ALC Fox

Sheffield United are among the form teams in the division over the last six games. Will be tough as we well know. It'll be another test of our often fragile resolve but if we can get another decent foothold in the game, perhaps we'll do well. During the Derby game, Marti's substitutions stemmed the tide. In other games, we haven't been able to reverse the momentum and have lost points, but perhaps it was the youngsters that will help us turn that particular corner. It reminded me a little of the 15-16 season when Demarai Gray came into the squad in January and was used as an outlet to relieve the pressure late on in games. Silko, Monga, Page and (hopefully) Ramsey can be the players to do that for us and give us some threat late on in games. Tough game but if Sheffield United are pushing towards the end I'm backing Silko or Monga to grab a breakaway goal late in this game to secure a win.

Fair play to Marti, the subs changed the flow of the game and we saw it out quite comfortably in the end, despite the one chance for Derby at the end. It'll be interesting if Page, Monga and Silko can get a proper run of games together, perhaps with Aluko and Evans too, to really get the hang of playing together at this level. But their pace and energy nullified the momentum Derby were building. Not a perfect performance by any means but a welcome return to winning ways. 6 points over Derby is always a good thing. I thought James looked rusty at points today but he scored a very, very good goal. The strength and finish were excellent. And De Cordova-Reid is really proving his worth at this level. We'll need both on form again against West Brom. I thought Mavididi toiled again. Fatawu tried to do too much. He needs to be freed up. Some more players providing flair and a proper outlet would put less pressure on his shoulders. A real shame for Ramsey to go down after a couple of minutes on the pitch. I hope it isn't too bad. Otherwise it could easily be both him and Carranza going back to their parent clubs in a few days (if we're able to cancel any of those loans, that is).

Leicester Fosse reboot on Vicky Park incoming for 26-27 season

When things are going so wrong off the pitch, you need players to give absolutely everything on it. During the slide into League One and the seasons before it, we had a few that looked like they couldn't give a damn but most of them - despite being limited - looked like they were trying. This is levels below that in how committed some of our players look. Some clearly do. But when players have checked out, they become far less than the sum of their parts. Transport some of these into a confident team with a top manager and they'll fly. But right now it's horrible. The players need to take responsibility for the things they can. We need a character from somewhere who can drag these players up. I thought James was that guy and he continues to deliver but maybe one voice is too few, especially from a young player. We need a Wes Morgan, Steve Howard, Kasper Schmeichel type of character. Leads by example. Uncompromising in standards. Never wilts and brings players up to their level. With potentially James being the only one of those in our squad, I imagine his voice is being drowned out among the cacophony of weak-willed mediocrity. Talent-wise, this isn't the worst it's been. But.it could quite possibly be the meekest, most cowardly squad I've witnessed at the club.

The Fox Leisure and Scoreline retro kits, the bobble hats, the pin badges and some of the mugs are pretty good. The rest of the keepsakes and clobber, I wouldn't bother. The Scoreline cagoule looks decent but not £75 decent. And that King Power stadium BRXLZ 3D puzzle is tempting but looks too cartoon-like to me. Absolutely tons of tat on there of course. I'm impressed by the St Martin's coffee collab, though. This is the stuff they should be promoting more. Loads of people love coffee. And partnering with a local business is surely a PR win. It boggles the mind that I've only just found out about it by deliberately scrolling through the club shop's offerings for ages. More stuff like that, promoted well, would be nice to see.

He's very young for a centre back. Ideally he'd be brought in alongside a good pro in a decent team. Vestergaard is a good pro but he's hardly brilliant and the back line in general is shocking. His performances are always going to fluctuate in quality. Putting the spotlight on him each time he has a bad one is just not going to be helpful at all. He needs to be allowed to have a bad performance every now and again without the entire fan base falling apart each time and overreacting.

Only just heard about this! What an utter disgrace. Anybody going to the games please protest. Stay on the concourse for the first 15 minutes of each game, banners and chanting outside and inside the stadium, just keep it up until these charlatans are gone. They're killing the club.

I can see Skipp being a real asset in the Championship. He seems to be settling down and finding a role now. The Premier League is a different matter but in all likelihood we won't be competing in that division for at least another season after this one. If we do manage to go up this season, then I suspect he'll have played a major part and we'll get to find out how Marti sets up and a confident Skipp performs in the top division.

Fair

A bit like Chris Davies' Birmingham last season, his team are expected to do well in League One. And we know a confident side can give teams from higher divisions a good game. He's one to keep an eye on but let's not get too carried away.

