Robert N. LiM

I don't have Essex's tenacity but I'm definitely more comfortable on the left wing than LYB.

They're at home, their fans will give them a heroes' welcome. It'll be enough to get them a point.

That's all I ask, to be able to knock on the gaffer's door and get a fair hearing

I'll swing the crosses in, you head them home. And I still won't make your team of the season 😉

They need exactly the amount of energy it takes to draw with Hull left over for Wednesday.

However this ends, it really is fantastic what an absolute shambles Man Utd are. Long may it last.

Going to be a bleak atmosphere in the Dark Knight's mum's basement tonight

It's just a short tube ride after all

I saw a very similar one here

Hope they can fight back and take it to extra time 😉

yeah, far rather that than interminable replays on VAR. You take the rough with the smooth.

Assuming their poor threadbare squad can cope with having to play another game in the same month, of course 😉

This, but in yellow. Really pleased for those Coventry fans who've been through some dreadful times over the last few years.

Just want to add that the main reason for the top clubs' fixture congestion is the expansion of the European competitions, which of course they pushed for, for the extra revenue. Completely accept Pep's point on this one fixture, but it's the hypocrisy of these clubs complaining about a problem they created that sticks in the throat.

I agree the general point - that fans watching on TV have been prioritised over match-going fans - is old news. But the specific suggestion in the antepenultimate and penultimate paragraphs that part of the reason for the season-ticket increases is to price out regular, 'legacy' fans, and therefore open up more lucrative casual seats for overseas fans – that was new to me, and I think I have some sense... Didn't seem much more than speculation from WSC, to be honest, but nonetheless it would be an interesting departure if true: that the clubs are trying to engineer a new, more lucrative (but possibly less supportive?) fanbase. (A version of that seems to be what the binners did for their tickets to the Carrow road derby: didn't work out that well for them...) Not sure about the NCFC perspective. There have been some comments on here that our huge number of season-ticket holders makes it more difficult for new fans to get the bug, but that's not really the same thing. And I would assume that our match-day income is a much more significant part of our turnover than it is for the big six, though I'm not convinced that's a conversation I want to get into...

Indeed. That's pretty much what Preston did last week against us. And it made us more likely to score, not them.

It's a good article, actually. Worth a read.

City can always pull out of the Champions League if it causes so much difficulty. Or the FA Cup. Whatever. No one would miss them.

I think the report was so good it left nothing else to be said.

Obviously it's all opinion. But blimey, we must be watching different games. I think he's been brilliant there. Where perhaps we can agree is that wherever you play him, there are trade-offs. When he went back into his 'old' position alongside Kenny, the advantage is he gets on the ball much more, but the disadvantage is that it's often deep in our own half, sometimes in our own box, which seems a bit of a waste. But on the other hand, when he does get forward from that position, he's harder for defences to pick up. There are lots of people who want him in the ten instead of Barnes, but to my mind that's where he's least effective: yes he's in a more central position, but it's also the most congested, and he'll be getting it more often with his back to goal. I think that's the easiest place for opposition defenders to shut him down. In a development that has shocked me to my core, I agree with @Dean Coneys boots : if you're replacing Barnes the best option would be Rowe. I think Sara's current position, as an attacking midfielder on the right side (emphatically not a winger: when you say he's 'out wide' I think that's a real mis-representation of his role) is the best of both worlds. He doesn't have to do so much defending, or drop as deep to get the ball, but he can pick the ball up earlier than he would at no10 and drive at defenders. I guess the downside there is that you're limiting him to getting on the ball to when we attack down the right. But given that Sainz or Rowe are equally threatening down the other side, personally I don't see that as a downside.

They just cancelled out the extra two points from the binner game. And let's face it, that's exactly the way round you'd have wanted it! One more win needed. Maybe less.

Looks a bit light at the back

He was back on the bench shortly afterwards if so

Think Wagner needs to choose between Sainz and Rowe, or try Rowe in the ten. Our best player, Sara, is at his most dangerous coming in off the right. We should make the compromise elsewhere. Personally I'm happy with the starting XI, then bring Rowe on for Sainz. Or, if we're really chasing the game, Rowe on for Barnes. It's about the most effective XI, not necessarily the best eleven players.

Exactly how I saw it. We weren't great today. We would have lost this game before Christmas. There's a resilience in this team which is good to see.