principally Coutinho and the fiasco with Mings and the captaincy. I think he will come good as a manager in the end, but this doesn't feel like the right fresh start for him. His stock is very low at the moment. There'll be no shortage of takers, because I think the squad has potential, but the timing is bad and it looks like a good opportunity for someone to ruin their career.

I wasn't expecting this, maybe because he's such a big name. However, Palace are under-achieving, given the talent in their squad. From what I've seen, team spirit seems to be a bit lacking. If they go down, we should be in for Eze. A really good player who just needs a gentle kick up the arse.

I hope he retains his place tonight, and I think he will, because Eddie is keen to reward a good performance. Almiron coming on later seemed to work well at the weekend.

Interesting player. The highlights on YT tend to show him beating opponents or scoring, but the occasional footage of a pass shows some ability there. At £33m and 20 years old, he looks a bargain, but I don't think we've yet won a transfer contest with a big six club, and there seems to be widespread interest. If we get into the CL, we may have a chance. Not otherwise, I fear.

Yeah, it's very tight down there. I do wonder about Palace and Wolves, because they don't seem to have the motivation of the others. For our first goal against Wolves, Isak gave the defender a shove, and that ought to have brought about a protest from the player, but I don't think anything happened. At the very end, Jiminez was knocked down in the area by Burn, and he just got up grinning.

Like many, I was getting exasperated at the reluctance to start with this guy, but I'm now starting to think that Eddie may have played a blinder. He's protected the guy from aggravating his injury, increased his fitness, given him time to integrate, but also fuelled the guy's motivation to prove himself and nail down his place. Given his talent, I think Isak has slightly underachieved in his career, but I wonder if Eddie has now created a bit of a monster.

No, I buy you out.

Looking at that, I don't feel too bad about our prospects. Our away form isn't too shabby, and there were signs against Wolves that our mojo is coming back. Isak can play a big part in that, and we've still got Gordon to come later on. I think it's good that we have no other distractions other than trying to get into the Champions League. Most of the teams we face are under pressure with relegation fears, or have European or other cup commitments. Now that we've broken the winless run, I think we can relax a bit.

Unlike Wilson, he's often able to use his skill to turn round in possession and face a defender. It makes all the difference.

I don't think they will. This is a very different set up from the one that exists at Man City, Chelsea or PSG. The Sovereign Wealth Fund apparently acts like a pension fund, making long-term investments with a view to maintaining a prosperous future. It's not someone deciding to blow an inflated fortune for the vicarious glory of winning trophies at football.

Thought of a funny, but decided it was bad taste.

I'd agree that he's in that kind of class. He offers an unusual package, and there are strikers in there who you could argue offer a better overall package. But he's the most technically skilful ball player on that list, and we need to build our team around those gifts.

There's often a very tired, passive look to Willock's defending. He's good going forward, but that's a real weakness in his game.

It's difficult to tell when and how the contact was made by Pope, and if the ref isn't sufficiently sure it's a pen, then he can't give it. In turn, VAR can't over-turn the decision unless they can see a clear and obvious error. Due process was followed. VAR isn't there to re-referee decisions ie to substitute one subjective opinion over another. It was therefore really irritating to hear Redknapp arguing that some 'important' decisions should be re-refereed. Talk about missing the point. The system is never going to be perfect, but you can't change the agreed procedure on a whim like that. Perhaps Wolves were unlucky, but luck plays a part in competitive sport. Get over it.

On balance, he's still worth his place in our current situation, but on too many occasions, he just doesn't release the ball at the right time. I'm hoping that we can bring in an upgrade on him in the summer.

I think Eddie needs to freshen things up a bit. There's been a tired element in our recent performances.

I'd compare Gordon with Bellamy, particularly on the issue of pace and work rate. It's interesting that both players left their previous clubs under a cloud, apparently for failing to lift a struggling team. There also seems to be something a bit chippy about their personalities. As with Bellamy, I'd like to see him given a freer role, and more responsibility.

I'm very confident about Gordon. As others have said, he's a bit restricted at the moment because Burn struggles to support him, but it looks like we're aiming to bring in a new LB for next season. He's a player that can make things happen. I'm prepared to trust Eddie on McTominay. We don't have a DM so he'd be a good option to have, and he comes with Premiership experience. He's good enough on the technical side not to be a liability in that position. Both players have been with clubs in turmoil, so their more recent performances have to be seen in that light. And finally our business model means that, for the time being, we won't be competing for the players that the big six want.

From hitc.com: Newcastle United are interested in Alex Grimaldo and contact has now been made with the Benfica star’s representatives. That’s according to Spanish newspaper AS, who claim that Grimaldo is attracting major interest. Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen and Fulham are understood to have made approaches to Grimaldo’s agents – and so have Newcastle. Atletico Madrid could yet make their move too, with Tottenham loanee Sergio Reguilon unlikely to be staying. Grimaldo is out of contract this summer and can leave Benfica for absolutely nothing. That makes him one of the most appealing left backs on the market, and Newcastle appear to be moving in for him. I like this one. Left back is a weak position, and this player looks very handy with free kicks. This would enable us to upgrade from Trippier without losing that expertise from dead ball situations. Trips is fine going forward, but his defending looks more and more suspect to me.

Not seen much of Tierney of late, but he is class (or was). Question is, will one of the big six sell to us? I wonder whether there's an informal agreement not to do so.

Eddie does put great store on physical fitness, and I can only think there is still some issue in his mind about Isak. He also has a 'maverick' element in his play, and Eddie may be worried about how he links in with his team-mates. Having said that, Wilson often looks to me like a player who is protecting an injury. And team-mates develop a mutual understanding through experience. So there you are.

My impression is that Ten Haag has benefitted from deciding on his best side. There seemed to be so much chopping and changing at Man U in recent seasons. However, like us, the other side of the coin is that he hasn't been resting too many players and is paying the price for that. It can probably be said of Arsenal as well. This is the big advantage that Man City have, with a bench as good as the first team. Much though I'd like to see Arsenal do it, I think City will reel them in.