Stottie

Great win against an awful Tory insider club. Merry Christmas Everyone!

Talk about the stars aligning. Both CMs scoring and the Atsu on the break. This is a champagne supernova!

Reading were like Huddersfield last year weren't they? So into the playoffs but with a zero or minus goal difference. It often indicates a team getting unsustainably good results.

Just wondering, but if Ashley is selling up but possibly not in time for January, does that mean we can have a transfer budget that is not wages included? If PCP want to get anywhere, surely the wage structure will have to go if we cannot compete with other strugglers in the division.

Once again, a team we could have done with playing two months ago when they were slumping, but we gave the improving Leicester and Everton a game and should have got something from both of them, so I'll go for the same here. Like Townsend before, it's a pity we didn't buy Adrian when we had the chance too.

Didn't see the incidents but good to hear some murmurs about foul play from Alli and Kane given what happened in our game against Spurs. Kane's tackle in that game did injure a player, at a team which we know has no squad depth. When you are at the margins, incidents like that can have big consequences.

Arsenal absolutely battered Man U not so long ago, allowing de Gea to set a new record number of saves, so in that context we did quite well at the back restricting them to half chances. Ritchie did all right when he came on too. A sub in about the 53rd minute? was also a welcome sight. No points, but some positives to grasp at. We're still only four points or so behind the reassuring level of mediocrity you'd expect for our club in its current state/predicament.

In our last six games, we have Leicester, Everton and Watford. Just saying, but a lot of teams have historically stopped playing when they hit 40 points. With so many of the "normally 7th to 12th" teams starting so poorly this season, timing of fixtures seems to be more influential than normal. We also have five PL teams going deep into the CL and Arsenal still in Europa. It means that there are advantageous times to play them too.

Since Pardew came in, we have taken so many dickings by four and five goals that I can't agree with this.

Much improved. There were openings there in the second half and even the odd glimmer. If that Ritchie cross was to a decent header of the ball and not Perez etc. They had the best of it, of course, but they are a much better side. However, they were given nothing and needed a worldie to win it. You get no points for it, and points are ultimately what we need, but a bit of a moral victory. Let's see if we can build on it.

The bottom three thing doesn't matter. We're doing okay and are still in this.

Huddersfield's first had two missed offsides in a scramble for a corner. The Deeney sending off also doesn't look like a straight red. Why don't we get those decisions?

Much better defensively than previous games. Didn't give them any clear opportunities and it was fantastic technique for their goal. We're creating nothing and messing up the little breakaway chances there have been, but it's still only 1-0.

Took it well, to say the least. Need to keep it at 1-0 for as long as possible.

Relieved to see no Darlow. Who will be on set-piece duty? It might be our only chance to score. Expecting nothing, but fingers crossed all the same.

btw, the last six teams to get relegated are us, struggling back up in the PL, and the clubs currently 5th, 8th, 16th, 18th, and 23rd in the Championship. We should look upon coming straight back up twice as a miracle. The next relegation would likely to be disastrous.

They weren't convincing, let's just put it that way.

I've not read it, but I thought the last book he wrote meant he must have an inside track, that he is not just a random journo. So yeah, I don't know what to make of this article either.

In the second half against Everton, he was depressingly static most of time. To beat a parked defence, you have to keep maneuvering around it.

Looking forward to seeing him play again. For all Leicester are improving, we weren't far off getting something off out of the game against them, even after gifting them their first.

I reckon PCP are forcing Ashley to take the club seriously by putting actual sums of money on what will happen if Ashley lets the club eff up again. It sounds like they are our only serious prospective buyer, and their interest is linked to us having our won-the-raffle manager who won't take fourth or fifth best for ever. If he has any sense, all of this focus on all-too-likely consequences will force him to sell up. The alternative would be to run the club properly to protect his investment, and we all know he is incapable of that.

65% is generous if we are going to keep playing Darlow.

Hmm, another chance for three points gone. Darlow's error changed the whole game, against the run of play. After it, we simply failed to beat the parked bus, itself not a major sin. The sin was the free goal that let them park it. I don't like Manquillo, or Diame very much to be honest, but Darlow was by far the biggest problem in that team. I hope we never see him again. I like that we are starting games positively, but are the lads fit enough to keep it up? We seem to running out of steam a lot.

Clueless in the second half. As a whole, we gave them a Christmas gift and then could get past the parked bus. What a shit way to throw another winnable game away.

Jammy anti-football hippo-headed c@%t. Darlow managed to outdo his Mahrez flap there. They all must think Christmas has come early. Keep it up lads and our luck will turn.