Usually 1 team runs away with top spot, that's not the case this season but I do agree with @Bbrovers2288 that there are only 2 playoff spots up for grabs. A win against either Hull or Millwall would have given Rovers a nice buffer, alas it wasn't to be. January's remaining fixtures all look winnable but Bristol City away last year was a nightmare, and Rovers never seem to be able to beat PNE. I really do hope that Eustace is allowed to bring in a decent player or two.

The BBC posted this article which gives a decent overview of how sides think about replays; BBC: scrap FA Cup replays? The FA Cup seems to me that it still favours match going fans (kick off times aside) due to the knockout format and the chance to play a team who fans may not usually see often, if at all. That needs to be curated. The big boys notably want "less games", whilst lower league teams need the revenue. Not too long ago if a lower league team got a top tier side at home they'd ask to switch grounds so that they'd get the larger gate receipt revenue. Why did that stop? Replays aren't coming back so I'd propose scrapping extra time too. My other idea is that the 3rd round (at least) be seeded with the lower seed given the home tie (or option to?), potentially increasing the chances for a cup upset. The draw would still happen as it does now but the first ball out isn't necessarily the home team. So, if the draw was Wolves first then Rovers, Rovers would automatically get the home game as they are the lower team.

The signs have been there for years. Ultimately, the combination of poor owners and the impossible task of replacing Alex Ferguson has caused their current mess. The players haven't given up, they aren't good enough and as most of them were signed seemingly without any thought toward a defined style of play the current hodgepodge look lost. ten Hag did his best work when he played counter attacking football so signed players who fit that style. However, he didn't look like he was confident enough in his convictions to stick with it due to it not being "the Manchester United Way". Amorim is the opposite. He likes 3-4-3 and is sticking to it. Fair play to him for that stance, but he doesn't have the players to do it so unless he gets 3 or 4 transfer windows to completely change personnel he will struggle. I'd laugh for a week if they went down but I don't think it will happen. Thanks to Southampton's Russell Martin experiment they are going back down. Leicester look doomed as well leaving 1 spot left. Are Man U worse than Wolves, Ipswich, or Everton? They are 1 point below West Ham though, who look awful every time I see them.

A point was a fair result. Leeds had possession but no chances. Rovers had neither but throttled Leeds. The first half was a neutral affair. I think that Pears touched it more than any other Rovers player but he either booted it out of play or tried to find Ohashi who was beaten every time by their 6'4" central defenders. Rovers had moments in the second half but only a fine save from Pears at the end kept the point. It was glaring to me that signings are needed as the squad is a bit threadbare. Rovers are still top 6, and 2 draws against teams higher in the table are creditable results but it's now 4 games without a win. As others have said a win on Saturday would do all sorts of good.

The BBC put together a puff piece for Rooney yesterday; BBC: Hard luck Rooney He needs to hang up professional management and instead run a team in the Cheshire league so he can golf and go out whenever he likes.

I watched the first 25 minutes of Man U-Newcastle yesterday. Zirkzee and Hojlund are the pick of really bad players in a team of really bad players, and that is saying something when Eriksen and Casemiro, both way past their prime, started in central midfield. It will never not be good to see though. Man U and their fans lorded it over the football world for 20+ years. Adding in the easily unlikable Ratcliffe makes their demise and utter shambles funnier to see. It's Liverpool away for them next. ten Hag managed to bag a couple of boreless draws against them when the going got tough for him. I can't see Amorim being able to do the same, especially if he keeps to his stated 3-4-3 formation. Liverpool's fans will expect their team to put Man U to the sword, and the way they are currently playing they should run riot.

I watched that game and agree with your assessment. Liverpool couldn't get into Forest's 18 yard box, then Hudson-Odoi came on and caused havoc. Murilllo and the Serbian (I think?) at the back are being linked with all the big clubs. I've not seem that much of Forest but they have an ability to get Gibbs-White on the ball a lot. He has surprised me. He never shirks in receiving the ball and keeps motoring.

Liverpool scored 6 and missed a good few more. If they'd have finished with 8 or 9 I wouldn't have been surprised. As a non-Spurs fan keep Ange in the job. They are always worth watching. Spurs being "underachievers" is not true. They have been the same team in all my years of watching football. One any given day they can beat anyone, yet on any given day they can get beat off anyone. Man U are the gift that keeps on giving. They are woeful, and their current ownership face is a billionaire asset stripper who is spinning a yarn that he rode in on his white horse to return his hometown team to glory. A pal of mine told me an unsubstantiated claim that rather than Ratcliffe wanting to buy the club outright the Glazers let him in to do what made him his money; namely making the operation as lean as possible so they can get maximum value when they sell in a couple of years. Even if Amorim turns out to be a Klopp/Guardiola amalgamation he'll need years and a complete squad clean out to be successful. Grealish was an almost ever present in City's triple winning season. Guardiola seemingly decides on a whim who he likes and doesn't, and if a player is not on his list there is nothing they can do to get back in favour. Grealish is currently there. I do agree that his game has been stifled by Guardiola. Although he now has the trophies and bank balance that he wouldn't have had if he'd have stayed at Villa.

In another era I'd agree with you, but the game is now different. It's no orthodoxy to have wide forwards play on the opposite flank. I don't think Salah would have scored anywhere near the goals he has if he played on the left. As to Tronstad. He's been outstanding. Teams never get the jump on Rovers because he is always where he needs to be.

