c1982

I think it stemmed from a fake Joyce account and a few didn’t check and obviously it spread. I saw the fake tweet and clicked on to see the account had 50 odd followers so clearly a wind up! As said already, I don’t like the man in a sporting sense, but got to feel for him. Poor bloke, many have had similar loss but maybe not in such a public role and it’s awful he can travel to another country for a football match but not for his mother’s funeral. Very sad.

I think he’s been brilliant since Allan’s been out but I think Carlo reacted to the loss of Allan (and Digne’s injury) by making us more solid with Holgate and Godfrey as full-backs. Digne is one of our best players but his injury forced our hand and almost helped us find our form - this now has helped a few players bed themselves in... notably Davies and Gomes, who look to have found a bit of form and Godfrey who looks indispensable and maybe even Doucoure who didn’t show us he’s this good until Allan’s injury. It’s a good problem to have and having Allan back can only help the squad.

They tweeted it was a knock when teams were announced. I wasn’t looking out for it, it was retweeted and I noticed it.

Massive and probably important moment for him as he was pretty much bags packed and gone... he’ll probably still go in the summer but this will do no harm for his confidence and value in the squad for the rest of the season.

Just give me a keeper who commands their box... PLEASE!!!

Nice problem to have!

He’s been excellent but I do like Rice - cracking player when used correctly e.g not alongside Henderson in front of a back 3 for England.

From the left maybe but Bernard/Iwobi/James may be ahead of him - I expect Richarlison will be ‘number 9’ in the absence of DCL.

Davies - he was great! Doucoure too. We’re still desperate to get Allan back in there but Davies’ improvement is such a massive bonus - maybe we’ve got an opportunity to rotate it now to keep all fit and fresh. Gylfi was excellent too and probably the match winner but I just think Davies was so good and it just tops off an excellent run in the team of late. Special mentions for Coleman particularly and Bernard for nice little cameos and final mention for Richarlison - please may this signal a change in fortunes for him.

A couple of lovely touches after a shaky start - won the free-kick that got us the point. He’ll be a decent signing.

Davies just ahead of Doucoure - both made mistakes on the 1st and 2nd goal but both made amends. Davies looks so confident and his bravery on the ball is beginning to reap rewards. It seems something has clicked recently - fingers crossed those silly little errors are becoming less frequent and he’s taking his risks in better areas. Clearly top class coaching and I’m delighted that he looks part of this team now.

Very poor tonight but I wouldn’t be disappointed if he was our back-up keeper. Pickford’s not going to stick around as a sub keeper so I want much better than both.

Like 2 new signings...

Don’t say that!!! He’d have been perfect but we’d have had to shift Walcott, Bolasie and Bernard for it to even make business sense... we’ll hopefully be in a much better position for talent like this come the summer window.

How good was Raphinha btw? He’s going right to the top. With our deadweight mainly gone and wages massively lowered as a result - this is the type of player I want (similar to Barnes at Leicester and Trossard at Brighton to some extent).

Partially agree with this - he’s always a pest and puts a shift in but his decision making is poor. Give him time outside the box - that’s where he struggles. Ancelotti has been so clever by turning him into the ‘fox in the box’ as it plays to his strengths. His hold up play is generally good but his link-up is poor - I’d go as far to say that this is part of the reason that Richarlison has been so poor recently too - Dom misses so many opportunities to give Richarlison clear chances. Don’t get me wrong, I think Calvert-Lewin is a massive player for us but think his all round game is limited... as long as he scores and we win though!

I do think he is our weakest centre back (but handy for his versatility without a 1st choice RB) - I wouldn’t be opposed to selling him if a big offer came in - £25m + with the English premium. I like him but think he’s quite sluggish - haven’t decided if it’s his pace or thinking. I just think Godfrey is so much better and Branthwaite has much more potential - Keane and Mina need to stay as senior pros - both have been outstanding under Ancelotti.

Doucoure was an absolute machine - he’s really come into his own in Allan’s absence so hopefully that continue’s when they’re reunited! Godfrey - excellent. Such a good signing - I absolutely love the lad! Gomes was very good too. Glad to get this one out the way as Leeds are such a dangerous team - so much potential there.

My thinking at the end of last season, when we were linked, was and still is - he can do Tosun’s job and Bernard’s job so was hoping we’d sell both. £200k per week between them for not a lot of impact. This summer is going to be the first when we’ve finally shaken off previous mistakes (bar a couple). Having Ancelotti and hopefully European football could be such an important factor - could be make or break for the Moshiri era really - we certainly can’t afford another Koeman/Walsh catastrophe in the transfer market!

But, but, but he does slide tackles and punches the ground when he’s angry!

They’ll get a small fee either way. Would have to give him a loyalty fee if they sold him outright - probably don’t for a loan.

Dickhead... oh shit, I said I was going to bed... 5 more minutes

No substitute for experience

Well I’m off to bed - King and Gordon will be announced at silly o’clock - all done, don’t worry!

He’ll sign for us - the Fulham talk is just his agent trying to make us flinch. We won’t; ‘we’ve learnt our lesson’.