Rafa has been criticised in the past for his defensive approach, and while I have mostly thought that he was right in taking a cautious approach considering the players available to him, admittedly we have played some awful football at times during his reign. Also, his subs have at times been questionable and arguably there have been games where we should have maybe “given it more of a go”. Rafa is not beyond criticism and that is only a good thing.

But f*cking hell, the way that he has brought the club and the (majority of the) fans together is only one massive positive. I thoroughly enjoyed watching us play yesterday and against Huddersfield and in the games before that too. I love the fact that we are organised and that we are tactically disciplined as long as it is combined with the ability and desire to go forward - and that is the case at the moment. With Almiron coming in and Longstaff adding some stability in the middle, we are a more than decent side to watch on a Saturday afternoon or a Tuesday evening.

Same thing happened last year when Dubravka and Kenedy came into the side; we started playing quite well and got some great wins along the way. Just shows that Rafa’s approach both works and can be entertaining as long as there is continuity in terms of quality being added to the squad. That requires more investmest btw, Mike.