DE.

Rob Edwards supposedly been approached by Wolves. Have to think that'd be a big blow for Boro after their best start to a season in decades.

Disaster for us and Toth. Pears suddenly taken off the transfer list, I assume.

So, best case scenario he misses the games against Derby, Preston, QPR, Wrexham, Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday and probably Oxford as well. Worst case scenario (if 8 weeks) he's also out for Portsmouth, Millwall, Boro, Sheffield Wednesday again and most likely Wrexham again and Charlton. Potentially 13 games out. Best case scenario most likely 7 games. And that doesn't factor in recovery time which probably adds at least a game or two to each scenario. Better hope Pears comes in thinking he has a point to prove.

1-1 now. Amusing side note, just before the break Duffy threw a tantrum directed at Liam Manning. Promptly subbed off at half time. Lol.

Norwich currently 1-0 down to Sheffield Wednesday, would be their 7th defeat in a row. You have to assume they'll be left with no choice but to sack Manning if they lose tonight.

Struggling to understand what anyone gets out of going to the FF meetings if the atmosphere is miserable/confrontational and the released minutes don't reflect significant amounts of what was discussed. What is the point? It's a complete waste of time, and if what we're hearing on this thread is true then it just aids the club in manufacturing a false narrative.

Might be a streaky manager rather than a particularly good or bad one, but considering he's been given a team of mostly cheap replacements this season it's difficult to fault him too much at present. Can't help but think we'd be up there in the top six at the moment if we'd kept Eustace and renewed the contracts he'd wanted renewed, though. With the parachute clubs struggling to get to grips with the league, it's wide open this season. Ah who am I kidding, with Venky's at the helm they'd have found a way to torpedo our chances regardless. Maybe with the usual January special.

There you go - we were just outside the playoffs on goal difference after 13 games under JDT. This season on 18 points we'd be 13th at best, depending on GD, or 15th at worst. With good reason tbf, he was rubbish for us. Done okay at Ipswich but he's their second string goalie - Alex Palmer is injured.

If the hierarchy had their way then we'd have been looking at the worrying scenario of having somebody with zero league experience between the sticks. I don't rate Pears much at all, but he has shown to be occasionally competent in spells, so just have to hope for the best there. Maybe a period out of the team will have refocused his energies a little.

When it comes to away games, it doesn't matter how you win as long as you win. Injury to Toth is a massive blow, have to either hope it's less serious than it appeared and he'll be back after internationals, or Pears comes into the team in one of his purple patches of form. Wharton injury a worry as well. Would be a shame if our lack of squad depth derailed what is turning into a superb run of form. Other than Sheffield United (0) we have the lowest number of draws with just 1 this season. We either win or we lose, no in between. Kind of like JDT's first season, but much lower in the table.

Oddly the Wolves fans aren't having the "knows the club" airtight reasoning. Instead they're aghast.

Shame as I don't think a new manager can do worse, but yeah, at least we caught them whilst he had them in freefall.

We'll see if their absolute mauling by Stoke will be a massive dent to their confidence or a kick up the arse that galvanises them. They'd won three in a row before this weekend and only conceded once, so a 5-1 defeat certainly wasn't on the cards. Perhaps just a blip, or maybe the start of a dip in form. Let's hope it's the latter.

Think they lost almost every match after he was given his new contract.

Fans want the players to share their level of passion for the club, and that's understandable - especially when you have the bond of celebrating goals and victories together. It makes that connection seem stronger than it really is. Some players do genuinely become attached to a club and make decisions more for the clubs benefit than theirs (Barry Bannan at Wednesday is a good example of this very recently), but the majority of the squad sees it as a job that will likely have a span of a few years at most before they move elsewhere. It's understandable from the perspective of the manager and players that they remain somewhat disconnected from the fans - knowing how quickly the crowd can turn on the collective and individuals when results begin to go awry. I imagine you have to detach emotionally to get through those periods without becoming genuinely angry or resentful.

I think the closest we came to some of the players 'not playing for the manager' was probably under JDT, as he certainly made enemies of influencial players in the dressing room who didn't share his level of ambition. That only really happened towards the very end of his tenure here, though, and was likely influenced by other factors - for example the squad knowing JDT had tried to quit, implying he didn't believe that team could be successful under his management (although I imagine it was more the principal of the owners reneging on their promise to back him, but still). That's one of many reasons why you ideally let a manager go if he wants to go. How can you expect the team to respond to their boss long-term if he has tried to leave?

Would have been a great season for us to have not downgraded the entire squad and management team. Based on the team's general performance over the past 7 years we should be talking about finally cracking the top six, but instead the main focus is on not being relegated.

When it comes to appointing a guy who "knows the club" (temporarily or otherwise) it's usually a desperation move when the fanbase is seriously hacked off and ready to explode. Putting a person in the dugout who people recognise is a way to soothe the crowd with nostalgia and keep their anger at bay for a while longer. If decent results follow, then that's just good fortune, but usually leads to that manager getting a longer contract than he deserves and the inevitable reversion to the norm soon follows.

Very rare that you see players downing tools at any club. Fans speculate often on the manager "losing the players" (heard it multiple times with Mowbray during the spirals), but the reality is that it's usually just the players losing confidence in themselves/the methods, rather than a pointed decision from the players to "not play for" the manager. It has obviously happened in the past at certain clubs, but I don't think it's very common.

Sometimes it just doesn't work out for a manager and his style at a certain club. I can only think that is what's happening at Norwich, as even with the sale of key players they have a squad that should easily be mid-table. Once a team gets into a rut like this it's difficult to break out of, even more so when the manager is new and his methods are still to be proven. If you had a manager there who had gotten the team going before, even after difficult results (we saw this with Carrick a couple of times at Boro) then that would be one thing, but I think Manning has too much going against him with poor results, zero momentum and what must be increasingly cratering confidence from the players in his ability to lead them to success. Hard to see it ending well from the position they're now in. A shame for Manning as it's his boyhood club and he couldn't have expected things to turn out this badly. Sometimes the pieces just don't fit though, and I think that's probably the case here.

Feels like Still and Manning are already past the point of no return. Just a question of how engaged and decisive the Norwich and Southampton boards are at this point. Hopefully they 'keep the faith' a little while longer.

Based on Leicester's recent form and performances I thought we could get a point here. Didn't expect a win and a clean sheet, though. Three unexpected but potentially vital points to bank in the survival fund.

Amateur hour never ends at Ewood.

You see the difference in Gudjohnsen when he gains confidence during a match - it's like a switch flicks and he's a different player. Hopefully as he becomes more settled at the club we'll see that consistently across matches as opposed to short bursts. Whilst as it stands I still I don't consider De Neve to be up to standard, I will say that he has the footballing intelligence that a player like Kargbo lacks. He generally understands when to run and what position to be in to receive dangerous passes. That will cause some problems for the opposition, even though much of it will be squandered for numerous reasons. Hedges has had years to show he's anything above average and has never come close to doing so outside of the occasional match here and there. Don't think that's a case of 'card marked' as much as the reality of what he's capable of on a regular basis.

Best season in some time to be a promoted club, it would seem.