TheBrownBottle

Only one game of course, but there wasn’t a player I watched there who I’d be clamouring for us to sign.

Wish we could relegate five clubs

Leeds are utter shite, but I think that will be the surprise game where we don’t win. There’ll be a hell of atmosphere down there, plenty of needle - and I think they’ll sneak a draw. I don’t think it will get to the last day though - Liverpool will drop points in one of those games minimum edit: hope we smash them though. I’m old enough to have an ingrained hatred for Leeds

Likewise - I’ll think we’ll take a point vs Arsenal. I also think we’ll drop two points vs Leeds and vs Brighton, and beat Leicester and Chelsea. So I’m projecting 74 points

Top four all qualify for the group stage. Which sadly means no chance of a Ketsbaia in Zagreb repeat, though happily it also means no Partizan Belgrade repeat.

Not a criticism of Lavia as a player, but I had no particular midfield-based worries yesterday, especially second half

The lad was literally an inch or so away from opening the scoring. I thought he looked canny yesterday - not perfect, but clearly he has talent and an engine. He’s at the right club with the right manager / coaching team to improve him over the coming months and years. The £40m price tag includes about £20m of ‘English premium’ - it might be worth remembering that UEFA has rules on HG players. You need local national team players in your club; we knew we weren’t signing the finished article - and if we knew, you can sure as shit guarantee Howe and Ashworth knew that too

This all feels like more of a return to how things should be to me - there’s nothing wrong with looking at the table and thinking ‘it’s not wrapped up yet’; but I feel little anxiety about it, and never used to in the 90s or early 00s either. Pressure on points when you’re shite and at the bottom is worse, because you can quite easily lose the next five games. For Liverpool to catch us would require something extraordinary from all concerned; is there a mathematical chance it can happen? Yeah, of course. Will it? It looks like a massive reach to me - these lads will finish the job now. We’re not even struggling over the line in games atm (Liverpool are, btw) - we’re flattening teams.

We’ve lost four times in thirty-three games - all to sides also in the top five. But we’ve been lucky that everyone just keeps having off days vs us!

Mag

Yeah, that got a belly laugh out of me - how the fuck he managed get that one so badly mixed up …

Brighton have Arsenal, Villa and us away and Man Utd and Man City at home in their run-in. Tbh if they can win all of those then fair play. Can’t see it.

3-0 the bastards have nicked our idea re hammering Spurs early

Fucking hell Spurs are a joke. Liverpool matching us in the first five mins

That shimmy to create a chance for Willock was pure sex

I was at the 2-2 - Le Tissier scored a fucking howitzer in that one too; coach ride back had the atmosphere of a defeat

I’m sure we must have put down a cheque to help towards building their new ground. We never got owt down at the Dell - haven’t been too bad since they moved to St Mary’s

It hardly matters now - but it absolutely did. The one where the daft cunt was staring at it for two mins didn’t, though.

We’re closer to Arsenal now than we are to 5th. There’s an overweight woman out there readying her vocal chords

And I love Labia … on the other hand

Game awa now

Yeeeees

Phew

Took me one clip to see that came off Almiron’s heel. How does it take these fuckers three mins?

There ye gan