steve_69

I get how it all works mate, it's just a load of s*** and is ruining the game. Every time a player is challenged he should ask himself 'if my life depended on it, could i stay on my feet?'. If the answer is yes, stay on your f***ing feet and get on with the game. If the challenging player takes you down, it's a foul. That's how the game used to be played and there was nothing wrong with it. And with regards to your comment about keepers not diving at players' feet, that's what keepers have always done. It's brave goalkeeping and part of the art of being a good goalkeeper. The fact that opposing players these days throw themselves to the ground to try and win a penalty whether you got your hands to the ball or not, instead of allowing you to take the plaudits for a good piece of keeping is quite frankly disgusting, but that's the way the game has gone. Half the time these players nick the ball past the keeper and the f***ing thing is going out of play, so instead of admitting their poor touch they throw themselves on the ground. It's absolutely pathetic! That's something the refs should take into account but again, they don't.

Having a solid, defensive fullback is much better than have a defensively suspect fullback with better attacking qualities in our current situation. Those fullbacks than possess both positive attributes tend to cost more money than we're ever likely to pay, so for now he'll do for me.

Of course it was - kicking an opponent in the face is only dangerous play if you’re not Newcastle. Fucking refs union. They very rarely say the ref got it wrong, regardless of how blatant it is. I'm guessing he said he can understand why the ref yesterday didn't award us that stonewall penalty?

When was the last time you saw that happen? It's part of the game that's disappearing - strikers would much rather take a tumble, try to win a penalty and attempt to get the keeper sent off at the same time. Sportsmanship has been completely eradicated from the game by cynical cheats and that's a very sad feature of the modern game. Just because cheating is now accepted at an institutional level doesn't make it right, and the game is a lesser spectacle for it. When was the last time you saw that happen? - Happens all the time, as does forwards being fouled and brought down. Sadly, the latter and the resulting coverage and discussion over a refereeing descion will always gather more media coverage than a 'simple goal'. When was the last time you saw a foul committed in the box, advantage offered, but play brought back. Until referees apply the same logic to the rules in the box as anywhere else on the pitch, strikers will always have to go out of the way to win penalties. 'Cheating' has existed in football for god knows how long, I just don't understand the sudden turn of attention onto this subject. It's just become such as a mass media agenda to fuel incidents that have always been taking place in the game. But now, because it's a focus, it's all of a sudden become such a deplorable act. Really don't think it's such a big thing anywhere else than in England or Scotland either. Liverpool Tottenham last night was a fantastic game, but all the coverage was spent on talking about refereeing decisions, and whether Kane dived or not. Little or no coverage was made on any other area of the game, how well certain players played, how the game was won or lost. Specifically I was asking when the last time you saw a player vault or round a keeper was, as opposed to throwing himself on the ground like a small child? It rarely happens these days. As far as i'm concerned any player who chooses to go to ground, whether he's been touched or not, is diving/cheating. The whole 'he was touched so he had a right to go down' line is utter bullshit! That's never been what football is about and it has damaged the game beyond repair. Unfortunately the FA and the referees union are complicit so it has basically become an accepted part of the game for a lot of people. At the risk of sounding like an old fucker though, those of us who remember football as a true contact sport and have seen players who had mastered the real art of defending see the modern game as a very poor alternative. Just because cheating has become mainstream doesn't make it acceptable. There has always been cynicism in football and 'the dark arts' as pundits choose to call them, but there's no subtlety to it now and absolute no sportsmanship whatsoever. It's just a bunch of fannies throwing themselves on the ground in the hope of getting a fellow pro booked or even better, sent off. That's not football mate, not even close.

He was. He's the only one who doesn't seem to have been singled out for his individual performance but I think it was arguably his best ever game for us.

When was the last time you saw that happen? It's part of the game that's disappearing - strikers would much rather take a tumble, try to win a penalty and attempt to get the keeper sent off at the same time. Sportsmanship has been completely eradicated from the game by cynical cheats and that's a very sad feature of the modern game. Just because cheating is now accepted at an institutional level doesn't make it right, and the game is a lesser spectacle for it.

