I remember appealing for us to enjoy the relative success of the bright start. There was very little to enjoy about that. Their keeper had a good night and maybe on a different day that all feels very different, but we looked - as we have for a few games - like we'd run out of ideas.

This kind of mistake should be behind him.

Yeah, you're bang-on with the positioning. It's made worse because he's not alive to it either, somehow.

Gotta look to the break for any success now, which suits us, generally, but we look very rattled. It was a foul, it was a penalty, it was probably a yellow and all of it was unnecessary. Lenihan gets a small grab of his own shirt and then goes in much harder, he's been tricked, but that's how strikers are entitled to play. It's not befitting of a captain to get sucked in there, it's poor, poor play.

Jesus H Christ, it’s a toxic environment in there. Somewhat living for the tactical over-analysis of the match. A lot of Sunday league sideline spectators having a crack at elite football analysis. Credit where it’s due; they put together a formidable insult, at times.

I’ve seen this camerawork/directorial style before, I think I actually invented it while I was p*ssed.

Really interesting first half so far. JRC and Elliott on the right are essential for sides playing deep, can see it's just a little bit freer down there. Elliott is finding a lot of space well, but can see he's not quite up to speed with Championship football just yet, with first touch and speed of thought, but still encouraging. You'd hope it will come within a few games. Concerning we haven't finished as well as we ought and a penalty is always a little fortunate, although Brereton has done enough to have at least earned that. Lacking a bit of coordination in the back four and the ambition of Lenighan pinging ten yard passes is admirable, but perhaps a little unnecessary. Williams looks comfortable bringing the ball forward and depp-lying Cov are allowing him to showcase that. Question for any tactic buffs; are we technically playing a classic gegenpress at the minute, albeit without the jazzy centrebacks? Giles on their left hand side looks a spirited and efficient footballer, could be a handful with JRC breaking forward and has been already.

Did more than enough there to win that, but it’s difficult to be encouraged by stats alone. Dominating a side that’s just come down at “home” (does it even count anymore?) isn’t something a side like ours does very often. When it happens, you have to take the chance, there can be no excuses if you’re seriously looking at playoffs and promotion. Mentality has a lot to do with it, I suspect and it’s difficult to see a collective winning mentality in that squad. Watford were a little fortunate here and there and Foster had an objectively fantastic game, but they made it happen and we didn’t. They’re 3rd and we’re 11 places and six points behind. That’s how it works. Or doesn’t work, for a team like us, at least. Plenty didn’t tonight, but Evans really stood out at as an abject embarrassment. Farcical that he gets near the squad. What happens in training that he doesn’t bring to the pitch?

Thanks Revidge, I appreciate that. I’m a returning poster, although having binned off more email addresses than I can remember, Bundesburn posts no more, hence the rejoin. Anyway, from memory of BRFCS, there’s a certain point on here when it all gets a bit Judaean People’s Front, which I recognise as when people start to argue about who started the argument, but you usually see it coming when someone gets annoyed at chaddy (shoutout to chaddy, fastest googler in the land!) Look, the ever-present, protracted death rattle of the club is a particularly difficult thing to ignore, agreed and the type of fan base we are - let alone size - means we’re not a reliable revenue source when the world shuts down. Sh*t creek without a paddle is a couple of stops away. I have no direct knowledge of the CEO (I’ve been busy the last couple of years) but if Shebby, Kean (wondering if the swear filter still works for that one), Shaw et al are a measure of corporate recruitment by Venkys, I don’t find it difficult to believe he’s not much use. The Ewood Park thread was a sad sight to behold, as much for the analogue as anything. I suppose it is the seeming inevitability of the that makes “being positive” (conscious of invoking partisans) the preferred choice. We didn’t know how lucky we were in the 90s (I was born in the late 80s, first memory is 93/94 season). We didn’t know how lucky we were in the 00s, even. We thought we were gonna get lucky in the 2010s and here we are now. If the prospect is something akin to, let’s say, no renewals of key contracts, no more funding of the deficit by Venkys, no prospect of promotion, we’re potentially looking into a much deeper abyss than 10 years of Championship football. Indeed, we may be looking at the 2010s and saying we didn’t know how lucky we were having a club to argue with each other about. Suffice it to say, I’m happy with the immediate short term, because for whatever reason, watching the news out of the club didn’t fill me with an overwhelming sense of anxiety and dread, which was the first time in a while. Promotion to the Championship was more relief than joy and I guess a start like the one we’ve had - however fleeting it turns out to be - is one to enjoy, whatever comes of it. And when we consider that a drop down the table is the least of our worries, all the more reason to enjoy it when it happens. I’d probably enjoy being able to follow a Phoenix club, but I’m also the type of hipster kn*bhead that goes/went to see Dulwich Hamlet 10 times a year, so it may not be a widely-shared opinion.

It’s a bit tetchy in here, lads. Been lurking the last few weeks on this thread and some of the matchdays. While I can see where the tangents started, gotta say that it’s incredibly impressive how far off course the transfer thread will go each window. Contributing further to that, with all understanding of the irony in doing so, I feel it’s prudent to point out that we’re 6th and have the highest goal difference in the league. Four games in, you say? Aye, maybe there’s something in that. But I’ll reserve judgment ‘til ten games. Then 15. 20 games and so on. It’s the surprising signings that we’ll only be able to hold out for and predictions are somewhat moot at this stage. Dolan was a surprise, in that he became an immediate first team player. Maybe McBride makes the leap. Maybe Butterworth builds on his promise after injury. Maybe the Norwegian left back joins. Maybe the defence gels and finds its feet. The point is, we don’t know. And when you don’t know and - crucially - you can’t do anything about it, there comes a point where you need to accept it. There’s always room for healthy debate but it becomes a much nicer place to spend time when the forum is just that little bit less dramatic and hostile. You’ll all have a much better time embracing the short term enjoyment than agonising over the long term unknowns. For now, we’ve signed a handful of development prospects that could turn into more than that, are seeing our youngsters kick on a bit and could potentially have solved two major weak points by mid October. By the end of October we could be nearer the promotion spots. There’s plenty to be concerned about if that’s your bag, but I reckon you’ll have a better time looking up rather than down.