Probably the season where we had Kean and Eastwood in nets, pretty much guaranteed a catastrophic mistake every game. Fair to say this hasn't been our finest season in terms of goalkeeping mind.

Despite Ipswich having been in top form for pretty much the entirety of the season thus far, the visit of Norwich was always going to be a tricky tie. The East Anglian derby hadn't come to Portman Road in five years, with Ipswich being stuck in League 1 for a prolonged period and Norwich having brief stints in the Premier League. Ipswich have been significantly better than Norwich so far this season, but hadn't beaten their neighbours since 2009. The curse seemed to be lifting as Nathan Broadhead put the home side ahead on 34 minutes, but goals just before and just after half-time by Jonathan Rowe put the Canaries in a familiar position of being in the lead against the Blues. Wes Burns equalised for Ipswich in the 60th minute, and they dominated the match from this point onwards, but were unable to further breach the Norwich backline and had to settle for sharing the points. Norwich are now four games unbeaten, having collected eight points from the last twelve, and sit in 10th place, five points from the playoffs. Ipswich remained in 2nd place, level on points with Leicester and eleven points clear of Leeds... However, Leeds would now have an opportunity for the first time in five games to actually gain some ground on Ipswich. Having lost their last game away to Sunderland, a home match against lowly Coventry represented an excellent chance for Daniel Farke's team to close the gap a little. Considering Leeds play Ipswich at home on Dec 23rd, picking up three points here became even more imperative. Alas, despite going a goal up in the 58th minute, Leeds were pegged back in the 66th minute and squandered their opportunity to pull closer to Ipswich as the game fizzled out into a 1-1 draw. Daniel Farke bemoaned Coventry setting up to be compact and defensive, but whilst I'm sure he'd love every team to set up like Rovers last week, this is how teams without parachute payments get results against teams who do have them. Failure to win means Leeds are still ten points adrift of Ipswich in 2nd and Leicester in 1st, but Leicester have a game in hand on both clubs - played away to Wayne Rooney's Birmingham City™ on Monday. Coventry are 15th, with the second-most draws in the division behind Huddersfield. Sunderland had won their first two games under interim manager Mike Dodd, following the sacking of Tony Mowbray, but the honeymoon period came to an end at Ashton Gate as Bristol City beat the Black Cats 1-0. A 20th minute penalty decided a game which Sunderland otherwise dominated and arguably deserved at least a point from. Bristol City boss Liam Manning won't be feeling hugely sympathetic though, as he desperately needed a win having seen his side lose three and draw one of the last four matches. A win here lifts them to 14th position, whilst Sunderland fall outside of the playoffs into 7th place. It was Hull City who benefited from Sunderland's slip-up, with the Tigers recording a comfortable 3-0 win over a lacklustre Cardiff City at the KCOM. Hull have bounced back from two defeats in a row by recording two wins in succession, lifting them back into the playoffs and putting them three points clear of Sunderland in 7th. The general poor form of the inconsistent teams below 6th means that Hull have a four point gap from Preston in 8th and a five point gap on Watford, Norwich and Rovers in 9th, 10th and 11th respectively. As far as Cardiff are concerned, four defeats in the last five matches has bombed them out of playoff contention, as they now sit six points from 6th position, falling to 12th place. Bluebirds Boss Erol Bulut admitted post-match that there was a gulf in quality between his side and Hull, and that he had put too much expectation on his team by previously suggesting they could be in playoff contention. Joe Edwards looked set to pick up three points as Millwall manager for the first time in six matches at home to struggling Huddersfield, with his side 1-0 up and the crowd baying for the final whistle as the game drew to a close. Their opponents, however, are the draw-specialists of the division and enhanced that reputation by salvaging a point with a 97th minute goal - and even worse for Millwall, it was a penalty, given for a handball against George Saville. The draw does very little for either team, with Millwall failing to win in nine of their last ten matches and Huddersfield only winning once in twelve matches. Such horrendous runs of form would typically see teams plunged into the relegation zone, but the quality of the bottom three has somehow been even worse, sparing both teams such a fate thus far. However, that could all change depending on the result of... Sheffield Wednesday Vs QPR, taking place at Hillsborough. QPR would have been able to escape the bottom three in midweek had they beaten Plymouth at home, but a disappointing goalless draw kept them in 22nd. They had a second bite of the cherry here, with a win guaranteed to take them out of the relegation zone due to Millwall and Huddersfield playing each other. For the second time in a row, however, the Hoops spurned the chance to give themselves a huge psychological boost by taking themselves out of the bottom three. Things were going well, with QPR a goal ahead and the game coming to a close, but an 86th minute equaliser from Bailey Cadamarteri