Footy tonight

[boatshed bill]

He didn’t be look anything special last Saturday.

That's because we were very good.

[BurnleyFC]

Don’t fret about Bastards. They’ll be nowhere near the top 6 come the end of the season.

[jen1066]

It's like I said to my mate earlier today. The Championship is weak, but competitive.

We dropped 10-12 points but starting to click.

[houseboy]

And some on here were predicting a WBA challenge emerging. Now that I’ve got to see.

[martin_p]

What a crazy division. Cardiff in 18th are only 6pts from the playoffs with a game or two in hand on some teams above them.I love it.

Yeah, but extrapolate that over a season and it’s 18th being 22/23 points behind 6th. Teams finishing 18th will typically have just over the 50 points usually seen as the survival target while those in 6th will normally have mid 70s. So it’s all pretty normal.

[Commy]

Rovers are hot and cold. I watched them the other week and they were awful. Any pressure on their defenders and they are all over the place.

[Bosscat]

I wonder what Hurstwoods Predictor says now

[Goodclaret]

We'll need a strong ref against the Barstewards from what I've seen tonight...think they'll really put the boot in and be full of gamesmanship against our style of play

Totally agree Cuban. They really will try to bully our young team. Can't believe they have had "only" 3 yellows so far.

I can also conclusively say Pawson is awful whichever league he attempts to officiate in.

[jos]

Sky says Rovers 2nd goal was offside but not spotted by refs

[Lowbankclaret]

Sky just reviewed both Bastards goals.
First was a penalty to Sunderland and the second was offside.
Talk about getting lucky.

[Goodclaret]

Sky says Rovers 2nd goal was offside but not spotted by refs

With VAR, neither goal would have been given IMO

[CrosspoolClarets]

No problem with them being top.

It will just make what will happen sweeter.

[4midable]

Sky just reviewed both Bastards goals.
First was a penalty to Sunderland and the second was offside.
Talk about getting lucky.

Anybody who plays sunderland at home should be winning comfortably

[Tricky Trevor]

Don’t fret about Bastards. They’ll be nowhere near the top 6 come the end of the season.

Spot on. They got lucky catching QPR and Swansea cold at the start of the season. Since then they have beaten nobody above Rotherham in 10th. Over recent seasons they’ve been very good at beating the lower league.

[dougcollins]

The Norwich fans I know aren't convinced, saying it's been 'smoke and mirrors' so far.

[FCBurnley]

Pawson two assists take Rovers top !!!

[houseboy]

The Norwich fans I know aren't convinced, saying it's been 'smoke and mirrors' so far.

Oddly I’m not convinced that they will be up there. I think the Blades will get over their slump when injuries clear up but other than that I can’t see any other top two to be honest. Someone has to become very consistent to finish above us. It’s close just now but if we can win tomorrow then play Sunderland we could be clear of the field a little with three home games to come after. Happy days. Let Rovers have their 24 hours in the spotlight, bless em.

[Top Claret]

Steve Davies looks to be the temp manager at Wolves

[4midable]

Top of the league with 7 losses already
Nothing to be worried about whatsoever

[dermotdermot]

Which Steve Davis is that?

[dermotdermot]

7 losses! Well I never!

[Top Claret]

Which Steve Davis is that?

One who played for us in the 80s a Wolverhampton lad to
I think

[houseboy]

Steve Davies looks to be the temp manager at Wolves

They’ll be snookered with him in charge.

I’ll get my coat.

[4midable]

7 losses! Well I never!

Be lucky if we lose 7 all season
They will defo lose 7 more

[tiger76]

Hope Rovers bask in the glory of being top for 24 hours their stay at the summit will be brief.

And let's not forget they've played 2 more than we have so every chance we'll be above them again soon.

And most of the other sides challenging have played at least a game more than us currently as well.

[Rileybobs]

Well Rovers have certainly ruffled some feathers

[elwaclaret]

One who played for us in the 80s a Wolverhampton lad to
I think

Yes, was one of the generation after Orient, think he last managed Crewe. Our Captain and on the programme cover for a season, often referred to as Steve Davis Mk1.

[Bosscat]

Well Rovers have certainly ruffled some feathers

I think they will have celebrated on the way home "ruffling a few manes"

[Flixtonclaret1]

Oldham have just beaten Chester on penalties having equalised in the last minute of ET. Sets up what’s sure to be a televised FACup Rd1 tie with Wrexham. No love lost between these two although I bet Wrexham hoping for a local derby with Chester.

[Pickles]

It's like I said to my mate earlier today. The Championship is weak, but competitive.

We dropped 10-12 points but starting to click.

Weak but competitive is a very good way of putting it.

There are some terrible sides in this league.

[Hibsclaret]

Roverrrrrrrs can do one.

Hopefully this is a season that gives us a mirror image of 2000/01 with Burnley being the team coming down from the prem with better quality players. I fancy a 2 nil win in the first game with a 5 nil stuffing of them at deadwood.

Hopefully the first game will start their downfall and the 2nd remove any playoff ambitions they may have. Let’s continue with the champagne football that Stan wanted two decades ago but only had beer money.

