MrBlack

I'm sure Emery said it was different. But also that is was minor.

What's with be kits being released mid season this year? I don't recall that ever being a thing before? Edit: and I don't include our practice of releasing kits in September because of incompetence in the above.

Take a chance in that sense is different in that it means more give it a go. Try your luck. What's the worst that could happen. Similar to the ABBA take a chance on me. In footbal terminology it does have its own meaning, and should really say converting a chance. When the commentators use the phrase of a team not taking their chances it could equally be used to describe a team squandering opportunities to shoot (a la the arsenal of old that tried to walk it into the net) as well as a team having a number of one on one's that the striker doesn't put away (be it saved, blasted over, or placed wide). I've never really thought about it, as it's just always meant a team not scoring as many as they should have to me, for whatever reason it is that they haven't. I'm sure in the Luton match I thought to myself "We're going to regret not taking our chances here". And it wasn't any particular miss, save, or wasted good position... just the collection of attacks we had that made me feel we should have been more than 2 up.

As per @Tom13 but also, Digne adopted it as his post match tunnel camera interaction it during our record run of home wins. I feel like after our run ended it should have run its course, but seems its restarted for any win now.

Very unlikely.

But what I mean is McPhee can't really be blamed for their team having more tall players than us. Maybe he can be blamed for putting Kamara on Maguire, but if he puts Carlos on him then it just leaves Hojlund free of a respectable marker instead. I'm not sure there's much more we can do with the personnel we have for the first ball. I feel like there is more he could do for anything after that. Agree with most of what you're saying though, and yes, Mings is a bit factor in us having to come up with other options rather than just "win the first ball".

How many months after "it will be unveiled in a couple of weeks" are we now ? You'd think someone that experienced would know not to over promise. Especially so in an area that he knows nothing about. Surely we're at a stage where Adidas need our final badge to start preparing next year's shirts, if not already way past it?

I dont think the physicality (or lack of) can be blamed for the entirety of our defensive set piece woes. A number of the goals we concede at set pieces are from the second ball after it's been won by the opposition. We seem to switch off or immediately try and vacate the 6 yard box after the first header is won, leaving the opposition acres of space to exploit. McPhee should be coming up with something to prevent those types of goals as we've conceded 5 or so like that recently.

Donk would have made up a chunk, as would Chambers and Hause. There's a lot we can save there, and none of it weakens our team. Digne the exception.

The league should probably have revised the 105m figure already. 105m in 2013 when it was introduced is over 140m today. And that's using CPI. In the world of football it'd be more like double. That said, we're still going to be compliant this year as per their statement, and I see no reason to be alarmed at this stage. If we fail to sustain our form and don't qualify for the champs league, then we can start worrying about who we have to sell to balance next years accounts.

People read and understand what they want to. Bizarre

They're trying to press, but they just don't have the quality to capitalise when they deflect the ball their way. They can't win though, because sitting back would have the same end result.

Oh dear

Story today seems to be focusing on the fact that forest regained possession amd the decision to give Liverpool the ball was nearly 2 minutes prior to them scoring. Forest regained possession in their own penalty area. They should have had possession on the outskirts of Liverpool's penalty area, uncontested. It's just a joke. The media backing up the incompetence of the referees to play down major incompetence. Then the BBC leading with an article that Tierney has not selected for this weekend... except he has, he'll be the VAR, and like every other weekend it's just a simple rotation of responsibilities and nothing to do with the FA recognising he was rubbish.

Unless of course they're desperate to get his wages off the books, which I suspect they will be. I think the bigger issue will be how much salary he wants.

6 points, finish 5th, still get champions league. Not a bad idea

To be fair he'd already done his half heated defending prior to that, he's always trying at the other end

A sensible perspective on a forward player... who are you and what have you done with Delphinho123?

But he'd set the standard that kicking the ball away isn't a yellow card as he didn't book Luton for it. Not least because in the Luiz incident the ball ended up back exactly where it started. The Bailey booking was indeed harsh, the collision was because Bailey had no time to react as their running paths crossed.. it wasn't cynical. Rogers got booked for two fouls, yet Mengi did more than 2 and even more that weren't given because the ref was useless. He gives a foul on Chong in the second half which let's them set up an attack, when it was actually a dive, when 4 seconds before he didnt give us a free kick for a near exact (but more egregious) foul on one of our players. Agree, that once he's booked Luiz, he should be sending him off for a second bookable offence... but he never should have received the first one by the standard he'd set. He did give us a free kick for a foul on Konsa in the first half when he was being pressured in our half,which I didn't think was a foul, and seemed to respond to players overexaggersting their falls...which chong did plenty of and we did none of. Zaniolo in the corner lost the ball but got kicked in the back of the leg. If he'd gone down i reckon he'd have given a free kick. He was terrible though really. And if the other side things he got lots wrong (and not booking Emi for time wasting is almost certainly one of them) then it tells us was bad, not that he balanced it out. Looking at Oliver's previous against us it does suggest an innate bias. Finally, the VAR not checking their goal for the obstruction by an offside player was inconsistency on display, although not on Oliver.

It's disgusting. They're all corrupt, incompetent, biased or varying degrees of all three. If I didn't love Villa I'd gave given up on the game. Run by an organisation that's corrupt, it's no surprise that the referees follow suit.

They're* But other than that you're absolutely right. It might be unconscious, it might be pressure induced, but they 100% favour the team that's "expected" to win.

Just about deserved, but that second half performance was atrocious. The ref was a joke, but even without the appalling decisions we deserved to concede. Subs too late, but we won. Huge result.

Ref didn't see the blatant pull on Konsa's shorts... must assume he's very well endowed

Ref back to giving them soft fouls now they're losing again. It's not subtle

No other options. Get in Digne you beautiful man.