Dan

PSG and Barcelona have been the two standout teams so far and both of them tonight showed huge vulnerability. You really could make a case for anyone left in - Real Madrid probably less than anyone somehow. Fair play to Villa, made that far more of a contest than I thought it would be.

Completely agree and think it's a massive shame. I never bought that we couldn't build on the 2015/16 style. We've taken it another direction - albeit the mish-mash recruitment is probably the main issue. We won the league with a style the fans for the most part did resonate with. Genuinely entertaining and effective. You really did think we were different. High intensity is what will resonate with our fans. The team I'd like to see us replicate in the Premier League if anybody isn't Man City, or Arsenal, or even Liverpool. For me it's Newcastle. They have a bit of everything for me. What's most impressive is that despite having some obvious brilliance in their team, they still have cogs from their struggling teams actually playing a useful role. You get the impression that they get the most out of everyone they have at the club. They're the closest to the sort of way I'd want us to play. I just cannot do slow football.

I really hope Huth doesn't think like him.

Exact moment he lost me as well - I get he has a conflict of interest with Rudkin so I took that all with a pinch of salt. Soon as you start playing down the club like we're some tinpot outfit, in an era where Nottingham Forest are third and Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford are battling for a European place. Nice try but you don't fool me. You do worry there's very much this attitude at the club itself though. Like a coping mechanism.

His conflict of interest couldn't be more obvious.

The likes of MNF, the Coaches Voice etc... it's basically impossible to not come across well on. I'm pretty sure Van Nistelrooy could go on MNF next season (infact I totally see this) and he'd come across very well. You would then get people on here saying he was alright and misunderstood when he's served up one of the worst runs in the history of football. I could never doubt Martin's ability to talk the talk. He flunked 'so' badly in the Premier League though that I just couldn't chance it. That's before you even get onto his style. I really wish we'd stop this attempt to be like someone else. What a sure fire way of ensuring you stay behind the others - try and be someone else. But that's a perfect summary of Aiyawatt's mentality.

It's no endorsement of anything we've done but I don't miss Maresca a jot to be honest.

He doesn't convince me but he's the first centre half of ours I'd pick to be honest. He's more likeable than the others, younger so has scope for growth, has generally not been quite 'as' bad as the others. He's one of the very few I'd be OK with staying. No doubt he'll end up on loan at Udinese and we're stuck with the other pillocks.

Mavididi is a hit and miss player that has been totally left out in a time where we've been 'miss' every single game. He's a bit of chaos factor, in a good way.

It's pretty important we don't just tank the end of the season ahead of next. If we'd actually kept it up and gone and lost our last 15 or whatever it is I firmly believe that would run into next season and we'd have genuine concerns of doing a Luton. It's pissed me off that it's taken him until now to actually mix things up. I'm also not under any illusions about that game - we were extremely fortunate to even get the chance to equalise at all. But at least a reasonable finish to this one gives you a bit of hope for next season.

The miracle of Brighton. Still as terrible as ever at the back but actually looked like we could attack for once - where the hell was that before?

Where the actual **** has this been?

Brighton's inability to win these games needs studying. Haven't beaten Southampton, Ipswich or Wolves at home this season. Have remarkably managed to concede twice to Ruud Van Nistelrooy's Leicester in both meetings.

Our summer window when you put into context the money spent, the situation we'd been in with PSR etc... is about the worst I can remember any club having. We've spent about £80mil to go substantially backwards and tied ourselves up for the next couple of years as well. It's mental.

It's beyond belief this is only 2-1. Honestly, this ought to have been the real battering.

Our players are all absolute thickos.

Mavididi is a hit and miss player but when all you've done is miss for months then he should've featured a lot more. Only seen the stats - it's a relief that we scored but honestly, how we're not at least two down here. 3/4-1 I'd imagine.

Christ. Wish I'd not bothered.

It's about the one thing we've gotten right in the last few years so naturally we need to rectify that and get that wrong as well.

Fully anticipating another bland "energy conservation" drone from our opposition when they really ought to show no mercy and just embarrass these players.

Arsenal, PSG, Barcelona and Inter feels like the most balanced semis in years. Said what I said the other day - screams a PSG Barcelona final. Two excellent and very entertaining sides. Got a bit of bias in this, backed Barcelona at 9/1 back in about October time - whenever it was they thrashed Real Madrid and Bayern back to back.

Don't think it's quite the same as winners medals but if we're assuming the same rule of 5 games, then yes, he has three in a row.

The case for Rudkin is actually better isn't it the more I think about it but it is just simply because I've wanted him out far, far longer. I think a competent replacement for him (unlikely) would have Ruud gone in virtually no time either.

Real Madrid have had that coming a while in all honesty. They've been getting away with it a lot this season. They often coast through a season then really hit their stride when March arrives but they still look like early season Real Madrid to me. Not quite feeling them this year but probably shouldn't write them off either. PSG and Barcelona look the two best teams in it for me this year. Can see that being the final. I'm going to have to see it to believe it with Arsenal, but fair play, I didn't expect that.

Not in 2025 we can't. We haven't got the residue of a previous era anymore.