Today's result won't help O'Neill. Losing the game off a last minute corner to a fellow struggler. I heard yesterday that Lemina was stripped of the captaincy after the West Ham game for trying to fight his own team's assistant manager. After today's game Ait-Nouri had to be restrained from going after Ipswich players. All is not good it seems.

Rovers were much better than Luton today. The second goal before half time was crucial, and once the Luton lad was sent off it was game over. 2 more assists for Gueye. How did he miss that chance? ACD should play every week. He's better than Hedges and Dolan. Eustace is doing a good job, Venkys need to sign him some players in January to build on the good start. Nobody on here has any faith that they will though, which is a complete shame.

I'm happy with that. Qualification is a must for me. I plan on going to as many games as financially possible in 2026. How would it work? I agree that Andorra, San Marino and others should have more to do to get into a "final" qualification group.

I think he has. Bournemouth finished 2 points ahead of Wolves last year, and without some egregious refereeing/VAR errors they'd have had more points. This year is looking different, but the fact that Iraola hasn't lost his better players during his tenure must be taken into consideration. O'Neil's biggest issues is his team not scoring goals. For as good as Cunha looks he's got a terrible goal return.

I watched about 10 minutes of last night's game. If Bowen gets injured West Ham are in real trouble. He's like Szmodics was to Rovers last season. O'Neill has done a decent job at Wolves but is having to deal with their owners seemingly turning the tap off. Over the past year or so Wolves have lost a lot of the players who had them playing well. Neves, Nunes, Kilman, Neto, Moutinho have all gone (more too) without being adequately replaced. It sounds familiar and will end up with relegation.

The hubris and arrogance is there for all to see. Like everybody on here I hope that he fails spectacularly. His "state of the club" review from early this year included him mandating at home workers go back to the office, or leave, and complaining about filthy changing rooms. Very petty if you ask me, and not anything that will aid the football on show. Here's an ESPN article on Ashworth's tenure. It's not as thorough as their ten Hag one but it's a decent summary. ; ESPN: Ashworth out. They paid Newcastle £3m for him. Then he promptly paid daft money for a host of players who don't look very good.

The first half an hour of yesterday's game was a lesson in how not to set up a team. Both sides were wide open all over the park. Maresca, to his credit, made changes that turned the game. He is looking like he's going to do well. He's managed to calm the tumult that has enshrined Chelsea over the last few years. He has his squad and has said screw you to plenty of high earners. Having Cole Palmer helps too. Spurs have been Spurs long before Rovers beat them in Cardiff. Ange is from the Ossie Ardiles school of Spurs managers who try to outscore opponents. Once either Levy or the fans have had enough of it they'll move on and hire a defensive minded replacement a la George Graham. Plus ca change...

I'm with everybody bar Phil. He doesn't get "abuse", he gets pulled up for his inconsistent erratic play. As has been pointed out, he's not an out and out striker, a winger, or a second striker. He works hard but his decision making is sub-par. His finishing is mediocre, and he dwells on the ball for too long. He certainly isn't a Premier League standard player. Every game I watch Rovers on TV over here it has some bog standard commentator doing the game, with no 2nd "expert" helping. It doesn't matter who it is (they all sound the same to me) they all get excited mentioning Dolan's name like he's Rovers best player. Maybe it's because he runs around a lot?

It really was. In the first half Newcastle forced Liverpool into making so many mistakes and should have been more than 1 up at half time. It is looking like Slot knows what he is doing as Liverpool were a different team in the second half, and if it wasn't for the only mistake I've ever seen Kelleher make Liverpool would have won it.

He started well last night. I'll temper it with the fact that it was against West Ham whose players look like they've had enough of their manager.

There is a problem; Rovers are owned by clueless Venkys. Eustace has done a good job so far, so it's not a stretch to assume that the bookies look at ambitious club owners who want to spend trying to prize him away from what could turn into a car crash at any moment.

I'm late to the party on this game, but I thought that Rovers were excellent. They gave Leeds very little. Dolan was superb, but was this his 1 good game in 10? I hope not. Pears was also solid. I'm still sceptical of him though. Cantwell is a class above.

Liverpool tore City apart yesterday. They looked as good as City looked bad. Guardiola signed a new deal last week, on the face of it he has a lot of work to do as the core of his successful team are rapidly aging. Walker, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Ederson, and John Stones are all 30+. Haaland is a phenomenal goal scorer but needs people to give him the ball. Maybe they should have kept Cole Palmer. van Nistelrooy is a big gamble. His only previous stint in management was unremarkable. He has a tough job on his hands.

Morgan Rogers plays for Villa. Emery is letting him shine. Lewis Hall is Newcastle's left back. They signed him from Chelsea. Chaddy has been talking him up for a while. Jones, Gallagher, and Madueke, played really well. Bellingham looked like the "old" Bellingham. I know that most on here couldn't give a hoot about the Nations League but I think it's important that England beat ROI on Sunday. England need to play top opposition. The World Cup qualifying draw is next month. England will be seeded.

I don't doubt that most of them will, but they are injured. This isn't a Ryan Giggs scenario. 2 of them had to come off at the weekend. Having said that, this is the 3rd international break so far this season. They are annoying, but if I want England to win a tournament (which I do) I think they should play together more. I also think that not having Tuchel in charge is odd too.

Man City lost again today, it's their 4th loss in a row. That has never happened to Guardiola before. They have a lot of injuries, but losing Rodri for the season is looking like it's causing them problems. Liverpool beat Villa 2-0. Slot continues his excellent start.