when_you're_smiling

Cheers. Yeah, there’s very few places for six of us though unfortunately. We’d been looking at hotels and they were looking at £85 ish each, but then suddenly found the Ibis budget for about £20 each so bit of a no-brainer in the end.

Cheers! Yeah I think we’ll probably go central in the end so don’t have a long journey when hammered late at night.

Amsterdam (I’m probably about the only one here not been there). We’re doing the booze cruise so only going go for a hotel for one night, but is it worth paying more for being right in the centre or pay less for a hotel just outside?

Might be wrong (and can’t be arsed to check) but don’t Chelsea have a much better record away from home than they do at home? I’d take a point, but only if we then got something at Wolves. With this, Wolves and Man City to come, anything more than three or four points from those three games would set us fair for the rest of the season. That’s not going to be easy and double what we got from the same teams earlier in the season.

Yeah he saved what probably would have been a goal with that defensive header. He was ok today but you can also see he’s lost a bit of the confidence and he’s second guessing stuff he’s normally have done without thinking before.

That’s the best I‘ve seen him playing between the lines for a long while. It’s just poor finishing and good goalkeeping.

Two deflections went their way for that goal. Still, there’s loads of space for the midfield here.

I was very downbeat after that first test, but to come back like they did was excellent. Yeah it was the worst South Africa side I can remember, but to win there with arguably three of the main line bowlers out is pretty impressive especially on not overly helpful pitches. Was impressed in Root and the team’s ability to come up with a plan to get people out just as it looked as if they might not like they did with van der Dussen today. The way the young players have come in have been fantastic and can see Crawley playing at three when Burns returns. Suddenly there’s options including with the spinners ahead of Sri Lanka.

This - And I do wonder, even when he’s not playing, how much of an overall positive impact in the dressing room and at the training ground he and others have. You can’t play everyone every week so some people are going to be disappointed. Long term would rather have the likes of Albrighton around than sulky, more expensive and (in theory) more talented players on the fringes and bringing the dressing room down.

Wasn’t his only game for the club Man U away? So didn’t play at Filbert Street for the first team. (I could be very wrong).

It’s The Prodigy - The Day Is My Enemy. Shame they haven’t recreated the Smack My Bitch Up video instead though. Maybe next season.

Nice welcome for Chris Powell to Den Haag. They won 2-0 too.

I didn’t mind the defeat to a Southampton who were always going to be up for it, but that really is a damaging defeat against a really poor side. Was actually surprised by how bad Burnley were. The Liverpool and Man City defeats have drained confidence. We did still create a few chances with Vardy having a real off day, but there’s not enough quick passing higher up the pitch now of the sort that was almost natural in the winning run. About the best performance recently was the reserves against West Ham who mostly weren’t involved in those games. Team selection could be interesting.

They’ll bring Lennon on second half to get at Fuchs. Think they only played Hendrick in there in a bid to stop Chilwell getting forward. Might be worth getting Albrighton on to counter that.

Why were you in the bath with your mum? Edit - see you’ve also just knocked your joke off the BBC Cricket Live text!

They have to lower their wage bill, so in theory they would already have had to get rid of a few or at least re-arrange contracts. We’ll see though. The Prem say they will stick check their accounts even when they’re out of it to judge as to whether they should be promoted again. It would be funny if they scrapped promotion the only season they’ll be down there, but sure they wouldn’t now at least until they’re back. They shouldn’t do it anyway.

Saw online that before he was with us he’d also been let go by Palace’s youth set up.

Remember Amarety and one other turning up late via a car that needed a police escort to get through the crowds. Can’t remember the other being Albrighton but it was dark and they didn’t come over. We were standing on the wall to see who it was going through the front door. If remember rightly it was reported Kasper was at home and didn’t wven watch the game until his mrs told him it was 2-2.

All TV companies have the main effects mic next to the away fans. While not totally rocking I though it was decent enough from the East Stand and don’t think there was any time of complete silence thanks to Union FS.

Take a bow chaps. Was excellent!

I can understand why there’s so many seats for Wigan, but genuinely stunned there’s so many still available for the semi-final. Maybe just me, but didn’t think it would make general sale, never mind have so many left across the ground.

Weirdly takes some of the pressure off today’s game.....but ramps up the pressure massively to get three points at St James’s. What odds sneaking a win today and losing at full strength on NY day?

Wouldn’t surprise me if Tielemans and Maddison play one each of the next two, but no way would you drop both.

Reflecting today, seeing all the Liverpool fans celebrating harder than I’ve ever seen them for a while highlights what we’ve done this season. A side who’ve spent millions including on two world record transfers treated it as almost another final and we paid the penalty. I know two centre DMs is an almost sacrilegious thing to suggest around here, but think it should be something we consider against the better sides, just to give the full backs more cover and to allow them to get higher.