Kid Icarus

Of course

Dunno what it is about this match even compared to others we have a poor record in, but I never even want to watch this one.

There's a gap between being B and C that I think a fair few upcoming players will fill, for Botman though I think he's an easy B.

Honestly I think players of his profile don't exist in the C category anymore. Comfortably mid-table teams don't really do the over 30 ex-elite level player anymore unless they need a quick fix and/or they're still very good consistently. He's a D here and probably elsewhere too and I don't think that's a bad thing.

He's a D right now, but basically an E within the next year or so, so from the club's perspective I'd treat him as an E and keep a lookout for a replacement sooner rather than later.

Brighton 2 v 1 Bournemouth Palace 2 v 1 Villa Wolves 2 v 1 Fulham Chelsea 3 v 0 Southampton Brentford 2 v 1 Everton Man United 2 v 0 Ipswich Forest 1 v 1 Arsenal Spurs 2 v 1 Man City Liverpool 3 v 1 Newcastle West Ham 3 v 0 Leicester

I can't imagine what they must be going through

Might be plucking this from my arse, but isn't this situation fairly common after a big injury? I remember after VVD's ACL it took him ages to look like the same player again and he kept getting other injuries until fairly recently. When Botman came back I kind of expected it to be 6 months to a year before he was fully back.

He played a big part in two of our goals as well. Thought he was a bit dodgy on their first goal but fine aside from that, his attempts at passing never really got exposed.

I don't think I've ever been more confident of the opinion on a kit changing over time like. You can see it coming a mile off.

Let's hope so

Honestly think that the arm stripes and the black piping go a long way to make that a decent kit. The pattern on the front will surely be much better looking than on that one as well. The back, as always, is horrific though and even worse than this year's. Yet again we'll look nearer to being Fulham than Newcastle. Nigh on exactly the same as the predicted kit I did.

That looks fairly legit to me. Too many specifically detailed things for it to be fake. Guarantee we'll be at 'it's actually grown on me' territory come June

It's all down to each person. The stadium is without question a big part of our identity to me and others. For others it won't be, there's no blanket statement that you can apply to the whole fanbase.

Is it not fair to say it's been explained a canny few times now? I thought the two camps were at the understanding each others' different perspectives stage tbh.

Very interesting reading the Forest forum about how we're the team that knows how to undo everything they're good at counter-attack wise by also ignoring the midfield (like they do) and hitting them fast and hard down the flanks. Obviously they changed tactics at half time and decided to press us, but I can't for the life of me work out why we found it hard to play one ball out and get us into one on one situations.

Hall handled Salah really well, which is what makes his goal, assist, and him hitting the bar all the more frightening. He was like a ninja.

Just needs a telling off for those two moments imo. Shouldn't need to but obviously does.

4 or 5 nil with a much-changed side I reckon. Much like the Etihad, nothing matters and we're not allowed to win there.

Where they are and the records you're citing aren't the point I'm getting at really. It's about how they got there and whether it's largely through luck or not. That's why I quoted the part where you mention luck, but then discounted it because it doesn't feel realistic to you. When you look through those records though, there'll be plenty of teams who came along and got there with the help of playing the percentages and a large amount of luck. They're the teams that rightly or wrongly fall into the category of being in a false position, overachieving, whatever you want to call it. Us finishing 5th in 11/12 is a good example. Basically, you can still be right about where they end up being a success, and the people saying they're in a false position can still be right because we've all watched enough teams like that to be pretty confident that they're a flash in the pan, relying on things that aren't sustainable - playing the percentages and luck - and will likely fall away soon enough, either within this season or next.

Ye what? You denounced the opinion that Forest are in a false position because there's no empirical evidence to back it up, but then the basis of your own argument was your own feelings. Nothing at all to do with language.

Wew don't shag Nottingham Forest or nowt.

Ah well, thanks for clearing that up with some empirical evidence.

Can't under the chatter about the advertising boards being a distraction. Are they particularly bright on your tellies or something?

Couldn't tell you why but I feel it in my bones that Szoboslai will score against us in the final.