S-Clarke

Reminds me of us when we got promoted from L1, they're just riding on a crest of a wave with some good young players who they have moulded into a really, really good team. Not sure any of their players will quite got onto the hights our team did (International honours etc), but they're using all that momentum right now to sweep aside anyone. I reckon Leeds will pip them to 2nd though, just a feeling I have. Might face them in the playoffs.

Any mentions of his save at 1-1 to get us that point? It was excellent. I think he's having a good run with us at the moment, certainly improving in my eyes and one of the key reasons (arguably the only reason) we're unbeaten in 13.

It was a massive gamble in a position we've rolled the dice on since we sold Ings. We didn't need to roll the dice again, Piroe was there on a plate for us to get. Need to fix that in January. Adams is done here as far as I'm concenered, get Armstrong and a proper CF together in the attack - but we need to play quicker for that to actually make a huge difference.

Cov aren't a bad side, they were a play off side last year and have strengthen in the summer (minus Goykores). These two away games aren't bankers by any means. It's not a bad result in our aim to finish in the playoffs, that's all we're doing - so save yourself the disappointment by continuously looking at Leeds/Leicester and Ipswich's results - they're gone and away into the distance, no catching those guys. Just need to make sure we're the best of the play off teams when we get there. It's disappointing because we could be doing better, but that run in September pretty much killed any auto promotion hopes stone dead. Our recovery since then has been promotion worthy, but the damage has been long done. I don't think we're playing badly at the moment, we're just not going to be able to recover from September. Manning though is probably the worst LB I've seen us with in many, many, many years - truly dreadful footballer, I don't know how this guy got into the team of the season. He is awful in all aspects of his game - touch, positioning, passing. Error strewn mess. Just play Bree, but priority for me in January is an actual left back. Adam Armstrong had a really poor game tonight, he's set a high standard this year though so we can probably excuse him this one - but he was really poor. Blackburn on Saturday, they're not doing too bad at the moment at all, but if we win that 5 from 9 points in a week is 'ok', not ground breaking but it keeps things ticking over. Big Christmas coming up to create that gap to 7th.

A strategy needs to be about more than signing 'young' players though. Players should be signed to fit a playing style, fill positions you have a shortfall, improve starting quality at x or y etc. They have literally just gone scattergun at highly rated young players, in all different positions, in some cases totally ignoring what they already had in their academy. That is not a strategy to me. We went about it in the PL last season, a somewhat lighter version of it, but a similar scattergun approach on young players whilst failing to fill the obvious holes with experienced proven quality.

I think Chelsea have proven quite emphatically that who spends the most isn't guaranteed to get success. There's no point in going around with a billion quid and just signing up anyone who can breathe, they've had absolutely zero strategy with their recruitment - it is an absolute shambles what they've managed to put together and Poch has been sold up the river, some of the young players they've signed will never reach the heights they could have (I worry about Lavia). Newcastle have money, but if you look at their signings they've been much more measured and sensible (down the spine). I have no idea what world Chelsea's owners live in, they're very arrogant to think that just money without any thought will get you any success.

More wonderful wisdom from Charlie.

I don't particularly think it matters who we have up front, if we spend 80% of the game passing between our CB's and our midfielders in the oppositions half then we're not going to score many goals.

It is a freak season, in a normal season the run we're on and the points haul we have would likely have us top 2 or very close to it. The top 2 this year, and Leeds chasing them, have set the bar very, very high and I don't think our style is going to allow us to jump over that bar. We're doing alright, just not the barn storming level we hoped we'd show.

Not so much writing it off, just being realistic really. We're on one of our best runs in over 10 years and we're still 10 points off of 2nd. (11 if you include GD) We're going to hit a patch where we lose a few games before long, and that 10 points off will stretch to 15 and upwards. People may be correct in that Ipswich will have a wobble, but for me Leeds are best placed to pounce on that - we'd have to overcome them as well. It's a tough ask and I think it's just realistic to assume playoffs. It's not really acceptable with our squad mind, but that's what we've got to deal with.

I don't think it's as simple as that really, we have strikers who will score buckets of goals at this level - but we don't play to score buckets of goals, as illustrated by our goal difference. We don't go for the kill and that has been what has hamstrung us and why our GD, for a team in the top 4, is pretty horrendous.

I see it as a 2 horse between Leeds, Ipswich for 2nd place. 1st is done so that's not even worth debating about now, Leicester will be home and hosed by March. I think it illustrates how hard it's going to be to overhaul them above - we've won 8 in 12, unbeaten in 12, and we're still 10 points behind Ipswich.

