Craig

Him and Gordon clearly need time to recuperate from whatever it is they have going on.

I don't think the two are comparable. Burn was having a shocker and at half time a card of some description was only a matter of time. Multiple opportunities to avoid us going down to 10 and him getting a suspension were overlooked. As someone on here at the time said, the referee made the decision for Howe.

After a steaming hot chicken curry?

Minute's silence, lads

Issue with that is you're only a stray lighter away from crying over spilled beer. Or a waywart dart.

Favouring certain individuals is one of Howe's few flaws. Pope, Burn, Joelinton & Gordon have all got the nod at times this season based on his trust in them, rather than him thinking more pragmatically. In a perverse sense, the Champions League IS easier than the Premier League - not many in the CL play with the same speed an intensity as those in the PL do and I think we're finding those matches tougher - it's very easy to draw the view that the PL is easier than the CL. Demonstrates to me that we're still some way short of the likes of Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool in that they're able to sustain a CL campaign and still do enough in the league to qualify for it again next season. We're currently in a similar place to Villa, Spurs & Man Utd. The next level for us is to achieve repeated CL qualification year on year. If that means we exit the tournament after the league stage then we may just have to do that.

The problem with our identity being the fast counter-attacking attacks is that we're trying to do it 2-3 years down the line with largely the same, and aging personnel. We can't lose sight of the fact Trippier is now 35, Schar 34, Burn 33, Murphy 30. Even Joelinton, Barnes & Bruno are 28+. I'm not saying they're past it, but we need to be mindful of that in our approach to games. If we're sticking with those players we need to adapt the system; if we want to rigidly stick to a system, we need to offload and re-invest. What we can't keep doing is continue trying to get the same output out them for time immemorial. And that's before you factor in other teams working out how to deal with us - West Ham and Brentford had both clearly done their homework.

Aye, but he got them relegated in the same way Steve McClaren got us relegated, not Rafa.

What fucks me off, and they ALL do this, is they release details of a new development with somewhat of a fanfare with elaborate plans showing areas for community hubs, doctors, dentists, schools etc, but it's always in something like Phase 3 or 4 of the development. Then, as soon as they break ground on Phase 1, the plans are almost instantaneously revised to replaced the necessary infrastructure with, guess what ..... that's right, additional housing! I don't blame the developers per se for this - it's in their interests to make as much money as they can, but the authorities who repeatedly stand by and let this happen again and again and then try to shift the blame onto the developers with "well, they PROMISED us they'd build the schools!" can fuck right off.

Funnily enough my Dad has just sold his place, and done so at a significantly reduced price - there is a lot of work needing doing on it though. Initially I'd wanted him to keep it so I could use it as a holiday home in the future and Airbnb it out at other times of the year, but the relationship I have with my siblings is so shit, I'm glad he's selling it now - would hate to have to have dealt with that after he'd passed.

Having a spare room and a office is fine - I've no issue with that. It's people of pensionable age sitting in 4-5 bedroom properties with only one of them being occupied that's the issue.

I don't know the specifics, but my Dad was a Building Society manager and changing legislation to allow people to have more than multiple mortgages opened the floodgates for people to take advantage of buying up property for investment, throttling availability and pushing up the prices. Presumably prior to that you could only have a mortgage on a secondary property if you'd paid off the one on the primary?

Aye. And then some moan like fuck when they're in need of a care home and told they'll need to flog their 5 bedroom house to fund it. "But I was saving this for my kids!" Just fuck off!

Well aware of this level of pain and the cocktail of drugs you've been prescribed. I suffer with sacroiliac joint dysfunction which, when inflamed, is on a pain level that's excruciating to the point where you can lose control of bodily functions. Been told mine is chronic and controlled only by medication and physio when it flares up (once every 3/4 years on average) and usually takes 2-3 weeks to calm down. The rest of the time I'm perfectly normal! More than one physio has recommended doing pilates on a regular basis to combat onset - never booked myself in for a session though.

I thought that was Kane from the Poltergeist sequel on first look.

If we can't get anything out of West Ham & Brentford, we're definitely not getting anything out of Man City. 0-2

Didn't he take Luton down twice in consecutive seasons? Not sure of the appeal tbh. There's a sentimental connection with Wolves in that he played for them, but that's not a reason to hire him.

We didn't win a game in London for ages. I think we might have broken that duck by winning at Arsenal and going top of the league under SBR. There's hoodoos all over the place - we never won at Southampton or Man Utd for decades.

The only reason I've missed the derbies is because I was confident we'd give them a ritual humping. Right now, I fear they'll do that to us! They're just another club in the league. The moment you think they're not, you're elevating their importance.

Agree with this. Using the Isak situation as an excuse for poor form is precisely that ... an excuse. tbf I don't think anyone at the club has made that claim. It's reporters and journalists desperate to create a story.

The only impact he's had is that the prolonged saga meant their focus was away from where it should have been - securing defenders. Injuries to Wissa, Hall & Livramento in particular haven't helped us, but it's not the only factor - neither is Isak.

I’ve not been able to see it as anything else than a box of Jaffa Cakes

Burn the blue one twice over!

To add to my misery. Thanks lads … and Leeds!