Shak

Goes to penalties, into sudden death. Pope saves one then steps up and scores the best panenka of all time. Like it's so fucking slow that De Gea dives and has time to get back up and try to dive back into the middle but it just about beats him. It's so good that from then on an absolutely top class panenka is referred to as Popenenka.

Hangover this morning is making me think maybe I should take the Monday after the final off work

Aye ASM in for Bruno seems the obvious move and I'll be shocked if it's anything else. Think Isak for Wilson was on the cards but if he's got a concussion he'll be out obviously.

Worked out

Christ I'm gonna be an absolute mess for the final, honestly a bit worried about it.

In the pub with a couple of friends, getting emotional as fuck here Tell me Ma, me Ma.

If this were a league game I'd be really annoyed with that line-up. Going in with a 1-0 lead it was absolutely the right team though.

What sort of stupid cunt spells it 'Schak' FFS. Hope we get beaten.

One positive is that after tonight we currently only have two more midweek games this season scheduled. So I don't think we'll need to rotate the team that much. Everton away on Tuesday April 25th. West Ham away not set yet. Obviously if we make the final of the cup the Brighton game will have to be moved too but that's about it. Fifth round of FA Cup will be played midweek, won't affect us. Weekend of sixth round we play Forrest, who are out already. Only other potential move is the weekend of the semi final we are scheduled to play Spurs. If they're still in the cup that game will be moved but it's the weekend of April 22nd so even if that does get moved it means a break before the aforementioned Everton away game. Anyway, the point is that we'll have a full week break before the majority of our games for the rest of the season. 12 of our last 18 Premier League games even if we make the final. Should be able to make a good fist of it. The issue if course is injuries. If we get a couple of long term injuries in CM it'll be very tough.

Think it'll be ASM on the bench again tonight, then starting at the weekend against West Ham. Leading going into tonight means they'll have to attack us so we'll prioritise being solid defensively IMO. Isak could start instead of Wilson as it doesn't really change our shape or sacrifice defensive solidarity at all.

I thought he was utter shite and have not a single poster of his in my collection. Thought he looked weird in fact. Best of luck to him.

Assuming we have European football next season, we need two midfielders so could see the sense in signing Gallagher and Maddison. Bruno, Maddison, Gallagher, Joelinton, Willock and Longstaff would be a solid group of 6 players for the three midfield positions.

This fella and then a Shelvey replacement on loan would be solid IMO. You'd imagine Franca won't play much this season even if he does come in.

Haven't seen much of Gallagher but is he the type of player we need? Think what we need is someone with a bit of quality in the final third, a player who can pick a pass or unlock a defense. The few times I've seen Gallagher he looks like he'd fit into our high press style really well but would be really help with that?

I wouldn't be surprised if the hold up is more on Maddison's end. Possibly wants to wait until summer when he could have more options, in which case there's not much we can do right now other than get a loan in to cover until the summer and see if we can land him then.

Use whatever we get for him and whatever we save on wages to bump up our offer for Maddison.

I vote we burn Edinburgh to the fucking ground.

Summer, I think. Hopefully this lad can settle quickly and be ready to be second choice RB quickly but might be best to keep Manquillo for now just in case it takes some time.

G-JMBS Geordie - James Maddison Bin Salman. In the bag.

Don't think this is really true, they're only going to pull him from the team if a deal was imminent and I don't think there's any suggestion that that's the case. FWIW I reckon we might make a last play for Maddison but it'll be dependent on Leicester accepting more or less what we've been offering all along. Think we're happy to wait for the summer if Leicester stand firm.

Running a story that literally everyone else is also reporting as an exclusive is ballsy, have to say

Should 100% be the response to the message they send Ashworth.

I mean it's not even up for debate at this point, he's such a fucking animal in there. It's not just brute force either, he's got really tidy feet in tight spaces and generally picks the right option when passing it in midfield. It's just the final third where he lacks composure. Really think we'll be onto something with our midfield when we bring in someone to replace Longstaff and join Bruno and Joelinton in there. Someone like Maddison would be ideal, for me. I really don't think we should be looking at a traditional DM because for me that's Joelinton. He's our ball winner, our physical presence. We need another Bruno in there, someone who can contribute more to the attack than Longstaff or Joelinton. It's just that the way we play doesn't lend itself to a traditional DM who sits in front of the back four and breaks up attacks there. We try to break up our opponents' attacks at their end of the pitch, before they can get a foothold in our attacking third. Try to either win the ball off them in their own half or else force them to play a speculative ball forward that should hopefully be easier for the defence to deal with. Love the guy, think he's gonna be a first team player here for years to come.

The relentless thickness to think that every single opponent we play just doesn't show up and it's just fortunate for us is amazing