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******* hell, Towler

Good ball in from the left, but Vyner could’ve done more to close it down. Towler lost his man and Max isn’t covered in glory there either. Soft goal to concede.

Semenyo fluffs his lines once again. At least he hit the target this time, even if he did snatch at it and never looked in control. Composure lacking. Where’s Massengo?

As blatant a penalty as we will ever see, and I’ve seen red cards given for lesser offences than Dunne’s. An absolutely disgraceful decision.

If King lets Johansen skip past him and it led to them going 2-1 up, how would you react then? It’s a tactical foul and I’ve got no issue with it, regardless if he’s on a booking or not. That said, I thought Pring was booked for the dodgy pen given against us and didn’t realise it was King until after he’d gone. I’m not someone for slagging off refs, but Andy Davies was incompetent and from @Olé’s thread it seems like his performance is part of a pattern rather than an exception. I can understand King getting in his ear and NP criticising him; he deserved it IMO. If NP throws King under the bus, he’d get shit from certain quarters for doing that. We played well, deserved at least a point, and were on the wrong end of some woeful decisions. Hopefully that luck evens itself out over the course of the season. It usually does.

King’s a City fan. If I was on the pitch last night and the ref was giving every decision against us, I’d bloody well let him know about it as well especially after the ref didn’t give the Scott pen. I’m sure many of us who’ve played to a decent level have experienced this sort of red mist before. His second booking was the sort of shithousery we’ve lacked for years. How many times have we said before take a booking on halfway to stop a counter-attack? I’ve no issue with that at all, and fair play for apologising. I don’t actually think he’s responsible for the defeat either; we played well with 10 men against 12.

He was excellent, but if he could finish we would’ve had the points sewn up in the first half.

Worst I’ve seen in a very long time. Abysmal, especially considering he’s an ex-pro himself.

What a joke

It has an air of inevitability about it, despite the good performance

Believe it or not, this ref used to play for Yeovil and Pompey. For someone who’s supposedly played the game professionally, he doesn’t know his arse from his elbow.

This ref is beyond a joke

Agreed. WTF’s his issue with us other than being ex-Swindle?

What a **** Charlie Austin is

This has been excellent so far. Semenyo has to score from six yards out, but the fact we’ve created two more great chances is really positive. There’s a good pace, width, shape and desire about us so far.

Depends how old you are really, what your budget is, and what your must-haves are. If you’re under 30 with no commitments, Southville or Bishopston are good options. If you have a bit of money, St Andrew’s, Clifton or Redland are your best bets. One word of caution though, the rental market is insane at the moment so you might find it difficult to get a place down here.

Mate, it’s already having a profound effect on first-class and Test cricket. Just look at today for evidence of that. I’ve heard the same thing, though, about coaches encouraging players to work out their own games, rather than teaching them how a solid defence is the foundation upon which to build. That directive comes from the ECB, it’s in the modern coaching manuals. Even though I disagree with four-day Tests in principle, I agree they will be the new norm in the not too distant future. That in itself will mark the beginning of the end of Tests, IMO.

This is the worst England Test team in my living memory. At least in the ‘90s, when we were up against great Australia teams, we contested series. Root will resign; Silverwood, Bobat and Giles should follow suit. Who replaces them is anyone’s guess. The ECB needs to restore first-class cricket to being played in the summer, not bookended in spring and autumn — and keep it there. I do think there’s a real coaching issue at grass-roots level that needs addressing. Players need to be taught proper technique from an early age, otherwise we end up with the likes of Burns, Sibley or Crawley opening. I also think Ashes tours shouldn’t be scheduled like this, with no games in between for players to even attempt to play themselves into form. On a final note, I think the future of Test cricket is under threat. England sells out home Tests and takes huge away support in normal circumstances. If apathy sets in and demand dwindles, Tests could be on a slippery slope.

Agree with a lot of that. I’d persevere with Hameed, and Pope, plus obviously Root and Stokes. Beyond that, Jimmy and Broad will be calling time on their careers soon. I find it mental that Foakes isn’t our Test No.1 keeper, too. I think, possibly with Glos-tinted glasses, that Bracey will come good at Test level. His ton against Australia A and the likes of Neser, Richardson and Boland — all of whom have impacted on the last two Tests — won’t have gone unnoticed, while it should do wonders for his confidence. For me, Yates, Bohannon, Mahmood, and Bracey all could come in and strengthen the current XI and I’d get Livingstone in at 7 for balance.

Great two sessions from the bowlers and the fielding, same old sorry story from the batsmen.

One Test match class batsman in this poor era, versus a fallible Australia side against whom he’s failed to register a single ton in three tours. If Root was in his pomp 10-15 years ago, I doubt he’d even get in the XI. That shows, to me at least, how far our standards have fallen.

Having seen the ‘highlights’ of our innings, it’s the shot selection of our supposed senior players that irks me. Root and Buttler in particular; Stokes and Bairstow too.

That’s the 28th Test match innings in 2021 that we've bundled out for less than 200. Abysmal.

Not KP’s fault at all. Just like it wasn’t Holden’s fault he was offered the job. Both were abysmal decisions from the top, albeit one is said with the benefit of hindsight.

Agree on the Wolves Cup game. I thought he had something about him while on loan and that he would improve, but I was oblivious as to the figures involved with the deal at that time. @Davefevs is the man who knows his amortisation, but £3.5m transfer plus wages since 1 August 2019 must've cost us around £5m to date with no prospect of any ROI either on the pitch or in a depressed transfer market.