Ming the Merciless, planet Mongo, 1933.

A game that best represents our recruitment: solid, physical, combative, structured… but precious little quality in the final third. Surely Gnonto was a better sub than Okafor? Points are always useful but this season you sense they might not be enough. #lufc

Another chanceless arm-wrestle… our lack of creativity/guile could well be our downfall in the run-in. But if we’re playing 343, why not put Gnonto wide? Nmecha has been decent enough, but he’s hardly a winger. #lufc

Seeing a lot of these “… exposed the frailties of…” stories. A war was launched for no reason on one of the region’s biggest countries. The only thing “exposed” is the imbecility of unprovoked and poorly planned military aggression. When the missiles stop, the economies of the GCC will rebound.

For what must be the 10th time this season, “a decent point but…” At least this time we can be thankful for holding on, but a penalty miss and a refereeing display that was criminally inconsistent scuppered our chances of getting more from it. Do they equalise vs 11 men? Doubt it. #lufc

Johnson should have been booked three times now… ridiculous. #lufc

The kind of 45 minutes that can put a major dent in a team’s survival hopes… It’s been a proper ping-pong-ball-in-a-hurricane half, with no flow and precious little quality, but we should be ending it 1-0 up and with 11 men on the pitch. As it is, we’ll be praying for a 0-0. Horrendous. #lufc

Sure it’s the camera angle, but West Ham’s pitch looks like it’s 150m x 50m.

Felt like an early round League Cup tie, that… a bit disjointed and a bit sloppy at times, but enough quality to get the job done. Great goals from Longstaff and Piroe, but Gnonto and Nmecha still look like the squad players most able to impact the last 9 games. #lufc

New Zealand going for the extras record or something…?

My Leeds United novel 'Days of Treacle' is now available to buy at the very wonderful @trumanbooks.bsky.social in Farsley. Please do buy one, it would cheer me RIGHT up 😁

Great effort from #England, tbh… but too many slack overs at the death in their innings meant a tough chase became impossible.

UP WITH THE RUN RATE!

India are going to get 300 here.....

Sunderland did nothing to win that game… but they had the street-smarts and the dark arts to make sure they hung on to the gift they were given. Maybe it was a hangover from City, but we lacked spark and ideas from kick-off. And it’s a huge invitation to the teams below us… #lufc

All very April 2024, this… plenty of the ball, too little wit to do much with it. #lufc

Can’t argue that… he’s nudged the ball forward with his forearm/elbow. Last thing we needed was to go behind to this lot… #lufc

More arm-wrestle than chess match, that. They’re pressing well and plugging gaps, we’re snapping into tackles and dominating the ball… but there’s not quite enough guile to turn good positions into genuine chances. Feels like a game for Gnonto to unpick… #lufc

Hope we're not in danger of underestimating Sunderland tonight... they're a hard-working, well-coached side with plenty of threats. We'll need a Palace-level performance from the off. #lufc

Seems to be news to some folk that moving to another country means you no longer pay UK tax on non-UK-earned income… should EFL teachers in Kenya or nurses in New Zealand also not enjoy consular services in case of emergency?

Good first half hour, decent last 15… but no question City have better players in pretty much every position and several of the best in the world. Still, we have put the Chelsea-Villa-City triumvirate behind us and we’re 6 points and 10 goals clear of 18th with more favourable games to come. #lufc

Playing City must be like being on Death Row… the public clamour and the appeals might give you some early hope, but ultimately you know what’s coming. #lufc

Popped over to Twitter to check out a link someone sent me... and unfortunately caught a large slice of the John Davidson/BAFTA Tourette's debate. Humans really are terrible people.

Jesse Marsch is the Liz Truss of Leeds United managers... completely unable to fathom that his ideas were not only bad but represented a form of self-sabotage so severe it would take years to correct. #lufc

Been saying this for years: Every crackpot right-wing idea or talking point from the US is almost immediately repackaged by some opportunist charlatan for UK consumption. And inevitably we've reached the fascist bits.

