Rayvin

Dunno like, we'd not get seen that much. Not even sure how big a team we are these days versus some of those that we're failing to compete with presently.

Last year I could see the benefit to relegation but I'm not so sure now. The gulf between the PL and championship is only going to widen and we may find we struggle to establish ourselves if we ever come back, with or without Ashley.

Gouffran? Central defence seems the next logical step for him given how we''ve used him in recent games. He'll be in goal by the end of the year.

Probably because Everton have tired. They really should have put us away to be honest, not that I'm expecting anything positive here.

... Is that Norwegian?

As much as McClaren deserves all the shit he's getting here, this is Charnley's fault. If there was one person in the club to get rid of ahead of all others, it would be him. He's utterly fucked us.

I wonder if this is living up to CT's expectations?

Why any of us still bother with this is beyond me.

I dunno if I unfairly focus on Tiote's errors, but he always seems like an utter liability to me. A guaranteed booking, at least one free kick given away on the edge of the area, and lots of possession surrendered meekly. Alright he breaks play up but I wonder sometimes if he doesn't do more harm than good overall.

Maybe just because Perez has signed up to a new contract? Who knows. I reckon Mitro will be subbed on though.

You know what, on paper that's not a bad side.

because match days this season have been really full of cheer. More tense, backs to the wall shit ahead.

Really not looking good. We're a better team than we were last year in terms of performances I think, but everyone else has improved and we've been caught with our trousers down. It's going to be us, Sunderland or Norwich by the looks of things, for two relegation spots. Not good odds...

That post reads like it was written by someone who is expecting a spanking... Weird to think a team as dire as we are would be worth that level of concern, but maybe Everton are more in the shit than I thought they were this season. Either way, not expecting anything other than defeat really.

Wonder where Deloitte got their figures from if not Everton's accounts... I would guess that Everton grouped in something that Deloitte removed. Either way it's a good point, we're shambolic on the commercial side.

The result against Wham looked positive until Swansea beat Watford. It's starting to feel more desperate to be honest - I don't think we could claim to be dragging ourselves out without another 6 points or so from the next 3 games.

They said in the summer that they were going to spend £50m through the three next three windows and they do seem to be doing that. What happens after next summer is anyone's guess though, I doubt they will keep it up.

Aye, a week ago we apparently had a £19m offer accepted only to be turned down by the man himself. Either that was bollocks or this is, unless Charnley's strategy here is to demonstrate just how badly we want him by increasing the size of the offer in order to win the lad over. Which wouldn't surprise me greatly.

CT determined that no one else will start this thread. Based on the seasons form so far, and on the back of two decent performances, I expect us to lose.

Over the line in the end. Why it has to be nerve wracking all the time is beyond me, but in fairness, aside from the fact that I don't trust us to defend a lead, we were actually fairly comfortable.

One more and it should be done, but with that said Man Utd were in a very similar position against us earlier in the week, so we're not there yet. West Ham are going to have to attack us though, which should mean we'll get chances on the counter... Hopefully we've done enough here, we could really use this. That said, apart from 5 minutes at the end it was one way traffic that half. We fully deserve to be ahead.

Seems to have gotten away with it... no idea why he did it though. Maybe a shoulder barge that looked worse than it was from a distance?

I'd take one more before this becomes 'comfortable'

Awesome start!

Went to Malta in October. Enjoyed it - we hired a car which is a double edged sword. It made accessing the island much easier, but no one on Malta can drive to save their lives. Keep that in mind. Highlight was hiring a boat to go out past a couple of the smaller satellite islands in the northern end. Would thoroughly recommend even if you're not used to boats. Very low risk/stress (make sure you know what you're doing with the anchor though as I had to dive in once to secure it before we drifted into a swimming area). That allowed us to get out to one of the lagoons and snorkel which was awesome. I think it cost about 200Euros for 4 of us which was worth it by a long shot.