I’m going with a group of us and won’t purchase till next week when I know the definite numbers. There’s no pressure as you can get decent seats in groups however late you leave it for most games. Had this been straight after West Ham it would have been an ok crowd, but two self-inflicted drubbings in two local derbys will have an effect like this.

As ever, I was disappointed that England got knocked out on Saturday night. In contrast, I was absolutely gutted, and am still annoyed, at Rovers losing to Preston. The emotions the two generate are chalk and cheese.

That’s where we differ. It’s not the ‘slow build’ that’s the problem. It’s the refusal to clear your lines. Mowbray team didn’t play suicidal balls across the back line and refuse to clear the ball when under pressure. Nobody is complaining about pointless passing when ‘probing’. It’s shite like that second goal on Saturday which they are clearly instructed to do. It’s nothing like what Mowbray did. It’s not just the last two games. Luton, Coventry and Wigan spring to mind as others where we just kept playing ourselves into trouble and conceded goals. The problem is teams are now starting to press us higher as everyone becomes more aware that we only play one way, and there is a way to use that to their advantage.

The suicidal playing out from the back is probably annoying me more than any single tactical move any previous manager has ever kept repeatedly doing. It serves no purpose when it doesn’t cost us a goal, and embarrasses us when it does. Rather than admit he’s got it wrong though, he keeps persisting. That’s where the anger at the manager is coming from. Norwich are at home, they will press us from the front. We will struggle to get out from our half and have any sort of meaningful shot again unless we go more direct or forward a lot quicker (which we won’t)

When was the last time we went behind in a knockout game and went through? Cameroon? Or did we go behind to Denmark in the last Euros?

How the hell do Watford keep getting managers then?

No one is saying play long punts to the big fella FFS. Simply when your under pressure don’t insist on passing your way out. And Kaminsky stop quickly releasing the ball to players stood practically on your own box. It’s basics. I don’t see any reason whatsoever why we are still doing it. Additionally, It’s also noticeable our goal today came from an actual cross that Brereton got on the end of. Our solitary shot at Burnley came from a long ball where we picked up the pieces. It’s a myth that unless you have a big target man you have to play tippy tippy shite.

Burnley showed the blueprint how to dominate us to everyone else live on sky. Press us and we are piss poor. Our home record is built on teams coming to Ewood and sitting back and letting us play it around and probe. Far more teams will close us down and rob us in our own half at Ewood now.

Stupid, stubborn prick. It doesn’t work Jon.

Called into our local chippy today. They had no potatoes so I couldn’t actually buy any chips. They said they won’t have any chips in all weekend, but they do have some pies and cans of Vimto. It must be a great chippy if they’ve sold all of their potatoes !

I can’t remember when I last saw a half of football that one sided. Oh, wait. It was 22 days ago.

You could argue Australia are out because of doing it.

Regarding Japan's goal, looking at all the angles on the BBC website I don't think all of the ball is over the line. However it's not absolutely conclusive, and as the linesman ruled it out in real time, I'm not sure how it can be overturned as a clear and obvious error based on the angles seen.

Because we have to fit 46 games in somehow and the Premier League only 38. Personally, I can't wait for it go get back. 8 days and counting.

You’ve been skimming the board then Chaddy as I bring it up regularly. Shittest stand in the ground and it’s price is up by around 33% in 3 years. It should be an entry level stand, but they think it’s right to charge the same money for those facilities as for the rest of the ground. That, apparently, is doing ‘all they can’ to increase attendances. Remember when the season ticket prices came out in May.and you said £399 was too much, they should be £300 and individual match day prices should be £20 weekends and £15 weekdays. ((Link here if you want reminding). What changed, other than being seduced by Waggots dulcet tones?

Bellingham has showed a few decent touches but I don’t get the Foden hype. He’s a good player, and in an amazing team gets in a lot of good positions to score plenty of goals. But he isn’t some generational world talent as far as I can see.

https://youtu.be/_YIx1eyK4yc Denmark V Tunisia. Go to 4 minutes in on there. Fair play to the ref.

Guy slides in to tackle with his arm behind his back and Fernandez puts ball through the guys leg and hits the guys hand behind his back as he is going to ground. Ref waves play on. VAR says ‘clear and obvious’ error. Ref then agrees.

More VAR nonsense there with that penalty to Portugal.

I watched the "Germany 1 England 5" game in Scotland in 2001. The Scots knew we were a group of English and took the piss out of us from about half an hour before kick off right up until Gerrard scored to put us 2-1 up. Most of them had left by the time we scored the 4th. 😀

Wales changed it and went more direct to Keifer Moore. I’d get Toney on and do the same. Oh wait…..

Give over Jim. They've just got beaten by the equivalent of Ramsbottom United haven't they?

Well this game was dreary for 70 minutes then suddenly perked up.

The only thing I found was it is against the law to ‘encourage other people to commit illegal acts’, and there were worries that displaying a rainbow flag would fall under that law …. which is pretty flakey.

Well I’ve just tried to find if that is true that it is illegal to display a rainbow flag in Qatar without success . However there are plenty of reports from December 2020 along the lines of this - FIFA and Qatar says rainbow flags allowed in 2022 World Cup FIFA have properly caved in since then.