changed everything. Anthony Musaba would dramatically seal all three points for the Owls with a 94th minute winner. The result ends QPR's four game unbeaten run, and means Sheffield Wednesday have somewhat implausibly won three of their last four matches. Before beating Rovers a couple of weeks back, Wednesday had only won once all season. Now they've won four matches, but remain in 23rd. They pull to within four points of QPR, and six points of Millwall and Huddersfield - who thanks to this result continue to survive on the fringes of the relegation zone in 20th and 21st respectively. QPR stay in 22nd but lose some ground on the teams directly above them, going from one to two points adrift. Having had a huge opportunity to get themselves into a solid position with games at home to Plymouth and away to Wednesday, QPR instead still find themselves in trouble. If they'd managed four points from those two games, they'd be in 20th right now. Six points would have lifted them to 19th, ahead of Stoke. Daniel Ayala continued his one man mission to have Christmas and New Year off, as he got himself sent off for the second successive game. He's the first player to achieve that this season. At the point Ayala was sent off, Rotherham were already 2-1 behind away to Plymouth. Despite Ayala's 55th minute sending off giving his team mates far more work to do, the Millers found themselves level in the 77th minute and appeared to be on their way to earning a respectable draw against a Plymouth team who have a decent home record. In the end it wasn't to be, however, as Plymouth scored a 96th minute winner to doom Rotherham to yet another away defeat. They've lost nine of their eleven away matches and drawn the other two. Plymouth are in fact the only other team in the division not to have won a single away match, but they have the 5th best home record in the league, winning seven of their eleven home matches. Rotherham meanwhile aren't much better at home, only winning twice at the New York Stadium this season. This is why Plymouth sit in a relatively comfortable 16th place, in spite of their away form, and Rotherham are rooted to the bottom of the division, nine points from safety. Preston went 1-0 up against Watford after 27 minutes, and from that point onwards their afternoon became a nightmare. It was only 1-1 at half time, but a second half blitz from the Hornets meant that the game ended 5-1 in Watford's favour, as PNE boss Ryan Lowe saw his team crumble in embarrassing fashion. Not for the first time this season, either. It's a third home defeat in a row for Preston, who every so often look like the may be getting back to something resembling decent form before inevitably collapsing again. PNE have only picked up four points from the last twelve available and fall to 8th, four points behind Hull in 6th. Their GD of -10 is the worst in the division outside of the bottom four. Watford, on the other hand, are building up a head of steam with ten points from the last fifteen available pushing them up to 9th in the table, five points from the playoff positions. Rovers failed to restore any pride to Lancashire, losing 4-0 to Southampton in a game we barely even competed in. We looked beaten from the first whistle and so it came to be, although as the game came to a close, 2-0 didn't seem quite so bad - especially considering we had been reduced to ten-men in the 55th minute thanks to Callum Brittain leaving his brain in the dressing room at half time. Unfortunately goals in the 97th and 99th minute piled on the misery for our poor, hardy away fans. Can't say we deserved anything other than what we got, so a big thanks to Venky's for leaving us in a position where we can only hope not to get utterly smashed by the bigger clubs in the division. We aren't even capable of fighting it out Sparky/Big Sam style. A third defeat in five sees us drop to 11th, the gap to the playoffs increasing to five points. Southampton remain in 4th but are now level with Leeds in 3rd, both teams on 42 points. Michael Carrick's Boro put a three-game losing streak behind them as they fought for a 2-1 victory against Swansea at the Swansea.com Stadium. Another astonishingly creative name there. The Swans, still without a manager, were unbeaten in three, having won one and drawn one since Michael Duff's departure, but they tasted defeat here to bring that run to an end. It leaves Swansea sitting in 18th place, five points clear of the relegation zone. Boro move up to 13th, six points from the playoff positions. Sunday's match saw another managerless team in Stoke give a spirited away performance against West Brom, fighting to earn themselves a point in a 1-1 draw at the Hawthorns. It was a second 1-1 draw in a row for caretaker manager, former Rover Paul Gallagher, which represents a small improvement over the four-game losing streak that former boss Alex Neil had departed on. QPR's defeat on Saturday means that the additional point pulls the Potters three points clear of the relegation zone. WBA's form has been rocky lately, with just four points gained from the last twelve available. They still hold on to 5th position for the time being, but Hull are now level on points with the Baggies. Both are some way behind Southampton and Leeds, though, so one would imagine it will be a fight for 5th and 6th between the remaining teams during the second half of the season. I will add Leicester's match against Wayne Rooney's Birmingham City™ here after tomorrow.