I agree with this completely. It's staggering how blinkered some people can be. Exceptional talents, yes. Blatant cheats, absolutely. Just because they're English shouldn't excuse them from being criticised for cheating, particularly Harry Kane.

Take a bow you little bald genius. What a game!

What a surprise, a referee who bottles the big calls against us. It’s hard enough playing this lot in normal circumstances but with the ref in their pocket as well we’re double-fucked!

Gayle really isn’t anywhere near good enough at this level. He doesn’t have a single attribute that is PL quality

Jesus, they’ve got some team now. So many potential match winners. Shitting it!

Doesn't what's been going on on this thread this afternoon constitute a debate? Sometimes in a debate one person's opinions are not popular, as yours weren't for many of us, but that's what makes a debate, right - people with differing opinions talking about them? No one has insulted anyone from what i can recall (and that's pretty rare for this place ). Anyway, just because I can - Who's being melodramatic now, eh?

I’ve said from the off I love him, but don’t like his brand of football or his tactics, not at home anyway and never will. But I do love him and have 100% trust and confidence in him as our manager. It's the opposite for me, I didn't like him much as Liverpool manager, although deep down I knew he was good. By the time there was talk of him coming here, I had had my fill of gormless idiots running the team like Pardew, Kinnear and Carver, so it made me appreciate a man who knows his mind and is meticulous in his work on and off the field. I might not always like his methods but I respect them 100%. Personally I'm of the view, given a few genuine Premier class players he'll more than show his worth. I’ve rated him as far back as Valencia and was extremely jelous when Liverpool appointed him. I used to have loads of documents/dossiers/articles he wrote for UEFA when I was into coaching and some of his stuff man... one was all about possession and the importance of it. Sadly I think he’s lost a bit of his mojo the last few years. Inter was a huge mistake and Madrid also, the wrong choice for someone usually bang on when it comes to making decisions. I’m grateful he’s here, but it’s kind of pointless. Kind of like a Ferrari with no engine. We all know who that’s down to though... OK, one last question and then i'm going to leave it - You seem to place absolutely no blame for our results and the way that we play on the players and 100% of it on Rafa and his tactics (i'm basing that on the fact that throughout this conversation you haven't mentioned the players being to blame at all, so it's not me being 'melodramatic'). When the teams that you were coaching lost a game did you always consider it to be your fault as the coach? Were the players ever to blame? Never blamed myself, f*** that. Would blame the wind before myself. And the Town Moor once. ..and yet it's always Rafa's tactics to blame with regards to NUFC, not the players?! You don't see any contradiction in that? That despite the fact we're in the top 10? PL teams for chances created this season and have the 3rd best goal difference in the bottom half of the league. Maybe i'm just a bit too protective of Rafa but I genuinely think some of your comments are a pretty unfair to him and his tactics. You are focusing on way too much what I’ve said in this thread. Go around other threads and you’ll see me blame player mistakes, lack of quality, Ashley, fans, f***ing everything. I’ll also point the finger at Rafa when I see something I personally feel I have an issue with and will make said feelings known, not least of all in the Rafa thread all about Rafa. Hence... Btw I blame Rafas tactics probably in the 5% range for where we are at. You wouldn’t know though because you’re camped out in this thread. Go into the Ritchie thread or the Shelvey thread... I believe dropping Ritchie period and playing Murphy period would help us significantly more than some of Rafa’s tactics do not. Significantly more. Fair enough. I have been camped out in here to be fair, mainly because it's the only thread that's been remotely active today.