[Rowls]

Hear hear Hibsclaret

[IanMcL]

2 games in hand and 2 points behind....
Come on you Clarets

[Swizzlestick]

The lack of quality generally has been a shock. Big drop from when we were last here.

[LoveCurryPies]

Blackburn have played 2 more games than Burnley so don’t worry they are above us.

Look at their stats…they either win or lose but no draws.

We will finish above them because Burnley either win or draw….only 1 loss. UTC!

[ElectroClaret]

Sunderland looked every inch a division one side tonight.
Hopeless.

[Hibsclaret]

Since 16th April 2013 we have lost 11 championship games out of the 109 we have played, they have lost 7 in 16 this season. Past performance is no guarantee for the future but I’m quietly confident about this season.

[scouseclaret]

You’ve got to admit. That table doesn’t look good.

How many of us would settle for it come May?

[dsr]

They were not playing him inside , he was offside
Just watched it back

Remember that in the Championship they still play to the old rules. Wharton was level with the back man in the wall. The linesman isn't expected to assess it to the nearest half a toenail. Unless the referee can be persuaded to use his magic spray to draw a line across the pitch at the crucial moment, the VAR lines are irrelevant, and "level" still has meaning.

Without VAR it would be very hard to give the penalty. When there is a very slight touch on the left foot, but both left and right legs go flying, it looks very like a dive. Call me a cynic, but it always seems to me that (in real life) if one foot is tripped in any way, you make an automatic attempt to keep your balance by putting the other foot to the floor. Footballers are trained not to do that, on the ridiculous grounds that the slightest contact is usually foul if the player throws himself to the ground, but a genuine trip is not usually foul if the player stays on his feet.

[Quicknick]

Blackburn have played 2 more games than Burnley so don’t worry they are above us.

Look at their stats…they either win or lose but no draws.

We will finish above them because Burnley either win or draw….only 1 loss. UTC!
[/quot

If we were to go back to two points for a win, we'd be a point above them.

[Burnley1989]

Well Rovers have certainly ruffled some feathers

Slightly worrying confidence/arrogance, I’m always a little reserved as these comments tend to bite you on the arse

[Lancasterclaret]

I think we are a very strong side for this division, but the lack of cover up front for Jay is probably my biggest worry

He's bound to get injured at some stage unfortunately

[Healeywoodclaret]

Somebody said it earlier. They will try to bully our young team. It will be interesting. The quality and experience of the likes of Jack Cork will steady the ship. 2 games in hand.... 24 hrs for them to enjoy.

They are still cheating tho... Time wasting even the fookin ball boy!

[dougcollins]

Remember that in the Championship they still play to the old rules. Wharton was level with the back man in the wall. The linesman isn't expected to assess it to the nearest half a toenail. Unless the referee can be persuaded to use his magic spray to draw a line across the pitch at the crucial moment, the VAR lines are irrelevant, and "level" still has meaning.

Without VAR it would be very hard to give the penalty. When there is a very slight touch on the left foot, but both left and right legs go flying, it looks very like a dive. Call me a cynic, but it always seems to me that (in real life) if one foot is tripped in any way, you make an automatic attempt to keep your balance by putting the other foot to the floor. Footballers are trained not to do that, on the ridiculous grounds that the slightest contact is usually foul if the player throws himself to the ground, but a genuine trip is not usually foul if the player stays on his feet.

Fair enough on the offside.

But it looked like a pen to me first time round in real time. I think most of the Rovers players reacted initially like it was a pen.

[martin_p]

Be lucky if we lose 7 all season
They will defo lose 7 more

We’ve only lost 11 in our last 106 Championship matches.

[martin_p]

Which Steve Davis is that?

Which former Burnley player was caretaker manager for a founder member of the football league when they were in the Premier League.

There’s two answers:

Steve Davis

Steve Davis

[Rileybobs]

Slightly worrying confidence/arrogance, I’m always a little reserved as these comments tend to bite you on the arse

Indeed. They are currently top of the league on merit regardless of how many games they’ve lost. I’ve not seen them play yet but their record would suggest they have an aggressive approach to games. With a win and two defeats counting for the same as three draws I don’t know why their number of defeats is being over-hyped (actually it’s pretty obvious why).

[RVclaret]

Indeed. They are currently top of the league on merit regardless of how many games they’ve lost. I’ve not seen them play yet but their record would suggest they have an aggressive approach to games. With a win and two defeats counting for the same as three draws I don’t know why their number of defeats is being over-hyped (actually it’s pretty obvious why).

The number of defeats is being discussed as they’ve been utterly horrific in all of them. Not an aggressive approach to games at all, just sheer rubbish. That’s from what I’ve seen but also my two best mates are Rovers fans. They got battered by a poor Reading side. Lost 3-2 at home to Bristol City who we beat with relative ease. They described their performances at Luton, Cardiff and Wigan recently as some of the worst they’d ever seen.

[quoonbeatz]

Doesn't matter how you get the points as long as you get them. As an actual league, this one is probably the best in the world, highly competitive, exactly how you want it. Way better than the procession above.

[RVclaret]

Doesn't matter how you get the points as long as you get them. As an actual league, this one is probably the best in the world, highly competitive, exactly how you want it. Way better than the procession above.

Aye spot on. It’s great.