Think Kompany is doing a top job at Burnley personally. Keep up the good work.

JDT has said as much in his press conferences, he'd rather lose 5-4 than scrape a 1-0 win, or something. It's how he wants to play, for better or for worse, and I guess it's why we go through periods where we hardly ever draw.

Maybe Rotherham are a little more thorough with checking injuries, so this is the only way for him to get his usual winter break in.

Certainly raises some question marks around the medical advice he's been given.

These days you have to accept us losing the moment we concede first, but would have been nice not to have our GD smashed in the process. Especially as we'd kept it to a somewhat respectable 2-0 until the last couple of minutes. With that said, when you lose 4-0 and your goalkeeper is still PotM... yeah. This was one to forget.

I appreciate Southampton are far ahead of us as far as resources and talent are concerned, but it's disappointing to feel like we haven't even put up a fight today. Even against Leicester and Leeds I felt like we gave it a go, but today it's like the lads haven't wanted to be there, JDT set up up for a 0-0 at best and Brittain epitomises the whole thing by seemingly purposefully getting himself a boxing day suspension. Really disheartening.

Extremely poor in terms of professionalism from Brittain. If we had any kind of squad depth I'd be sitting him on the bench for some time to come in JDT's shoes, but alas, he'll be straight back in once his suspension is served with no consequences as we have no backup.

Me too!