“I like the feeling of going to Mr Robson’s home. I like that feeling.” I suddenly find myself having positive feelings for ‘Jo-Mo Ego’! I'm sure that'll all change on Sunday when he comes out with his usually bitter shite about something or other

I’ve said from the off I love him, but don’t like his brand of football or his tactics, not at home anyway and never will. But I do love him and have 100% trust and confidence in him as our manager. It's the opposite for me, I didn't like him much as Liverpool manager, although deep down I knew he was good. By the time there was talk of him coming here, I had had my fill of gormless idiots running the team like Pardew, Kinnear and Carver, so it made me appreciate a man who knows his mind and is meticulous in his work on and off the field. I might not always like his methods but I respect them 100%. Personally I'm of the view, given a few genuine Premier class players he'll more than show his worth. I’ve rated him as far back as Valencia and was extremely jelous when Liverpool appointed him. I used to have loads of documents/dossiers/articles he wrote for UEFA when I was into coaching and some of his stuff man... one was all about possession and the importance of it. Sadly I think he’s lost a bit of his mojo the last few years. Inter was a huge mistake and Madrid also, the wrong choice for someone usually bang on when it comes to making decisions. I’m grateful he’s here, but it’s kind of pointless. Kind of like a Ferrari with no engine. We all know who that’s down to though... OK, one last question and then i'm going to leave it - You seem to place absolutely no blame for our results and the way that we play on the players and 100% of it on Rafa and his tactics (i'm basing that on the fact that throughout this conversation you haven't mentioned the players being to blame at all, so it's not me being 'melodramatic'). When the teams that you were coaching lost a game did you always consider it to be your fault as the coach? Were the players ever to blame? Never blamed myself, f*** that. Would blame the wind before myself. And the Town Moor once. ..and yet it's always Rafa's tactics to blame with regards to NUFC, not the players?! You don't see any contradiction in that? That despite the fact we're in the top 10? PL teams for chances created this season and have the 3rd best goal difference in the bottom half of the league. Maybe i'm just a bit too protective of Rafa but I genuinely think some of your comments are pretty unfair to him and his tactics.

I’ve said from the off I love him, but don’t like his brand of football or his tactics, not at home anyway and never will. But I do love him and have 100% trust and confidence in him as our manager. It's the opposite for me, I didn't like him much as Liverpool manager, although deep down I knew he was good. By the time there was talk of him coming here, I had had my fill of gormless idiots running the team like Pardew, Kinnear and Carver, so it made me appreciate a man who knows his mind and is meticulous in his work on and off the field. I might not always like his methods but I respect them 100%. Personally I'm of the view, given a few genuine Premier class players he'll more than show his worth. I’ve rated him as far back as Valencia and was extremely jelous when Liverpool appointed him. I used to have loads of documents/dossiers/articles he wrote for UEFA when I was into coaching and some of his stuff man... one was all about possession and the importance of it. Sadly I think he’s lost a bit of his mojo the last few years. Inter was a huge mistake and Madrid also, the wrong choice for someone usually bang on when it comes to making decisions. I’m grateful he’s here, but it’s kind of pointless. Kind of like a Ferrari with no engine. We all know who that’s down to though... OK, one last question and then i'm going to leave it - You seem to place absolutely no blame for our results and the way that we play on the players and 100% of it on Rafa and his tactics (i'm basing that on the fact that throughout this conversation you haven't mentioned the players being to blame at all, so it's not me being 'melodramatic'). When the teams that you were coaching lost a game did you always consider it to be your fault as the coach? Were the players ever to blame?

There was some stat floating round a while back about us being in the top 5 for chances created this season (or something of that ilk). Anyone remember what it was?

I’ve said from the off I love him, but don’t like his brand of football or his tactics, not at home anyway and never will. But I do love him and have 100% trust and confidence in him as our manager. Honest question like but what do you expect in terms of home tactics? His tactics are proven to work very effectively at the highest level and they're very good away from home. He's building and imposing a system around the club, once/if he gets better players the quality of play will improve. The bit you're complaining about there is arguably the hardest in top flight football, especially when you don't have money and a group of average players at best. It's been said but if we open up with this group of players we'll be murdered by most teams in the division, so the sensible option is exactly what he's doing. If he gets 5 years in the job and a decent amount of backing do you think we'll still be playing the same game at home? Well I mean we probably will be but we'll be controlling it better and dominating more. More excuses......

