DE.

It's unlikely as no team has gotten into the playoffs with less than 71 points since Leicester in the 2012/13 season. Blackpool also crept in on 70 points back in 09/10.

Yeah, it was near the end of the match.

We perked up slightly in the last 20 minutes and actually looked better when Dack came off, but still a largely poor performance. Sadly Wigan looked more likely to nick something in the last five minutes which was really disheartening. Dack's injury is going to be a huge blow to us for the rest of the season. I guess now we're going to see if we really do have the personnel to step up in his absence.

Feels like our whole season going up in smoke in one game.

Really, really poor half. Embarrassing to play like that against one of the worst teams in the league in front of one of the biggest crowds of the season. A good thing Wigan are shit as well, because any decent team would have put us to the sword by now. The players need to have a word with themselves at half time because that was a million miles away from being acceptable.

Pleased to see Rothwell in the starting lineup - if there's any game for him to really show what he can do it's this one. Tosin being out is a blow but Lenihan/Williams should be good enough for Wigan.

It feels wrong at first but it isn't long before I'm x3 speeding almost everything also as an aside the design of Balamb Garden, and actually the design of FFVIII as a whole, is absolutely top notch. You do have to level up to some degree yeah. The best way to gain AP for your GFs whilst not gaining too many EXP points is to go down to the beach area just beside Balamb. There are a couple of fish enemies which give 6 AP points per battle which is way higher than anything else at that point during the game. I've just started Disc 2 and I think Squall is on something like level 25, with everybody else quite a bit lower.

I'm sure it'll be fairly straightforward - they wouldn't be as popular otherwise! Already onto Disc 2 of FFVIII (well, as per the original discs, obviously this is all digital...) and that's whilst doing all the side quests. Amazing how much of a difference it makes having the x3 speed option. Half of the time in these games is lost waiting for dialogue to conclude or slow moving characters to finish what they are doing. Even in battles you can speed up summons and spells. Overall makes the experience much more enjoyable - along with the ability to remove random battles, although you could do that in the original game by getting the Diablos GF to learn Enc-None. FFVIII is unique in that monsters level up with you. So, the higher your characters level up the more difficult enemies become. That's why it's best to try and avoid levelling up your characters as much as possible. You can boost all of their stats via GF abilities anyway, so by keeping your level low and your GF abilities high you can absolutely smash through almost every enemy in the game.

I've never used a retropie machine but from what I understand they work really well when set up correctly. I've used MAME before and don't remember it being too difficult to configure, although that was on a windows PC rather than a retropie setup. I'm sure that there are plenty of guides available using google which will go through it step by step! In terms of controllers I think 8bitdo are considered some of the best. You can also use XBOX 360/XBOX One controllers with minimal issues (I've used my 360 controller for a while for emulation and it's pretty good). PS3/PS4 controllers are a little bit trickier due to not being natively compatible with windows.

When I was younger I didn't understand the junctioning system at all, so eventually I got stuck and gave up. It was only a few years ago that I replayed 8 (on a PS1 for authenticity's sake) and realised how the system actually worked... which ironically made it too easy. It's an interesting concept, just executed in a way that can break the game really early and completely erase any challenge. Fortunately I still love the environments, the triple triad card game and the story (even though it's completely insane and generally makes no sense). Character development of the supporting characters is a little bit lacking (especially compared to 6 & 7) but the main characters & the Laguna storyline are really well done. I also really like the "Squall's Dead" theory even though I don't actually think it has any basis in reality: https://squallsdead.com/

I never completed FFX. I remember playing it as a kid and getting to a point where I got stuck and I just never went back to it. I think I actually have the remaster of FFX (and X-2) but I haven't played them yet. I should probably get around to that at some point! The FFVIII remaster doesn't look as bad as I read. Yes the difference between the new character models and the unchanged backgrounds are noticeable at first but it quickly becomes normal. The x3 speed option alone makes it worth it tbh.

Another loss for Ipswich today, they're now down to 3rd albeit still with a game in hand. Apparently there was a "Lambert Out" banner in the Ipswich away end today.

Derby are in major free fall. Beaten 3-0 by Reading today, 17th in the table and haven't won a match since November 23rd. No idea how long they'll give Cocu but with Rooney waiting in the wings the pressure is on...

Leeds' Christmas collapse continues on.

I noticed the FFVIII remaster is down to £10 on the PS Store so decided to pick that up as it's one of my favourite games of all time. I've heard mixed reviews about the remaster but at that price it's worth picking up. The N64 Everdrive arrived today as well so will be loading that up and seeing how it works.