Just realised: that point yesterday takes us to the tally we achieved in the whole of 2022/23. And we still have 11 games to go. That season, West Ham got 40 points and came 14th. #lufc

A decent point but…. felt we’ve said that a few times in recent months. That could/should have been a giant step toward safety, and had Nmecha’s header been a yard to Martinez’s left, it would have been. That said, we never looked fully secure and missed GG’s outlet. Karma for Palmer’s miss? #lufc

Odd game… hasn’t really caught fire and there have been loads of errors, but we had a 10-minute spell when we looked the likelier to score… and we did, with a screamer. Villa then got on the front foot and it’s a minor miracle it’s not 1-1. Need to find another gear to close this out. #lufc

I’ve seen enough* freeski halfpipe to know the Canadian was robbed there…. #winterolympics *40 minutes, tops

RIP Roy Ellam (1943-2026) #lufc

Last two times we played Norwich in the FA Cup (1973, 1977), we reached at least the semi-finals… if omens are your thing. #lufc

AND AGAIN

I swear the curling competition goes on 24 hours a day… bloody interminable.

Palestine Action have WON their judicial review in the High Court! A massive victory for free speech, freedom of association and the right to protest. A massive defeat for the draconian attempts by Keir Starmer's government to curtail our fundamental rights.

Easy to make Ratcliffe the story. But in reality, the thing to know is that many of the super rich, as evidenced in the Epstein files and shown at Davos, are profoundly ignorant of the exploitative economic systems that support their obscene wealth.

A dollop of optimism: We're only 5 points behind the tally we'd reached after 26 games in 2020/21... Bielsa's side lost then 27th game (to West Ham) before racking up 24 points from the final 11 games. In 2021/22, we were on 23 points at this stage and survived, winning 4 of the last 10. #lufc

Goals that look like other goals... John O'Hare's last-minute winner for Derby in the Cup in 1971 = Calvert-Lewin vs Forest last week. (Sadly, you have to visit the other place to view). #lufc #dcfc x.com/1968Tv/statu...

No expectation tonight… there’s always hope of another Anfield, but with two or three missing and those returning not yet match sharp, that looks a big ask. A Man U favour would be welcome. #lufc

The pro-Starmer lot are very strange... it's like being an ardent fan of digestives.

Feels massively unfair that we’re not safe already…… #lufc

Obviously I didn't back it. #lufc

Odd quirk: A home win vs Forest was how we reached 29 points in 2022/23… but that was in our 29th game, and we didn’t win again for the rest of the season. We’ve now equalled that season’s win tally (7) and still have 13 to play. Come on!! #lufc

Didn’t enjoy the last 10-15 minutes much, but that shouldn’t disguise a really good evening’s work. Got the goals at the right time, came out after HT absolutely flying and could/should have had one or two more… Gruev my MotM but Bogle, Gudmondsson and Justin outstanding, too. 3 more wins? #lufc

Take that scoreline all day long… but Forest have shown more than enough to know it’s far from over. Need to get more of a grip in CM, so I hope we see Longstaff sooner rather than later. Feel Gnonto could have some fun down their right, too. #lufc

So, how's the impending sense of doom treating everyone...? #lufc

Right, let's move on from Big Bastards FC and try Talented Little Fuckers FC. Gnonto and Buonanotte either side of DCL and Aaronson buzzing around behind... like City behind Haaland. But a billion quid cheaper. #lufc

We were short on quality on September 1st and we've had 5 months to address it. Buonanotte is a decent bench option but it was clear we needed to elevate the quality of the squad *before* Arsenal. If we fall short by a couple of points, it'll be hard to look beyond our transfer timidity... #lufc

Can only hope that’s a confidence-shredding gut-punch that will take 6 weeks to get over… #lufc

Chastening stuff. And a timely reminder that that there is a ton of work still to do to stay in this division. Arsenal are of course, man-for-man better than us, but it felt like we collectively froze out there... so many 4/10s. And one or two lower. #lufc

First 15-20, it was the game we wanted it to be… scrappy, disjointed, no rhythm. Then they took control and have squeezed the life out of us. Sobering. #lufc