No matter how many times you post this same made up crap it doesnt magically turn to a truth. It’s not made up, it’s the case or was. Against Swansea? They were the ones that went 1-0 up in the second half, but would have taken a 1-0 loss before half time? You're making it hard not to not want to bring down this 'different insight' like. It feels a bit 'alternative facts' ish I’m going off how they approached the first half. Constant time wasting. Howay Man, they get a corner in added on time and take an age over taking it, fearful we may somehow break away and score. That’s how negative they ere and just how much they wanted the game over and done with. Ok happy with a 1-0 loss maybe overstepping things, but definately happy with a draw. Second have they grew in confidence because we allowed them back into it. I remember the look of disbelieve when they took the lead and even their fans couldn’t believe it. First half again only one winner and that was us. Had we played the same way or tried to, we would have won comfortably and be in a better position today than we currently are where we could be in the bottom 3 Sunday. Have you ever played football? That's a genuine question, not an inflammatory one. Because you seem to take all psychology out of the game when you talk about it - you don't pay any heed to how circumstances can affect a player's/team's mental state. We were a team on a bad home run against a team we knew we should be beating, especially at home (lots of added pressure). We battered them in the first half and got nothing. What do you think that does to a player's nerves/confidence? If you think it doesn't affect them you're very shortsighted indeed. I don't believe for a second that Rafa told them to go out and play for a draw against Swansea, either from the start of the second half or after we'd equalised. Why would he? Played and coached! Again excuses. Played well first half lads how do you feel? Scared, the confidence has drained from me boss I don’t think I can play. Oh and it’s the manager’s job to instil confidence and to keep it going. f***ing excuses man You must've been a fantastic coach! If my team came in having battered the opposition as you put it, I’d send them back out even more geed up to carry on as that door will open and get one and the floodgates will open. You? So lads, f***ing hell, you were on top but didn’t even score, I bet you all feel like s***, what a bunch of wasters ha ha. Don’t fancy your chances second half ha ha ha ha. Couldn’t even beat Swansea. LOSERS! Yeah, i imagine that's exactly how the conversation went. We hadn't won a PL home game for about 6 weeks FFS! Do you think they're all made of f***ing stone? I guess a super coach like yourself would've been able to undo the damage from a run like with one 15 minute motivational speech. Sadly we've only got Rafa trying to work his mediocre magic. Shame! 15 minutes? I’ll need more than that for my speech! No one is saying Rafa is mediocre btw stop being so f***ing melodramatic man. People are debating his tactics, the Swansea game. f*** it, it’s done. I’m off to do some coaching and reading, seems I need to know about syfology or whatever it’s called. Just tell them they're all losers if they don't beat the opposition, and to stop making excuses. Coaching 101

