Wolfcastle

As expected. No help forthcoming when were on the edge of doing something/things going sour is disappointing.

Hoped for a loan or two - being as were in the latter stages of the CL and all, probably for the last time for the forseeable. Expected nowt. Got nowt.

Shame. Would likely never have played for the first team this season anyway but the other sides could have used a body for the behind closed doors games.

Depressing but true. It will remain this way indefinitely unless the rules are changed. Don't know how long that can stay interesting.

We won two of the last six games, one at home to Ipswich with Brigton, Villa and Everton being poor showings. That's a drop off.

We dropped off when Eddie took bad about then. Not been the same since.

Energy isn't to blame for the overall performances. We started out the season as we mean to go on with Liverpool aside a spate of lacklustre displays. Though there were four clean-sheets therein for the arguement about the defensive side.

Think that's the case with most teams, seldom lead to a new dawn rather many (Stoke, Boro, Southampton, Bolton, Millwall, Leiester) got relegated within a few seasons, Mackems and Derby had four-five years of not behing shit before being as bad as ever.

Imagine being a cartel and still only being as good as Spurs

Villa've been beaten at home without scoring and being pretty naff against Everton and 10-man Brentford. Leeds, Villa, Wolves, Liverpool looked better against us than they have anyone else of late

That's the sort of thing we've proven we can do, with lesser players too, its been required for a long time and am as baffled as you are as to how we've got to February without any signs of it, especially as were so feeble at the other end but that being more a personnel issue than something than can be rectified on the training ground youd have thought we'd work on something we can affect, would take pressure off at the other end.

Can't make any case at all for the overhaul that's needed being achieved this summer. Often because of external forces it takes some doing by us to sell and sign players and even then they're not the players we really wanted.

Shouldn;t be going there with that outlook either or being satisfied with playing okay for a half. Forest, Bournemouth, Wolves, Leeds, Burnley, Mackems managed to give a better account of themselves. Its their first league win since a narrow win over Wolves over Christmas. Comes on the back of two lame performances against Villa and Wolves, I don't think anybody is taking this game in isolation its more that it was an predictable result that incorporated the weak defending, blunt attacking and post going ahead decline we've seen all season.

We played fine there under Gullit. 2-0 up, they get a scandalous red-card in their favour (if you can believe such a thing) and then loads of spawny deflections later they've won 4-2. Played fine in that game but in the bigger context it didn't mean we weren't pretty naff. Same I fear applies now. Playing well for a half there doesn't begin to wash away the standard flat performances and results over the course of the season to date.

Need to do something. Were just pissing away a crack at the Champions League latter stages and the season as a whole otherwise to carry on with what we have (and no doubt future injuries not yet accounted for). May not be in this position again for a long time.

Similar to multiple games there where they've done seemingly not very much to come away with a comfortable win. Story of our season continues. Turn to shit after scoring (whether its trying to manage it or whatever), sappily powderpuff in attack, easy to score against at the back. All told the league season can fairly be described as having been shit now. Almost exclusively meh performances at best and the same repeitiveness failings show no signs of ceasing.

Cant make much of a case for Partizan Belgrading this up in the home leg. The treks the only thing.

Wanting your local rivals to play Barcelona deep in the Champions League so they can be distracted and tired regarding their less important game against you. What a sad existence it must be to be that small time.

Odds on signing nobody and getting injuries the game after the window closes can't be high.

That plus being a bang average PL team away at arguably the best team in the world.

9, feels more

I'm up for it but all this confidence that we'll beat the European Champions in their backard is something else.

So Crystal Palace have completely given up then.

Don't think top 5 was ever on. Allowing for football being daft we've never looked like warranting any better than where we are now. (Not that a couple teams that will be in the top 5 couldn't have the same said about them)

Dont know if Elanga, Wissa, Ramsey's previous form being reimagined here would have done us too much good beyond fleshing out the squad.