ohmelads

Not sure if I've missed something but the McTominay rumours look like the media guessing based on him potentially being surplus and Howe liking high energy players. I reckon it's probably bollocks because no way would Man U give us a deal worth doing. Maddison on the other hand is a far more concrete link because two bids were reported.

Agree but maybe Howe is looking to change our style to make us more adaptable and turn those draws into wins. How many of us had Burn holding down left back all season or Joelinton in centre mid? Our style and system has adapted through Howe's time and what's become clear is the number of draws because we can't open teams up when they let us have the ball, and more athleticism won't solve that on its own. Agree on the injuries though. Not sure we can afford to spend possibly our biggest fee of the summer and then see him miss loads of the season. It'd be a slight gamble.

There were rumours Botman preferred AC Milan, and let's face it, he probably did. We all know how that turned out. I wouldn't necessarily hold that against Maddison even if it is true. We're ahead of schedule, and back in the summer when we went for Maddison, he'd have been thinking we could be a few years away from challenging the top 4, especially considering that the powerful ESL cartel were (and still are) looking to kick away the ladder through all means possible. Maddison is as close to a safe bet as you can get - class every season for an average side and knows the league. Whether and how he fits into our system I don't know, but I trust Howe and his staff do. He doesn't have the athleticism but he cuts teams open. As more teams fear us, they're putting everyone behind the ball and we find ourselves needing a Maddison type. Plus he's versatile and can play wide or centrally. The major question mark is his injury record. Also think we'll have more rivals for his signature in summer because of his contract and the fact Liverpool, Spurs, Man U and Liverpool are probably all looking for that type of player.

Reckon that'll be the only change given we're just off an international break. A few weeks back West Ham let us have the ball and looked for the counter, but I'm hoping these might have more pressure to come out at home, which would actually suit us more.

I agree. They'll make an example of someone like Mitrovic but allow the likes of Bruno Fernandes or Klopp to give officials constant grief. Was Mitrovic more aggressive than Klopp screaming in the linesman's ear not too long ago? The difference is the physical contact, clearly, but Klopp was arguably being more aggressive and intimidating. For context, Klopp got a 1 match touchline ban for that. A huge punishment for Mitrovic won't stop the more systemic problem of the Klopps and Fernandes's putting officials under relentless pressure.

A very good player with different attributes but don't think he's ever been in the same league as prime Shearer. Shearer was in some really poor Newcastle teams and had major injuries. Like Kane he deserved to have won much more, but Kane's generally been in a consistently strong 'top 6' team.

If we want McTominay we'll probably have to give them an offer they can't refuse even though he rarely starts for them. That's probably not a smart move when you're trying to box clever financially to stay within FFP rules, and I don't like paying above market value to a rival for someone who's started 7 league games from 26. I suppose the counterargument to that would be Man City selling Jesus and Zinchenko to Arsenal, who now have a huge chance of pipping them to the title. Man City will be regretting that one I'm sure. Could this be a similar scenario? It's always possible, but I don't see Man U making the same mistake, despite their transfer record in recent years. Look at what they quoted us for Lingard, and we were far less of a threat to them at that point.

As a squad/rotation player for a cheap fee and reasonable wages, it makes sense. That is his role at Man U. He has started 7 out of 26 league games this season and if we want to be competing around top 4 positions, someone like McTominay is not a first XI signing. Man U will see us as potentially direct rivals and therefore would not give us a good deal. I reckon this is all paper talk.

While there's some interesting quantitative data in the last two links, correlation doesn't prove causation. What they haven't considered is all the decisions not given, such as a non-award of a penalty or red card, which are just as vital. That's a huge thing to ignore when trying to determine home bias or any bias, but that is something which is of course impossible to analyse quantitatively. Likewise, the accuracy of decisions can't be objectively verified. It is always just an interpretation of the wording of the laws of the game and the incident itself. Take, for example, this line from your 2nd last link: "Lastly, we validated all VAR decisions by examining video recordings via youtube.de of the respective situations."

