OntarioFox

That'll be the Villa that are qualifying for Europe every year and are in with a real shout of winning the league? If anything he saw the writing on the wall with our paper tiger of a club and moved to one where that could be offered on a more sustainable basis.

The maddest thing is that I'm starting to think we could still sneak into the playoffs even if we get an 8-10 point deduction. It'll be tight but the league's so ridiculously congested, all we'd have to do is put together a bit of a run, 4 or 5 wins in a row maybe, and we'd chew through the difference and start to leapfrog teams again. We've just managed 7/9 even with our Jekyll and Hyde 45 minute performances, 4 of those coming against playoff contenders. It's LCFC so I'm not doubting our ability to go on another losing streak that puts it to bed, but at the very least the past few weeks have calmed my nerves about a relegation battle. We'll be mid-table at worst now the right players are getting the minutes.

Like others have said, it's not even that I wouldn't like it to work out if it does happen, but I have zero faith in those calling the shots at LCFC based on pretty much everything they've done for the majority of the last decade. It'll be a nice story if he does do the business, and I'll be delighted if it does, but all signs point to us pissing wages up the wall for a handful of lackluster appearances at the expense of youth players like Evans. I'll add another thing as well - if it does work out to any extent, it'll only embolden them to make more decisions like this instead of trusting the academy, which is the worst thing we could possibly do at this crossroads in the future of our squad.

Yeah think this is it - until James pulled his pants up you'd struggle to find a single player worth getting excited for. Monga was probably the only one and his name got sung louder than anything early-season. No coincidence that now more players are showing up and doing their job, they're getting appreciation from the stands.

xG is an average stat across all players, doesn't take into account that some players are ten times better at finishing than others. Way I see it is, give the chances Bobby has to Daka and they end up in row Z or sliced behind him. Fella deserves credit for being a bloody good finisher. The goals he's scored have been no fluke.

Aaron Ramsey (the OG not our current version) scored a worldie for Cardiff against us two seasons back. Didn't matter in the end as I believe we won 2-1, so probably been forgotten, but just scrolled through the thread and not seen it mentioned.

Good for them. Proves the gap is a myth if you recruit well and put in a modicum of effort on the pitch.

Not happening, they'll limp to 10th-ish. They are incredibly lucky that the promoted teams last season were historically bad. Missing the chance to sink either them or Man Utd to the Championship is arguably the most unforgivable part of our pathetic campaign.

God I despise spurs, absolutely gifting those bellsniffs three points here. Praying West Ham find their breakthrough at least.

Think we're in for an enjoyable rest of the season if the likes of Bobby and Skipp can keep up this upturn in form. Premature to say he's Prem quality though - he played enough last season and was an absolute ghost, and he'll be another year older if we were to do the unthinkable and somehow shithouse promotion through the playoffs. That said, never fully understood the stick he got, he was largely anonymous (Brighton goal aside) but we had far bigger problems and primadonnas to deal with who were actively contributing to our relegation (and have continued to drag us down this season until Marti grew a pair). As it is, he's a very, very good asset at this level and making a mockery of our forward line at the moment in terms of his shooting accuracy. Long may it continue, fast becoming a bit of a cult hero.

West Ham I am god damn bloody effing begging you to find a run of form, starting today. Nuno sinking the club that threw him out with the dishwater would be a wonderful thing. Forest are there for the taking but let's be real the Hammers are the only ones likely to leapfrog them. Wolves are Derby levels of gone and Burnley will keep picking up a point here and there but struggle to get much above 20-25 at this rate.

He's this year's Jannik Vestergaard. Which isn't an insult at all - it's nice to see a player you think is a lost cause suddenly turn a corner and become a useful member of the team, even if it takes a league drop to get there. Get the feeling this is the point he kicks on and becomes a proper part of our team's spine. Imperative we hang onto JJ who brings out the best in him by allowing him to do the dirty work he excels at.

Thought he was fine today. His is a low bar but between today (decent) and Derby (excellent) he's ok for now, not that we have much choice. Thought he linked up well with Stephy going forward, which is not always the case.

We are staying up

FFS you just knew we were going to concede a stupid goal and default to the Daka shitshow again didn't you. We're never seeing Evans get a chance as long as he's here.

Bet we don't see Evans now either

Jakub mate what the fuch was that

OK, SURELY we can give Evans 20-30 mins today?

HOLY SHIT WE ACTUALLY STARTED A HALF IN CONTROL Ayew scores when he wants mate

Well, I was getting ready to say it's been a fairly even half but we've just about edged it and deserve the 1-0 lead... then Abdul goes and twats one in from Joey Guðjónsson range We're noticeably sharper in the press without wastemen like Faes and Winks in midfield. I think all three of Skipp, James and Bobby have had a good half. We've finally got something approaching a formula, even if all three have their drawbacks. Now all we need to do is keep these levels up in the second ha-oh who am I kidding this is 45 Minute FC we don't do that do we

ARE WE SCOTLAND IN DISGUISE

Bobby is a sexy bastard, Steve Cooper masterclass

As for the Hirst slander, guessing we've learned nothing from shit-talking about Tom Cannon. Bet you could make a few quid on him to score in the first 5 minutes. It's just what he does. It's what all the "Leicester rejects" do.

Another game, another slim hope of seeing Evans that will no doubt be dashed as we instead opt to defend a 1-1 draw by putting on Daka.

2-0 Preston, like a knife through butter. Oxford are crap.