Dr Gloom

we don’t need to imagine. We’ve seen his posts on here

I question the signing of Barnes too given how well-stocked we are down the left wing compared to the right. But he was signed before Gordon had that break-out season down the left where he was our best player. I don’t think anyone expected him to be as good as he has been. But Barnes became available so we went for him, a bit like Hall and Tino. Howe hasn’t got much wrong in tne transfer market so far. I’ve seen enough from a Tonali to think we’ve got a proper player if deployed correctly. He’ll be a massive asset this season.

harsh. Their reserves were still littered with £60m+ internationals, including a World Cup winner and a European champion

Forest will have a go at us at home, I expect, with the form they’re in so Sean might be the right selection. My only criticism of Howe has been his loyalty to certain players and his reluctance to tweak the system. If we accept he isn’t switching from 4-3-3, I hope this past week where he picked the right team for the right opposition is the future. Not being scared to rotate/rest big players depending on the game plan for the individual game, in other words.

you don’t think he looked good against Chelsea in the cup? He was motm in that deeper role

that's what i thought too, but he looked great in that role against chelsea

If he's wedded to 4-3-3, and it looks like he is, he could use Tonali as the DM, freeing Bruno up to get further forwards. Tonali's best game for us by far was the league cup game against Chelsea where he occupied the deeper, more central role in front of the back four. Bruno is great in that position too but he also showed he can play the more advanced role to great effect when he first signed in a way that Tonali hasn't really done yet. That's what I'd do against forest: Bruno----Tonali---Willock Gordon---Isak---Joelinton I can see there are also games where Sean is a good option in the right sided number 8 role - he was great against Arsenal on Saturday - but he isn't the answer in those games where we're dominating possession and the opposition park the bus.

the king is dead. Long live the king

and less of the lip, or i'll be forced to low block you

you can shove that comment up your single pivot

i can see bruno and tonali working as a "double pivot" in a 4-2-3-1, but i don't see much evidence that howe want to switch systems. if howe sticks with the present formation, tonali did enough against chelsea to suggest he could work as the "single pivot" with bruno occupying the more advanced "number 8" role he performed so well that half season after he first signed. longstaff is a valuable squad player and is a great option for certain games - particularly against the likes of arsenal, man city or liverpool, when we're not going to have as much of the ball - his running stats, off-ball work cutting out passing lanes and pressing is all great. our problem hasn't been playing against team that attack us and leave space in behind, it's been breaking down stubborn defences that sit deep. howe has to find a way to get bruno and tonali functioning in those games - we need your more technical players to unlock low block defences and longstaff, for all his qualities, isn't one of those players.

this is the beginning of our charge up the table and into the european conversation, causing consternation at sky sports. tight game. 3-2 to us. a brace for chris wood and one from elliot anderson. consolation goals to them from nigel clough and pierre van hooijdonk

my opinions don't pogo based on results. it's easy to throw the toys out when we don't pick up points but the performances have been much better lately and we haven't had a stinker since fulham. these have been close games decided by a single goal and these past two results have been coming. we were great against man city and could have won it, we should have got something at chelsea, we should have picked up three points against everton and it was criminal to lose to brighton, based on the performance - the only underwhelming performance in this run was wimbledon in the cup, and the only thing missing from the others was a failure to covert chances created.

I’ve never thought we were shite. Some of the reactions in the match threads were way over the top. We had a tough start to the season in terms of performances but we’ve been playing well since Fulham. Hopefully we can continue to convert these good performances into results. Isak looking sharp and remembering how to hit a barn door is massive for us

Good results for us this weekend. We’re only four points off 3rd. Three points away at Forest and we’re right in the mix

Fuck off Drury

Dury absolutely devastated that didn’t go in. ”Raaaaaasssshhhhhfooooorrrd”. You can hear the anguish in his voice when he has to admit it ”flicks the frame of the goal”

He’s honking. How shite is that Hoijland btw? At £72m he makes Antony look good value

I also reluctantly accepted it was the right time to move him on as he was one of the few players we could get some money for to help with psr. It says a lot that he ended up in Saudi, then Turkey instead of one of the top European leagues/teams.

ASM was the only creative outlet in Bruce’s team. I liked him and was up for keeping him as he’s a good wildcard option in certain games. There’s no way he starts in this team ahead of Gordon though. Not in a million years. The evidence is plain to see

watch the substance if you want a nice relaxing Saturday evening

just watched it I need to lie down, except I don’t really want to.

11 goals and 10 assists last season, wasn’t it?

The goal was a proper throwback. A winger whipping a ball in on his stronger foot on to a striker’s head. Don’t see that too often in the era of inverted wingers

I thought Tonali for Sean was harsh on Tonali because he was so good against Chelsea but Howe also has to manage their minutes with three games in a week. Longstaff gets stick on Twitter because he’s not as technical as our other midfielders but the manager got it right. And although Sean has obvious weaknesses in his game, we do tend to win more games than we lose when he plays. Sometimes you have to sacrifice your more talented technical players and choose the right team for the right opposition.