Yeah, even if Luton go down they should be in a strong position to mount another promotion push. It would be a great story if they did stay up but much like Burton Albion even if they do it's probably only prolonging the inevitable. Nonetheless I have a sneaky feeling Stoke will find a way to survive this season - but regardless of whether they stay up or go down they need a massive clearout and to essentially start from scratch. Easier said than done though as I imagine plenty of those players are on decent wages that nobody else will be willing to pay.

Nah I catch it on the watchwrestling website the day after it airs. I don't mind a little bit of weirdness in wrestling - it's supposed to be fun after all - but AEW has gone way overboard with aliens, cults, etc. They've got a lot of rabid fans who will defend everything the company is doing, but the proof is in the pudding. Their debut had 1.4m viewers, they're now down to 683,000. That's a massive drop, there's no getting away from it. They've gone from regularly beating NXT in viewers and demo to now losing on both. If people seriously think the Dark Order are going to turn things around then they are deluded.

I still think Stoke will end up climbing above Luton, and it'll end up being between them and Wigan for the final relegation place.

You basically just have to install an OS onto an SD card, throw some ROMs onto it, put the SD card into the cartridge and you're good to go. The official Everdrives don't come with ROMs, you have to put them on yourself, but the chinese knockoffs normally do come with games preloaded on the SD cards that come with the Everdrive.

As I expected AEW's ratings are collapsing. 795k NXT, 683k AEW. NXT had a loaded show this week with Ripley/Baszler and Cole/Balor, but even so I just don't think what AEW is doing is going to click with people. There's so much I'd change about their show right now. As I said in my previous post, at the moment it's like a weird mix of mid-90s WCW/WWF and mid-2000s TNA. People don't want that shit. They didn't want it at the time and don't want it now. Add to that their poor booking of the Elite, who are the primary draws for their core audience, weird gimmicks, lack of titles beyond the world and tag team belts, and their inability to build characters effectively and you're looking at a recipe for trouble. Where was Moxley this week? Where were Guevara, Santana and Ortiz? These are characters the show needs to be built around but they're nowhere to be seen with no obvious reason as to why they're absent. Weirdly I actually prefer AEW Dark at the moment. It actually does a great job of building characters and mixes promos with matches a lot better than Dynamite does.

Watching Dynamite - a bit confused by Omega and Hangman Page teaming up. They announced a few weeks ago that Hangman was no longer in the Elite, so why is he still tagging with Omega? Also Schaivone on commentary this week said Page and Omega were in the Elite, so I don't know if they've dropped the idea of Page leaving the Elite or if Schiavone just forgot that Hangman had left. Couldn't blame him if he did forget as it hasn't been referenced on Dynamite in any way other than a couple of brief throwaway commentary lines. The Omega/Page dissension would have been more interesting if Page was still a part of the Elite, as it would be a logical storyline for Hangman splitting from the group - but according to AEW canon he already left for reasons that were never really explained, so... just confusing all around. Even at the end of the show the commentary team were asking why Page wasn't out helping the Elite - well, in storyline he isn't a member so that would be why, unless you've retconned that already. The match itself between Page/Omega and the Lucha Bros was good, but Omega eating the pin again is questionable booking IMV. I really don't think they're booking Omega well at all - or Page for that matter. JR seems to have a real problem remembering Jungle Boy's name. It's been the case for a couple of weeks now - he keeps calling him "Jungle Jack" and "Jungle Jack Perry" - but to everybody else on AEW he is and always has just been Jungle Boy. Not sure why he is finding it so hard to remember! He also kept confusing Butcher & Blade, although it's not like they've been spotlighted nor have the fans been given any major reason to care about them so whatever. The match between Cody/Darby & Butcher/Blade was alright but a bit sloppy. The crowd were into it at least. The Jungle Boy sit down interview with JR was good. He comes across as really likable. Between him and Darby Allin AEW have a couple of potential young breakout stars imo. They've both got a ton of natural charisma and are solid in the ring. Jericho/Jungle Boy was really solid. Jungle Boy looked impressive and Jericho played his role of cocky champion perfectly, whilst selling well for the smaller guy. I'm sure Jericho remembers back in WCW when he was the smaller up and coming talent and the older/bigger wrestlers (Goldberg especially) refused to let him get over. Jericho letting Jungle Boy hold out in the Walls of Jericho that long was very generous. The match ending confused me though. I'm not sure if Jericho got the extra five minutes or not. The ref was counting pinfalls after that but when Jericho walked out didn't count him out, so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ AEW being AEW I guess. I think they did clarify on commentary later in the show that the stuff that happened after the ten minutes were up didn't count - but then why was the ref counting pins and why did the bell ring? I still don't get Kris Statlander's alien gimmick. It's really hokey and stupid to me. Like 1995 WCW/WWF level of ridiculous. The Nightmare Collective and Dark Order are similarly hokey and dumb, although at least the Nightmare Collective gets Brandi on TV which I'm certainly OK with. Regardless they are clearly strapping a rocket to Statlander's back so we'll see how it goes. "Revolution" is an incredibly generic name for a PPV. NWA's "Hard Times" is better. Main event was a solid enough tag team match. Much like with Omega I really do question having the Bucks lose so often, but it is what it is. The Dark Order being involved in the main event scene is just nonsense imo. At best they're a lower-mid card act. I do not see the Dark Order in the main event scene as 'money' in any respect. Dynamite was OK at best this week. Right now the show feels like a weird mix of 1995 WCW/WWF and mid-2000s TNA. I don't think that's what fans want and I fear the ratings will continue to decline as a result. Meltzer said this week that NXT is what people were expecting AEW to be, and he's right. NXT is the sports-orientated wrestling show everybody assumed AEW would be.