Tuesday/Wednesday... Rovers got back to winning ways after two defeats on the spin with a 2-1 win over Bristol City at Ewood Park. Our home form hasn't been the best lately, so it was great to see us pick up all three points against a side we'd expect to beat on our own turf. Those games can be just as tricky as the ones against superior opposition. Siggy back on the scoresheet which is nice to see, as well as a Wharton brothers combo for goal number two. We never do things the easy way, though, and a Bristol City goal on the 60th minute made for a nervy final 30 minutes or so. Rovers move up to 9th, two points from the playoff positions. It was a third defeat in four matches for Bristol City, having picked up just one point from the last twelve available. New boss Liam Manning has some work to do, as his side falls to 15th. Preston put a run of four games without a win behind them as they beat woeful Huddersfield 3-1 at the John Smith's Stadium. The Terriers were booed off by their fans at half time, 2-0 down against a PNE team who are not exactly renowned for their scoring prowess. Darren Moore attempted a half-time triple substitution, but it ultimately wasn't enough to salvage the situation. Huddersfield remain in 21st for the time being, but just one win in their last five matches now has them a single point from dropping into the relegation zone - with worse GD than QPR beneath them. Three points for North End leaves them in 8th position, their horrible form over the past few months making 3rd place now seem like a distant dream. Rotherham finally appointed a new manager this week - former Wigan boss and long-time assistant to Paul Cook, Leam Richardson. His reign started off in less-than-ideal circumstances, with a 2-0 home defeat against West Brom. The Millers can't buy a win away from home, so cannot really afford to drop points like this at home if they want to survive. It's their second home defeat on the spin, having been beaten 2-1 by Swansea at the New York Stadium at the weekend. Rotherham have conceded a whopping 41 goals and have the worst defensive record in the league, in addition to being bottom of the table and eight points from safety, so it's some job Richardson has on his hands. WBA meanwhile continue in 5th, two points ahead of Hull in 7th, but a massive sixteen points behind Ipswich in 2nd. Having lost their last two matches, this was nonetheless a welcome three points for the Baggies. Neither Stoke nor Swansea have a permanent manager at present, and the teams perhaps suitable played out a 1-1 draw at the bet365. The Potters looked to be heading for a much-needed victory after converting a 70th minute penalty, but an 89th minute equaliser meant the points were ultimately shared. It stretches Stoke's run of games without a win to 7, with a paltry three points collected from a possible twenty-one available in that time. As a result, Stoke sit just two points from the relegation zone. Swansea have now not lost in three, with a half-decent six points gained from the last fifteen available. They are five points off the drop. Another win for Ipswich, this time away at Watford, saw the Suffolk side briefly go top of the table. Leicester would soon reclaim that spot for themselves, but nonetheless the Tractor Boys are making a mockery of those who loudly proclaimed that they would inevitably fade. Absolutely no signs of that happening any time soon - they won this one despite making five changes to the side that brushed aside Boro 2-0 at the weekend. Ipswich are in 2nd place, ten points clear of Leeds in 3rd and a point behind Leicester at the top of the table. They remain the league's highest scorers. Watford's three game unbeaten run comes to an end, and they sit in 12th place. Sunderland are continuing to enjoy life without Tony Mowbray, as they made it two wins from two since sacking the former Rovers boss. They faced a Leeds side at the Stadium of Light which had gone seven games unbeaten and won three on the spin, but still came away with an impressive 1-0 victory courtesy of a Jobe Bellingham goal. Interim boss Mike Dodds will certainly be pleased with how his Sunderland have reacted to Mowbray's departure. Leeds meanwhile cannot afford to drop points like this if they want to catch up with the two relentless teams above them. Victory for Sunderland moves them back into 6th position, having taken seven points from the last nine available. Leeds remain in 3rd, losing ground on both Ipswich and Leicester, now ten and eleven points behind each team respectively. Wayne Rooney picked up his first away win, and indeed only his second win overall, as Birmingham boss as his team snuck a 1-0 victory at the Cardiff City Stadium. It may have only been a second win in ten matches, but Birmingham were good value for their win against an underwhelming Cardiff side who have now lost three of their last four matches and fallen down to 10th in the standings, albeit still only three points from a playoff spot. Birmingham move up to 16th, six points off the relegation zone and six points from the playoffs. Coventry had won three of their last four home games, and picked up a respectable 1-1 draw at home to Southampton. It stretched the Saints' unbeaten run in the Championship to an impressive thirteen games, but they could ill-afford to fall further behind Ipswich and Leicester, which is exactly what happened. Despite still being in 4th, Southampton are now twelve points behind Ipswich and thirteen points behind Leicester. Coventry move up to 14th place, and much like BIG CLUB they are both six points from relegation and the playoffs. Joe Edwards' hapless Millwall side showed fight away to Leicester, but still left without any points as they lost 3-2. The Lions went ahead after just ten minutes and were a goal up at half time, but the Foxes came back strong in the second half to secure all three points. The jumped back above Ipswich into first place, having won four of their last five matches. Millwall's dire form continues, with just a single point from the last fifteen available. They drop to 20th, having only won five games out of twenty-one this season, leaving them just a point from the drop zone. Having surprisingly picked up seven points from their last nine, normal service resumed for Sheffield Wednesday as Danny Rohl's side were beaten 3-1 at Carrow Road by Norwich. It was a fourth win in six games for the Canaries, who are climbing back up the table after a dismal run of form. They are now in 11th position, just three points from the playoffs. The Owls meanwhile remain in 23rd, still eight points from safety on account of both Millwall and Huddersfield losing. Their next match against 22nd placed QPR on Saturday is massive for both clubs. Speaking of QPR, their three-game winning streak came to an end as they were unable to find a way past a resolute Plymouth at Loftus Road, with the game finishing goalless. Considering Plymouth had a man sent off in the 25th minute and QPR registered 29 shots on goal, the Hoops will be desperately disappointed to have come away from this match with just a single point - especially with all of the teams above them losing, meaning a win would have taken them out of the relegation zone for the first time in months. Nonetheless, a point sees them edge closer to Huddersfield and Millwall, with just one point now separating 22nd, 21st and 20th. Plymouth will be very happy to have come away with a point from this one, and they sit in 18th, three points from the relegation zone. With Boro having picked up a head of steam recently, it's all come crashing back down to Earth with a 2-1 home defeat to Hull City being their third consecutive defeat. They've lost four of their last five matches, dropping down to 13th place, six points from the playoff positions. The Tigers had lost their last two matches, but three points here moves them up to 7th and only out of the playoffs on goal difference. Liam Rosenior's men are also just two points from 5th placed WBA.

