steve_69

I think Rafa got the selection all wrong tonight and hopefully he doesn't make the same mistake again. Anita on the right, Colback on the team sheet and Aarons on the bench were all baffling and they ultimately cost us. I haven't been as over the top about Colback as some others on here but fuck me, he was awful tonight. He should be fined for a performance like that. Hopefully Rafa has a strong word with Perez as well because he looked a shadow of himself as well.

time for Rafa to earn his pennies! We've been fucking terrible so far

You'd hate him more if you were watching it

"It is possible Villa chairman Tony Xia was so irate at Newcastle's handling o the move he called on fans to boo their rivals next season."

I have absolute faith in Rafa. If he's seen something in Ciaran Clark that he likes and feels he can work with then that's good enough for me. Old habits die hard. Our previous management was incapable of improving players so a signing like this would have gone down like a shit sandwich and rightly so. This is a new era under a guy who knows how to coach and has the ability to turn a rough diamond into something worthwhile. Nothing to worry about here chaps.

In case they're reading this thread, yes it's exceptional

First time i've seen him looking vaguely respectable. He normally looks like a fat sweaty homeless man

Cheers, I got pissed off looking and gave up.

Aarons, Mitrovic, Ritchie, Gayle, Perez will all have goals in them at this level, maybe Shelvey as well. We'll also have significantly more fret at set pieces than in recent years so I reckon we'd be ok as we are. Still, it would be nice to have some more exciting midfield options - Colback, Tiote, Anita, Saivet, Gouffran and Hayden don't exactly get the juices flowing.

Wow!

Klopp will get the best out of this guy. He's a quality player who, in the right system, will be very effective in the Premier League. I think he realised pretty quickly what a shitshow he'd signed up for and that seriously affected his motivation. Shame he couldn't be more professional but we shouldn't be too surprised - footballers aren't exactly known for their integrity. Onwards and upwards.

Why not? When have you ever seen a referee reverse a decision following an appeal from a player? It literally never happens so the players might as well suck it up and get on with the game.

It's about time. Should have happened 15-20 years ago. Other sportsmen have shown it is possible to not call the referee a 'cheating cunt' when he gives a decision against you. First few weeks of the season should be right laugh if they enforce this strictly

Jesus, the standard of strikers in the Premier League is not very impressive at all.

I'm sure Rafa would have something to say about that

Brewdog

or fucking Lonsdale

It'll be Sports Direct

5 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT GRANT HANLEY 5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GRANT HANLEY 10 Unbelievable photos of Grant Hanley. OMG, number 6!!!!!

Got a feeling he'll come good under Rafa and absolutely boss the Championship.

He's not an attacking midfielder though, never was. Because our idiotic coaches tried to force him into one because he's an athlete doesn't make it so. When he is played as an attacking midfielder, he's an attacking midfielder - he is being given the responsibility to create. You have to judge a player on the position he is playing, not the position he should be playing surely? I agree that he shouldn't be considered an attacking midfielder because he doesn't have the requisite skills.

You know it's slim pickings when your 'attacking midfielder' is lauded for creating 7 chances and scoring 1 goal in an entire season.

That's it for me. Just say for arguments sake we get £20m for him. I would expect Rafa to go out and sign a better replacement for half that. You wouldn't even need £10m to replace him. So many players who are, in theory, worse deliver far more for their teams statiscally. If you looked at Sissoko's contribution, without knowing the players name/nationality etc, you'd never see an international footballer. I genuinely hope he leaves and feel the club will be far better off without him and his 'better than NUFC' attitude. You can tell by the players Rafa has recruited that we're no longer selling NUFC as a stepping stone club. In some respects we shouldn't expect anything more from this shithouse because him, and the likes of Cisse, Cabaye, Tiote etc were all sold the long term dream of using the club for their own gain. It's no wonder we've been left with a squad full of heartless c***s who care only for themselves. Rafa is very clearly going about introducing a new culture and I can't imagine there's much of a place for t***s like Sissoko/Gini etc, whatever Benitez is saying publically. I'm personally delighted to see these career vultures leave. Cisse, Sissoko, Tiote etc are all just Demba Ba's without the same PR Machines behind them. NUFC will be a better place without them, a healthier environment where new players will appreciate the opportunity and, I would hope, view playing for NUFC as an honour. Something most of the shitehawks we will ship out clearly don't. It all sounds so plausible, but not a lot of it really stands up under scrutiny. He's lazy - he's not. He wants to play in the CL - well most would, and he's been here for a few years now. It's not like he bailed out after 13 matches to f*** off to Palace. Rafa is going to introduce a new culture - true, but he's given no indication that Sissoko is a problem player, if anything he seems very keen to keep him. If he wanted shot he'd have bombed him out for £3m and that would be that. Get it through your skulls, if he leaves it will be at our price point and for a 24 yr old who just starred in the world cup final it won't be for peanuts. How old is £100 rated Payet btw, considering he flopped in the same tournament? He's 26 and it was the Euros

I watch every game and think he's s***. Can't pass the ball 5 yards and dribbling then predictably loses the ball with nothing gained. Exactly this, sometimes you'd think he was turning a corner after he'd put in a decent performance or 2 than he'd have about 6 or 7 games in a row where he couldn't control or pass a ball and constantly ran into brick walls hoping he could batter his way through. That's why I think he's pretty crap, watching him play every week for 3 and a half years. There's a reason the big clubs haven't come in for him over the past couple of seasons despite him making it very clear he would jump at the chance for a move - he just doesn't have the attributes that a lot of the big teams are looking for, most notably composure. Scouting is so thorough these days that every coach/manager will be aware of his limitations. If we're hoping a team who hasn't watched him as much as we have can be duped into paying a big fee based on his performances at the Euros alone, I can't see it happening. That sort of transfer rarely happens now. Our best hope is that a team that plays counter-attacking football needs a fast, athletic box-to-box player and is prepared to overlook his lack of goals, assists, passing ability and the fact that at 26 years old he's not likely to improve significantly in any of those departments.

Mata on loan would be lovely.