Dan

Never had a birthday fixture in my life. At the 32nd time of asking, I get one, and Forest are going to send us down on it. Fantastic!

Nailed it always a load of fun until England, France and Portugal turn up. Just a classic Southgate game tonight. Job done but it's going to be the same old I think.

I was pretty pro Germany going into this tournament, think Scotland have been a bit unlucky on timings, when the draw came out I did think they had a shot of getting something. Absolutely awful from them though, genuinely couldn't have played this any worse.

I think as a club we've really fallen for a lot of the rubbish written about us by rivals. Even the Potter stuff I find the desperation baffling. I hope it's all points deduction related that we're acting this desperate for somebody so average.

His grift shouldn't be forgiven. He's an absolute bore. Ornstein is on another stratosphere, this bloke is genuinely uninteresting now.

In fairness to Romano when you rewrite the same thing 25 times you're bound to have the odd sentence not actually make sense.

think it's safe to assume they won't get much better under this ownership which is good news. Long may their suffering continue.

Beat me to it think it's fair game as well to be honest. I get him thinking that but I think this. No hard feelings.

Teams like Bournemouth and Fulham are talking points though. I'd say both of those play a fairly progressive style and both are genuinely quite entertaining teams. I've always quite enjoyed Silva's football. They were better than us in the Championship as well.

It was around then where I completely turned on this ownership - I could not believe they were tolerating that performance. I thought we'd been that bad in that Brighton game that they had no choice but to sack him and it was for the best we'd taken a hammering, but it didn't arrive. I get down the rabbit hole every time I think of that season. Just wind myself up

In fairness to him, it became apparent that we were a bit creative with the truth on our finances so he probably acted like we had luxuries that we didn't. Even still it's poor practice how we've ended up with him in this position already. He was on the scrapheap six months into a five and a half year deal. It's so so poor, and we've done the same since with another player in his position! Of whom people bring up Vestergaard's turnaround, well guess what, we did it with him as well

If Maresca doesn't add a bit more to his game then he's not going to make it at Chelsea or at a top level. I'm trying to avoid the Real Madrid route I keep going down because it's as flawed in a way as the Man City comparison - they have exceptional players. But I think their versatility is their real asset. To answer an above question, which successful sides play direct - well they definitely can. I'd say Liverpool surely. They play out, but they can be direct as well. I really think our fans will never properly take to the type of football Top supposedly wants us to play. They will tolerate it when we're winning but we won't properly engage and respond to it. I hope Top's so called vision isn't quite as dogmatic as made out.

Throwing in at the deep end isn't always the worst thing you know. I think providing its managed properly, ie not throwing them all in together at Anfield etc.. they can become useful to us this season.

Football with speed. I was quite on the tiki taka train a while ago but I've seen the light - it's effective with the right players but it'll never quite get the pulses racing. I mean does Pep even strictly play pure tiki taka anymore? I think he's adapted it somewhat. In truth I want adaptability. I want a manager who is capable of winning with 70% of the ball and is capable of winning with 30% of the ball, and is happy with either outcome.

I've said it before about him but in our situation can we really afford to just let players like him rot? We cannot keep making signings who don't fit under X managers plans and then keep appointing managers to that same philosophy at all costs. By no means proven in the top flight but I don't remember him being terrible.

Honestly, the peak for me with him was what he did in Sweden, which was genuinely impressive and rightly caught peoples eyes. I don't think he's a poor manager at all, and I think in our situation he'd not be a bad appointment, but I don't buy that it would be this back pages coup either. You're right - inflated reputation. I don't think he'd go down all that well here either. He's not particularly entertaining.

Rodgers let in 5 to that. ****ing hell man.

I've never been able to take Solskjaer seriously as a manager since that whole refusing to park in the managers spot story. I can't help it. How can you take that serious as a manager?

It won't happen but it just means something else shit is on the horizon. This is the softener for whatever it is.

Doesn't reflect badly on him at all given who it supposedly was. Actually makes me want him to stay to be honest.

I'm no Southgate fan but I doubt we go out in the groups. Too big a safety net. Do wonder if we're due a proper shocker of a tournament mind certainly don't look like one that'll win it either.

He's gotten overly fast tracked. He shouldn't be in the team against Serbia. Correlation is not necessarily causation but he's been in a generally dire Man Utd side who concede an absurd amount of shots, his defensive numbers are pretty awful. He's a prospect rather than the finished article. Friendly or not that's an absolutely dire result this close to the tournament, at home. Embarrassing score.

The two were announced together precisely for this reason. This place to its credit does see through this for large parts.

It's absolutely ridiculous. You're right - in a nutshell it sums them up. Even in this sort of financial situation they're handing out a contract like that to a player who has a pretty high chance of being back on the scrapheap within months. Total mismanagement, but then what do you expect from this hierarchy. They've proven time and time again they'll do it and they've proven nobody will be accountable for it. Absolute joke.

Life under Top and Jon Rudkin. I despair.