Agreed. Do we need a legal team in the VAR room next to pore over the meaning of every word in the rulebook? Common sense says 'instinctive' refers to situations where a ball is blasted and someone has a split second to respond, or it's pinball in the box and someone has reacted based on instinct and not made a conscious attempt to play or in this case clear the ball. There will be borderline cases but this isn't one. It's someone making a mess of a clearance after the ball has travelled 10 yards at a relatively slow speed.

If you let the first defender off, the focus then goes on to the second defender who also deliberately played the ball, so he certainly matters. The ball travels 10 yards to him at a slow speed. He should do far better.

Agree about simplifying rules, but then 'clear and obvious' was designed to be as simple as possible to understand, with the acceptance that there will always be borderline cases but that common sense prevails and fluid gameplay trumps guesswork. Yet we have situations where VAR are taking minutes and guessing with imprecise technology, and still deciding to rule out goals based on that guesswork, so I'm not sure complexity of rules is the issue here. At worst I think there may be a problem with integrity of some officials, and at best there is an issue with consistency, guesswork and not following their own rules and guidelines.

You are aware that a second player also deliberately cleared the ball? Seems you are focusing on the first sloppy clearance and not the second one which is beyond dispute. I don't think any amount of mental gymnastics can get VAR out of this one.

Which part of the rules are you referring to here? From what I can see it's pretty clear: A player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent who deliberately plays the ball, including by deliberate handball, is not considered to have gained an advantage, unless it was a deliberate save by any opponent. Not one but twice they deliberately cleared the ball.

That's a bad dive for me. His touch is a bit heavy and I think he's instinctively decided he's not getting to it before the angle is gone. Look at how he dangles his trailing leg along the floor in the hope that Pope will trip it. I can't see anything Pope has done there to cause him to fall.

No chance. Look at Liverpool's pen today. Brighton aren't getting that. VAR was brought in for a reason.

Watching Spurs 3-0 up on TV (thankfully) and their atmosphere and the digital 'goal' signs between every stand, I don't see how anyone can envy all that. It's really cheap and commercial looking and just cringe.

Disgraceful pen decision. 'Deliberate' will always be subjective but no one can argue that is a deliberate handball and keep a straight face.

Man U have been blagging some results lately but when people on here pointed it out, it was considered sour grapes after the final defeat. Leeds and Leicester carved them open again and again and Leicester in particular could have been a few up by half time. In both games Man U weathered the storm not through resolute defending but by opponents missing a load of chances. Man U finally punished both on the counter, which is their strength, but defensively, the warning signs have been there for a while. They looked tired at the end in the final and dropped deeper and deeper. Frustrating we couldn't take advantage. I wonder how much today is fatigue or simply repeating their Leeds and Leicester defending against a much more clinical team.

Absolutely. We played well today, and we were bloody unlucky. Questions about Howe's selections are fair, but he has earned that trust. It's certainly fair in my view to say the window was a missed opportunity, with the caveat that we will never know the finances of any club and can't trust public statements. It's a missed opportunity because Chelsea and Liverpool won't leave the door open next season. There will be disagreement over whether we should gamble while that door is open, or regret not taking that chance. There's no right or wrong answer to that, but many feel the squad weakened overall when it could've strengthened for the run-in.

Lifting? How about less straw man, less hysteria and more discussion.

Your opinion's boring as well. Some agree with you, and some don't. Caveats were already said so boring to repeat.

I'd say pick one and explain.

January was a massive missed opportunity. I think everyone knew that at the end of January. We can only assume there must be a financial reason why. Hindsight is easy but it was clear at the time it was a rare opportunity. Chelsea and Liverpool won't be this shit next season. They can and will throw massive money at the problem. Both already have.

Fair, but recently Wilson hasn't contributed much else besides missing his chances either. He hasn't held the ball up or run the channels in the way Isak did in the time he was on. I know rapid subs against tired defenders have that advantage, but the point stands that he was making positive contributions we'd lacked. If you're not holding it up, not running the channels and not playing others in then you need to be finishing. He needs a rest and Isak needs a run of games.