DJ Barry Hammond

In theory, it’s a sensible signing - experienced pro, in his prime years, in a key focal point position in the team. But I do wonder if he’ll end up being side lined by someone from our academy (which may not be a bad thing either).

I think VAR got both of the key decisions correct. The Haaland push is so blatant that it can’t be ignored - and this was an area that FIFA highlighted before the tournament that was going to be looked at more closely… so Norway shouldn’t really have any complaints there. And then the Spence penalty claim - if he plants his foot to protect the ball in a more natural fashion, it’s a stonewaller. But he doesn’t - he essentially initiates the contact, at which point I can’t agree with the original decision and it’s only correct that VAR instigates a review. As for the ‘ball hits wire’ business… I’ve yet to see clear and irrefutable evidence to show that happened, therefore ‘play on!’

I thought his changes / selections were poor last night. Madueke was a questionable selection to start… and went on to show why with a distinct lack of quality / football intelligence despite given ample opportunity to make a meaningful impact. Rice was clearly under the weather, so a halftime switch was understandable… but choosing to bring in Eze and drop Bellingham back alongside Anderson (who was excellent last night be the way) was another bizarre choice. Not only did it hinder your star player and take away from his growing and formidable partnership with your star striker, it also helped Odegaard to become a growing influence in the game, to the point Norway were looking the more likely. He at least acknowledged his error later on, with the decision to bring James in for Gordon and shove Eze to the left flank (Gordon can count himself a little unlucky in that Tuchel couldn’t exactly take Eze off in order to correct England’s midfield balance issue). But quite why you would bring James on in centre midfield when you have Rogers / Mainoo sitting on the bench I don’t know - with Roger’s cameo in extra time highlighting to me that he probably should have been the original change for Rice. I even found the Dan Burn change questionable - at this point Norway had taken Haaland off, England looked reasonably comfortable with a more dominant and energetic midfield and I didn’t see the need to give up that and inevitably invite some late pressure.

Could be as much to do with the Beeb’s financial squeeze and cut backs within local radio.

Looking at the 11 (and wider squad) for today, it’s becoming clearer this is no easy job for Martin.

I can’t imagine even Martin can mess up the first part of the rebuild. It’s a gift of a job for him, so let’s see if he can make good of it.

Worked out ok last time we were in League One.

Harry Kane by the way.

Andrew Impy obviously. And then how can anyone not class Sir Barry Hales as World Class!

They didn’t really want him in the first place! They’re not going to give it to him long term now.

Not a chance.

I don’t think he does - and I would suggest the feelings mutual from the board. He was reportedly pissed off at Maresca being at the Norwich game and can imagine he may have simply went through the motions ever since.

If we’d had that, we wouldn’t be in this mess - it was the most obvious part of the squad that was lacking.

You think Top knows who Harry Souttar is?

I’m suprised Ruskin hasn’t suggested to Top to move him sideways to focus on King Power racing more. Now, maybe Rudkin isn’t into the horses as much as the footie - but there’s an obvious out for him sitting right there which seems strange that he hasn’t taken it. Maybe the mooted ‘promotion’ in the restructure is actually more of a sideways push?

Again…

Single substitution at 61 minutes… you’d think that’s not a planned change.

To think many on here didn’t fancy McBurnie for us.

I think you can only go on a subjective view point. But Ipswich and to an extent Wrexham show what momentum from a winning campaign can do. You can also look at it going the other way, where teams have battled against relegation from the Premier League for several seasons and struggle to recapture the winning thread in the Championship - which has always been an ultra competitive league. I ponder if the ‘Enzo’ season masked how competitive the league is to some fans and drew the idea this season was going to be similar for us - forgetting the fact that we had two huge difference makers in Vardy and KDH in the squad for that season, plus useful supporting casts in the likes of Justin, Ndidi and dare I say it - Faes!

There could be some positives in getting relegated. 1.) The drop in level should mean we can give our youth a proper chance; and our break through youngsters this season will be at a more realistic age profile to properly grow and develop. 2.) Rebuilding on a budget should be easier too. There’s always lots of free agents available at the level. 3.) By relegation happening now (unless something unbelievable happens), we avoid what could have been a long, season after season drawn out decline. Next year’s Championship season already looks potentially tough; so we might be better off outside of that so we can properly rebuild rather than trying to apply sticking plasters. 4.) We’ve seen big teams fall into League one and return stronger in the long run - ourselves being a case in point, but also note Sunderland, Ipswich and Birmingham. Compare that to the likes of Bristol City, Preston, Stoke and Swansea, who have just ‘existed’ in the Championship season after season. 5.) New grounds to travel to - hello Bromley! Blackpool away also looks to be on the cards. Does this make anyone feel any better about the situation?

I think the fans helped make his position untenable at the time of the sacking - so there was really no future for him, if he wasn’t sacked that week, it would more than likely have been the week after. BUT - I personally didn’t feel he was doing too badly given the obvious limitations of the squad - i.e. weak midfield, poor striking options and questionable central defensive pairings. I’d argue that most fans reactions towards him at the time were based on aspirations of us reaching or at least to be challenging for the playoffs - but it should have been growing even more that our squad (as well paid as it is) lacked a lot of the characteristics that signify winning teams. The other massive impasse that has and will continue to hamper any manager going forward is the complete disconnect between the fans, the players and the club. Marti should get some credit for identifying that as a key issue from the start and trying to repair that relationship and feeling between players and fans - but I think it’s a nigh on impossible task to fix without some sort of change at boardroom level now.

Might we be able to sort out a Foxestalk team this year? I’d be happy to put on the gloves!

I assume Gary’s referring to the 11 minutes between his first set of changes and his second, where it looked like he attempted to go 442. Leaving a rather weird selection of players across the midfield four and a pace less back four, the balance wasn’t right and we struggled to win the ball back from Swansea at all in those minutes. The subsequent subductions on 73 essentially reverted back to what was being played before and was essentially an admission that the first substitutions were misguided.

Hmmm… baseball player! I meant Morsy (Sam).

That looks a very short and weak midfield trio - kinda like our current midfield. Have you truly thought that side through?