Thiago

If he spent even half the energy on his club's owners they'd not be in League One.

I take some confidence from the players we've targeted so far. I appreciate some of them were fed to us by agents but in going after Trippier, Bruno, Burn and even Targett we've seemed to understand the task at hand and what is required. Adding Dan Ashworth into the mix will further increase our expertise so I'm not worried.

I still think if Sir Bobby had gone to a midfield three it would have accommodated him perfectly and given us greater control. Jose Mourinho was right around the corner with a midfield three like that and it was great for grinding out wins in tough circumstances. I will often dip into videos of Hugo (there's sadly not many floating about) but as you say he was a velvet footballer.

Lingard would be the kind of mistake early Man City/Chelsea made.

The Mad Mistake is amazing because he has in no way professionalised his output. He never seems to cut away or edit, and his rage seems genuine.

If that's what's needed to get his arse then so be it.

We've got big chances at home with a bouncing SJP - we should be fine.

I never really stopped to think what the last few months have been like for him. He's moved back home late in the transfer window in a somewhat surprise deal and needed to hit the ground running to help us stay up. He was playing in a (statistically) poor defence and had some massive early games all of which he helped us win. The weight of expectation and mental pressure involved in that must be huge. I think when I consider all that I find the last two games totally understandable. He's not had chance to breathe or settle. I don't think he's world class, but I do think he's our best central defender and a large reason why we didn't tip over after Trippier's injury. I hope he gets some time off now and just recharges his batteries ahead of this last leg of the season.

Barring him scoring a bicycle kick or doing something outrageously bad my final thought on him is this - he's done largely what we've asked, and I think from now until the summer he will be the dead horse that people flog when we lose or play poorly because of what he can't do. Everyone in this thread knows why we bought him, the predicament we were in. His game won't change drastically under Howe nor will it improve with more training because he's 30. I'd rather have his bouncy ball first touch than Dwight Gayle so good luck to him until Wilson feels ready.

Almiron created arguably our best chance... I also think he looked knackered last night and was a ghost for long periods.

Massive for Leeds that. I still don't see much quality in their side, but I've long thought that relegation battles are really just about which teams get the decisions over anything. As for the relegation battle, that game between Burnley and Everton is going to be huge. If Burnley lose I think it could destroy their confidence and send them down. If Everton lose you're looking at Watford and Brentford as the only real options to collect points. I wouldn't rule out Brentford having a tricky few weeks either. I could see them only being safe with results in the final two games of the season. In short, our nine game run was monumental in the course of this season and we should not take it for granted.

I'd hate to play Leeds a man down. That pressing just becomes more effective. Our loss was shit game management from us, but had Wolves just bunkered in they'd have come out with a draw.

I adore Rafa, but I'd have been borderline disgusted if we hadn't won the Championship

He gets better every week he's out. His hold up play and willingness to run in behind would change the way this team plays.

I honestly think if he'd slid and not lunged he'd have received a yellow. It's the fact he leaves the ground to make contact that causes the red.

I can't believe Doucoure wasn't booked for throwing an elbow at his head. Honestly, Pawson was another shambolic ref. He basically let them kick us up in the air in the first half then decided to over-correct in the second. He let Richarlison dive about like a fanny and Gordon throw himself about without any punishment. On a night when we needed a ref to be competent they once again were lacking.

It's mad to think if these go up it won't be as champions. I'd be ashamed if that were us.

Still raging we lost to this shower. Think given the choice I'd rather have beaten these and lost to Southampton.

It's a ridiculous argument. I loved Ben Arfa, didn't mean he wasn't infuriating and lazy. We can demand a player with skill and work ethic. There's a reason Ben Arfa, as truly spellbinding as he is, has six clubs since he left us. If he's genuinely just unfit then I hope he next few weeks are a chance to recharge because honestly it's been hard watching him lately.

Genuine question; what would the solution to that look like? I was happy with Wood as a short-term solution (a body up front basically) and when I look at the market I see no better options.

Another solid seven for me. Wasn't as much of an influence in the final third but I'm happy with him. As it stands right now we're going to need a minimum of two left-backs this summer. I don't rate Lewis and Dummett is finished for me. I'd be more than happy if this lad was the first through the door.

A sumptuous player. His passing is exquisite and his willingness to take the ball is a big plus. The thought of him around better players is genuinely exciting.

I dunno, I just feel like I'm kind of over him. I'm trying hard not to be reactionary, but I don't feel as fond of him as I used to. He rarely appears fit, doesn't work back much, and it feels like we play better without him. I don't feel like I've seen him truly grab a game by the goolies in quite a while.

We need a big performance to make up for tonight.

This one has really irked me. I hope they go down so much right now even though they are actually safe as houses.