TheGodfather

A thoroughly baffling bit of business in the end. Brought in and didn't feature for weeks. When he finally does come in we're playing him out of position but he still looks to be one player that offers us something a bit different, albeit lacking in the defensive side of the game (which probably came as a shock to a manager who continues to play a left winger at centre half). Best player on the pitch against Sunderland at home. One of the stand outs at Accrington. Then dropped for the Wycombe game, features in the Hartlepool disaster, and seems to completely drop out of favour again. He's hardly featured since. I expect he's been hankering for a move back to Wolves since about October, and I wouldn't blame him. Just a very, very strange move in the end. Score another one in the 'miss' column for Darren's summer recruitment - and i'm not sure that's down to the player this time.

Greets

That was my exact thought as well.

Good news is they have to play Lukaku next week. Lols.

. To be fair they spent 50 million quid on one this summer. The problem is he’s had a stinker tonight, and the lad he’s playing with looks like he’s won a competition to play tonight. All over the place the pair of them

Danny Maddix

It’s at the stage now we’re i’m wondering if these two actually think our lad’s surname is indeed ‘Trialist’.

Close for Gary Dunkley

Rice was brilliant last night. Our best player by a mile before he came off. This morning i’m still so disappointed in our reluctance to change it at half time. For me, that’s when we lost the game. We’d sat far too deep for the last 25 mins of the first half - everyone could see it. The back 3 had become a back 5. 11 men behind the ball. Pulis stuff really, and it encouraged the Italians back into the game (let’s not forget how out-of-sorts they were for the first 20 mins when we pressed them). To come out after 15 mins in a dressing room together and do the exact same stuff to start the second half…mindless and naive.

I can only assume Rice was injured, because to take him off for any other reason would have been scandalous. How Mount survived 99 minutes as well is beyond me. A passenger. Annoyed that we didn't change it at half time personally. I accept that it's on the players sometimes when they drop too deep and play scared. Hard for a manager to influence it too much from the touchline and get them to push out. That's when you need your leaders on the pitch to take control (they didn't). But when you've got them all in for 15 mins at half time...and then send them out exactly the same for the second half. Poor.

All the joy was from the full backs. Shaw and Trippier. They’re totally nullified when we refuse to try and get out of our own half and turn into a back 5. That’s when we lost our edge. Negative.

‘Cowardly’ feels a touch extreme, but boy did our negativity let them into the game.

Got what we deserved for that second half performance.

Stones is 90 (or 120) minutes away from having a faultless tournament, which both delights and petrifies me in equal measure.

Keep them in the Boardroom section please.