Paullow

FA Cup draw has just been made, most of the better sides have been kept apart, but it could be Man Utd vs West Ham if the latter come through their ITV4 match with Derby tonight. Sunderland have Leeds at home if they can get past Fulham in the replay. One of Ipswich / Burnley / Sheff Wed / Fleetwood will make the QF.

Went back a week or so on his timeline and would be amazed if he was actually a genuine Newcastle fan. Likely one from down the road on a windup.

I quite like him. He's been here exactly 7 years now, so a significant chunk of his career. Stayed with us in the Championship unlike Townsend (although may not have had a similar release clause), was a big part of that season and returning back to the PL immediately. Played over 200 games for us, and chipped in with some very important goals, most notably that winning goal against Leeds last January. I'll remember him well, and it is a little bit of a shame with all his 'we're going to be massive' 'want to be part of this' talk, but the injury clearly hasn't helped the situation from his perspective and we've probably moved on too quickly, and beyond him, and not worth triggering the clause if someone is happy to take him off our hands, and free us of those hefty wages. We can, and almost certainly will be upgraded, as will be the case for many players going forward, so the right time to go, but I'll certainly wish him well, and remember him in a good light.

Sheffield United!

VAR - onside. Was hoping for a replay.

Grim.

Preference here for me would be: Draw Liverpool win Brighton win

He'll probably get the winner, and still early days, but has Gakpo actually done anything of note since his move?

I wonder what they are waiting for? I remember Trippier being announced around 8am (because I wasn't up ), so doesn't seem like there is a 'perfect' / optimal time of day to announce things.

Two pretty strong teams in the Brighton vs Liverpool match, which is good to see generally. The keeper situation is strange - Liverpool have gone for Alisson, whereas Brighton have opted for Steele. I can half understand teams giving their back up a go in the cups, especially when not in the latter stages, but it's not great when there is such a gulf between the #1 and #2, and you feel it may cost them here. Hoping for a draw.

I thought he was 22 as well for some reason, but he just turned 21 a couple of months ago.

Not often you get a match not featuring Rangers or Celtic on Sky. It cashes directly with Brighton vs Liverpool, so will prioritise that, but will definitely keep tabs on it if he gets on, or the replayed version as mentioned above.

Was hoping Reading could have hung out a little bit longer, tire them out a bit more physically and mentally. Next 30 mins will probably be a stroll in the park and they can make ample changes. Guess it's better than the game being totally over after 20 odd minutes, which it was kind of looking like.

Think I'd prefer Man Utd just to win. They've obviously put out a very strong team here, pretty much full strength, but there's no free space to squeeze an an extra match before the EFL final, and a PL match would need to be rearranged, so I'd probably rather they just kept their current schedule, and have those two matches with Leeds - obviously it would ultimately mean an extra match (after the EFL final) which might have implications for their league form, but I think I'd prefer them to have lots of PL matches before the final and not another match against 2nd tier opposition, where they could possibly rotate. Surprised they've gone so strong here mind, thought there'd be a few changes, and expect a routine 3-0 win.

Hopefully a draw here. I'd like Spurs to advance for extra matches, and with that European spot in mind, but an extra match somewhere in their schedule would be nice.

Poor Big Dunc. 1-0 up going into injury time, looking like they've lost it.

FFS. Looks like a Mackem winner. Edit - offside. Edit again - wrong bastad thread

Saints a goal up.

Surprised Fulham made so many changes. Obviously won't go down, very unlikely to get into Europe, probably finish anywhere between 8th and 11th - this should really have been a priority for them - Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle, Wolves, Villa all out, one of Liverpool / Brighton to join that list. Home to a championship club for a place in the last 16. I'd have been going pretty strong.

Any reason why BBC Final Score aren't showing the FA Cup goals as they go in, like they did in R3?

Fulham have made a fair few changes - not starting Mitro, Leno, Ream, Robinson, Read, the other D Reid, William etc. Sunderland look near enough full strength so that could be pretty close. More significant for us, Southampton have made 8 changes for their match with Blackpool. Mara, Orsic and someone else keep their place.

Tielemans just hit the post from the spot. Still 0-0 vs Walsall on the red button.

Yeah, not great. Preston vs Spurs looks OK, with it being a solid enough Championship side, and crucially at home. Premier League at home to Championship or lower isn't ideal. The two televised 12.30pm matches could be OK with the smaller side at home, but neither side in the top 60 in the pyramid, and the League One side is struggling. Mind Stevenage did win away at Villa, and even fell behind, so you never know. Leicester obviously going for it, pretty much full strength, which is good to see generally, but maybe not for those wanting a cup shock, ha. Fulham vs Sunderland could be OK at 3pm, and I'm sure if Sunderland were at home, that would have been an obvious TV pick. Derby vs West Ham does have a bit of classic FA Cup feel about it, but that's not until Monday evening.

Worse for me, I was actually in the away end that night.

Yep, you just need look at the difference between Joelinton and Almiron now to how they were under Bruce / Ashley - a club with no direction, no real future, apathy / discontent in the crowd, poor coaching staff, poor players around them. Pretty much all that has changed here in the past 12 months, while it has been rife at Everton these past 6 months, so it's bound to have had an impact on his progression and development. I'm confident this will be a good deal for us.