Well done Rovers for hanging on. A lot more confident of holding onto a lead under JDT than I was when Mowbray was here. Tronstad is a superb player at this level. Definitely Leo's best game for us so far. And Ipswich won again.

Friday night's match saw Wayne Rooney's Birmingham City™ continue to show no fear of losing, as they were once again beaten, this time 2-0 by Coventry City at the CBS Arena. Rooney's first nine games in charge have yielded a dismal five points, but their poor away form stretches back to the beginning of the season, as they haven't managed a single point on the road since August 19th (according to the beeb). The Sky Blues could have won by more in a match they completely controlled, but they'll no doubt settle for three points and a clean sheet. In Rooney's post-match interview he said his team can't defend, can't attack and can't take set pieces. Not ideal. Birmingham now slip to 17th in the table, overtaken by a Coventry side who are finally getting their form back, now in 15th having won three of their last four league games. Rovers hosted Leeds at Ewood park in one of two lunch time kickoffs on Saturday. The quality in Leeds' ranks ultimately proved too much for Rovers to handle, as they fell to a second successive defeat, losing 2-0. Rovers' home form continues to be a concern, with six losses from ten home matches this season making for worrying reading. Additionally concerning is that ten defeats ranks up there with the worst teams in the division, but as we don't draw, nine wins has seen us remain in a decent position - only three points from the playoffs. Nonetheless, Rovers' GD slips back into negative territory at -1, and we've now lost three of our last five league games. Leeds meanwhile notch up their third straight win in a row, continuing to pursue Ipswich and Leicester in the automatic spots - albeit from a distance of seven and eight points respectively. Sunderland's first game without Tony Mowbray went well, as they arrested a run of three games without a win by beating WBA 2-1 at the Stadium of Light. WBA only managed a single shot on target, and scored it, so they can't really complain about the result. Victory lifts Sunderland back into 6th position on goal difference, level on points with Cardiff in 7th and Hull in 8th. The Baggies have now lost two in a row, but stay in 5th for the time being. Joe Edwards continues to find life as new Millwall boss difficult, as his side slipped to four games without a win, this time suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Cardiff City at the Cardiff City Stadium. They really could have come up with a more creative name. Anyhow, a largely poor game was decided by a 78th minute goal from Dimitrios Goutas. The result has Caridff in 7th, pushing for the playoffs and only behind 6th-placed Sunderland on goal difference. Millwall drop to 19th, having only managed one point from the last twelve available. They are just two points off the relegation zone, and with QPR suddenly springing to life, a lot of teams will be starting to get very nervous. One of those teams will be Huddersfield, who laboured to a 1-1 home draw against Bristol City. They are unbeaten in four, but three of those four games were draws, which are limited in usefulness when they come in clusters. Huddersfield have still only won four games this season, and remain in 21st, increasingly anxious as QPR approach at speed in the rear-view mirror. Brisol City's season continues to define mediocre, as they sit in 14th place, having managed five points from the last twelve available. They have now failed to win in three matches. As with a few teams in this division, Plymouth are pretty useless away from home, and Leicester ruthlessly exploited that by giving them a 4-0 pasting. Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher said after the match that "4-0 is not the scoreline we wanted before the game". I mean... yeah, obviously. Leicester seem to be well past their mini-wobble and are back on form, remaining top of the table having attained ten points from the last twelve available. Plymouth are doing a Rovers, stuck in a WLWLWL pattern, and this loss drops them to 18th in the table, three points clear of the relegation places. Not too long ago Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna were coaching at Manchester United together. Nowadays each has their own post in the Championship, and they were in opposite dugouts for Middlesbrough's home match against Ipswich Town. It