Goal Herrington!

Yeah, Jupiler is better but mls is better than Austrian Bundi, imo. Opta has mls closer to Jupiler of the two, not that I regard ratings as definitive.

Jets better in the first half but maybe CCM shaded the second half. Jets looked less threatening after Adams was substituted, imo.

He wasn't on my radar before but he is now. Hat-tip to AussieScout for that.

Jon Brady starting to get a tune out of previously hopeless Port Vale. 1-1 draw with Luton makes that 3 games undefeated. Gauci with another good performance and Ben Waine with the goal, both noticeably improved under Brady among several others. I reckon he's an underrated manager.

A laugh for West Ham and/or Harry Redknapp fans.

Given that he reaffirmed his preference for Italy in December, for me it depends. Popa would have to weigh the effect on team unity if he was reckoned to be around the same level or even only marginally better than other options. But it looks like Popa has shown his preference.

Toure out 4 to 6 weeks.

Thanks

I'll try to inject a little bit of positivity. By all accounts, Gauci played well yesterday in Port Vale's 1-0 win. He had been struggling and even lost his starting spot for a while but was much improved in all areas apparently and even MOM in the eyes of some.

Fans of numerous Championship clubs complaining about extensive injury lists, including Norwich who can't believe they've lost another player.

I'd question the selection of Boyle. Form looks to have deteriorated somewhat this season. Suto might be an interesting prospect but too early to judge. I don't know anything about his form in Croatia and hasn't had many minutes at Hibs so far. I'm not sure he'd even be eligible for a call-up atm.

Agreed re Trewin's flexibility. I really thought Popa was going to play Devlin in the Colombia friendly. I agree with AS that the fact he didn't probably means he didn't impress Popa enough in training. I think your logic is sound and it's still not too late, albeit in the area of the park where...

Chapman has been getting plaudits from the Crawley Town fans since his arrival. Gauci is back in the Port Vale starting 11. The criticism directed at him has been for his kicking/ distribution. Sounds like he needs to work on that. Pleasingly for both him and Manager Jon Brady, Port Vale just...

Appreciate your input. Excellent food for thought. I agree that Behich is a better fit than Elder in this system. Elder's set piece delivery will be missed though, imo. I wasn't really comfortable with Italiano on the right but more research indicates he is deemed genuinely two-footed so happy...

I haven't written off Motherwell.

If he's opting for inverted forwards then I'd expect a left- right combination but, as you say, Popa did play him at rwb last friendlies so maybe he will persist with that.

Popa's showing his hand a bit with his attempt to persuade Volpato. If he's favouring inverted forwards then he's going to ask a lot of his wingbacks, assuming he wants them to make overlapping runs from deep. No problem for Bos. Problematic for Elder and Rowles, but Rowles should still be...

Not expecting that to happen.

Volpato for the WC would work better if we went to a 4-5-1 or 4-3-3, especially now that Miller is out and Goodwin and Souttar look doubtful. We could have Volpato/Segecic/McGree as AM options. Bos at lm, with Elder and Rowles lb options. Circati and Burgess starting cb's. Take your pick at rb.