DE.

I've enjoyed the silly rumours that Cody Rhodes may show up. He's technically working AEW without a contract at the moment, so it's possible even if the chance is realistically something like 0.00000001%. I watched the 2005 rumble recently and it was a reminder of how, even in the mid-2000s when WWE's popularity was starting to wane, the product was still a lot of fun. The current era is so far behind in comparison. As far as the 2022 RR card is concerned... Miz & Maryse Vs Edge & Beth Phoenix - If this feud is going to extend beyond the Rumble, it would make sense for the heels to pick up the win here in the opening salvo. If it's a one and done, however, then Edge & Beth will obviously go over. Becky Vs Doudrop - Becky, obviously. Reigns Vs Rollins - I don't see them taking the strap off Reigns now. Rollins was basically drafted in as a big name stop-gap before WM. It works because there's plenty of history there to chew over, and the rivalry can go from 0-100 extremely quickly as a result. It's been a weird build in that both men are heels, and the crowd doesn't really know who to cheer for. I imagine it'll be the same during the match. Reigns to win, probably with some kind of outside interference from Heyman, but he's been built strongly enough to go over clean without hurting Seth. Lashley Vs Lesnar - Brock was never supposed to win the Universal title. The plan was always for it to be Roman Vs Brock at WrestleMania, so I expect Lashley will win here to set Brock back on his original path. A high probability of outside interference from the Bloodline and/or Paul Heyman costing Lesnar the match. Women's Rumble - If Rousey returns, there's a good chance she wins it for sure. If not, it wouldn't surprise me if they give Charlotte the win just for the novelty of the champion winning the Rumble. Men's Rumble - Assuming Brock loses the title, I think he'll enter the Rumble and win it to set up an encounter with Reigns at WM, as per the original timeline.

Tbf we've only really got the workhorses left at the moment. Buckley is the only creative player still fit and it took him until the second half to get into the game, at which point Mowbray decided to replace him with Ayala.

The bottom five - with the exception of Derby - are all way, way below the division standard tbh. The fact Derby are within 8 points of safety is remarkable really. One look at their GD compared to those around them (0 compared to -19, -22, -30, -25) shows that they shouldn't really be in the same bracket.

Have to take that in the circumstances. As the old saying goes, if you can't win make sure you don't lose. That's why these clean sheets are so important. Gallagher back to normal today and Butterworth not Championship standard. I hope Hedges can step up immediately because it looks like we're going to need him. Worrying times as far as injuries are concerned. This is worse than pretty much anyone could have predicted.

If this cascade of injuries was happening in Football manager you'd be posting it as a bug that needs fixing on the SI forums.

Pleased to get in at 0-0. We look completely toothless going forward, which is to be expected given the injuries, "injuries" and absences, but at the same time... they've got Amari'i Bell at left back. Come on. Hopefully we can nick a scrappy goal off a set piece and hold on for a 1-0.

Christian Walton has signed on a permanent for Ipswich. https://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/ipswich-town/christian-walton-on-his-itfc-move-8648174

Presumably the player agrees to contract terms before heading out on loan. That or the club the player is being loaned to are obliged to put in an agreed offer no matter what, but the player can still reject contract terms and cause the transfer to fall through.

Needs to play in the middle. Has a decent header on him and can hit the target given the opportunity. He doesn't often naturally drift into dangerous positions from out wide in the same way BBD does, and he doesn't really possess any attributes which make him useful in a wider position. When he's having a bad day, like at Hull, it is literally like having ten men on the pitch - as the stats showed. I don't think he'll ever have been worth what we paid for him, but he can be useful in the centre and that's where he needs to play if he's in the team.

I mean, this thread is fine for promotion discussion, but it'd be OK if somebody wanted to set up a thread to specifically discuss the promotion chase as well. We've had relegation threads in the past after all.

Some people just can't bring themselves to stop working, particularly if it's a job they enjoy. Roy is probably a lot like Sir Bobby - his life is the game and he'll likely be involved in it until he literally can't be anymore.

Wrong time and the wrong type of club. Roy works best with underdogs, which we weren't at the time. Shrewd appointment by Watford, albeit one of very few they could have made to appoint a manager older than their previous one. All eyes on Everton now. They could very easily end up sucked into the relegation zone with Newcastle spending money and Watford appointing a good manager.

Definitely not based on tonight's performance. It's like they've been specifically ordered not to shoot.

I think the commentator said Swansea have the highest average possession in the league with something like 66% - but they're 17th. Meanwhile according to Transfermarkt we have the lowest overall average possession in the league at just 41% - and we're 2nd.

Watching QPR Vs Swansea. Swansea remind me of us last season - tons of possession with little to show for it at the end.

Was a superb shot from SG. Spun and hit that absolutely perfectly, from an awkward position as well. That's why he needs to be played down the middle, not on the bloody wing!

What a difference having Trav back in the team makes. Especially in a gritty game like that. His influence has been underrated this season.

Well done lads, superb win with a really depleted squad.

I really don't like how deep we're sitting. We're playing like the extra stoppage didn't happen and there's only 5-10 minutes left.

Still a good 20 minutes left with that stoppage included.

Yes Gally 😎

Tbf Boro could arguably have had two pens so at least he's been equally shit for both teams tonight.

The standard of refereeing in this division... Jeez.

Wtf was that header? Do we even practice corners?