OutByEaster?

Is Billy Joe Saunders fighting tonight?

The same but opposite. (This seems like the first time in a long, long time I've been in an argument with someone on VT about which of two players was most excellent - I like this quite a lot.)

I think he sneezed. It was utter genius. Someone needs to make a gif of this please.

Brilliant today. Defensively sound, quicker to everything than his opponent and showed a willingness to get forward a bit more - culminating in his assist for our first goal. He's a quality footballer and exactly the type we need to hold onto.

Excellent - although in some ways I'm still not sure what to make of us - we never seem quite in control of games, but I think we might be more in control than we look - we're a bit baffling. The back four were reasonable against the biggest team we've faced this season, I was worried when Baker went off, but we held out. Chester was good. Amavi was fantastic - best player on the park for me by a distance, credit to Hutton for a days hard work. As said already Westwood really grafted, but still made a big ol' cock up, Ayew was very poor, not at the races at all today, Kodjia was excellent and the last half hour belonged to Grealish. A good win, with decent goals and periods of decent football - the team are working hard and working for each other. Moment of the match was Kodjia beating his man all ends up, stopping to sneeze and then beating him again. Genius. (Although it only just beat out Gollini's little dance with Grealish after the final whistle.) Onwards!

I'd go with the same team as villanwesty88 but with Westwood in for Bacuna.

Not no Chief Scout - no scout targeting this age group at all. It was mentioned in the meeting that last season Everton had more scouts in Birmingham than we did. Round is fixing that. Quickly.

All this optimism makes me nervous.

It was mentioned - he said we were fine this season, most likely fine next season if not promoted and would have no problem in the Premier League.

That's the Q&A with Steve Round - I guess what it doesn't capture is that this was a man who spoke almost uninterrupted for a good thirty minutes on his role, his ambitions, the things he's already done and how he's looking to change and build this football club. He's organised, impressive and seems to have a really genuine enjoyment and appreciation of the opportunity. It's a rare thing for a person in this role; a club this big that was so broken that you can pretty much start from scratch and build it in exactly the way you'd like to - that's the job, that's what he'll be doing and he looks like he's relishing the opportunity. I think we're in good hands.

Brum has a very high number of people who were arrested or removed on suspicion of terrorism in comparison to most Western cities. Somewhere out there there are CIA agents who as part of their job eat three or four times a week on Ladypool Road. War is hell.

Who would remove him? He's in with the military, in with the banks and in with corporate America - he doesn't give a flying one for anyone else, and in fairness, in terms of removing him, no one else matters.

According to the bloke most responsible for UKIP, Arron Banks, they have no intention of folding up just yet. He's lovely by the way, a really nice bloke by the sound of things, I'm sure he'll save us all from the establishment. (quote from his wiki page here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arron_Banks )

So yesterday the Chancellor told us everything was rosy and today pretty much everyone else is telling us we're up the worlds most famous small river without means of steering or propulsion. Who's lying?

I think he'll survive the Presidency - he'll say and do anything in the public sphere to confuse, baffle and hide the fact that for those that matter to him there will be increased protections and further riches. The America that matters isn't all that many people.

Do you not think that Trump will have pulled out of these deals because he thinks he can get a better deal for the US one country at a time? He's a protectionist and someone who's a huge supporter of major corporations and the banking system - I have a feeling the reasons he's pulling out of these deals is because he doesn't think they're one sided enough. I have a feeling it's not going to be a good thing for anyone but a small number of American billionaires. I have a feeling that might be a feature of his Presidency.

I think it'll be Steve Round's gospel ultimately. I was also not particularly impressed with the U23's, but I'm increasingly confident that we have people in position across the football club who can improve us, both in terms of Mr Bruce with the first team, and elsewhere.

Watched the U23's tonight and have to say there wasn't a player amongst them who grabbed the attention and made me think there's anyone knocking down the door of the manager for first team football. The Academy needs a bit of time I think to get back to where it's been in the past.

I was there for this one - he looked bright and alert to things, but I thought he'd have a bit more to him. On a couple of occasions he got away from the last man but couldn't outpace him or out strength him and he made some odd decisions. He's talented, you can see that and he's busy, but he's got a long ways to go. I don't think he's near a first team that might well have Ayew and McCormack on the bench on Saturday and Agbonlahor not in the matchday squad. He also went off injured - hopefully he's okay.

MCTW - there's a desire on all parts to get the notes out more quickly this time, part of the reason there were lots of reasons they took a long time for the last meeting (including gall stones) - these will be out quicker. Without going into detail because of that, all I can really say is that this was a calm, confident, experienced man talking at length about what he wants to do wit the football club, with a determination and enthusiasm that bodes well.

Really? I think he was our best player last season and he's amongst our best three this season. I'm really quite surprised that anyone would consider him a disappointment - hugely disappointing is about the opposite of where I am. He's a player that can play for us in the Premier League in a better side than we have today.

Cultural appropriation is the strangest thing - it seems to me like a goal rather than a transgression - I'd like to live in a culture made from the best bits of lots of cultures (and in many ways I do.)

I can't see Gabby playing anyway. The big choice for Bruce ahead of this one will be Grealish or Ayew down the left. That is unless he insists on returning to two in the middle of the park, which I'm hoping he won't.

Those are both examples of safe spaces for people to get over a result they don't like though, as opposed to what we were talking about on the previous page around safe spaces for people to express an opinion. Now I'm not particularly in favour of either, but I guess by the first example, the pub counts as a safe space, so I'm more in favour of people having a safe space to get over bad news than I am in favour of people having safe spaces where their opinions can't be challenged. Broadly, If someone needs plasticine or ten pints to get over Brexit or Trump then I sort of sympathise, if someone needs somewhere where they can say that Trump is the answer to all of our ills or that the US needs a nationalise healthcare system like the NHS, or indeed anything they like, without any form of challenge or censure, I don't sympathise at all and think they should be argued with.