No matter how many times you post this same made up crap it doesnt magically turn to a truth. It’s not made up, it’s the case or was. Against Swansea? They were the ones that went 1-0 up in the second half, but would have taken a 1-0 loss before half time? You're making it hard not to not want to bring down this 'different insight' like. It feels a bit 'alternative facts' ish I’m going off how they approached the first half. Constant time wasting. Howay Man, they get a corner in added on time and take an age over taking it, fearful we may somehow break away and score. That’s how negative they ere and just how much they wanted the game over and done with. Ok happy with a 1-0 loss maybe overstepping things, but definately happy with a draw. Second have they grew in confidence because we allowed them back into it. I remember the look of disbelieve when they took the lead and even their fans couldn’t believe it. First half again only one winner and that was us. Had we played the same way or tried to, we would have won comfortably and be in a better position today than we currently are where we could be in the bottom 3 Sunday. Have you ever played football? That's a genuine question, not an inflammatory one. Because you seem to take all psychology out of the game when you talk about it - you don't pay any heed to how circumstances can affect a player's/team's mental state. We were a team on a bad home run against a team we knew we should be beating, especially at home (lots of added pressure). We battered them in the first half and got nothing. What do you think that does to a player's nerves/confidence? If you think it doesn't affect them you're very shortsighted indeed. I don't believe for a second that Rafa told them to go out and play for a draw against Swansea, either from the start of the second half or after we'd equalised. Why would he? Played and coached! Again excuses. Played well first half lads how do you feel? Scared, the confidence has drained from me boss I don’t think I can play. Oh and it’s the manager’s job to instil confidence and to keep it going. f***ing excuses man You must've been a fantastic coach! If my team came in having battered the opposition as you put it, I’d send them back out even more geed up to carry on as that door will open and get one and the floodgates will open. You? So lads, f***ing hell, you were on top but didn’t even score, I bet you all feel like s***, what a bunch of wasters ha ha. Don’t fancy your chances second half ha ha ha ha. Couldn’t even beat Swansea. LOSERS! Yeah, i imagine that's exactly how the conversation went. We hadn't won a PL home game for about 6 weeks FFS! Do you think they're all made of fucking stone? I guess a super coach like yourself would've been able to undo the damage from a run like with one 15 minute motivational speech. Sadly we've only got Rafa trying to work his mediocre magic. Shame!

No matter how many times you post this same made up crap it doesnt magically turn to a truth. It’s not made up, it’s the case or was. Against Swansea? They were the ones that went 1-0 up in the second half, but would have taken a 1-0 loss before half time? You're making it hard not to not want to bring down this 'different insight' like. It feels a bit 'alternative facts' ish I’m going off how they approached the first half. Constant time wasting. Howay Man, they get a corner in added on time and take an age over taking it, fearful we may somehow break away and score. That’s how negative they ere and just how much they wanted the game over and done with. Ok happy with a 1-0 loss maybe overstepping things, but definately happy with a draw. Second have they grew in confidence because we allowed them back into it. I remember the look of disbelieve when they took the lead and even their fans couldn’t believe it. First half again only one winner and that was us. Had we played the same way or tried to, we would have won comfortably and be in a better position today than we currently are where we could be in the bottom 3 Sunday. Have you ever played football? That's a genuine question, not an inflammatory one. Because you seem to take all psychology out of the game when you talk about it - you don't pay any heed to how circumstances can affect a player's/team's mental state. We were a team on a bad home run against a team we knew we should be beating, especially at home (lots of added pressure). We battered them in the first half and got nothing. What do you think that does to a player's nerves/confidence? If you think it doesn't affect them you're very shortsighted indeed. I don't believe for a second that Rafa told them to go out and play for a draw against Swansea, either from the start of the second half or after we'd equalised. Why would he? Played and coached! Again excuses. Played well first half lads how do you feel? Scared, the confidence has drained from me boss I don’t think I can play. Oh and it’s the manager’s job to instil confidence and to keep it going. f***ing excuses man You must've been a fantastic coach! So you think psychology is an excuse?! How do you Joselu feels playing in front of 50 odd thousand people who he knows think he's shit, when every poor touch or missed chance is greeted with audible groans and derision. If you don't think that affects a player's performance you're kidding yourself.

