regular_john

I disagree with this. I've lived in Hall Green for most of my 33 years and it feels just as nice, safe and secure now as it ever has. I suppose it depends on where in Hall Green you're referring to though. I'm on the Shirley end, which has always been nice. Over by the dog tracks has gone to pot though in recent years.

As others have said, absolutely awful performance. Definitely a point gained! Fair play to Brighton, they were excellent from first whistle to last. Thank God for Martinez!

I hope the lads take all the frustration and anger from the last two Manchester con jobs and unleash a righteous fury on Newcastle. 1-0

Ding ding ding! ...is the correct answer Never a goal. Cheated again!

I think the issue is the word 'received'. To me, that implies intercepting a pass from the defender, i.e. back to the keeper or to another player. This wasn't an interception. It was a tackle. From an offside position. No goal. **** Jon Moss. **** VAR. **** Citeh and their oil baron masters.

Moss has joined Kevin Friend on my list of referees I'd like to see squished by a train. **** him, the corrupt fat ****. Two games in a row, we've been conned by shit officiating. What is the point in even playing when the people who enforce the rules are so incompetent and/or bent?

From wiki: Being in an offside position is not an offence in itself, but a player so positioned when the ball is played by a team-mate can be judged guilty of an offside offence if they become "involved in active play", "interfere with an opponent", or "gain an advantage" by being in that position.

**** sake Mings!

I think United being joint top will put the pressure on Liverpool to focus on the league, so suspect they'll field a weakened side here. We're not going to win the league, realistically won't finish any higher than sixth at best, we're out of the league cup already so may as well go for it in the FA cup.

Same. Took me two hours to get to sleep because I was so pissed off by it. Then I realised I hadn't felt that same anger in about ten years because it had been that long since I felt we could achieve anything significant. In a way, it's kind of nice to be able to care enough to get that angry again.

Fuming. Never a pen. Should have had a handball against Maguire at the end, too. Overall, United had the better chances and probably deserved the win, as much as I hate to say it, but to lose because of dodgy officiating (again) is enfuriating.

Watching the 1996 league Cup final with my dad in his hospital room. We went absolutely mad when the goals went in. Like a typical kid, I did a Klinsmann across the wooden floor and had to have the nurse come in to sort out my bloody knees. He passed away just a few months later. It was one of the last things we did together and I'll never forget it.

Here's a thought - there can't be many coaches in the country, in Europe even, that have achieved as much compared to their starting position than Smith has over the last 2 or 3 years. Klopp, Wilder until the wheels fell of this season, struggling to think of anyone else!

We weren't bad at all. We dominated the game and created something like 27 chances, just a combination of poor finishing and being thwarted by the woodwork. 99 times out of 100, we win that game at least 3-0.

Slightly controversial but I wonder if we'd be better off with Traore up front and Watkins on the right? We know Traore has goals in him from his time at Lyon but he doesn't seem to have the work rate or pace required of a Premier league winger. Watkins has got pace to burn and works his arse off but doesn't have the size to bully defences. Traore Grealish Barkley Watkins Seems like it would work better than Watkins Grealish Barkley Traore

Leeds were the better side and deserved the points, fair play to them. But Patrick **** Bamford? Did it really have to be that **** word removed?? **** BAMFORD CHEATING **** really bad person

We already have! We beat our all time league consecutive wins by winning ten in a row in Smith's first season. That run would have continued had it not been for dirty, dirty Leeds and Bamford's relentless cheating. Which is why I hope we absolutely smash them.

Shame, I do love a cup run. Thought Elmohamady had a decent game as did El Ghazi, rest were rubbish though. I like Davis but he has got absolutely no eye for goal, can't see him making it here (or beyond league 1 level for that matter)

I love it! It's like a throwback to 90s awfuliciousness

Guilbert injured or just dropped?

I don't see what Konsa offers at RB so I would have rathered Elmo there, otherwise it's bang on

I'm a GP. I'm currently spending my time phoning our palliative, housebound and life limited patients to discuss DNACPR with them. It is, quite frankly, a horrible task. Sadly, it is a necessity so more resources are available for those with a better chance of survival.

If this is all true, and it's a big if, he deserves whatever comes his way and I'll have no sympathy for him whatsoever. If he really has broken quarantine, gone to a party, gotten himself pissed/coked up, wrecked a bunch of peoples cars and behaved like an arrogant bellend, he will need to be taught quite a harsh lesson. If this is all true, I would hope that at the very least he's stripped of the captaincy and given a massive fine - none of this piddly £5-10K bollocks that a premier league player can pay without a thought. If it's all true and he's driven under the influence - he should lose his driving licence and get a massive fine. And as he was so keen to get on YouTube to tell the rest of us to stay indoors and do what we're told, he can get straight back on YouTube, own up to it and apologise for being a massive bellend. Villa or not - he should be punished appropriately.

I think it would be a real shame if Smith got the sack. Think back to where we were when he came in - drifting about, midtable in the championship and looking like having another write off of a season. He comes in, galvanises us and, before you know it, has us celebrating a big win at Wembley. Not only that, his team breaks an all time club winning record en route. That, ironically, is where I think it all went pear shaped. Had we lost that game, I think the consensus would have been that he did brilliantly to get us there and he should be given the opportunity to have a full season with us. At that point, he could have rebuilt the squad and had a year in the championship, with less pressure and at a lower standard, to get the team bedded in and ready for life in the premier league. But that's not what happened. By getting us promoted, he was suddenly in a situation where he had half a squad that drastically needed overhauling to survive in the prem. Think about that squad: - Three of our best players were loan players that went back to their parent club (Mings, Tuanzebe, Abraham). We also lost El Ghazi, who had a decent season. - We had three keepers who had never shown anything resembling premier league quality - We had a defence that included; Chester, who is never fit; Hutton, who retired; Elphick, who was nowhere near prem quality; Taylor, who is not prem quality, and Micah Richards, who spent the whole season injured and then retired - We had a midfield that included; Whelan, who now plays in league 1; Hourihane, who often does naff all apart from pop up with the odd goal; Jedinak, who is currently without a club; Bjarnason, who is nowhere near prem quality, and Adomah, who is nowhere near prem quality - Our forward line included Davis, who never scores, and Kodjia, who is currently plying his trade in Qatar Those are the players that needed replacing as a bare minimum, not to mention adding extra bodies to complete the squad. Yes, he had money to spend, but £140 million does not buy the 10-12 prem quality players we required. That's the reality of the modern football environment. Had we had an extra season in the championship, we would have at least had a team who knew each other well and knew how to play together. Despite all of that, Smith still managed to get us in touching distance of our first major trophy in 24 years, which is something that took MON four years. We also have to keep in mind that we've come up as the playoff side. In the last 25 years, the playoff team has only stayed up 4 or 5 times. We all knew relegation was a strong possibility this season. We all knew that 17th and above would be acceptable. Given all of the above, sacking Smith at this point seems incredibly harsh and unfair. He's not perfect, he's made mistakes, he's stubborn, he's still learning how to manage at this level. His players are competing against some of the best in the world. As a manager, he is competing against some of the best in the world. This constant hiring and firing of managers has gotten us nowhere. It's time we gave a manager real time and support, even if that means weathering the storm, including relegation if it came to it. I think he deserves our support and the chance to continue the good job he has done so far.

I'm partial to a 4-2-3-1 as it provides flexibility and width without sacrificing midfield strength (and it's also my FIFA formation). So, with that in mind, I would go with... Reina Guilbert, Mings, Engels, Targett McGinn (when fit) Nakamba Trezegeut Grealish El Ghazi Samatta