Wolfcastle

Their distinctive hallmark of empty seats and litter on the pitch.

Our boy would have been in with a shot had West Brom logically binned him off by now. That one scabby win he's had has cost his trapezoid scam £1millions.

That was liberating for me. We played 5-a-side indoors that morning/midday and remember superstitously feeling a bit guilty about it, like I shouldn't have been having fun before a game and instead focus and paying penance, also had a nagging feeling that I wasn't worried enough about it. (the lesson of Grimsby the year before perhaps). Arguably when it really kicked off for us. Promoted with West Ham, they had a decent season but we blasted away.

I suppose it would be too much to ask for the sake of easy content to make the Europa/Confrence Leagues - cups like the UEFA/Cup Winners. Cuts down the number of games and number of uninteresting games massively. Added bonus would be people might actually care about those competitions again and differentiating it from the Champions League instead of just being a D and F version of it. There's a reason why those competetions get infinitely more interesting in the latter stages - use it.

Still satisfied with 9th, both picking it and as a finishing position. More so now I really feel we're having teething problems in the transition to controlling games versus sitting back and countering. Was too simplistic to simply carry on last seasons form without a few more signings (injuries were always going to happen) even though the margins have gone against us (with the worst will in the world, we've warranted more points than this)

Totally agree. We now control games and have to break the opponents down rather than the other way around. We had more space going forward then and even then those players (ASM included) often didn't play well. Now it requires more, or perhaps less - like crossing, which none of them bar Fraser can do either. Were controlling games as a team and gameplan but individual ability is lacking. Its about as much as can be asked of the manager with what he has. We needed more to move forward on the second half of last seasons form. Couple loans would have made a world of difference.

Can't be arsed and too much like hard work is what it'll boil down to. Nice commute for him and his mates to the midlands/north from his base. No way would he go to Europe like Pardew. At least he's trying to be a manager. This bloke just wants an easy life. Comfortable commute, all his mates on pay-roll and now family members too. Easy as possible. And he only charges £millions for his services.

I just dont get it. What leverage did he have to say "oh and by the way I want the double-lock and double-salary of having Alex on payroll, it'll make my life easier"? Now I read he had a break clause and after failing his trial period miserably they still take him and the double-lock on?! f*cking eh!!?!?

Hogan v Bruce

Its a ridiculously rational appointment, especially if this is an indication of what's to come from that ownership - that they wont react if they don't win a few games under Potter and won't inflict marquee signings on him he doesn't want.

Definitely best not touching, even subtly, anything political. When as a fan base/country/world we've people on both sides of it all - and rightfully so

Think the only ones of these games I've ever remotely cared about were the two games in 97. Would have preferred the mackems to stay up cos they didn't spent a fortune and weren't theoretically a threat like Boro, then just for the laugh of home loss at their new stadium whilst waiting for some proper football to come on that afternoon after both with ammusing relegated in the end anyway. Might even be the last one I ever watched.

Hope Edwards goes to the same place John Hartson advertised that made him even balder. Hope its makes his compensation beard and pubes fall out.

With Krafth and ASM out we are short at the back and sides Team does need to gel more.

Don't know if corruption is even the lesser charge here because the level of incompetence involved is unfathomable regarding the two disallowed goals. That ridiculous 'goal' at Watford v a Warnock team all those years ago gets disallowed if he sees a replay - these are seeing replays and still coming to these conclusions. It hard to imagine someone that's watched more than a few games of football can be this inept nevermind having been trained at this for a profession. I just cant come to terms with that. Its a like a VAR unto itself - if you can disallow those two goals, you can sift for a reason that this is incompetence and disallow the obvious that there were goals and more has to be at play than mistakes - even if that boils down to just personal sub-conscious biases.

Both teams starts to the season, good start, bad start, hangs in the balance

VAR can't work unless we get video assistant refs who can read and interpret the rules & the sport and if we could have those we wouldn't need VAR its more unlikely we'll ever produce them with VAR

Learn something every day. Remember getting his old man's sticker or something ahead of USA '94 and thought with Tom Cullen from the Stand looking back at me with an Argentina shirt (lush btw) on 'this can't be right'

Burn, Targett and Targett again

Reminds me of Carlos McAllister and Jose-Louis Brown from Argentina World Cup teams

Its a catch 22 because its both the system and human error to blame. WIthout the system we don't involve the second (or more) layer of human error. It switches the element of genuine mistake and replaced it with proven incompetence (or worse). Without improving the quality of refs which would have happened by now if it was ever going to, the system cannot be made to work and will never be a goal line technology level advancement.

When they used to review this stuff in the studio on Monday Nights, Andy Gray and some guest and whoever did ITVs' version, they would have come to the correct conclusion with the benefit of replays nearly every time if not every time. Now that same tech is applied in real time mistakes are being made on a regular basis? I don't know how that's possible.

They've gone out of their way and tried very hard to disallow three goals this week. Stuff benefit of the doubt, goals and entertainment - the wrong teams are scoring why would someone commit the subtle foul of a flying cross-body on the keeper that also injures themselves?

Were killing the moment of a goal and fannying on waiting for decisions for minutes mid-game to often still not get the right decision and not take away accusations of bias. Surely not worth the occasional decision it correctly overturns. Its not like cricket or tennis where its yes its over the line, no it didn't touch the stumps - its still human error here, just a different longer way about it.

There's enough ridiculous decisions against enough sides now to kick up a stink at least.