was relentless Ipswich who continued to make this Championship lark look easy, scoring two and keeping a clean sheet at the Riverside to earn yet another three points. A fourth win in five for Ipswich keeps them in second place, a point behind Leicester and still seven ahead of Leeds, who must be wondering if Ipswich are ever going to give them a chance to catch up. Boro's third loss in five matches sees them remain in mid-table, 12th, although still only three points from a playoff position. Norwich and Preston played out a 0-0 draw at Carrow Road, a rare blank for typically free-scoring Norwich, but also a rare clean sheet. The draw doesn't do a great deal for either club. Preston drop to 9th, although the draw does halt a run of three consecutive defeats. Norwich meanwhile sit in 13th, having gained a credible ten points from the last fifteen available. The resurrection of QPR is well and truly underway, as they beat Hull City 2-0 at Loftus Road to secure a third win in a row - having only won twice in the entire season beforehand. Marti Cifuentes impact is certainly being felt, as QPR's new boss appears to be yanking his team from the ashes and giving them a fighting chance of staying in the division. They are still 22nd, but all of a sudden just two points behind Huddersfield, Stoke and Millwall, and three behind Plymouth. What appeared to be a hopeless situation has transformed into a genuine push for survival. It was a second defeat in a row for Hull, who fall out of the playoff places, down to 8th and overtaken by both Sunderland and Cardiff on goal difference. Rotherham, in contrast to QPR, find themselves staring into oblivion as another loss - this time 2-1 at home to Swansea City - sends them to the foot of the table with just two points picked up from the last fifteen available. They should probably aim to appoint a manager at some point in the next few months, as Matt Taylor was sacked way back on November 13th and nothing has improved. Daniel Ayala did not help Rotherham's cause by getting himself stupidly booked twice in the first seventeen minutes, leaving his team to play the rest of the game with ten men. Much like Sunderland, Swansea's first match after sacking their manager ended with a 2-1 victory. It ends a run of five games without a win for the Swans, pushing them up to 16th. Sheffield Wednesday followed up their second win of the season last week against Rovers by not only winning again, but keeping a clean sheet as they beat Alex Neil's Stoke side 1-0 at the Bet365 Stadium. They can perhaps count themselves a little lucky, with Stoke having missed a 64th minute penalty, and the Owls snatching the win in the 91st minute, but three points are three points. With Stoke having picked up an abysmal two points from the last eighteen available, Alex Neil was relieved of his duties two days after this result. He leaves Stoke in 20th position, on a run of four straight defeats and two points from the drop zone. Sheffield Wednesday are still eight points from safety, owing to their horrific start to the season, but young boss Danny Rohl sees his team claw above Rotherham to 23rd in the table. The great escape seems unlikely... but you never know. Southampton appeared to be heading for a narrow 1-0 away win against Watford, but a last-gasp 96th minute equaliser from Rhys Healey meant that the points were ultimately shared. Watford rise to 10th place, leapfrogging Rovers, having been able to collect ten points from their last fifteen. With all of the teams above them winning, a draw for Southampton means that - although they remain comfortably in 4th - they have slipped three points behind Leeds, ten behind Ipswich and eleven behind Leicester. The Saints poor start to the season leaves them with little room for error if they want to seriously challenge for the automatic spots.

They have been on an absolutely horrific run of form, so can't say it's too surprising.

I'd be angry if one of our youngsters got sent off in such a stupid way, let alone a player of Ayala's experience.

Idiocy from Ayala in both instances, really. Regardless of whether the first yellow is harsh or not, what was the point in doing it that early in the game? If it's late on and you're 1-0 up and you're trying to buy some time for tired legs to make their way back to defend then okay, maybe take the risk, but shouldn't be necessary that early in the match. Second was just reckless from an experienced player. You'd expect him to be a lot wiser there.

