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I'll be interested in this as like you I really enjoyed the Warlord books and couldn't decide whether to then start The Last Kingdom or Sharpe, not got round to either yet. In trying to find out a bit more about the latter series I did see some people recommending doing them in chronological order rather than release, which would mean starting with Tiger - Eagle was his first novel I think and Tiger came out 16 years later, so maybe that time spent honing his craft makes it a more engaging read and entrance point to the series.

For the last game of the season, yes. Not a lot of gardening going on for the previous 45 though I don't think

This time last year they were 23rd with 14 points but had just started that good run, up to 10th in January. Maintaining their current points per game would see them finishing on 67 compared to 56 last season, when 67 points would have placed you a point outside the playoffs in 7th.

I've got no complaints about either booking really. This idea that the ref - who I accept is a helmet - is obliged to coddle and gently talk Aluko through the game, rather than give him yellow cards for yellow card offences, because he's young and it's his first start is mad.

He's crap. It's alright saying Top and Rudkin need to go first, the squad needs an overhaul first - Top and Rudkin aren't going anywhere (best case the latter sees his power slightly diluted but realistically he's still going to be heavily involved). If the squad does get overhauled it's a) going to take quite a lot longer than sacking Cifuentes would and b) going to be carried out by Top, Rudkin, and people chosen by Top and Rudkin. It's basically "there's no point sacking him until this very unlikely sequence of events happens" so is he just here until his contract expires irrespective of performances and results? At that point I'm guessing we give him a new deal because you never know, the next appointment could be worse, be careful what you wish for, etc. A lot of our problems are not his responsibility but this does not mean he has no responsibility for anything the team does. It looks like the manager is bad at his job and the fact other people are also bad at theirs doesn't really cancel that out in my book.

Takes some doing to look particularly shit when you're in a back four with Choudhury, Vestergaard and Skipp but Faes is managing it and then some

We'll have no choice but to play the kids when all our 18+ players are busy fighting back the Russians

I reckon if you slap someone and manage to avoid getting sent off you can probably consider yourself quite fortunate

"Squirrel" and "Craig" for me

I want us to do what's best for us and for the development of our players, not what's best for Newport and Christian Fuchs

Good result obviously but a difficult watch for the most part, particularly the second half. Whether deliberate or not we made things much harder than they needed to be by completely ceding the initiative, and not for the first time. This can't really continue to be the way we see out games, I don't think. Very pleased for the goalscorers, both of whom badly needed something to go their way. Some hit from Mavididi on his weaker foot and Daka took his well - should have had another but his work rate was excellent throughout. Pleasantly surprised by Begovic and Skipp. Full backs on the other hand were rank, James again not quite the same force at no.10 which is no surprise at all, Fatawu pretty anonymous for much of the game but did ultimately come up with the goods despite playing in a team that almost looks deliberately designed to make him suffer and break his spirit. Two hugely underwhelming sides in Boro and Stoke are 2nd and 3rd, and we're three points off the latter despite having won 3 of our last 12 games and being largely crap all season. This division is wretched which I think will make our eventual failure to get promoted from it all the more dispiriting.

POSTMAN PAT

Short version for anyone wondering: Percy reporting that our charges will be heard next week. Accused of breaching PSR in 23/24, failing to provide our accounts before the deadline and basically failing to cooperate with the Premier League. Nick De Marco "expected" to be representing us again. As for the outcome, "a final verdict is not expected until the end of this year at the earliest" and any sanctions, including points deductions, can be imposed this season.

Very common in my experience - playing solos I've had more friendly/neutral interactions than hostile ones, though I do expect that to change over time. Trios is very different.

What a man. If someone ever ends up displacing him as my favourite Leicester manager they're going to have done one hell of a job

Finished The Cartel, enjoyed but not quite as good as The Power of the Dog I didn't think. Got the third waiting on the shelf already but I feel the need for something a little less bleak to cleanse the palate.

Well, I have picked up from your posts over the years one or two hints that you may have one or two very slight reservations about modern football and the way teams play, so I don't hold out much hope of convincing you here. That said, off the top of my head I'm thinking of Yamal, Kvaratskhelia, Vinicius Jr., Pedri, Dembele, Dybala, Doku, Olise, Palmer, Musiala, Mbappe, Saka, Bruno Fernandes, Nico Paz, Vitinha, Nico Williams, Barcola - what are they if not flair and/or creative players? If you're thinking Premier League specifically then I'd add Ndiaye, Eze, Mitoma, Cunha, Maddison, Rogers, Minteh, Estevao, Foden, Neto, Damsgaard. I'll stop now because I don't expect anyone to spend all day reading me listing footballers but hopefully you get the point. I don't think there's any doubt that teams generally play in a more structured way these days and that you're much less likely to see players given the freedom to just do whatever they want wherever they want, which is maybe what people actually mean? I just think it's an exaggeration to say there's no room for creativity, imagination, improvisation or whatever because there clearly is, even within the confines of a comparatively more rigid "system". I do generally have a very low tolerance for this sort of stuff though, "all modern x is rubbish", "they don't make music/films/TV/games like this anymore" chat, so maybe that's colouring my perception. At the risk of repeating myself, what I think is really dying out is the kind of luxury player who would be a complete liability out of possession because if you're in an important game where you're essentially playing with ten whenever you don't have the ball and your opponents aren't, you've got a problem. Maybe if the current trend towards set pieces continues for long enough then we might actually be looking at an existential risk for more technical, creative players but I'm not convinced.

Suppose it depends what exactly is meant by a "true no.10" but I don't think this is really true at all. The thing that's actually dying out is the sort of player who was really good on the ball but didn't do anything without it, whether they weren't physically up to it, spent the week drinking and smoking or just couldn't really be arsed - teams can't afford to carry players defensively and the average player is so athletic now. You see stuff like this quite often as well as people similarly complaining that nobody is allowed to express themselves or dribble with the ball anymore but there is demonstrably still a lot of room for flair, creative players.

Enjoyed all three singles so far. Saw rumours they're considering bringing the release forward to January which would be nice

Reading some of the defences of him, we'd surely have been better off not getting anyone in to replace Ruud and saving the money because it doesn't sound like he actually has any responsibilities. Doesn't decide who's in the squad, doesn't decide who starts, doesn't decide what style of football we play. What are we paying him for?

That's all well and good but our ppg without Jordan James starting is nearly double our ppg with him starting, so personally I'd be terminating his loan with immediate effect and building the team around the Skippmeister

We'd have been signing one of the key players from the unbeaten Bundesliga champions so I think most people would have been OK with it. It's not exactly Jordan Ayew and Bobby Reid stuff is it?

After 19 games the threshold goes up to 10 yellows for a two match ban, and then after 37 games it goes up to 15 yellows for a three match ban

On about Sunderland obviously

Still early of course but it's already becoming quite difficult to see how they don't win the league, unfortunately