Yorkie

okay, I'll admit it lacks nuance as an assessment. I'm definitely not sold on him though; he's in the Willock camp for me whereby if we cashed in I wouldn't be devastated.

is it really that wild a take? He looked great when he first came into the team but he doesn't contribute that much now imo.

I'm not really seeing it with Tino atm. Hope to be proved wrong but he wouldn't be in the team for me.

Aye but Tino's a bit shite.

Trippier's weaknesses rear their head with increasing regularity these days but across a 38 game season I think he'd still give you a lot back. In fact I think that's probably what he needs at this stage in his career: to be undisputed first choice, and where his limitations are mitigated by structure and other personnel. Come the summer I think his race here is very much run, but I love that he can still gives us performances like the Arsenal one. Unless Tino improves dramatically between now and then, I'd be starting Tripps in the final. C.

Absolute banter merchants giving an A. Easy D. Less than a year ago it was an E but he's had a great turnaround and should still be in the team imo.

Wonder what the general feeling about the game is now everyone has had a chance to decompress. It's such a big win. Hopefully that's all we'll remember and the second half performance becomes just a footnote. "Oh yeah wasn't that the game when we were weirdly shite in the second half? Now, where is the Bernabeu from here?"

Quite like the idea but the execution there is horrendous. A white shirt with two grey stripes on the front. Hopefully just an early prototype/total guess.

for the sake of my health in that second half, thank you for not telling us you were there beforehand.

Just been flicking through the list of things I'd do for a point. Talk about a rolodex of absolute filth.

Yeah. The team currently in 17th are a decent, dangerous side (with one exceptional individual). It'll probably be like this forever now; getting relegated will be a disaster for anyone not already familiar with yo-yo'ing.

Schär off the post, but I'm picking nits. I'm not going to defend the second half because you're right about the performance; but nowt reeeally happened in this bit (I even started to relax) and that was enough to ensure they ran out of time:

Have we ever had both the title race and relegation places sewn up this early? Even the skirmish for European places is pretty uninteresting given how many spots are available. Dismal for the neutral.

I don't think we didn't deserve to win, like. The second half was alarmingly shit for large chunks but I think you're basically disregarding a pretty sensational first half if you think we only deserved a point. If Forest equalise you don't begrudge them it... but ultimately they didn't.

Glad this got bumped because I forgot that he was absolutely brilliant in that first half. So direct, tricky and dangerous. He's so good at getting the ball forward at times. Not for the first time this season he didn't get on the scoresheet when he really deserved too. If Tino doesn't leather the ball quite so hard in the first half, it's a tap-in, then you've got Wilson refusing to pick his head up right at the end for another.

I'm far too casual a fan these days to be anything more than semi-interested/easily distracted when watching that utterly boring Man City team.

For about 16 months Pope was mostly exceptional for us, but this season he's been a deadly mix of brilliant, shaky and injured. It's absolutely the time to upgrade - and clearly they knew this in the summer. With Dubs staying I'd happily see us move him on, with the very best wishes. It was a huge call to put him back in because you really, really can't be flaky with your keeper selection. You've got to pick your number one and back him, unless it's abundantly clear he shouldn't be in the side. Not really sure why Dubs deserved to be dropped tbh. Feels like we're in the same position as we were last season now, with a potentially pivotal flaw in such a crucial position. Hopefully Pope plays his way into form.

It's not just the size either; the ads themselves are so obnoxiously flashy, colourful and overly animated. It's distracting at best.

We've taken the lead in 24 matches this season, in all competitions. We've only failed to win three of those fixtures (Palace, Liverpool, Fulham). I don't think there's a fundamental issue with us holding a lead. Today, and in others, we achieved it by virtue of being so far in front to begin with. Other times it's through steely defensive performances. Feels very bog standard to lament a missing player - particularly one who hasn't been great this season - but we missed Big Joe today. His short passing has been off this season but I think he holds it up and takes the pressure off well enough for us to ultimately be in credit when he's in the side. We drop the points without him at Spurs, for instance, imo.

Murillo and Aina too, though we bullied the latter in that first half.

I usually love taking in a game after NUFC have won, and I keep trying to not let my sensitivity get the better of me, but games at the Etihad are just unwatchable with those advertising boards. Bollocks to it.

For all his promise last season he basically never looked a goal threat; it looks like he may already be addressing that with two excellent finishes so far this year. Still don't think he's ready to be depended on because he still can't affect a game for a full 90 minutes, but definitely share everyone's excitement. That's two home appearances from him now where he's dragged us back into the game after falling behind.

usual measured take from you. Bruno's put in some humongous performances for us this season but I share the concerns about his compatibility with the captaincy when our backs are to the wall. He's a great leader in other scenarios but when the game needs composure from the team, he ain't it.

Well that'll be determined by forthcoming results I guess. But it was absolutely crucial that we remembered how to win at home and we did. From behind, too, for the first time this season.

The hasty side of me thinks we should cut our losses on Tino tbh. Never seems to impress these days.