Top 5 is a lock, the other place is anyone's but yet again we're found wanting. Having the leagues top scorer should see you there or thereabouts for top 6.

How can we always have the leagues leading scorer but still be going nowhere in the league? Rhodes, Armstrong, Brereton, Szmodics. Another way of putting it, is how long can we rely on having the top scorer in the league to prop us up?

How are we 3rd is baffling but then I said the same a year ago and look how that ended up. Clubs like Boro and West Brom are transformed after managerial changes and will expect to make the top 6 like Forest last year. Norwich should improve with a new manager.

He can, he just needs to fill out a bit.

6 a holding midfielder, 8 more license to get forward and controller with passing etc (i.e. for Liverpool Fabinho a 6 and Thiago an 8). Morton's game time for Liverpool was as a 6 last season though.

Morton played a fair bit for Liverpool last season, including bossing the midfield at the San Siro in the CL. Clarkson was nowhere near the Liverpool first team. Morton is more an Harvey Ellliott level of talent. Question over physicality though for central midfield.

Mowbray may have done well at Blackburn overall but to be nowhere near the top 6 with a striker scoring 30 goals last season (Solanke and Mitrovic have Bournemouth and Fulham top 2) is poor in what was a weak division. Weak league again this season and we go from an automatic promotion spot to 19 points from our last 17 games and out of the play off hunt (with a game still to play). We should have been top 6 last two seasons, regardless of how the play offs went. Clubs like Barnsley, Swansea, Huddersfield and Luton have managed it.

Missing out on the play offs this season from the position we were in is an utter joke. After 26 games we had 49 points, level with Bournemouth who had the same after 26 games also (and haven't been consistent themselves since, hence Forest catching them up). From our last 19 games we've got 17 points. All we needed to do was not have relegation form for our last 20 games. I didn't expect automatic promotion at the start of Jan but I thought at least we had a play off place locked down. A total capitulation.

Elliott here as well and Armstrong banging in 30 goals in what was a weak division. Not to be even in play off contention was a rank failure when you look at crap like Barnsley and Swansea made it in there. Done well this season and a 20+ goal striker should have you in contention. It's a funny league again, who'd have had Huddersfield in 2nd place in March?

Automatics have been there for the taking but we've been carried by Ben's goals and without them haven't been able to keep up the pace with a stumbling Bournemouth. Good chance of play offs though.

I don't think the performances are any worse than before Christmas, we just haven't got Ben's goals to carry us. His 20 goals are the only reason we're in the mix.

20 points from last 14 would give us 74 points. It'll either be a point or 2 more or less needed for the play offs. If we can't achieve that it'd be an almighty collapse given it's 2 points from the last 4 games already. We should make the play offs but then need to find form at the right time going into them. The teams in form now will have a dip.

The run we had was the outlier though. You can't finish top 2 with one good run of form. If you combine it with mid table form for the rest of the season then it can get you top 6. We are what we are. An average side with a striker on 20 goals. That's enough to put you high up the table.

Either a point closer to a play off place or 2 points further off from the automatic. The reality is 2 points dropped to a poor side on a terrible run. No goal threat without Ben.

Another Jordan Rhodes.

Clarkson looked lost in that half. Whether he was out of his depth, or just completely lost in whatever he was being asked to do in a team lacking in a proper game plan. He's used to being centre mid at Liverpool and generally zipping the ball about.

If you've got a 30 goal striker and you can't push for the play offs you're doing something wrong. His goals carried Mowbray last season though.

It's a weak league overall, but it's likely a season of mid-table nothingness again. A play off push should be possible, look at crap like Barnsley and Swansea last season.

Dire stuff.

That's surely what Clarkson was signed for. He's a ball playing midfielder.

He's a League One level manager. Not done anything at this level since West Brom over a decade ago. Last season was his first success in management since then. He also had a two 2 budget last season and very strong squad for that league and he did his job, but it would have been a balls up if we didn't go up.