RollsRoyce

It has been a second half to forget, but some resolute defending . Good away performance

Great defending, hang in there boys

Max has been excellent

2 great goals. This is much much better.

What a pass from Dickie

Playing for a new contract somewhere. He has been great these last months but you cannot forget the past . He has not been on a million .

Sounds like we gave it a real go, and could have, maybe should have won that one. Well done to all the players and Manning and his staff. Now let's see some of that cup form in the league. Why have we played so well in the cup?

Andy King super strike

Gray just signed a new contract after rumours of a £40m bid coming. He is certainly an exceptional player. Hard to believe his age, he is a wonderful talent. Leeds getting promoted will probably enable him to stay there a while longer and show his value in the Prem. Then it will be Bellingham/Grealish-type fees.

The Prem for comparison. People will have different preferences, but I am most certainly looking at the top right quadrant. Liverpool/Spurs That is possibly why I enjoyed watching Leeds on Friday. Interesting.

Then ignore it. It is just as tiresome reading people wanting to change what was said. If Manning had remotely delivered-on his prime objective and we were now top 6 do you not think there would be many posts saying how JL was right and the squad was underperforming in the past? It is a forum. Everyone can ignore what they don’t agree with . It is healthy to have opinions .

Not sure about negativity . Realism and recognition that J Lansdown , Tinnion and Manning are poorly equipped to take the club forward . It would be bad enough to have one of those 3 roles covered by a weak link , but to have all three is a rinse and repeat of all that has come before. If that is the dream team then it will be another 2 years whilst we go through the motions before the force of evidence is such that yet again the club has to accept it messed up. Again. Again. The club needs a reset from top to bottom.

This is a big issue. I have nothing against the profile of the new signings, I have never seen them play so I have no idea about their ability. But many in the game will tell you that the challenge of developing youth into the first team environment is hugely taxing and complex. Pepjin L at Liverpool talks about this in his recent book, and describes a set-up very similar to what we had (will not have) of role models and senior players guiding. I think you can can ask, would Scott have developed so well and fast without King/James/Wells around. I personally do not think so. So there will need to be some additions in the summer to fill those voids. In my opinion, deeply flawed it seems, I had wanted evolution at the club, because I can never recall seeing so many young players develop, or other players improve (Vyner/MOL,Tanner/Prng) in my fan history, and personally, I know others, maybe many, disagree, I loved that and loved watching it play out. We have thrown the baby out with the bathwater and are starting a new adventure on the Lansdown tombola of how to run a football club. This season has gone, so I turn now to how we approach next year, Manning will get a pre season and whole new set of players. I want to see who will be the first player Manning develops into a first team talent the process he follows and how he turns the awful drab football he has instilled into the existing squad into a fast flowing , "front foot" dynamic version when he has a new squad to choose from. I can read that may fans are pleased with the Manning approach, it is all about opinions, and I do not agree that he is remotely the right choice post Pearson, but if others can see it, then we will see how it plays out. I don't think he will last next season.

More like our own tail

It is relegation form, and we need points fast. I would still be astonished if we got anywhere near a relegation situation, really astonished, as we have had moments of decent performances, and have enough about us. It has nothing to do with Leeds, who are on another planet compared to us, but the preceding games against the other mid-table sides. There are a couple of tough games to come, Boro and Saints, but after that we do have the opportunity to get back on track, we have to be looking at 6 points against QPR and a very poor Wednesday. There is a good 5-point gap to the next group below us, and we have 38 points. We will get better I am sure, and 45 points should be enough this season to be relegated, so 7 points is easily achievable. I think we will end up somewhere around 55 points this season.

If we do not beat Boro next week, that will be 3 points in 7 games for Manning. Pearson got fired for 6 points in 7 with a last game having a bench with 5 players who had never started a league game. Manning has never had that level of injuries to deal with . Ok, Manning needs time, but can we just stop the nonsense that we have improved under Manning. He has failed to deliver his main objective, which was to improve the side this season, not next season. The objective was to get us higher in the league this season. Thank god we did not bring him in to avoid relegation, as his current points per game over the last 7 will see us relegated if he does not turn it around fast. Go and do the calculations. Leeds are a great side, it has nothing to do with tonight, but there seems to be a bizarre illusion, maybe because of a few cup games, that Manning is doing something special. He is not. He is now making us worse. He will be looking at games against QPR and Wednesday for a result at this rate. He will need time, because he is out of his depth and needs to learn the job. But he has been a spectacular failure against the prime objective of his appointment. Next season he will need to be much much better.

The issue is not losing against Prem squads with PP, Leeds, Leicester or Southampton. The issue was not beating Preston. Brum, Milwall, Watford. Leeds were just better than us. No shame in that.

Hey , Leeds are a good side. They have some really good players only a PP club can afford. It is frustrating but that is how it is, and has been. It is not the games against Leeds that get you a play off spot. It is the Brum/Preston/Milwall results

Behave or Port sad red will get agitated

Leeds look and are quality, they have a great squad and huge money. But, why are we playing 3 at the back? We do not have the players for that, and we have gone from having 2 CB's who knew what they were doing, to players looking confused and far from automatic in their choices of positioning. Leeds are very good, we cannot forget that, but I do not know why we are messing around with the defence, because that was one thing we did not have an issue with.

I hate you

Leeds look a good side, and of course, are at the top end of the form league and confident, we are at the bottom and it shows, hesitant and lacking fluidity. But, we are not losing, have not conceded. Some adjustments are needed to the set up at half time, and it is very much all to play for. Leeds may have been better, but they have not scored due to some great work by Max. We have seen before, if you do not take your chances it can cost you. So all to play for. Ground looks empty for a sell out.

A manager and leader he is not. But he is a coach and should find his place, and a good one at that. I can never see him managing or leading as a number 1, it is just not him, but it would not be a surprise to see him have a long coaching career. He works hard, very hard, and I hope for him he finds his level/role. It was not his fault he was given a job he was never equipped for. But he also needs to recognise his own limitations and strengths.

What does this guy need? I have no idea about him.

It will be interesting to see what type of player this lad is. and where he will play The signing a club like ours should be making. Yes there is risk, but we cannot afford the finished article. Let's see what he can do.