It's a short career. He came to us to further his career by moving to the Prem. He left because playing for a morally depleted team in the Championship may mean he'd be forgotten and his career would stagnate. He's moved to the Bundesliga and is proving his quality there. I don't begrudge players wanting to move after relegation. The problem is if they remain here and they continue to sulk and moan, put in half-hearted performances and their body language is atrocious (e.g. Winks). Bilal is too good for the Championship. If we'd had a competent manager last season who could structure the team to help him and Buonanotte create more chances, maybe he'd still be here and maybe we'd be looking like a proper Premier League team again.

I don't see any other choice really. Hopefully Daka won't be away for long and sending Carranza back would give us a loan space back to get someone in who is good enough to get on the pitch. A left-back would be a god send.

Was excellent in the season before last if I remember rightly. Last season, I believe he was good again. But by being replaced clearly Le Bris thought that Roefs, while less experienced, is a more talented keeper all round. The trouble with Patterson is that he's been criticised a bit for his distribution. We already have a fantastic shot stopper who is a bit suspect with his feet. Stolarczyk has most definitely saved us points this season with some brilliant displays. If we can turn a profit on this, I wouldn't be against it. But I don't know if we'd be necessarily improving the team significantly enough to warrant it being a huge priority. If a Prem team is making kissy faces at Stolarczyk, I'm on board, but otherwise I'm not sure I see the point.

Proper Darwin Awards stuff, that. Unbelievable.

I think this has been a thing since at least the 90s. Most people who do it tend to grow out of it, I've found.

Feel like Bobby Reid is making a huge difference for us. Aside from the obvious goal contribution, he's allowing James to play his best position which keeps Soumare out. With Skipp stepping up it also means not having to rely on the inconsistent and wantaway mardy arse Harry Winks. Big, big difference between now and a few short weeks ago. If/when Ramsay comes back we'll have genuine options and will hopefully help us see games out better as well. For the meantime, moving Choudhury inside and getting Aluko on and bringing Page off the bench is hopefully going to be great for their development. A good day and a good week or so all in all.

I wasn't bang on with Evans though. Reminds me of when I predicted a 3-2 comeback win against Spurs before the game. Only I predicted a Dion Dublin winner and it was Mark De Vries

For me, this one half good, one half bad is incredibly frustrating. But, actually, even though he had a recent period of absolute guff, we've emerged from it largely the same as the start of the season with the exception - and it's a massive exception, really - that we're now actually scoring goals during our good spells. Something needs to be done about how we allow teams back into games. Yes, momentum is a thing in football. But we have to still be able to control games if a team scores a flukey goal to make it 3-1. Maybe we just don't quite have the personnel. Maybe with a little more experience, our younger players may be able to come on and see games through with comfort. Maybe we also need signings. But this is a side that appeared to down tools last season. It's also still a side that appears weak when pressured. But Cifuentes has them playing some good stuff at times and I think he needs time to build a squad and get past whatever financial penalties we'll incur. I think he could build a decent side here.

Haven't seen or heard a minute of this but from the scoreline, I presume we've just had our good half. Please see it through boys

Big performance today please. Let's turn one good half into two and put some of our fears to bed. Evans off the bench to grab the goal that sinks Ipswich's hopes for good. 3-1 win. Yes I'm an eternal optimist.

Money aside, I remain open-minded about this. That comeback video is very inspiring. For him to come back and try to play again when he could have just taken his sweet time and retired in luxury is no mean achievement. He must be so motivated for a final swansong. He may even look at the longevity of some players like Vardy, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lewandowski who just keep on going and think, if I get myself right, I've got maybe a few years left in me. The odds are stacked against him because of the nature of his injuries, and there's no doubt that he was a prize idiot for the way in which he suffered them, but he was unplayable on his day. It's a HUGE if, but if his fitness is at least Championship level, he'll be an asset, of that I have no doubt.

Better than what we have. If he can come back with a good level of fitness he'll not only be a good goalscorer at this level but also give us some real presence up top. Not ideal with Ayew and Reid as our other aging forwards, but on a short-team deal he gives us something we currently don't have. If he's good, hopefully we can bin off Ayew. I just hope this doesn't mean that Evans gets bumped back down and not given a shot. I'd love to see him get some game time soon.

He has the profile we're missing in the middle of the pitch. Not entirely sure how he'd fit in initially though. We need the physicality of Skipp and James in there and Braybrooke is definitely not a 10. Perhaps if Braybrooke could sit at the base with Skipp and James as 8s, that could work. We could then use a normal front three or a front two with a diamond. We'd just then be sacrificing BDCR in the 10 position which seems to be going quite well at the moment.

This Carr lad seems to be passing every test that comes his way. Looks to be an exciting talent. Lovely goal by Otchere as well. I wonder how close he is to a first-team squad?

Potentially this squad's Paddy Kisnorbo. Zero to hero redemption arc in progress