Michael*

Yet another new spot.

TV spot #1. As always, Patrick's voice sounds fantastic.

When Johnson was introduced, he made as much of a difference as Ki did in Sky's Liverpool variety show (sorry, the Liverpool game) but he should have been on the park so much sooner. Poyet tried playing 3-5-2 (not really a system that Adam fits naturally into) at Anfield, and it sort of worked, in as much as it provided us with another option. We were able to pen Liverpool back, force them into dropping deeper than they usually like, and prevent them from playing their trademark one-twos. And, despite the fact that West Ham are a rather different proposition, Gus stuck with the system last night. That wouldn't necessarily have been a bad thing had he shuffled the pack a bit and brought in some of our more attack-minded players like Johnson and Gardner, but he didn't and consequently, the likes of Cattermole and Bardsley, who usually get nosebleeds in and around the box, were the ones finding themselves in positions to shoot and provide killer passes, only to lose all composure when it mattered most. A battling performance, but too few players capable of justifying the manager's tactics, or doing the simple things well enough. We would do well to start putting square pegs in square holes, one player to do one job, that sort of thing. Not that we can do much about it now, of course. As awful as it feels to admit it, we're in need of a minor miracle. Cardiff and Fulham look as if they've had it, West Brom are in freefall and Norwich's last four games are a nightmare, but we simply don't seem equipped to take advantage. We’ve been living on borrowed time since the sale of Bent and the series of poor decisions that immediately followed it. This is three and a half years' worth of luck catching up with us.

When you keep on failing to win your must-win games, all signs point towards relegation. The fact of the matter is that we just haven't been good enough, there are only so many ways to keep your head above water and over the last few years, we've exhausted them all. It is what it is. Roll on the summer, I've had enough of this crap.

New one by Peace. Guitars reminiscent of Blur's 'There's No Other Way'.

They were far more economical with the Winter Soldier than I would have expected, but when he is utilised, he makes a great impact. The fight scenes he shares with Captain America are really rather magnificent. Robert Redford pulls off smug git Alexander Pierce really well too. Once again, I won't elaborate too much on his role just yet for fear of posting spoileriffic information, all I'll say for the time being is that Redford doesn't phone it in like many (and I include myself in that) thought he would.

Given my ultimate pick for a replacement Miho, I might have gone for Rila Fukushima of 'The Wolverine' fame. Like Devon, she has that deadpan look off to a fine art. I suppose they could always cast her for the third movie in 2023.

^Thanks Shepherd! Saw it this morning. I won't go into too much detail at the moment because I know a great many people have yet to see it, suffice to say it surpassed all my expectations, and has replaced 'The Avengers' as my favourite movie in the current story arc. Continuing the theme of slotting each hero's individual story into its own sub-genre and packing some of the boldest plot developments of any Marvel effort to date, it was almost effortlessly entertaining. Great action sequences, loved the seventies political conspiracy thriller vibe, loved the mid-credits scene and can't wait for the follow-up. Over to you, Joss!

Typical. The instant you need Chelsea to do you a favour against Crystal Pulis, they consciously uncouple from the title race. The little horse, as I believe Mourinho put it the other week, was let down by a donkey. Newcastle thoroughly annihilated by Southampton, and J-Rod and R-Lam with good performances again in the fight to become Hodgson's fourth-choice striker at the World Cup. I wouldn't bother though, lads, it'll be Andy Carroll.

Favourite new band or new favourite band, maybe both.

Here's the comeback track from Slow Club. Almost a complete departure from their signature sound, but it's probably the best thing they've ever done.

What a treat, thanks Jennka!

It's possible. The robot bloke is probably only there as a reference point for post-production and whatnot, but I assume they'll be in need of a certain amount of CGI to do a decent job of portraying Strucker. Spotted another close-up of Renner's new get-up today. While I'm still not crazy about the sleeveless look, it's an improvement on what he wore in the first movie and almost certainly inspired by his classic uniform.

Another defeat, but a much-improved performance against high quality opposition, restricting them to relatively few genuine openings. If only John O'Shea could head the ball straight, we may even have come away with a point. A weekend of watching results from elsewhere roll in ahead of a game on Monday evening will be nerve-wracking, but if we're still in touch by the time we play West Ham, then what an opportunity.

It's a sign that the band weren't content just to churn out 'El Camino II' (which I think is quite admirable given what a big deal they've become), but the song itself bored me a bit, if I'm honest. Maybe it'll be more of a grower.

Trailer #2

Yeah, in the original story, I believe the X-Men sent Kitty Pryde's mind back in time to possess the body of her former self. In the movie, it'll of course be Logan who returns to his younger body instead. In many ways, Mystique is to the X-Men franchise what Black Widow is to the Avengers. Both are examples of characters who've become better known and more popular via the movies, rather than the source material. Mystique's superpower probably helps with that, since shape-shifting looks considerably cooler on film than on the page.

Thanks for the pics, guys. Silver hair! Now all is right in the world. A lot of people seem to be assuming that the robot bloke is going to be Ultron, but I suspect it's really just a stand-in for the mechanical bodies that Quick-Ass was running through in the concept art they released earlier. There are a number of other people in motion capture suits on set too, which suggests that there'll be a whole robot horde. Although I would quite like to see Ultron wearing a puffa jacket in the movie.

Cleverley is like a bloke at a wedding reception who wants to do a song with the band, but only knows two chords.

First play anywhere (maybe ) of the new single by The Black Keys.

Poster time.

Messi to the rescue for Barca, a clinical hat-trick. The penalties conceded by Madrid were so easily avoidable, particularly the second one. Iniesta had already lost the ball and there were others there for cover, but Alonso still felt the need to steam in, block him with his knee and give him a bit of a kick. A frustrating and unnecessary brain-freeze that cost his team the game. Also, in addition to Neymar being rubbish, Bale was rubbish. Depending on how their respective fixtures pan out between now and mid-May, the Barca-Atletico showdown on the final day could be bordering on apocalyptic.

It makes me feel awful to say it (and of course, there's still plenty of football still to be played between now and May), but if we go to Norwich and turn in a performance like that then truthfully, we don't deserve to be in this league. How on earth we can claim to be the sort of team that looks after the ball is beyond me, we were completely incapable of stringing two passes together. I'd like to see the Liverpool game in midweek called off on humanitarian grounds.

Awesome, always a pleasure to see new Eva.