ianofcleveleys

Up to ep 5, been very decent 👌

Seen that advertised, will be onto it over weekend 👍

Absolutely, I hope its a conversation we need to be having 👍

If, halfway through the season in the Championship, we're thrashing about in the bottom six and away at somewhere like Middlesbrough we wont need a points system. So many games in that league are at shit KO times and on Sky Sports + unless we really surprise ourselves and everyone with how we do, we wont be selling those away ends out in 20 minutes

I dont think we should be getting into inward crowd noncery over it. 22k in total will be enough for a good atmosphere. There's a lot of reasons why it'll be a pain in the arse for folk. It is for me to be honest but I'll be there.

He's another of those who's built up mythical status through not playing. Whatever it was that he was brought in to be I've not seen enough of it. He's not an enforcer, a protector of back 4s or a box to box type, and can't sustain what he does do for more than 70 minutes without starting to run through treacle. He has a nice left foot, looks after the ball well and can pick a pass now and then but that's about it. Lincoln haven't crumpled in a heap without him.

Forensics - the Real CSI, on BBC2, is always good, all series to date on iPlayer

All the talk after the City v Arsenal game was how it was advantage City, but City's fixtures had a much trickier look to them. This was one tonight, albeit they should have buried Everton well before that implosion. As you say, lost their minds.

I know what you mean, we have a bad habit of shipping poor goals when not under any pressure in games, though I wouldn't go as far as to say we look ok 90% of the time. Last couple of months we've lapsed into giving more goals away, more regularly, and the same types of goals that have been clearly signposted either in previous games or minutes earlier in the same game. SS has, I think, got to shrug shoulders stage about being able to fix it, so its all about us making and converting enough situations at the other end to win the ties that remain

I dont doubt it, just one of those where I know what I'd do but know what SS will do and it's not that. Think I said after the game on Sat, all conventions about playing two legged ties will be out of the window. We've no idea how to keep a clean sheet so may as well try to score as many as we can. We're a bit like Keegan's Newcastle, every game looks like it could be one of those 4-3 epics v Liverpool

If you're not having him fair enough, and 100% he isnt a left back, but in an away leg, even with his modest defending, he will be 10 times more use than Cissoko when they have the ball. Yesterday he wandered about, towards the play on the opposite side, like a pub player, leaving Jones to walk up the wing into the wide open spaces behind him. He is as big a liability as Gale. If in that second leg we have anything to defend, Cissoko or Gale aren't going to help us to do that in any shape or form.

Personally, for both of these games and especially the away leg I'd play Johnston and Conway and bin the left winger off. Neither of Gale's or Cissoko's assets outweigh their deficiencies and risks.

I think you're right, our issue in a lot of these games we should have won hasnt been missing sitters, pens hitting the woodwork repeatedly etc, more that we create a lot of situations but dont make the most of them, with a poor decision, badly executed cross, final ball, weak effort straight at someone. Our other problem is making games more difficult than they ought to be by conceding the same types of poor goal when not under any real pressure

I thought it was all a bit over the top, the measures to prevent a pitch invasion, unless they thought theirs might get carried away if they won and it all fell right for them Folk were pissing off in droves in our parts of the ground with 5 mins still to go.

The warning was there 5 mins earlier, when he wandered towards the ball, Jones waited on the touchline, ball over Conway, his cross ended with them hitting the post. Exactly the same scenario played out again, except Conway legged the lad up. Johnston is as guilty of it by the way, in the last home game he kept wandering out of his area towards the action, allowing the easy diagonal over and beyond him. Neither of them have any real sense of the LB position, nor enough pace when being turned and ran at so surely they can be worked with so their starting positions cut down some of the risk Absolute schoolboy stuff, in fact a slight on decent, well-coached schoolboys.

Forino must get a bit pissed off, playing his bollocks off every week trying to hold together a defence made of paper

Luton were alright, no more, as you say, gave up the ball easily to us half a dozen times first half, we ought to have made more of it. Carried on in that vein second half, lost count of the number of times we made the wrong choice, fluffed shots, over / underhit final balls. Their 2nd laid bare our issue, its not so much our defence wilts under pressure, more that we give poor goals away when not under pressure.

That's about it, we know what those three opponents are like, we know what they can do or not do. None of them should hold any terrors for us. But, we know what we're like too. Some wonderful talents, game changers all over, but capable of shooting ourselves in the foot at any moment. All the traditional thinking about two legged ties, home first away second etc might as well be thrown out the window. We're what we are, could lose first leg win second, the other way round or draw them both 3-3. It'll be a white knuckle ride.

Said a couple of months back if we win the play offs with wing backs as full backs and (on one side at least) wingers who are zero help it'd be a miracle. That miracle might just still happen but any team better than the Red Lion can score through us at minute. We are wide open to the same types of goal every game, ones that are blindingly obvious watching on but ones we're incapable of heeding warnings of and preventing. Our play off hopes are 100% pinned on outscoring whoever we play, to do that we'll have to be a lot better in their box than we were today, decision making and execution were terrible. Should have had 6, could have conceded 6. Work to do before next weekend.

Indeed, not really much reason for anyone to be that arsed tomorrow, however dim they are, a message best saved for hammering home after a 2nd leg that sends us to Wembley. The antics after Barnsley, followed by the Oxford no show, made us a laughing stock

ACD makes playing Tutu at RB bearable, for those reasons. When Tutu's had the likes of Apter in front of him it's exposed him, as has been the case on the other side when Gale's been in front of Conway or Johnston.

The Cage was really good last night, drama set in Liverpool, written by Tony Schumacher, who wrote The Responder. Similar feel though a different storyline. If you liked that you'll probably like this.

I've not minded these weekends when FA Cup has largely been hidden away and there's been a focus on SPL title race, exciting stuff, febrile atmospheres, madcap drama and entertainment at times. Noise at Easter Rd yesterday, even coming through the telly, was something else.

Hibs have been down to 10 men for 70-odd mins, 9 men for 40 but Hearts have been painful at trying to find a way through, just moving it wide and lobbing poor crosses in that Hibs have defended gallantly. *EDIT - finally someone laid a ball back to a waiting team mate for him to finish, albeit with a little deflection

Watched the goal back again earlier, lovely touch that from Burstow, quality 👌