Can’t see Holtby being any better than any of our other midfield players so a waste of time signing him really. I asked round before the St Pauli v HSV game in the pub last night and no-one had anything positive to say about him, ptobably because he played for HSV. I remember him being crap in the Derby game which I was at last season though. hamburg isn’t Braun Weiss.

The Fall - The League of Bald Headed Men

The Fall - It’s the New Thing

Full of hope for tomorrow but have a feeling that if Root is out early it could be all over by noon. Still no reason why we can’t do this though, tired attack, easy pitch, good weather etc.

If we can get these 4 wickets fairly quickly we’re not out of this. We might be chasing 350, which sounds like a lot, but this a day 3 pitch in good weather against a tired attack. We should be able to make a good effort, but we know we probably won’t as we won’t have the patience to bat as long as possible and wear the bowlers down. Really need a Root to do something at last.

The Fall - Bad News Girl

There must be an element of umpiring getting worse since DRS came in though. In the early days of DRS you never got an zLBW decision overturned but now it happens all the time. The 1st test was shocking, they got as many wrong as they got right. another great days play yesterday, Archer is the best thing to happen to England for years and at exactly the right time with Anderson getting on a bit. Nervous first session today, if we can just bat sensibly early on .... We all know it will be 80 for 4 at lunch though.

Pleased the Grapes is opening again, great memories of the place from way back.

The Fall - 50 Year Old Man

Why wouldn’t Mowbray take the opportunity of blending together a defence who have so far played 1 game together? Ridiculous decision. In past years he’s played reasonably strong cup teams and tonight, when we need to build a team, he changes all 11. Tit!

we really need to play the back 4 tonight he expects to play on saturday. No time for experimenting. Might be an idea to try different thing up front but not at the back or in centre midfield either for that matter. We’re in a self imposed pickle and the only way out is to establish a defensive pattern ASAP.

Was Lenihan injured on Thursday? I hope not for Mowbray’s sake but as usually happens when you take a huge unnecessary gamble it fails pretty quickly. We have 3 full backs and a midfielder at the back today.

I can’t believe folk are so blasé about the centre back position. Centre back is the key position in a football team and without a good partnership you are screwed, hence why some are predicting doom and gloom. We have 1 good centre back who has missed half of the games in the last couple of years, backed up by a loanee who wasn’t good enough to play that position last year at the same level and a couple of full backs. Not good however you look at it really.

We now have 1 centre back, 1 untried 22 year old and a couple of full backs who can fill in. I like TM but I’m afraid he’ll be out by September

This Tosin we’re all reliant on, he has a career of 19 games, at full back, at almost 22. Is he really the answer to our centre back problems? He’s never played a full league game there at 22 FFS.

The Fall - Load Stones

Remember his free kick away at Sheffield Weds, an absolute cracker. Not a great player but always gave his all for the teaM. RIP

Is rain forecast tomorrow? It’ll be a good effort from our batters to save the game as we always have a collapse in us and 90 overs is a lot to last. Huge disappointment of Moin today, he was rank when he really should have been in his element. You could tell after 1 over it wasn’t his day and that wrecked our plans. He looks so short on confidence. This game is like the Brisbane test we drew back in about 2010 when the momentum changed half way through the game.

The Fall - High Tension Line

The Fall - No X Mas for John Quays

Great effort from England yesterday. Burns never really looked comfortable but showed real guts to bat all day. What a change from his previous efforts. I thought the Aussies bowled well all day but really lack an extra bowler as when they aren’t taking wickets they are short of options. Expect Marsh to come into their side. Just hope we can force home the advantage and really wear those bowlers down. A session of Stokes and Bairstow would wrap up the game but it’s on a knife edge still.

Gutted about the last session but we can't say if their score is any good till after tomorrow I suppose. With the best bowler down getting them out for less than 300 is decent whatever way you look at it though. You would expect England to be 60-3 and then hope the middle order pull it round and get up above their score. Judging by Roy's slog shot in the last over he isn't planning on hanging round too long in the morning so it could be another day of feast or famine.

The Fall - The Man Whose Head Expanded

Finley. Plenty rate him as an all time world great so sure he’s top of this group.

Is the 2 Bundesliga player not the guy who plays for HSV from Rangers. David Bates, sure he’s leaving HSV. I watch quite a bit of 2 Bundesliga and HSV were a disaster at the back last season with Bates in the team .... hilariously.