All recent comments from Mowbray and Waggott lead me to think we're in for another dry January. Hope I'm wrong on that though.

An Everdrive is basically a cartridge that fits into the original hardware. It uses an SD card to play ROMs. Because it's utilising the original hardware you don't have to worry about emulation glitches.

I decided to treat myself to a Christmas present and ordered an N64 Everdrive. It's the only "classic" console (other than the Saturn) which I'm unable to play the majority of games on. I've got an Everdrive for the Mega Drive which has all of the Master System/MD library available to play, and modded NES/SNES/PS1 minis which have pretty much all the classic games available to play. N64 is a bit expensive to collect for, the games aren't that common and there's no mini on the horizon so I figured an Everdrive was the best option. I'm going to try and get on Shenmue shortly as well. I've got it on the Dreamcast but will probably play the PS4 port for simplicity's sake. Everyone says it's one of the best games ever so I'm looking forward to seeing what it has to offer.

In fairness Storm is a big name, which I think is why he's being pushed into the title picture at the moment. I agree that he's nothing special these days, although ten years ago in TNA he was decent. His feud with Chris Harris was awesome and the America's Most Wanted tag team was great, as was Beer Money. I think overall he's better as a tag team wrestler but for name value alone I can see why they are featuring him prominently for now. I agree on Allysin Kay/Sienna - I don't think she has a great look nor is she that good in the ring. I'd much rather they give the belt to Thunder Rosa or even Melina. I enjoyed Into the Fire, thought it was a good PPV and Stu Bennett is excellent as a replacement for Cornette. The Marty Scurll reveal was a nice surprise although I get the feeling he'll eventually end up in AEW. There's no rush though as AEW has a big enough roster as it is without adding more to the mix. Probably better for him to wait until things have settled down a bit in AEW before appearing there. Powerrr was back to being decent after a few dodgy weeks following the Cornette incident. Aron Stevens is a fantastic promo, and the eventual match between him and Question Mark should be a lot of fun. It's been ages since I've seen CW Anderson, I didn't even know he was still active tbh. Zicky Dice was... interesting. I'd never heard of him before seeing him this week on Powerrr. Storm's "keep messin' around with me and turn me back to the old me" line from his post-Into the Fire promo is lifted straight out of "Forgot About Dre" by Dr. Dre/Eminem which, uh... OK? Maybe it wasn't intentional, but it sure sounded like it was. Aldis being in the TV title tournament is a bit odd. I don't think the world champion should be concerned by a lower mid-card title, but whatever. He did a promo about it so they at least explained why and I assume he'll be out of the tournament quickly to move into a feud with Scurll. I thought Aldis' "team" felt a bit similar to Jericho creating the Inner Circle - or a retread of DX with Camille playing Chyna - but I guess we'll see where that goes. The main event was alright but I've never been huge fan of Ken Anderson so it wasn't that interesting to me. His gut is pretty big nowadays too. I'm a bit surprised they're doing another PPV so soon - even AEW are only doing them quarterly. I'm very curious to know how Into the Fire did, and what they needed to pull in viewers to break even.