If the lads roll over for that game we might as well pack it in. You cant imagine they'll be anything but massively fired up as a unit, no matter what they say publicly about Eustace.

High, wide and handsome is the line I always remember from back in the day.

3 points (assuming we hold on), would be lovely, but by far the most important outcome of tonight is knowing that the manager shit isn't deflating the squad. They seem really up for the fight in what should have been a very dangerous game.

A lot of week left too.

Practising my biggest big papi smile right now.

Sure, but we're hardly Liverpool either.

I can't wait for the subsequent years of arguments about his win percentage.

How is a rule like that going help a nation like Wales? It's all well and good when you're poaching a Championship level midfielder, but it won't be much fun when you're watching prime Gareth Bale playing for Spain.

Put me down for Allardyce. A direct style would suit our personnel atm and I reckon he'd have the players motivated which is our best shot of pulling off a miracle this year. Plus, I do enjoy his podcast now and then and appreciate the broad scepticism he has with modern techniques, particularly below the absolute top tier of the sport.

You're still responsible for your words, no matter the subtext we might read into them. You don't get to expound cliches then dart behind "i was just expounding cliches" when your actions don't line up with your prior statements. Hence the narratives his camp have to build up surrounding his exit, let down by the club, not given assurances by management, unfair treatment of his players etc etc. The last one in particular is a bit much. Yeah the squad has been badly let down by the club wrt contracts, but are they better off showcasing their wares in an enthusiastic, galvanised squad that makes the play-offs and potentially beyond? Or are they better off showcasing their wares in a rudderless ship that fades out heavily to a lower mid table finish? The club bears ultimate responsibility for this, but let's not pretend JE jumping ship helps the players in any shape or form.

I think being embarassed/disgusted by our ownership (small o) and management, while simultaneously being disappointed in Eustace for the timing in which this has happened is pretty natural. Whatever you want to say about the club and its brass, the players don't deserve this given the way they've performed against the odds this year. Yes, the club wouldn't have shown loyalty to JE, hes been let down, this is a business etc etc, but it wouldnt feel like that to the players, it would feel like they're being abandoned on the battlefield by their general. Travis' alleged reaction speaks volumes and while we can't know what's really happened (not yet anyway), I'd be disappointed if the playing group weren't fired up in a whole bunch of directions. The only hope I have in this mess is that it galvanises them instead of deflates them, and somehow they pull off what would be a miracle promotion that triggers a sell off by the scum in India. Statues for the lot of them if they pull it off.

I'm all for scepticism around those running the club atm, but the one area we have form in recent times is picking decent managers.

Also, just on the disallowed goal. It's worth remembering situations like that when people are going on about the evils of VAR (and video tech in sport generally). Overall it helps much more than it hinders.

Toth obviously should have done better with the first, but it wouldn't even make the top 5 in terms of Pears howlers. Couldn't do anything about the second goal and made a really good save in the second half.

It's like that South Park episode. Aaaaaand it's gone.

He's got tools enough for the remainder of the year by the looks of it. Good to see the lads are still up for it given what's going on too. If nothing else, it's a good look for any vaguely competent potential replacement.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed with Eustace given how this is playing out. I have the utmost sympathy for him given how diabolical out management/owners are, but he's still a leader of men and its hard not to feel he's leaving them mid fight right now. His is the minor role in all of this of course. But it still doesn't feel right.

We're that roguishly handsome, abusive, drunk. All her friends have told her we're bad news, but deep down there's that little voice telling her that she could be the one to change us.

Also if, as some have suggested, the Derby approach is due to feelers being put out by Eustace and his camp, then it could have been done for a lot of reasons. He could be as interested in securing better conditions at Rovers as he is securing a new role. Maybe better money, more say in transfers or a direct line into someone important at Venkys, but using a job offer from a rival in negotiations with your current employer is a tale as old as time. To me, that makes as much or more sense than leaping off to Derby who are playing very poorly and hardly flush with cash themselves. Whether he gets what he wants here is another question. But if he doesn't I'd guess he'll still hang around for a better offer whenever it becomes available.

Why would Eustace leaving move the needle in any direction re ownership? That suggests Venkys are paying attention and/or care about anything that happens here. If they had any interest at all we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. If they're not interested enough to fund a team in 5th then the manager who got us there leaving and the odd grumble at the ground is hardly going to change that.

The problem with signing a CM in a window like this is that it's probably our strongest area of the field at full strength. Our two best players are there, one of whom is our captain. Yes Tronstad is out for a while more and both are high risk in terms of injury and suspensions, but if you're a guy like O'Brien, who should really be one of the first picked at this level, you're going to favor a club where there's a bit more of an opening. We needed cover there and got Forshaw, who certainly doesn't look like he belongs at this level anymore. Not making excuses as it's a poor bit of business no matter how you slice it, but I think expecting a guy of O'Briens caliber to join in a window like this isn't realistic. I think the recruitment team has done ok (but no better than that), given our awful, apathetic owners.

I'm a Panthers supporter in the NRL and the contrast is mind blowing.

Leonard has plenty about him from what I've seen. Biggest issue is his body is breaking down with injuries in concerning areas early in his career, and he hasn't had enough regular first team football to build up his composure when finishing. His movement and instinctual positioning are very good which is one of the best attributes a striker can have and is something you can't train. He needs a loan at a level in which he'd be picked week in week out, and some luck with his body. But if he gets both those things you could have a very valuable player coming out of that shell.

It'd be cool if he was simply backing himself to fire a team close to the play-offs into the PL.

Big Mak!