Mark Albrighton

Yes, a large part of my thinking has been that Bristol is a “must win”, but because of other results, along with ours, it’s not quite as necessary to win that now. I’ve fallen into a mindset where I’m looking at how we secure 5th spot rather than 6th. Hypothetically speaking, two legs against potentially Sheff Utd/Leeds is harder than Baggies, but I’d fancy our chances against most at the moment. However it’s still a big game, one we can’t lose, another win on Saturday would be huge and I think it would leave us with one foot firmly in the play off door. I reckon there will be a few supporters of Derby, Boro, Hull etc who will be hoping we win too.

There’s no typos in that so I assume you’re not referring to Dem. (Sorry, cheap shot Dem )

Strangely, Bruce’s record (win percentage) was higher in games without Jack. I looked that up when the Smith without Grealish stat was first doing the rounds. I believe Bruce’s win rate with Jack was about 40% (over about 60 league games) without Jack it was over 56% (over league 32 games). That could mean Bruce’s set up wasn’t really dependent on Jack and as such the team weren’t playing to one of it’s biggest strengths. It could mean Smith’s style is heavily reliant on Jack, maybe too much. Or it could mean stats while interesting up to a point, don’t always paint the complete picture.

Add to his nice manipulation of facts in a recent interview here - Link Clever there Steve, “look we were only competing financially with those three relegation candidates! Ignore wages and any transfers from the previous year. They don’t count.” I’ve seen elsewhere him go on about bringing in money for players. It’s like he can take the credit for selling Veretout or Amavi for £X amount but it’s the board’s fault for pissing millions away on Hogan. If he doesn’t get the blame for the money spent, he can’t take the credit for money brought in (IMO). And I know the previous 18 months had been terrible, but the “hadn’t won at home for 18 months” stat, yes of course Steve. It was the away record and it was 14 months without a win. Does it matter? Not really, it was still a terrible record, but at least it’s a correct and not some inaccurate bollocks he’s said to defend himself. I know there are positives to say about his tenure but when he comes out with some of this crap, what positive thoughts I have diminish slightly.

On the flip side of this, before tonight Boro lost 6 matches in a row, they win one tonight and now they’re occupying 7th position, ahead of Derby (albeit having played one more). Crazy league.

Highly unlikely, Derby would have to score 11 in the last 20 minutes.

If only for the sake of who may finish third, Leeds are 1-0 up.

It’s not inconceivable Baggies could miss out (or at least not finish 4th). Just lost to Millwall, seemingly out of this game. Next it’s Preston and Hull, two teams that have been in reasonable form over the past two months and possibly still harbouring small hopes of 6th spot. After that two sides battling relegation in Reading and Rotherham. Finally they play Derby. If they haven’t sewn it up by then, then that will likely be the game to watch on the final day of the season. They’ll probably scrape by, but if there’s a chance they could miss out I could live with that

As the Bruce and Sherwood threads are riding high, thought it’s only fair to bump O’Neill’s thread. It’s been a fairly mixed bag so far at Forest. Won 5 Drawn 3 Lost 5 - it sounds like some discontent is already creeping in among a few Forest fans. I’m not sure what the remit was, play offs I assume. Forest were 9th before he took over, they’re currently still 9th. The owners don’t tend to hang around if they’re not happy, especially if there’s the likes of Jokanovic and Wagner available. I wonder if there’s any possibility of MON retiring on his own terms rather than ending his career being given the boot by the club where he enjoyed his most successful playing days (I am admittedly making the assumption that this would be his final job).

Fantastic goal from Hazard.

The “non vegan one” then it tastes similar to the vegan alternative.

How about ticket prices, football or concerts?

Peter Crouch bringing a classic Doug-ism to life in this anecdote about when he signed for us and met Ellis for the first time -

My guess is he was caught in two minds about whether to nick the goal for himself or just let it go in and the indecision resulted in that.

The clip again with another suitable soundtrack-

I imagine the person who runs villareport gets a fair bit of stick, a percentage of that will be from Wolves fans, so I get the holder of that account wanting to have a dig when the opportunity arises. They did likewise when Fulham were relegated I think. Still petty as **** though. Holding a semi final win from 2015 as some sort of benchmark to laugh at another club is fairly dismal. “Mind the Watford gap” would have been a little bit wittier.

It sounds a little bit condescending - I really don’t mean it to be, but having seen us lose a couple of finals and a couple of semi finals, losing a semi final is preferable in my opinion. However, I haven’t seen us lose a semi final quite like that, so maybe that would hurt more than not turning up against Arsenal (or Chelsea in 2000).

Little bit of pointless trivia - BBC link

Not a fan of that, but I prefer an ear stud to those little disk things that create a ring in the ear lobe. Sometimes the little disk thing is solid, other times it’s a hollow ring leaving a penny sized hole in the ear lobe. I know I probably sound a bit “kids these days...” there. But even though that style has been reasonably common place for a while, I still find them a little bit jarring to look at. Maybe jarring isn’t the right word. I think it’s because without fail I always think what if it gets caught on a hook (what hook that would be, I have no idea, but it’s there) and grimace at the thought.

Haha to be honest I’m a little bit surprised that the Terminator v Robocop movie hasn’t been made yet. That seems the obvious one considering the previous crossover in other mediums.

Only just read that they’re making another terminator film, this time with Linda Hamilton in it. It’s a direct sequel to judgement day, meaning that the time and money I wasted on the films in between has been further compounded.

The Old Town Hall Vaults, known locally as “The Backies”. Tucked away on a side street off Whitchurch high street. Although my knowledge of pubs in the area isn’t great, I’d be surprised if this wasn’t considered among the best in the vicinity. Birthplace of composer Edward German for the classical enthusiasts, the pub also comes complete with grade ii listed gents outbuilding for the toilet enthusiasts. As I’m increasingly finding with Joules pubs, it’s nicely done out - wood panelled walls, welcoming fireplace, vintage pub memorabilia, a very traditional feel without being overly old fashioned. The Joules pubs that I’ve been in have a consistent style but with certain differences. You can tell that there’s a bit of consideration in how it’s been restored, very much making the most of the existing layout and character of the building. Looking forward to visiting more in the future.

If we won promotion and finished mid table in the premier league next season, that would be fantastic. I wouldn’t go so far as saying it would be “exciting”, but it would most likely have meant we secured some good results along the way. It would probably have been one of the best seasons in about ten or so years, admittedly not saying much there. But, as with lots of football clubs and a lot of supporters, finishing mid table a few times in a row would quickly become stale and sections of fans would become restless. People quickly adjust to their new comfortable surroundings and all of a sudden finishing 12th or 13th would be the worst thing ever. I’d try and remember that we nearly went bust last summer to appreciate the context, but I can’t pretend there’s not a chance impatience wouldn’t creep in eventually. If it wasn’t for the financial side of things, I’d quite happily stay in the championship for years. I really don’t miss the wankfest of the premier league. It wouldn’t surprise me if there’s a few Fulham supporters who are quietly looking forward to next season with renewed enthusiasm now that their fate has finally be sealed.

It’s almost like their agent fees are being channeled a different way...

Neymar’s dad