Dan

Usually sympathetic when most sackings are heavily criticised but do think this one is a bit harsh. But then I also think they've invested quite a bit this season, they have quite a formidable attacking team and they were bang average post January despite the Carvalho / Zaroury additions. It's brutal but I can see why their owner is disappointed to not make the top six. Then again, this was a particularly tough year and you'd have backed them to be up there next time out. I'll be intrigued to see who comes in.

Thought Dortmund did well but my god they were lucky. How they've not conceded over the two legs is remarkable. That's a finalist basically nobody would've called.

Serie B have a pretty good system for this I think. It's something like the top two go up, then whoever of 3rd-10th gets within X number of points of 2nd makes up the playoffs. It's probably the fairest I've seen.

We finished 15 points ahead of Peterborough that season. We made the playoffs and they got relegated.

Norwich are going to be in the right place at the right time here aren't they. I can fully sense a repeat of 2019. Leeds win the away leg 0-1 and then go out at home. It's a fascinating playoffs. You have two sides who are quite a bit better than the others that you would fancy to make up the final, but both of them have shown seriously low floors in recent pressure games and I think that'll act as a leveller. I really can't call it. Practically speaking I want Norwich or West Brom up. I think we need the help.

They're doing exactly what we should've done two years ago. Things have gone stale and it probably suits all parties for a parting of ways. He's done well there, a trophy and generally consistently floating around the top half. But it's been pretty uninspired this season, they're like the majority of the league woeful at the back and quite surprising to me they're sat as high as they are. Goal difference is a real red flag. I think it's possible for him to have both done well but be the right time to move on. Exactly where we were at two years ago with Brendan Rodgers - but we were naive beyond belief and didn't act.

The defending in general in the Premier League has been utterly dire this season. It's made for entertaining games but there aren't many good teams this time around.

Desperation

The Tielemans situation was a pretty good encapsulation of everything that has played out here in the last few years in that he was very good sometimes, ultimately didn't commit to us after the FA Cup win and at that point we should've been looking to sell even if it would've been an unpopular decision. He ended up running his contract down, going for nothing and was largely disappointing in the final two years anyway, so keeping him gained us absolutely nothing. Vardy will stay and at this point I think it's a bit of a no brainer providing the wages are a bit more manageable. I don't think in our situation you can just overlook him getting 18 goals in this league. That's more than he got in 2014 when we got promoted and he was the focal point of everything that year. This last couple of weeks has been very enjoyable. After the Plymouth game I really did think we were bust and stuck in the Championship for the foreseeable, going very much the same way as last years side where they crumble under the pressure. We have been let off the hook somewhat by the dip in form of Leeds and Ipswich, but they did step up in the last few games as well. Worthy winners in the end. I'm under no illusions that next season is going to be for the faint hearted. It's going to be pretty brutal. The hierarchy here haven't exactly done a lot to earn any trust this season. I don't think they're just going to get smart all of a sudden. But hopefully Maresca and our recruitment team can work a few bits of magic. We're almost certainly going to be hit with a points deduction and we're going to have to make some fairly substantial sales soon just to ensure we don't face further punishments. But I would imagine they will see what pans out with Everton and Forest before committing to anything. We're going to make some pretty unpopular decisions in the next couple of months, but ones as a result of our own mismanagement (and the rules which are obviously nonsense as well for what it's worth). Dewsbury-Hall almost certainly will be sold and others will follow. I've got this vision that we end up buying Fatawu and immediately having to sell him. Feels like a job done to me rather than anything groundbreaking. I'd look over to Ipswich for that kind of thing. But the last couple of games against Southampton and Preston were two of the most enjoyable I've been to in years and I'm glad we've got some proper memories out of it.

I'm absolutely never going to be somebody who aims downwards in football and I don't want to become a lower league snob but it is quite something to have everybody going on about more VAR farce in the PL game while I've just watched a fantastic Championship game that didn't have it. It's just so bad. I don't think there's any iteration of it where this won't be the case.

Total waste of time. It was entirely predictable too. They're almost certainly going to hit 100 conceded as well.

Fucking sick of my luck at this honestly. Knew the cunts would bottle it against 'bottom of the league at home'.

I have to hold my hands up on Anthony Gordon. Was quite critical of that signing when compared to Barnes in the summer but he's been fantastic this season. I'd have him at the Euros over someone like Rashford.

I did think one of our best hopes into this run in was that Leeds' ability to choke is genuinely bigger than ours. I've still not forgotten that Derby loss. Barely believable. A job done for us. Been a strange season and experience, but we're there now and we've ultimately done what we had to. Lets get to 100 points and lets get that record second tier trophy because why not.