Northluck C

Thanks for pointing this out - I had (selfishly) been hoping we finish 6th rather than 5th purely to have that home leg on the Sunday afternoon rather than Monday night. Now it makes no odds so let’s reel those Baggies in!

Early on during our current winning streak at home I made the mental association that I’d always entered the ground through turnstile 46 during this run. So for the last half dozen or so home games I’ve made sure to enter through that turnstile, even if it has the longest queue of the batch. The bad news is - I’m sitting in a different part of the ground today, so we’re doomed!

Birmingham City. For a club bearing the name of the country’s second city to be perennial bottom half finishers in the championship for over a decade feels like underachievement.

Jessy Reindorf for Bury in a cup game 10 or so years ago. We’d scored 6 ourselves by that point so could afford to applaud.

Major flashbacks to QPR away for me the moment Sargent went off, with the same end result. Except this time it was a two goal lead blown.

Interesting appointment, many would’ve expected a ‘Select Group 1’ (aka Premier League) ref for this game but Donohue has never refereed a game above Championship level. Hopefully he can handle the occasion. At least it’s not Hooper. Strangely we’ve got Chris Kavanagh (established PL ref) for our game at Hillsborough next Tuesday.

Ralph Egg Hunt

Just to follow up on this, in case anyone still cares - there is no appointment for Madley anywhere this weekend.

Wes versus Preston. He only attempted it because he’d once done it (more successfully) playing for Blackpool against them in Lancashire derby years earlier.

Yeah, lots of people don’t realise they are often made before a previous round of games though, particularly when there is a midweek round of fixtures. I’m thinking more of the people complaining yesterday about Madley being ‘rewarded’ with Coventry’s game today, rather than you.

Correct, his appointment to today’s game was made on Monday. As was Madley’s to Coventry’s game today. Well before everything that went on at Middlesbrough.

I think I’m right in saying the PGMOL and EFL release their appointments each Monday for the entire week ahead. Therefore Madley would have been appointed to Coventry v Watford on Monday this week, before the Middlesbrough debacle. Yes, they probably could’ve taken him off the game if they really wanted to, but it might be more telling to look out for wherever he gets appointed to (if anywhere) next week.

Not sure where Rob Butler is getting the 5 match ban thing from. That would only be if the FA deem it a ‘frivolous’ appeal which 1. It clearly isn’t and 2. I haven’t heard of happening to any club in years.

4 games ban as it’s his second red of the season.

Hull ahead at Southampton. Binners level with Rotherham after going a goal down early.

9 of the 13 teams we have left to play are in the bottom half of that form table. Form can change of course but it’s there for the taking.

Simon Charlton Jim Brennan Julien ‘Le Juge’ Brellier

Graham Stuart (not the Tory MP)

Chris Killen Michael Spillane Mattias Jonson Dieumerci Mbokani

Andrew Cave-Brown

Kris Renton

Tony Warner Carl Cort Ritchie De Laet

James Henry Goran Marić Rob Edwards

Would’ve been ‘interesting’ to see what the referee had done had Gunn had to claw that out of the top corner with his hand rather than heading it clear. Would he have given an indirect free kick in the box for handling a back pass or would he have deemed there’s no way Sainz intended to chip his own keeper and therefore let him off… we'll never know!

The referee tomorrow is the amusingly-named Ben Toner who takes charge of an NCFC game for the first time. Apparently he was once replaced as referee ahead of a game at Blackpool as it was deemed inappropriate he take charge of a game at a club who (at the time) had a notoriously ‘bent owner’!