Bobfoc

I'm reading that Norwich have approached Steve Bruce to be Smith's replacement. Now that's a way to cheer fans up.

And this is the biggest hurdle for me.

They had won three out of the last thirteen league matches, with three defeats in the last four. He was particularly unpopular among the fans as well, so it's not as surprising as you might think.

And there have been only ten times that a player has reached thirty goals in a Premier League season.

That's the sad reality of the direction many games are going in. Companies are making record profits and still finding ways to inflate the price of game content. We're at the point now where many publishers have increased the price of new games to £70, and that's often just the starting cost. Factor in paywalled cosmetics, DLC and season passes and you're looking at a big money sink if you want to access content that would have been included in the base package not that long ago. Contrast that with a good number of games made by small studios or single developers that offer free updates for years after release. If Stardew Valley had been published by a big company, you just know that all the extra features would have been part of a monetised "road map".

All of a sudden, Sports Story has been released.

Nottingham Forest haven't had a shirt sponsor so far this season, and that's going to continue. Instead of a blank shirt, however, they will use the UNHCR logo for the rest of the season.

I think the Mass Effect games were never "best in class" when it came to combat. At best, they were solid, but not special. The main appeal for me was always making decisions and learning about the world and squad members.

The Steam Holiday Sale starts tomorrow. Make sure you hold off on buying anything until then.

Beth Mead is the overwhelming betting favourite. Being the first female footballer to win would be significant. I'm surprised there isn't a para-athlete in there, although I can't think of who might have made it in this year.

I see the Sports Personality of the Year shortlist has been revealed. Presumably, this year's thread will be created in due course.

I'd see it as a 50/50 game myself. At their worst, Forest have looked awful so far this season, and even at their best, they still look unconvincing in defence. On the other hand, they've had fewer players at the World Cup than most Premier League teams and have played a few friendlies over the last few weeks, so they might be reasonably well prepared.

That France are still so competitive without several of their best players is scary for the other nations.

He's scored in every round now.

It's something I've never agreed with. Cruyff, Eusebio and Puskas don't seem to have forfeited their reputations by not winning the World Cup. Players like Di Stefano, Best and Weah never even played in a World Cup, but they've always been well regarded.

My mother used to know Julian Joachim's mother, so he was kind enough to give me an Aston Villa ball signed by the whole 1999/2000 squad. I'm not a Villa fan, but it's a great piece of memorabilia. My grandfather, who I never met, was a big Notts County fan. He had some match programmes from way back in the inter-war period. When he died, he got a small tribute column in the programme for the next match too.

There are several Humble Bundles available at the moment. It seems that they're bringing back some previous bundles for a limited time.

France v Argentina is better for the chances of an exciting match, while Morocco v Argentina is better for the appeal of seeing a big underdog in the final. Either eventuality has some appeal for me.

Two weeks on, how are you finding it?

Morocco are the final unbeaten team.

Farming communities the world over will be celebrating tonight.

Argentina threw away a 2-0 lead in their last match, so you never know. I don't think they'll lose this, though.

Argentina and West Germany in 1986 and 1990. That's the only time it's happened.

High on Life, the game written by Justin Roiland in which your guns talk in silly voices, is getting the biggest spread of reviews I've seen in a long time. Opinions range from it being one of the funniest and enjoyable games of the year to it being insufferably bad, and there are plenty of reviews in the middle as well. It's out on Game Pass tomorrow. Personally, from the gameplay I've seen, I think it looks like a fairly mediocre shooter. I'm not sure if I could stomach ten hours of the Morty voice either.

Imagine what the last few years might have been like if Sam Allardyce didn't get caught.