Yorkie

I loathe scrolling but must admit to doing so at least once daily... honestly, the amount of short videos that contain a 'subtle' error or act of stupidity, just to engage a thousand commenters - it's the same principle. Did anyone see him put foil in the microwave at 00:13!?!? What a dumbass! Tedious. This is what online content is these days. Bait and bite.

Dunno if I'm cynical to the point of borderline paranoid but it's probably deliberate, no? lol look how rubbish - shared one billion times. Twitter is honestly just the pits.

Nice to see Gateshead doing well. York one of eight teams between 13th and 20th who are essentially one defeat away from the relegation zone (21st-24th). Canny competition down there to see who can be the most shit.

Some bottle job from Rotherham to equalise in the 94th only to lose it in the 95th. Brilliant result for Hull. Hopefully not another boring Premier League re-entry to come from them.

Sorry to bring it up but if they're throwing that cash at Mbappe this summer, then it maybe keeps them away from basically anyone else, including a certain Brazilian midfielder, whose contract has a certain clause?

Incredibly more than half in my work league (of 31) didn't captain him so thank Christ he's pinched one.

If that's the case, and Eddie's on board, let's gan get Gilezy.

What exactly is 'stick man'?

I was excited as I was opening that, a million names running through my head. Emerton, Skjelbred, Anelka, Boa Morte... then again even some of the ones we did sign which took an eternity were even worse; Lejeune springing to mind.

It's really quite fascinating to wonder where we might go from here. In terms of the live speculation; relative to other football staff (i.e. players and managers), there's only a very small number of directors who are apparently 'vogue' and therefore coveted - Ashworth was obviously one of them. Phil Giles is another because of Brentford's much-discussed model but, for that reason, it seems like a lazy link - not to mention the matter of him having a Geordie accent. I'd wager that it's equally likely there's nowt in that link than something. Additionally, hiring the Brentford moneyball master would be deciding to suddenly implement a very particular approach to recruitment, for which there's no evidence of us actually desiring to do so up to now. Is there anything to indicate that such a model would work for a team with aspirations of Champions League football, as opposed to promotion and consolidation? Is it applicable to (hopefully much) bigger budgets in a few years' time? If we were to go in that direction I'd hope that it's because we've identified it as the approach which works for us, rather than because he's a 'name'. On that note, I think it's plausible that we didn't know exactly what we wanted when we appointed Ashworth - we just made a dash for the most famous name in the most recognised role. As such, the murmurings about the role not being what he expected potentially ring true to me. With that in mind, Eales & Co may now have more clarity on the situation, and we might therefore see someone appointed to a different title and with a different role - rather than a straight swap. So it could be someone we've not heard of or expected. For me, the most important thing is that they are compatible with the absolutely exceptional manager we have and should cherish and do everything possible to make easy his job. If that means hiring another person from a Bournemouth persuasion, then fuck it, it gets my vote. You could argue that the Sporting Director should have some ideological independence from whichever manager you have but - as per my point above - maybe a Sporting Director isn't exactly what we want. Very curious whatever happens.

I've no delusions of grandeur when it comes to us and obviously know that Man Utd is a bigger club, but I fail to see why it was so irresistible. They're barely ahead of us these days and should continue to be direct rivals for league places and cups.

I honestly find it mind-blowing that anyone has changed their perception of Howe - and whether or not he is 'elite' or whether or not he's capable of evolving - based on one very specific matter, i.e. his continued selection of a LB who's been an ever-present in a team which: soared into 4th, got to a cup final, performed admirably in the Champions League, and is in contention for European places again. I appreciate that the context has changed and a good idea isn't a good idea forever, but you can surely at least recognise that continuing to pick him isn't 'a basic error.' It's a tactical choice designed to benefit our structure when we're in possession and/or attacking.

I wouldn't have thought so because his role is arguably more about developing the academy than it is about first team purchasing. Not to mention the women's team which is clearly on a straight-line path to the WSL. And not to mention we're in a far better position to catch up with FFP than anyone else on this side of the drawbridge. That's why there's no real way of knowing precisely what we're losing (or indeed what we'd gained when he first arrived) - most of what he does is proper behind the scenes, cultural, stuff. For instance I take no comfort from the Tonali thing; before you even consider whether or not that was an avoidable situation, deal-making is only a small part of his role. I think it's clearly a blow that he's leaving because his pedigree was very good and he's been identified by (sorry) a bigger club as a key component of their rebuild. But I'm glad it's happened now so we can identify someone who's genuinely committed to what should absolutely be considered a pinnacle career role. And, as I said before, fuck him and I hope the door hits him on the way out.

I know it's not fully resolved but hopefully the story very much dies down and doesn't become a distraction. Very much in the 'fuck him' camp. Man Utd have a higher ceiling but their current advantage is mostly based on the constructs of FFP, which we'll probably catch up with at some point. There's a very real opportunity to build something magnificent and memorable here with a club reborn; so much so that I don't see how joining today's Man Utd represents an obviously more palatable prospect.

Adam Clery (who's very good in this format I have to say) absolutely nailing the Burn stuff for me. From 32:58.

Good point in the comments too about Bruno not being able to go into challenges.

Catching up on MotD; fucking hell that pace on the break from Neto. He's scary, that lad. Got some good players, Wolves. They're very much in the race for the same positions as us.

I do think the Burn thing gets blown out of proportion. The manager isn't an imbecile; he'll be aware of the player's weaknesses but feels there are other benefits to playing him. He's a leader and his height gives him a unique strength both when dealing with crosses, as well a carrying a goal threat for us when we've no strikers. There's also the effect his being there has on Trippier's role. As others have said, Livramento coming in won't suddenly stop there from being caverns of space between our midfield and defence; it's not as simple as just playing a quicker LB.

That's a properly OTT reaction given the decisions you're referring to are in the context of having so few options. Does it literally just come down to the Burn thing or what? Absolute madness to be arriving at any fresh conclusions about how far he can or can't take us.

Miley's strengths are in possession; his movement is decent and he's got remarkable composure, making him a good passer. However he doesn't have anywhere near the physicality to make a significant impact out of possession, meanwhile he carries zero goal threat. I share everyone's enthusiasm about him, and for him to have so aptly held the fort this season is absolutely commendable. But he does spend most of the majority of games as a bit of a passenger.

Really pleased for him, get in.

The reality is, with Dubravka in goal, academy lads in midfield, zero strikers to choose from and Jacob Murphy as our only attacking sub - we are every inch a mid-table outfit. And we're getting mid-table results. I think the manager could possibly tinker more with the system to conceal our weaknesses a bit more, but ultimately we're delivering pretty much on par. What's really encouraging is that the mentality continues to be very strong and we're digging ourselves out of difficult situations. Everyone is playing for each other, that is absolutely clear, and we'll avoid tumbling down the table as long as that is the case.

Ergh. Again it's a positive thing that we've rescued ourselves but we're dropping far too many points at home to sustain a Top 6 charge. Injuries again catching up with us.

After being 0-0 at HT and going 1-0 down shortly after the restart. Spewky.