Bourbon Fox

Taking KDH out because he was academy, f me there's your problem

So what I'm hearing is, there's a chance?

He tried but it got away from him

We've won 7 points under RVN, from a potential 42. So couldn't have been *that* much worse.

It's much simpler than that, I'd had a few beers. I always thought Game of Thrones was a bit camp.

I mean, Rob Tanner has said essentially the same thing as Pipes: that after Vichai died, nobody was added to the board. Top's eye cannot be on the football club as much as it was before because he's got an empire to run. It follows that this has also meant more power in Rudkin's hands. Adding a strong football brain to the board may well be a good move. Add to that the fact that both are journalists who rely on the goodwill of the club for access, on top of the personal connection I mentioned before, and it's not hard to see why Pipes has stopped short of calling for heads to roll.

Rudkin helped him out massively when Pipes was reaching breaking point with his drinking. He's not going to call for him to be sacked because that would be crossing a personal line for him, which I can respect. If you listen to the WYS podcast (should be released today) it will have his actual words post-match, he was as critical as he can be short of that line, and you could tell he had strong emotions on that point.

Needs a Bielsa or Pearson type in a senior, permanent position above the manager. Someone with extensive experience, a complete philosophy and an obsessive approach to the details. Rudkin doesn't have the experience and it's shown since 2018. Too much licence given to managers. Brendan was anointed and given a golden ball and chain bolted to the supporting pillars of our finances. The club put its faith in the wrong man. Unfortunately the board has dug a moat around itself and doesn't look likely to let anybody in to see what exactly is going on inside the castle.

Watching Mavididi jog about on fresh legs made me want to reach through the TV and throttle him

Too far

That team gets its pants pulled down again and again down the left flank with no pace in central defence to even begin to cover. Did you see Okoli try to do a job at RB last night? That XI has gaping voids everywhere except the centre of the pitch, where balls over the top see it get carved open again and again. Sadly, we don't have the squad to stop this from happening. I think the only roll of the dice that might work would be to go to a 3 and get Facundo and Bilal together behind a top 2. Something like Mads Okoli Vesty Coady Ricardo Facundo Ndidi Bilal Kristiansen Vardy Daka Maybe work Coulibaly in on the left or right

That's right, give their PA's a headache that'll show them

This is insane

He does not look the least bit arsed

Mavididi just jogging behind Facundo there when he should have been busting a gut into the space

So poor tonight

Careful, Rudkin will offer him a 7-year contract on a million pounds a week

Yeah, and you know what's hardest to get rid of? The old, average or chronically-injured players on high salaries. What pisses me off is, we've known this for 2 years yet the club sanctioned new contracts for some very questionable 'assets'. Faes, Ndidi, Jannik and Bobby Reid contracted until summer 2027. Skipp until 2029 for God's sake!

I have similar feelings. A confidence-boosting win with a decent performance is one thing. Once they scored we looked miles away from getting back in the game. Extra time would just have been more running for a small, crap squad. At least the way this ended gives them a sense of injustice rather than 45 minutes of decent football and 75 minutes of shite.

El Khannouss slides the ball between the centre backs in the last ten minutes at the City Ground. The striker's through, running onto it with only the onrushing keeper to beat. Who do you want on the end of it - Daka or Vardy?

Yes and played Okoli a bit

Facundo and Mavididi for Reid and Ayew please

Problem is we don't have the depth for Ruud to drop both Vestergaard and Faes. If only there was a transfer window coming up

What you have there is a passionate monster in Okoli saving the arse of a complacent, arrogant Faes

Tell you what that was a bit of dynamite from Bilal