TRon

Got a bit of a football lesson tbh. We gave it a good go, but they showed how to beat the press.

Looked really tidy. I'm impressed, he looks better than I expected.

Burn with the assist there.

Gordon's movement for that chance was first class. Shame about the finish.

Elanga's stats are really suffering due to our lack of firepower up front when he's started.

Think it's only right to acknowledge they are a bloody good side. Not many sides can pass it round our press, they've done it well as the game's gone on. We are playing one of the best sides in the world, not really fair to expect us to just blow them away.

Elanga's been great. Barnes and Gordon fairly shite.

Started great, Elanga setting up two chances, but Barecelona have given us a bit of a football lesson as the game has gone on. Glad to still be level at this stage.

Can't complain about that, was a desperate lunge.

They've got quite a handy front three as well mind.

His pace might tear them apart. He just needs to put a finish on it.

Hopefully Barca won't have bothered watching us too closely so will be totally unprepared for Barnes cutting inside and letting fly with a curling exocet.

Tino looks younger than he did when he was playing for us.

Who'd have thought after buying two strikers in the summer window, we'd still end up starting Gordon up front in the CL.

He had umpteen chances to join us, and blew us off for the "bigger club" every time. I wish it had happened, but it just never did. Even if he wanted to come here now, Liverpool would have us over a barrel.

I'd love to see him hit the kerb by falling from a wall cos every time I see him I think of Humpty Dumpty.

What's becoming more and more clear is that if you try to play by the rules in modern day football, you get walked all over by the cartel, and I include the European big boys in that. I really hope Hopkinson plans to take a more aggressive approach than Eales, we have no chance of closing the gap with the ruling elite clubs if we toe the line. Man City and Chelsea have taken on the establishment and won. We need a CEO who will look to follow that blueprint.

Scandinavian teams do seem to have a special relationship with cartel teams though which the rest of the world doesn't necessarily. They seem to regard teams like Arsenal and Liverpool as royalty basically. There's probably a reason behind it, we seem to have a lot of Nordic fans of PL clubs on the message boards as well.

That the ASM and Anderson deal get marked DOWN for the UEFA version of cartel rules shows just how daft this has all become. All at the same time as clubs like PSG have spent fortunes throwing money at every player who own a pair of boots.

Swallowed up with international breaks so far.

Let's just say Sesko and Man U are a match made in heaven.

Frankly that was one of the reasons I am relieved we didn't sign him. Woltemade rolls off the tongue a lot easier.

Don't think Murphy would command huge wages tbh, and it's not really worth selling him because we won't get a decent fee. Makes sense to give him an upgraded contract and keep him as a valuable squad member.