He's had a great 6 weeks, stepped up to the mark. He has let one in at the end, but why go OTT over it? Without him today that is a defeat 9/10 as Watford deserved that. It was only because of him we went into the 95th min 1-0 up. I have full confidence in Bazunu and I felt he was starting to really build a rapport with the fans. He's not perfect, he's still got to improve in aspects, but he has been getting better and no one can deny that.

Oh for sure, we've had some great last min times this season so far - it was always going to bite us on the other end at some point, at least it wasn't a defeat.

Needed to win that with the other results, it extends the run sure, but that pretty much puts the final nail in any automatic promotion hopes - however slight they were at the start of the day, and that for me will always be such a huge sickener for me this season given the players we have. We need to at least keep the momentum going so we head into the playoffs as the best in there. Bazunu had a great game in so many aspects, without him that was probably a defeat so seeing him being dived on at FT is a bit weird but somewhat not surprising. Onto Wednesday, need to win that - open up as big as a gap as we can from 7th.

An incredibly comfortable and controlled performance, there was never any drama. We strolled that from the start to the end. We have the players to play those quick 1-2 movements, and at this level no team can deal with that - we saw that yesterday, whenever we played quick and short in and around the box Cardiff were lost. We can play like that and if we consistently start doing that in the final third then not many teams will have an answer to that. The run we've been on since the Boro game is exactly what was needed, but it's a bit sobering that even after 8 wins in 11/un beaten in 11, we are still miles off the top 2. I still think we're a nailed Play Off team but we've been incredibly unlucky to be in a season where two teams just continue to Walz away at the top. Special mentions y/day to Manning, who has been really poor, but put in a good shift yesterday. I'm a huge fan of Downes and I think he's the best CM at this level by a mile, such a class act. THB is just there, you never end up talking about him as he strolls games at this level. We actually have a real spine down the middle of this side now and it makes all the difference. Watford away will not be easy, they've picked up a bit but they do strike me as a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde team.

It's a late fireworks night by the sounds of it. Not sure what they think a few fireworks is going to prove, they still pissed money up the wall they didn't have - they need to deal with it. Their owners shafted them, not the PL. Their straw argument is that Man City haven't been punished for far worse, which is absolutely fair, but that doesn't mean they are this innocent child in all this.

Does very much feel like that. We look like a pretty comfortable playoff-bound team to me, who may still have an outside chance mathematically of the top 2 going into the last month or whatever - but we won't get it because of 'results like that' as you put it. The playoffs scare the shit out of me. I can't see us going up via them, I don't feel as if we have the right mentality to deal with the emotions of the situation.

Not really, to myself it was quite obvious - the left back didn't defend, Bednarek was positionally in a bad place - in no mans land really and he didn't defend that situation. The guy didn't mean that cross to go in, no one was set for it. Bazunu had no sight on it and Bednarek should have dealt with it. I'd still be going back to the initial phase and blaming the left side for not defending correctly against the cross.

I agree with you on the left back area, it's one of our weakest positions as well as cover in CM imo. Manning is just inept, he really is not up to it at all. I have no idea how he performed like he did at Swansea as he looks like a fish out of water trying to do the same here. In every game he's played he just looks painfully out of his depth. Bree isn't even a LB but we look much better with him there.

No one has really over reacted yet, but you win I think.

To be honest that really wasn't the game for Charly, he wouldn't have made us any better. There was some sense in the Charles sub, but I still do believe we're a play short in CM as I'm not 100% sure Charles is truly ready for this level consistently.

First half we had them on the ropes, fully deserved. Usually a goal at the death against a team totally deflates them, but in typical fashion it has the opposite effect against us. I thought we were truly inept second half, the worst we have played all season by a stretch. The subs didn't make us any better either, in fact they made us worse. Manning is a walking disaster as soon as he's on the pitch and Edozie isn't someone you want when you're chasing a game, runs into nowhere. This for me is why you keep someone experienced like Fraser up your sleeve as a sub, makes all the difference. Throwing kids on as subs doesn't really have the desired effect. I think the team noticeably dipped when Sulemana had his strop as well, he did a brain dead thing and then stropped off down the tunnel when he was rightly substituted. He's part of a team, sometimes you take the hit for the team, it's not an individual game. A very frustrating afternoon really, sure we didn't lose, but in a season you don't get too many chances to make up the ground as a chasing team - we've just blown one of the few we'll get. Looking every inch a playoff team if I'm honest.

That game demonstrates why you cannot take any game for granted at this level, it's a slog of a league and these sorts of sides never make it easy. Huddersfield will be a very, very tough away day.

I'll be honest, I've seen nothing in him at all. He struggles to impact the game from the start or as a substitute in whatever league we are in. For sure he's young and developing, but there comes a point where you just say he's not suited to a country or a style and just cut your losses. He'll be off on loan to a random lower french team in January I think, probably to never return.