In terms of coming from behind to salvage a game, this is an issue we've had for many years now, stretching back, at least, to when we got promoted from League 1. It seems to be a mentality issue, but a lot of players have come and gone in that time and we've had a new manager for nearly a year and a half now and it's still a problem. It seems to be a deep-rooted issue within the club. As far as our home record is concerned, certainly not good enough lately. I'm sure it'll be something that is bothering JDT, too, as he has repeatedly stressed the importance of strong home form. The way we play seems to lend itself to counter attacking, which we perhaps aren't able to execute as often at home.

If there was any evidence of the general standard of refereeing improving then okay, fine, mistakes happen. Problem is it seems to get worse every season, so an apology is a long way from being enough.

To be honest, I don't think with the current squad and style of play we can bloody the noses of the best teams in the league. If we played, or had the ability to switch to, a more direct, combative style like in the Allardyce and Hughes days then maybe... but the way we play now is more akin to how the better teams try to play. It quite often looks lovely, but when you come up against a team who play a similar style and have a far higher quality of player... well, the vast majority of the time there's only going to be one outcome. Factor in the fact we have no squad depth and a bench full of untested youths and it really becomes a case of it is what it is. With that said I'd still expect to be competitive against most Championship teams, but when we come up against the likes of Leeds and Leicester... it relies on those teams having an off day and us putting in a top-tier performance across the board. It's not impossible but it's not very likely either.

I didn't have much expectations for today, so whilst I never enjoy it when we lose I can't say I'm overly downbeat. To win today we would have needed practically every player to give an 8/10 performance at a minimum and that's a tall order in any match. In the circumstances I thought we competed well enough, we were simply beaten by a team who have far more quality at their disposal than we do. No shame in that, although our anaemic bench doesn't help when we need to try and change things. That's on the owners though. Bristol on Tuesday will be a good chance to pick up points and try to improve our home form. Hope that Hill's injury isn't too serious as we're thin on the ground as it is.

Not sure you can really describe a lad who turns 24 this month as a development signing tbh.

Also why I said if I was Rotherham chairman I wouldn't necessarily look to appoint him. Does he have it in him to significantly boost a team out of trouble? Not sure. Don't think there's much evidence to support it. Plenty of evidence, however, to suggest over a full season he's unlikely to get a team relegated (or promoted). Did well getting Sunderland to 6th last season, but had a big helping from Rovers and our usual late-season collapse.

Feels like Gallagher's injury proneness has gotten much worse in the last year and a half. He seemed to be available far more under Mowbray than he has been under JDT. I don't think I'd extend his contract as his wages don't justify what he brings to the table, and we have to accept the £5m is basically down the drain at this juncture, but I don't expect we'll replace him with better due to the budget cuts.

