I can sense trouble before I even hit publish on the post, in more than one way, but when I saw that team against Manchester United, my initial thought was it was a Paul Lambert side and the truth is, we played like a Paul Lambert side in so many ways.
Some of the comments from Tim Sherwood after the match also reminded me of Paul Lambert. I think it's fair to say that the honeymoon period is over and with the match tomorrow night likely to be used as the definition of what a six point game is, victory is the only thing good enough. Even if it isn't.
What I mean is, we don't actually have to win this game. We can draw it. Hell, we could even lose with six games left. And none of us should be surprised by any of this. We needed the points on the board a long time ago and it should never have come down to this. Even if we win tomorrow and I think that will be the result, it's not over.
After QPR we've got Spurs, Manchester City and Everton and if we don't get four points from those matches we could very well be back in the mess we're in now. QPR is an important match, but only if we get the other results we need. And there does feel a little like a Wembley trip makes it all okay, even though the Wembley trip is a semi-final. If people get so excited about a trip to Wembley, they do stadium tours you know.
We don't want to go into the final three games (West Ham, Southampton and Burnley) needing to win games or have results go for us ... especially if we win the semi-final. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if we don't get maximum points against QPR and lose to Spurs, I'd actually not be unhappy if we lose the semi-final so we could concentrate on staying in the Premier League. Silverware isn't success if it means getting relegated; look at the Clowns or Wigan.
Saturday wasn't great - we had 24% possession and played like a Paul Lambert side so tomorrow night has to be different, but that all comes down to Sherwood, the eleven he picks and what he tells them to do. It's not just about leaving nothing on the pitch.