Looking to me like Rotherham will end up getting relegated again. If so then they must be close to setting some kind of record as they've literally either been promoted or relegated every season since 16/17.

Bottom line for me is that we simply don't have enough goalscorers in the squad. Stop Diaz scoring and you basically stop Rovers from being effective. We've had two transfer windows to address this and have nothing to show for it. First window I can give a pass on to some degree, but it was criminal not to bring in at least one striker in January. It doesn't matter if deals were close, all that matters is whether we got them over the line, and we didn't. We will now tumble down the table as a result.

Seems like the most likely outcome is that they'd both go down tbh.

Will never understand why they didn't stick to the original initiative of using it for clear and obvious errors. They're making things unnecessarily complicated by checking to see if the hair on a player's kneecap has strayed offside. If there's human error with VAR as well then you might as well scrap it. That's literally what it's supposed to be eliminating.

Good first half, poor second half, but I'd have taken a point at kick off. Kind of tough to care too much when it's obvious we're headed for a finish between 10th and 15th.

I mean, you have to have a cut off point somewhere, or you might as well bin the concept of a transfer window. Easy to say 'bump it to 30 minutes' or whatever, but all that means is there'll be complaints when a transfer isn't allowed due to it being 30 minutes and 10 seconds over. If we did submit on time and the EFL were delaying with irrelevant, stupid questions then obviously the fault lies with them and they should accept that. I can't help but think there's more to it than that though.

It seems like he needs a specific set of players to play the way he wants (although to be clear, we have no evidence at this point in time that his style, whatever it is, actually works outside of Sweden). It's obvious that the vast majority of our players don't fit into that method of playing. He must have known when he signed on with us that we didn't have the money available to replace 50-75% of the team, and you'd hope he'd have done his research on our squad and the abilities of our players before joining. Adaptability is very important to learn as a young, inexperienced manager. Unless you're walking into a Man City, Bayern, PSG type job you can't expect that the squad is going to be good enough to adjust to your preferred method, or that the club you're joining will be willing or able to replace the majority of the team to give you the necessary players. The manager, at this stage of his career, must be more flexible and willing to adapt. Either that or he needs to make sure the team he selects to manage have players with the attributes required to begin with a solid base. Watching our team at any point last season, especially in the latter half, would have made it clear we don't have hugely technical or intelligent players. Transfer history meanwhile would tell you that we aren't going to spend huge amounts on overhauling the squad. Our overall history since 2011 would have told you everything you need to know about the owners and the people they employ. Crap situation for JDT, but this is a Venky's run club. If he's surprised then he simply didn't do his homework before signing on the bottom line.

Maybe just bad judgement from Pickering then.

Worrying because it suggests a total lack of joined up thinking across the team. Basic set piece coaching should mean things like this don't happen.

I don't think it has to be a case of either JDT is fully to blame or JDT is blameless. The truth is likely somewhere in the middle. He's been let down by those above him, no question, but he should also be doing better with what he does have. No excuse for the Burnley humiliation (more the attitude than the scoreline), getting pumped 4-1 by Reading, embarrassed 4-0 by Rotherham, drawing at home to the team at the very bottom of the league... our squad isn't great, but it isn't that bad either. We needed goalscorers, we didn't get any, and that will wreck our playoff chances. No manager would get us there with Gallagher and Vale as striking options. With that said, we still should expect better than what we've been seeing recently. As a collective everyone at the club needs to do far better, but the motivation isn't there because those at the very top don't really care. That attitude eventually poisons all who do care and is also reflected in the type of people they appoint. Now, coffee.

I'd swap them for a pair of traffic cones at this point.

Suggesting our players are all improving under JDT just doesn't make sense to me based on what I'm seeing and our current downwards trajectory. Not to mention that, as a team, we were doing much better in terms of points and GD at this point last season. I get wanting to give JDT the benefit of the doubt, but we've been terrible to watch for almost the entire season and at some point I feel like we have to face the reality that his style is simply not working with these players. It's truly amazing we have the amount of points we have, and credit to JDT for managing that despite consistantly bad performances, but reality is biting now and I'm not in the mood to close my eyes and pretend it isn't happening after witnessing us predictably struggle against the bottom side at home. JDT may be a great manager elsewhere, but it won't be here. For the record it is not all his fault, the issue is not JDT - the owners and those they employ have always and will always be the biggest problem at this club by any metric. Until we're rid of them arguing about Tomasson, Waggott, Broughton or any of the players is pointless. They are all just a symptom, not the ultimate cause of our problems.

After 12 years of this we have to accept, at some point, that changing managers is just shuffling deckchairs on the titanic. Until Venky's go this will never get any better.

JDT has likely realised he can't implement his style of football with these players. Not only that, but he and his coaching team seem to be making these players worse. Meanwhile, the people above him are so incompetent they are unable to get any transfer deals over the line and can't even submit forms properly. It's a bit of a nightmare scenario for him, as every game is making him look less capable as a manager, at a time when he's still having to prove that beyond his native country. With the utter embarassment of the transfer window, he now has a good excuse for quitting Rovers if it's brought up at his next job interview.

The regression of our squad and style of play is scary. It's going from bad to worse. Bottom of the league in xG means it's more than just our strikers being bad, we barely create any decent chances either. What concerns me is that the way JDT wants to play might be beyond the reach of our club with the resources available - both in terms of money and staff.

Rotten... just sums everything up at the moment, from the boardroom to the manager to the players. So much for the players being galvanised by having useless idiots in the boardroom, lmao. Not so much. Thomas now realising he's getting fuck all assists for the next few months, aiming towards Vale and Gallagher.

They'll exhaust every legal option available to them. It'll become an absolute money pit for the PL and when certain people's bonuses start to come under threat there will be a settlement of some kind. As @DanLadsays, probably a massive record fine, but one that to City's owners is peanuts. The PL recoups legal losses and looks like they went in hard on City, City get to carry on as normal. Handshakes and smiles all around.

There were the same comments when UEFA tried to do this. City will be able to hire the most expensive lawyers available and drag this out for years, scrutinising every word to the finest of details. Much like with UEFA, my guess is that they burn through a ton of cash in legal fees but ultimately get off the hook, or with a slapped wrist.

Worth remembering that, according to GB, JDT fully endorsed Hirst as our number 1 target over the summer. So, he has some ground to make up in terms of his judgement.

We don't need another wide forward who rarely scores, so why add him to the wage bill when that money could be put towards an actual striker who scores goals? They don't tend to come cheap so any money not wasted on players we don't need should be going towards that.

Some really, really weird comments from Nathan Jones after another defeat today. Sounds like he's lost the plot. Judging from their forums, Southampton fans almost universally despise him.

Doesn't matter, I'm not talking about whether he'll be sacked or not, only how difficult it'll be for Klopp to reintegrate the players into his style now that they've lost confidence in it. This has happened at every club he's been at and he's never been able to recover from it. He should obviously be given the chance to do so, but don't be surprised if it simply doesn't turn around.

Don't think Klopp has lost the respect of his players, but does seem to have lost their confidence. Not sure how many times a Liverpool player can come out and say "it's not good enough" before their fans lose patience.

I admire your optimism!

Now out of the top six.