Lighthouse

So you’d rather play for a 0-0 against Hull, Bournemouth and Stoke than have a 5-3 or a 3-2? I’ll disagree there. I’m still looking forward to going to the Stoke game, dead rubber or not, knowing that pretty much anything can happen.

And yet the ball just kept coming back at us, time and time again. The defence kept dropping deeper to cover McC, they kept pressing us higher, we could play through it, they had tonnes of space in front of our back four for the likes of KDH to play balls in, etc. Not many of the 17 McC conceded in 6 games at the end of last season were directly as a result of his kicks/throws either but somehow in that period our average goals conceded went from 1.75 to 2.83. I didn't believe that was a coincidence then and I don't believe it was tonight either.

But that just goes back to my point. Without Bazunu, suddenly we look dreadful in a way we've not been since the start of the season. We can't soak up pressure, deal with a press or build threatening attacks.

Are you talking about being bored or being a good team because they're different things. I don't see how anyone can call this season boring, we must have set a record for games with five-plus goals.

"For a long time I thought we were really, really good." Wow... just wow.

That was in September when we were still adapting to a way of paying.

None of them have put 5 past us since that early season sh*t show with Holgate and we've almost always scored in reply. Tonight was the second time we failed to score since Ipswich at home in September.

Don't be daft, it's an absurd idea. We've every chance of winning the playoffs if we can get back to something resembling our best, if we sack the manager now we completely torpedo that.

It is with McC in goal. Tonight showed exactly what Baz brings to the team, we looked hopeless at building any kind of attack out from that back. We needed a keeper with good distribution who can bypass their forward press and play it into the midfielders in the right places.

THB going for the utterly pointless three match ban to miss the first playoff game there. Just when you think we couldn't get any more brainless.

Get Pochettino back! There's no way he'd be losing this 5-0.

It'd be madness to sack him now but he seriously needs to make something out of the playoffs.

This might be one of the worst half hour sub appearances I've ever seen.

Aribo couldn't have given less of a f**k.

A fabulous hattrick from Manning, three goals he made no attempt to try and block.

Another none-tackle from Manning.

Manning has been on the pitch two minutes and that happens.

Brooks seems to think if he wanders around offside all the time, he’ll play like Inzaghi by default.

As bad as it has been, there is something to be said for keeping possession when you’re playing crap. You can say we’ve done nothing with it but what we have done is not concede three or four and be game over. We’re still in it, away to the team top of the league, albeit with a huge improvement needed.

The ref doesn’t even know basic laws of the game. Wonderful.

He went from impersonating Walcott to impersonating Bella-Kotchap.

He’d been asking to come off for over five minutes, no idea why it took so long to get Smallbone ready.

Time for some good old fashioned lucky muffins.

Nobody in the same postcode as KDH for that through-ball.

Full Walcott there from Rothwell.