Yorkie

Listened to his press conference this evening and for once I don't feel particularly comforted by what he's had to say. Not because I'm losing faith in him or disliked what he had to say - I think he spoke with great composure and professionalism as he always does - but I think he gave a bit of a peak behind the curtain and it doesn't sound like the happiest of camps. He obviously felt Bruno's comments needed dealing with, and other questions about (proportionate) disharmony weren't exactly batted away. That stuff about mentality was quite telling and sounded like a repeat of some home truths delivered to the players themselves. You get the impression there's a lot of angst throughout everyone at what feels like another false start/abrupt halt. It's a lot better than them not giving a fuck, I suppose. We're certainly in the choppiest waters since he's been here. It was always likely this season, just got to hope everyone holds their nerve and we come out the other side. Lose tomorrow and it'll feel like the wheels are coming off, certainly the season if not his tenure.

Enjoyed that, @Pilko! The matter of, by and large most games, being decided on fine margins is such a key point. We've just got to get back to scoring more (genius thought I know).

Fair enough. I'm not sure I went in so hard that it justified the dressing down I got in response but there you go!

I'm not going to quote myself again, but I didn't go on a rant, mate. I made a point about how you find a lot of undue criticism at times like this, for sure. Maybe I was finding it where it didn't exist, but I stand by the view that Tino has rightly been in the team despite having to play a lot.

I have absolutely no idea why you're being like this. Reminder that this was my initial post in response to yours: I was hardly going all guns blazing was I? I was just demonstrating an opposing argument against a specific point. Really do find it quite ironic that I'm the one copping flack for supposedly being sensitive...

What the fuck? I honestly don't know why you're being like this. We're debating whether or not we should play Tino in every game. My skin is quite intact over this issue. And my view on the matter doesn't mean I was unaffected by yesterday; so aye, I prickled at that unnecessary assertion. I'll always jump in with a defence of the manager if I think the criticism is unfair. I don't think that means I'm being sensitive.

Ya patronising shite. It upset me. Bit tedious that I should have to qualify that just because I think it's unfair to criticise the decision to play Tino. I just cba with jibes for the sake of it, over and above all the things which are entirely fair to question. Sometimes we've just got a bit of a shit hand, and that's the case here. We've got one fit RB, so that's who's in the team. There's no other choice. Putting (barely) a square peg in a round hole away to Leverkusen would've been even riskier tbh. Murphy isn't a defender.

Which of the recent games is an acceptable one for Murphy to play RB/RWB in? This always happens when things aren't going well. There's plenty to be critical about, including squad rotation, but you end up reading criticism over every little unreasonable thing. Tino has been available and there's been no adequate cover to give him a break. Of course he's played all the games in this spell. Dunno what you're on about with the last point, it's a completely different scenario. If that happened we'd basically just be fucked, as would any team who'd lost literally every single full-back in the squad to injury.

Who would you have played instead and against whom? Trippier, Krafth and even Ashby are injured. Move Thiaw away from the position he's been absolutely brilliant and vitally important for us? There's been no choice. Same applies for Hall now Burn is injured too.

Got a ticket so am very much looking forward to it. Just hope it's done either way in 90 minutes because that ridiculous KO time means I'd miss my train if it went to pens. Tough to call. Win and optimism abounds for a trophy defence. Lose and it'll feel like the wheels are well and truly coming off.

I do agree with this tbh. The fact he can't seem to juggle it - by his own admission in one of the pre-match pressers recently - makes me think the execs would side on this poll's minority. If four competitions is his breaking point then unfortunately the reality is that his ceiling is below where we want to be. The mitigation is in PSR and the inability to shape the squad in the ideal way, but that's never gonna be a reality for us. Maybe he'd get there in time, and I would love to see us go a campaign in the Europa League (where our existence wouldn't be defined as something between fodder and also-ran), but that probably won't cut it for Hopkinson et al.

Being consistently one of the best seven teams in the Premier League is extremely difficult; that we've managed to achieve it three seasons on the bounce (from the position we were in) is a brilliant achievement. Determining whether he stays or goes in the summer shouldn't be as binary as 'did we achieve it four times in a row or not;' I'd be considering more intangible metrics like: are the players still playing for him, how's the squad harmony, are we improving or regressing as a team, are we evolving, does he still fit in with the corporate structure? If, under Hopkinson, we're going to be a club which makes choices about it's management based exclusively on the result - i.e. CL qualification or not - then we might as well prepare our goodbyes, because it isn't happening this season, even if we end up a lot closer than we are now. I hope we don't become that; I don't want us to chop and change, chasing the dream.

Really think there's absolutely nowt to be made of his post-match comments. He's said a million and one times that his whole philosophy is to not get too high and not get too low. It's one of his strengths so you needn't expect anything different. He's certainly never gonna come out and give it the "we were absolute shite" treatment that Bruce would do.

You can get fucked, mate. One of the biggest gobshites we've ever had on this place, going back to your months of horseshit pre the takeover.

Obviously but this isn't reflective of his performances for his previous club. Maybe it will never happen for him here but it's not like we watched this exact player putting in these exact performances and thought "yes we want that." He's just in absolutely terrible form.

I'm not in a rush to call this guy something he's not, but comments like he's shown absolutely nothing just aren't true. Might be blind faith at this point but I still hold out some hope he'll find his feet and click in the second half of the season. He wasn't lethal for Forest last season just because Chris Wood had a purple patch.

It's pointless crossing for him at the best of times atm anyway because he won't attack the ball. Unless he's facing his own goal obvs.

I agree. He just doesn't appear to have got his head around how to manage the multi-competition schedule at all. It was simpler when everyone was injured.

I get this, but I still think it's a fair thing to raise. But you frame it honestly as a weakness rather than it being fair mitigation. He does a lot of his best work on the training ground and without that he finds it difficult to fashion a good set-up.

Why does it matter how old he is if he's the right striker?

really?

Saying he's not a striker is just manufacturing a way to be forgiving, and also a bad shout in terms of finding a solution. He's a striker, and that's all he ever has been throughout his career so far. He's just very unaggressive, slow and clumsy, at least he is at the moment. Goes without saying that he and everyone else needs him out of the team ASAP.

Not especially but I'm not picturing months of misery. I can definitely envisage a drab exit from the Champions League, with us all concluding that it's an essential competition to qualify for but an uninspiring one to actually compete in. FA Cup, can't see it. If we even get past Bournemouth (which I wouldn't bet on) it's hard to imagine us having a good run given our inability to juggle tournaments. I do think the league is very difficult to predict; a lot will hinge on Wissa. If he finds his feet quickly it could re-shape our whole attack and that could be a catalyst for us finding some form. If he doesn't, we'll keep going in fits and starts and probably finish outside the European places. Opportunity knocks once again in the League Cup, as it has every year under Howe. Get through Wednesday unscathed and I can see us going the distance again.

Hes apologised ? Ah whey then thats ok, FFS See bit in bold. I'm talking directly about people whinging about his comments. I agree that it's all meaningless, that's broadly my point.

The important thing is that you were right.