Paullow

Any particularly reason why you missed Spennymoor out, or just forgot? Certainly far more local than York. They drew 1-1 with 2nd place Brackley which helps Gateshead a bit after they too dropped points today.

He had a couple of shots in the first half - the first the keeper kind of scooped it clear low down, and the second was a save at a decent height for him after a burst through, and available on the official highlights - https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/12575714/carlisle-1-0-bristol-rovers-league-two-highlights He was demanding the ball a lot in the first half and looked lively, but was less involved in the second half. He did create a very good chance with pretty much the last kick of the match, but nobody could convert his low cross. He also had a wild shot that flew out of the stadium, haha. The 'Mad Mistake' from the Sunderland thread was also there and did a vlog for the match. All in all a decent day. I was hoping Rovers would win, but obviously nothing like as invested in the result as our Gas friends on here. We also won £185 from a £15 combined accumulator thanks to Mansfield's 90+5 minute winner (another result which won't go down too well with our visitors on here).

At the ground now. Rovers warming up in front of me. Elliot starts.

So is anybody else actually making the journey west along the A69? Lovely day, no Newcastle match on, a big match for Rovers, and a glimpse of young Elliot? I'm really looking forward to it. I'll be setting off soon, put some bets on, grab a Nando's or something, and hopefully watch a decent match between 2 in form sides. Both managers have Newcastle links as well. I'll be sitting in the main East Stand WBCP.

I am still going to the Carlisle vs Rovers match on Saturday, but a massive shame Elliot won't be involved. I saw on the gaschat forum a week or so ago that someone heard he won't be involved for Scotland U21's, and that England talk the other day fuelled the hope, but seems to still be included - Scotland U21s play tomorrow on BBC Scotland, so will be good to at least watch him there, assuming he plays. Not sure who I want to win the match now that Anderson won't be there - I will be in the home end, and do like Carlisle, and 3 months ago it wouldn't even be a question, but I have been following Rovers progress since Elliot joined, and it's obviously now a much bigger game for the away side since Carlisle have won 5 of their last 6 games and are all but safe. It's been a good few years since I went to Brunton, and will be my first match of any sort since Covid. The last match I went to was the dour 0-0 with Oxford in the FA Cup, just prior to the first lockdown.

Think we could maybe do with a change of title to something like 'Dan Ashworth and stuff'.

Are all you watching on streams, or do you subscribe to La Liga TV / Premier Sports? Nights like this you wish it was back on Sky Sports, or even BT.

I live pretty much exactly between the two cities and do keep an eye on Carlisle's results, so may well pop over - I've not been to Brunton for a good few years. Carlisle are also in great form, but the game isn't as important from their POV as it would have been a few weeks ago. Was he not meant to be missing this game due to the Scotland U21 call up?

It's been an even worse couple of days for Watford and Burnley. They'll be especially pig sick.

FFS

Yep, using their man advantage. Can't believe we had like 25 minutes yesterday with an extra man, but ended up falling behind in that period.

Calm down fella. Some think it's a bit stupid you banging on about winning 4-0, but just have a bit more tact. If we can beat Norwich, Palace (matches where we will be favourites), draw Everton, Leicester and Wolves, and then anything else from the other 4 will be a bonus, before heading down to Burnley on ca. 40 points for a stress free final day, then I will be pretty happy.

I'd 'take a draw', simply because it will be a better result for us than it is for them. Looking at their upcoming fixtures, this will be the only one where they're considered the betting favourites for the foreseeable future, and only one point from these two 'must win' home games will be a disaster.

Awful day for Everton, them losing and Leeds and Watford both win.

But then Leeds with a last second equaliser.

Norwich equalise.

Doesn't help them today, obviously, but I was hoping it would have been someone more influential than Kenny with Thursday in mind.

Wolves!

0-2 Watford. Certainly shakes things up down there.

https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/premier-league/chelsea-v-newcastle/winner Our odds are coming in a fair bit now, so presumably a fair few with the same mindset and additional money going on the away win. The markets opened nearer 10/1 and 19/2 (9.5/1), but as short as 13/2 at some places at the moment (blue means shortening, pink means drifting).

Strange feeling. For the first time in absolutely ages, well since the takeover anyway (due to the apathy preceding that), this doesn't really feel like a big match, and more of a free hit. I obviously hope we win, or at least extend the run to 10 matches (and end the season strongly), but there's definitely much less pressure than in previous matches.

Decent cup match on BBC Scotland or the iPlayer. Hearts have just gone 3-2 up on St Mirren (67 mins). Jak Alnwick in goal for the latter.

Yeah, I guess the theory of hoping Burnley stay up as they are very likely to struggle the following season doesn't, or shouldn't, apply to us anymore, and after that, they don't bring much to the table and have probably been there long enough now, plus if you were wanting more northern teams in the league then if they do stay up, it will almost certainly be at the expense of another northern club, albeit one who pretty much everyone on here would like to see drop . I'd also like to see Leeds stay up. I really like the city, and they definitely do add more to the league than many others. Leeds vs Man Utd feels like a big match, and to a lesser extent Liverpool, especially when you consider the classics they have had over the years in the PL, the Viduka match particularly springs to mind. Maybe the best chance for a team to shake things up would be Watford - they do still have to play Leeds, Everton, Brentford, and Burnley all at home, so they have the fixtures to do so, but they obviously need to start winning, and soon.

Poor couple of minutes. You watch Soccer Saturday for 85 minutes, and then the two things you don't want happen in a matter of no time . I guess you can obviously take positives from Brentford's goal, but I was disappointed when I saw it. Sunderland were always likely to beat bottom on the table Crewe, but the longer it went, the more hope was there.