Unfortunately not too much time to recap the weekend's events, but just quickly: Preston 0-2 QPR - Pressure continues to mount on Ryan Lowe as his side suffered a dismal 2-0 home defeat to a QPR team who are coming to life under new boss Marti Cifuentes. This was a second win in a row for Rangers, who have only lost once in their last five games. Three points keeps them in 22nd, but moves them to within four points of Huddersfield in 21st. If they can keep their momentum going, that gap could close very quickly and cause a few teams above them to sweat. Preston remain in 8th but have now lost three on the spin. WBA 1-2 Leicester - Leicester had been going through a tricky spell, and WBA away was a big test. They went ahead in the 72nd minute but were pegged back in the 89th, and it appeared the game would end with the points shared. However, a 94th minute winner from Harry Winks gave Leicester the victory. They remain in 1st, still a point ahead of Ipswich in 2nd. Defeat for WBA wasn't the end of the world as most of the teams below them also lost, so they remain in 5th position. Birmingham 0-0 Rotherham - Wayne Rooney's Birmingham City™ continued their run of poor form under their new boss with a lacklustre 0-0 draw against a Rotherham team who struggle away from home. Rooney suggested "we have to be happy with a point", but I'm not sure many of Big Club's fans will share that sentiment. The draw sees Birmingham in 15th, with Rotherham stuck in 23rd, still 7 points from safety. Hull City 1-2 Watford - The Tigers' three match unbeaten run came to an end as Watford scored a solid victory at the KCOM. Hull will rue a missed penalty in the 60th minute when the score was tied at 1-1. They do stay in 6th though, as no clubs below took advantage of this slip up. Watford climb to 10th and are now just three points from a playoff place. Ipswich 2-1 Coventry - Ipswich won again at Portman Road, ending Coventry's mini-revival. Wes Burns' incredible effort with the outside of his boot is well worth watching. Ipswich keep pace with Leicester, just a point behind the league leaders, and remain 7 points clear of Leeds in 3rd. Coventry sit in 17th. Leeds 3-2 Middlesbrough - Leeds came out on top in an entertaining match at Elland Road. All goals were scored in the first half, with Anfernee Dijksteel's sending off in the 62nd minute making Boro's task of getting back into the game much more difficult. Leeds remain in 3rd, whilst Boro slip to 12th, with two defeats in their last three matches. Millwall 1-1 Sunderland - As Joe Edwards' starts life with Millwall, this turned out to be Tony Mowbray's last game in charge of the Black cats. Despite fighting back to gain a point, having gone behind just before half-time, a draw wasn't enough to convince the Sunderland hierarchy that Mowbray was the man to lead them forward. Just one win in five has seen Sunderland slip to 9th, but they still remain only three points from the playoffs. Nonetheless, two days after this match Mowbray was relieved of his duties. A point for Millwall leaves them in 19th, also with only one win in five games. Plymouth 2-1 Stoke City - Plymouth's impressive home form continues to keep them out of trouble, and another victory at Home Park helped move them up to 16th in the table, six points clear of the relegation zone. Stoke meanwhile are on a miserable run of form, with Alex Neil's men having lost the last three games and only taking two points from the last fifteen available. They drop to 20th, five points from the relegation zone. Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 Blackburn - The league's worst team won only their second match of the season, scoring three for the first time this season, with plenty of assistance from the referee. Rovers, at times, must have felt like they were a man down as the ref ensured he did as much as possible to help Wednesday to victory. Admittedly Rovers' performance was poor, too, but one look at our bench gives an idea of how a result like this could happen. It ends a two game winning streak for Rovers, but we remain in 7th due to most of the teams around us losing. Wednesday meanwhile pull themselves a couple of points closer to Rotherham in 23rd, but are still ten points from safety. Southampton 2-0 Cardiff City - A routine win for a Southampton side in top form at St. Mary's keeps them in 4th place, but still a point behind Leeds and eight behind Ipswich, owing to all of the teams above them also winning. They are now nine points from Rovers in 7th place, however. A brace from former Rover Adam Armstrong - very much at home now that he's back in the Championship - pulls him one goal closer to Sammie Szmodics in the top scorer table, but he remains two goals behind Sammie, who also scored again this weekend, on 12 goals. It was a third defeat in four games for Cardiff, who fall to 11th, although they are still just three points from the playoffs. Swansea 1-1 Huddersfield - Another manager who saw a 1-1 draw against a struggling team spell the end of his tenure, Michael Duff was dismissed as Swansea manager despite his side scoring a last-gasp goal in the 94th minutes to share the points with Huddersfield at the Swansea.com stadium. Whilst Patino's dramatic late leveller would have no doubt been wildly celebrated by the Swans, and was the least they deserved, it was ultimately a poor home result and enough to see the end of Duff's short six-month spell as the club's manager. The equaliser would have been a sickener for Darren Moore and his men, but they remain on a three game unbeaten run. The result edges Swansea up to 18th, five points clear of the drop, whilst Huddersfield continue on in 21st, nervously looking over their shoulders at QPR. Bristol City 1-2 Norwich City - Despite taking an early lead, the home team found themselves pegged back on the 59th minute and then watched as Norwich snatched all three points with a 95th minute winner courtesy of substitute Adam Idah. New boss Liam Manning has now seen his side lose back-to-back games, and three points for Norwich, their third win in four games, helps them swap positions with City, from 13th to 14th.

I hadn't really factored in location and you're probably right, moving to Wales wouldn't be ideal for him at all. On the other hand, I think he genuinely loves football and being involved in it, so the offer of taking over a decent-sized Championship club may appeal to him. I guess we'll see.