No matter how many times you post this same made up crap it doesnt magically turn to a truth. It’s not made up, it’s the case or was. Against Swansea? They were the ones that went 1-0 up in the second half, but would have taken a 1-0 loss before half time? You're making it hard not to not want to bring down this 'different insight' like. It feels a bit 'alternative facts' ish I’m going off how they approached the first half. Constant time wasting. Howay Man, they get a corner in added on time and take an age over taking it, fearful we may somehow break away and score. That’s how negative they ere and just how much they wanted the game over and done with. Ok happy with a 1-0 loss maybe overstepping things, but definately happy with a draw. Second have they grew in confidence because we allowed them back into it. I remember the look of disbelieve when they took the lead and even their fans couldn’t believe it. First half again only one winner and that was us. Had we played the same way or tried to, we would have won comfortably and be in a better position today than we currently are where we could be in the bottom 3 Sunday. Have you ever played football? That's a genuine question, not an inflammatory one. Because you seem to take all psychology out of the game when you talk about it - you don't pay any heed to how circumstances can affect a player's/team's mental state. We were a team on a bad home run against a team we knew we should be beating, especially at home (lots of added pressure). We battered them in the first half and got nothing. What do you think that does to a player's nerves/confidence? If you think it doesn't affect them you're very shortsighted indeed. I don't believe for a second that Rafa told them to go out and play for a draw against Swansea, either from the start of the second half or after we'd equalised. Why would he?

That’s just f***ing silly. Of course he’s not, but if the tactics are to concede possession, sit deeper and look to just stay in the game, what that does is make it difficult to get on the ball, to get in the game and for players to express themselves. If the team can string passes together, cause problems and have possession fine and well one minute and go to the exact opposite the next... I point to what i said before about individual mistakes. If those absolute clangers hadn't happened we'd be almost safe by now - that in itself completely justifies Rafa's tactics as far as i'm concerned. We SHOULD be 7-10 points better off and that's not pie-in-the-sky hopeful bullshit, it's a fact. If we had 32-35 points right now would anyone be complaining about Rafa's tactics? You have to take into account goal difference as well because there's a good chance it will come into play. If we got to the end of the season and went down due to inferior goal difference from going all out against the big teams, you'd be eating your words. We currently have a better goal difference than all but 2 of the teams in the bottom 10 so that shouldn't be a factor come the final game. Yes, we could go and attack the better teams more and treat the games like FA cup ties but what are the odds on us beating them - 10-1, 15-1? So out of every 10-15 times we play them we'll win. It would make for better entertainment but i'd rather we stayed in the PL playing conservatively, and give ourselves a chance of keeping Rafa, than seal our own fate early by being unrealistic. You are not preaching anything I don’t know myself or don’t accept there. Player mistakes have cost us hugely and you are right goal difference could be key, but more key will be our home form. By the way, Rafa did play Ritchie at LB once and he was responsible for several goals conceded as a subsequence of being played out of position. He got that one wrong. I’m not demanding we go all out attack by the way and if that’s how you’ve read my thoughts you clearly can’t read or comprehend. I just dont want to see us sit back in a withdrawn position against the then bottom side, at home, with 20 minutes to go, happy for a point. Swansea were in that first half the worst side I’ve seen at SJP in a few years, they offered nothing and were time wasting from the off. They had a corner in first half injury time and they even took their time taking it just to waste time. They would have been happy with a 1-0 loss. Second half we changed completely, surrender the game to them, and simply just give up on trying to win the game, happy with a point. It’s those tactics that I’m critical off, it’s that kind of game plan I’m critical of and it’s that kind of ‘result’ at home which has t exactly been a one off, could well see us down come the end of the season. There's a big difference between being happy with a point and accepting that's probably all you're going to get. From what i can remember of the game we were in the ascendancy from the off and Swansea looked completely bereft of ideas. Then they took a surprise lead. Once we got back into the game there's no way Rafa told the players to settle for a point, absolutely no way. But as a manager, if you're looking at the players on 75-80 minutes and can see they're knackered (which is what I assume has happened on a number of occasions) it makes more sense to take a point than tell them to get up the pitch and risk being hit on the counter attack. Getting beaten by the then bottom team at home would have done a lot more damage to moral, confidence and fan mood than coming back from 0-1 down to draw 1-1. And, having seen the run Swansea have gone on since our result against them, perhaps we're all looking back on that game with slightly rose-tinted specs?

