Bethnal

Dolan, Gallagher and Diaz are totally ruining any forward progression. Morton, Trav and Szmodics are trying to play positively but you’ve got three turgid outlets almost actively sabotaging progress.

This is really bad.

Agreed, I’ve said this before, it would suit him and I guess we’re about to find out. I realise Sharpe will have been briefed about formation, but I don’t think Szmodics is naturally inclined to be out wide, so either he’s in a false nine/part of a fluid front three or we might be employing some kind of diamond formation? Trav in the pivot, covering for either full back that breaks forward? Interested to see our shape, either way and encouraged to see JDT make a fairly significant change in response to Friday’s performance.

I have to assume that the Villarreal deal is done and there’s an agreement not to “process” the deal (thereby triggering the announcement) until Rovers’ fate is decided. His mind has gradually drifted to that, maybe, although his form has been generally poor since he became a dad, I reckon. Either way, he’s been carried and not contributed much at all, except for the West Brom free kick and he was poor in that game as well.

I wouldn’t want Brereton to sign a new deal on current form

Wharton has done more in 4 minutes than Morton has in the whole game so far. Harry Pickering quietly having a very good game again. Grasping for positives here, it’s a frustrating watch.

How is Calum Brittain the answer here?

Against a side we’ve already done twice this season (to nil), we’ve had no real threat, no shots on target and basically gifted them two goals. Woeful indictment of the players’ mentality. At a guess, the salary range for those on the pitch is between £50k and £750k annually. Not having the required mentality for the job when you’re being paid that kind of money is staggering.

And that is game over. Notionally season over, save the Burnley game. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

Huge team talk needed here, something definitely not clicking and it needs solving. There’s fight in some of these players but some of the others need to have that fire stoked.

Norwich’s movement in the final third is good, we’re struggling with it.

Not the start we wanted. Gonna stick my neck out and say if we win this from this position, we go up. If we lose it, we’re gonna drop out of the top six. Exact situation we’re in is all about bottle and we have to find out how much of that we’ve actually got.

Nervous about this one. Looks like the players might be as well, just a bit on edge. Looks a good gate on, Ewood always looks nice when there aren’t swathes of empty seats visible everywhere.

FFS. Khadra has been absolutely awful the whole game.

Yeah, something with the loan system is hindering the whole affair. Having said that, they didn’t force him on us and we should have had a genuine plan for him. Don’t want to labour a point we often make on here, but he’s not better than Adam Wharton in there and he’s very likely the worse option.

Running and tackling, yes, but with that around him, he can find space (has done two or three times that half) receive a ball sharply and quickly move to distribute. His confidence is visibly low, I think the particularly errant pass to nobody on the left wing speaks to that. But he does have the ability in him. I’m not a fan of him for us, but I think he will thrive somewhere. Again, it’s just not here.

Not a bad half, not excellent by any means, either. Wouldn’t change anything yet, just tweak the approach. We’re being forced out too wide and need to be more direct to goal. Not got the kind of players on the pitch who gamble or find space for crosses/cutbacks. Play to the strengths.

I think I’ve sussed him. He’s an auxiliary and he simply cannot perform in a two. You can use him to bind two combative CMs or you can sit him between two very dynamic CMs and he can play from deep, while kind of disrupting any breakaways. Can now see why he’s well-liked at Liverpool, as sat between Fabinho and Henderson, he would work. But he’s not what we need.

Open game so far. We look the more likely and are visibly in control. They’re pushing to make it happen for them on the break. Could be an intriguing/nervy watch, but I think we’ve got enough to get our noses in front and definitely the right reinforcements available if not.

A very measured post that I agree with wholly. I’d be at the game, but something about the owners getting any level of credit would incense me. It’s been an excellent season and there have been excellent moments. There are huge gaps in the operation but with those filled, we would definitely make a return to the top table. Part of me suspects that it’s “better” in the long run to actually build a foundation for it, so we have half a chance of staying up there but the opportunity has been so distant for us, you have to do everything possible to take it and deal with the repercussions once you’re up there.

Can’t share direct from Sounds. The program on today at 11.30, skip through to about 20 mins in

Just listened back (FA Cup build-up program on BBC Sounds, from about 20 mins in) and it’s weird. Presenter made no mention of JDT leaving and he basically implied people are interested in JDT. Would honestly be very upset about him leaving, but I can’t say I’d blame him if a Premiership team came in. Money to spend, etc. We’ve not been working with much and we can’t seem to work with what we do get, anyway.

Strongly dislike him and think he’s constantly on the brink of getting a red but you’d love to have players with his passion, at a minimum. So strange to me that you spend your whole life to “make it” as a professional in something that simply could not be more difficult to do that in, with a narrow career window, and not basically destroy yourself to get a win every time you play. In the words of another Sheffield United figure, “you’ve got to fucking die to get three points.”

Entirely separate from my feelings in this moment, I always have and always will hate Sheff Utd. Classless fans (and they always have been) and their off-the-field behaviour is the exact indictment of why the parachute payments system is rotten. I hope they do go into administration and I hope that not only do they get the points deduction, but that they cease to exist. If they did, I can only think that Sheffield United fans would be devastated, not a single other fan would care. This was a mugging. Ref bottled it after the penalty, because he hadn’t seen it in the first place, was poor for the duration but especially when it came to disciplining Sheff Utd. Two big missteps on the tactical front; Gally shouldn’t have been on the pitch after the Szmodics goal, thoroughly ineffectual and actually technically harmful to us. Dolan needed to support Szmodics’ pressing efforts. Similarly, shifting to a back three with 12 left was naïve, far too naïve. We had them on the break. We looked tired in positions, but you just switch them like for like. A lot of good performances and a lot of players striving to meet the occasion, which I’m proud of them for. Gallagher is not a big occasion player, which this really highlights. It’s not about performing out of your skin and grabbing a game by the throat, but meeting the occasion and he looked hungover most of the time. Otherwise, some good performances across the field. Thoroughly undeserved trip to Wembley for a shit manager, shit club and shit fans. I hope they draw City, I hope Haaland gets eight and I hope to one day read about Bramall Lane being repossessed by creditors and having a fucking bypass built over it.

Clearly not done her homework, although Joni McAnuff watches us a lot through his work with Sky. Never been able to take ITV seriously as a football broadcaster since they lost the Champions League coverage. Seemed to be a real drop-off, even with World Cups and Euros.