That’s just f***ing silly. Of course he’s not, but if the tactics are to concede possession, sit deeper and look to just stay in the game, what that does is make it difficult to get on the ball, to get in the game and for players to express themselves. If the team can string passes together, cause problems and have possession fine and well one minute and go to the exact opposite the next... I point to what i said before about individual mistakes. If those absolute clangers hadn't happened we'd be almost safe by now - that in itself completely justifies Rafa's tactics as far as i'm concerned. We SHOULD be 7-10 points better off and that's not pie-in-the-sky hopeful bullshit, it's a fact. If we had 32-35 points right now would anyone be complaining about Rafa's tactics? You have to take into account goal difference as well because there's a good chance it will come into play. If we got to the end of the season and went down due to inferior goal difference from going all out against the big teams, you'd be eating your words. We currently have a better goal difference than all but 2 of the teams in the bottom 10 so that shouldn't be a factor come the final game. Yes, we could go and attack the better teams more and treat the games like FA cup ties but what are the odds on us beating them - 10-1, 15-1? So out of every 10-15 times we play them we'll win. It would make for better entertainment but i'd rather we stayed in the PL playing conservatively, and give ourselves a chance of keeping Rafa, than seal our own fate early by being unrealistic.

So why do the players simply drop into some kind of shell and treat the ball as if it’s a grenade? If that’s not the intention then something isn’t working because they do it quite often and while you could argue it’s because they aren’t good enough, well they have been good enough to take a lead and to play very well against the other team. First half against a Palace for example, Swansea at home etc. Pressure, mentality, crowd apprehension carrying to the pitch, the opposition upping their attacks, the players knowing we don't have a good striker, inexperience, being young. There are loads of possibilities beyond in being an oversight or not putting everything into combating it. Have a listen to the podcast though. I’m listening to it and it’s great so far and so is Rafa. I understand all of those points by the way, but we are definately set up at times at home to get a goal and see the game out and it has hurt us once or twice. You cannot just ascribe all those things to how we played second half away to Palace for example or at home to Swansea when we showed plenty of quality during the first half. We went from playing good football, causing problems, being in the game, to simply being afraid of the ball, dropping deep and basically hoping to see out the draw or to nick a goal. Not when it is becoming a common theme and if this isn’t the tactic then the players are simply not responding to Rafa’s tactics during some second half’s. At home to Swansea, Lascelles was telling the keeper off for trying to release an early ball and Rafa was clearly seen telling the full-back on his side basically not to get beyond the half-way line. I believe at home we have a way of playing that we try and get a lead and then try to see the game out against the lesser sides. Against the better teams it’s the opposite, we try and stay in the game and hope not to lose or to nick a goal. For once I’d like us just to keep playing and going for it which we failed to do at home to Swansea. Again had we went at them the same way we did in the first half we would have won comfortably. I know you’re gonna come back and say they changed their tactics, pressure got to the players etc. But I’m not buying that not when the manager is discouraging the full back from getting forward and the Captain was bollocking team mates for wanting to release the ball early. This at 1-1 with Swansea on top. All it does is frustrate home fans, entire pressure and gives the opposition the upper hand. It’s no coincidence our home record is poor and historically even when we have a s*** team, we always do better at home when we attack the opposition and look to win the game and not see it out. Ironically we are good at neither so tactically it’s all a bit bizarre and kind of baffling. Rafa has specifically talked about game management eg. wasting time, so Lascelles telling the keeper not to hurry getting rid of the ball is exactly right. It doesn't mean we've shut up shop, it's just a case of limiting the time the opposition has to get back into the game. All the top teams do it and so should we. Telling the fullback to stay back for the whole of the second half is a defensive move but it's also a way of managing the game. If the fullback is getting rinsed every time by the attacker of course he should sit deeper. That doesn't mean he's instructing the whole team to be defensive, it could feasibly be that he's telling the players to attack in a way that doesn't leave us so vulnerable to a counter attack ie. through the middle, down the other flank etc. By your reckoning, if Yedlin is getting bent over by their winger consistently we should just keep attacking down that channel regardless and fuck the consequences. That seems very naive!