ohmelads

I don't necessarily think he's finished yet, just needs a change, but I don't think a team in our position can afford the risk. We haven't exactly had much luck taking cast-offs from the top teams (Geremi, Duff, Butt, Smith, Owen etc.). These players have generally turned up having already won plenty. Often they just don't have the hunger to scrap it out lower down the league. He'll benefit under a coach who plays everything through him, but it'd be a gamble to make him the main man. Someone mentioned Ibra, but Man Utd are totally set up to play to him and at times I've definitely felt it's held them back this season.

Well thank f*ck for that! Any result for us this weekend will extend the gap as time starts to run out for them. Hopefully their high pressing style will take its toll, as it finally did on teams like Spurs and Liverpool last season. I think both Klopp and Wagner have found a style that works but have to compensate for the fact that the UK doesn't have a 3 week winter break like in Germany. I say this with the benefit of hindsight of course, but look at how wrecked the likes of Kane and Alli were at the Euros, or the whole Spurs team against us on the final day of the season.

There you have it then, deluded fanbase I seem to recall the whole southern deluded stereotype came about when we were sh*t for so long and protested about it, and people believed we should accept it because we're not a big club and shouldn't aspire beyond sh*tness. Only 'big' clubs can do that. I think for many people it's the only way to explain why a club with no silverware for decades can achieve relatively huge attendances ("do they think they're gonna win the league or something"). We even had the same morons telling us Pardew and Ashley were good for the club at various times over the last decade. As soon as we show any sign of progress, if a single fan moans about a 3-1 home defeat then we're deluded because we've forgotten our place again. If people accepted that attitude, we'd have a half empty stadium... As for the one or two people (a tiny minority, it seems) suggesting we might have a higher points total without Rafa, I couldn't disagree more. Yes we've dropped a lot of points at home to some pretty poor sides (not including Fulham in that, before the deluded tag comes out) - but Rafa brought positivity and belief to the club at a time when we were in freefall. Belief not just for the fans, but players know who he is and they're far more likely to believe in his methods even when things don't go well. Rafa's earned that benefit of the doubt from players and fans over the course of his career - some managers will find it hard to keep players' faith after a few bad results. You only have to look at Villa and Norwich who both have some very good players at this level. I think Rafa's negative tactics reflect a lack of confidence in the squad he's got. He isn't perfect, and I think he needs to find a less rigid system at home. We're 7th in the home league table - there's nothing wrong with suggesting he needs to change something at home. I have faith he'll find a way, but the last two home games are cause for concern considering Huddersfield's form. He doesn't have a lot of options to change it around because looking at the squad, we're light on creative players. That should have been addressed in January.

Deluded about what exactly? I haven't read the whole thread, but from what I can see, most people are discussing tactics after a bad home defeat. Tbh I think it's pretty deluded for some to think you'd be in a better position if Rafa had left last summer. Got to say I know an awful lot of Newcastle supporters but not one who even remotely thinks that Was going to post the same thing til I saw your post. Who's saying this?

Deluded about what exactly? I haven't read the whole thread, but from what I can see, most people are discussing tactics after a bad home defeat.

I wonder who won him the two league titles in Spain with a club that wasn't one of the big 2? He didn't win it once which you could put down as a fluke but you don't usually fluke your way to two titles. I guess he could have treated the league season as a cup competition though. Won it with 70 something points twice. 1 of them Deportivo finished 2nd. Neither were flukes. But it just goes to show the best seasons in his career - his team still dropped a lot of points. He regularly got similar amount of points at Liverpool but that wasn't enough to win league titles. His best ever season in terms of points was at Liverpool which they lost against a very strong Man Utd side. Again you would say being too defensive at home cost them the league. Too many home draws. It's a pattern in his career. He's a fine manager but his teams have never dominated a league. Is there a manager who dominates a league ready to take the job? I'm not advocating that we can do better. I'm saying - rafa making harder work of this league than we might have imagined isn't an indication he's not still a top manager or we should be worried long-term. It's actually consistent in his career. It's not his style to steamroller any division. Another Championship manager could do a better job in this division imo. But medium/long term? He's the best man for sure. Another championship manager like Steve Bruce? Or Alex Neil? Norwich and Villa fans would happily swap places with you right now. At the season's start, I thought Norwich had a stronger side than you and were better suited to the Champo, fwiw. But really, who? Gary Monk? I think some of you forget how on your arse you were when you went down and how downright godawful, p*ss-stinking, laughing-stock s*** you've been for more than a decade. And that's not even considering the off the field fuckery. You could easily be where Villa are now, with 30,000 every week moaning their arse off, in absolute pieces. In fact I'll stick my neck out and say that if you hadn't got Rafa, and if he hadn't got you a couple of good players like Clark and Ritchie and others, you'd be absolutely Freddie f***ed right now. While I agree we'd probably be f***ed without Rafa, the rest of your post makes it sound like people have been blissfully unaware that our club was a mess, when in fact there's been years and years of fan unrest since long before the last time we went down. You only have to look at the fans' reaction to Rafa's arrival and continuing support for him up and down the country to see that you're referring to a tiny minority of fans on the internet. He's the right man and we're lucky to have him, but whoever is the manager, fans will vent after seeing their team get outplayed at home by a team further down the table. This is true at any club.

Seems like complacency has set in since the Huddersfield game. I hope this is the kick up the arse the players need. Rafa needs to rethink his tactics for home games. Maybe all the fans are right about playing 2 up front at home. We're 7th in the home table. Gayle needs space to run into, which he won't get at home. If teams sit back and counter, it's an opportunity for a bigger striker to win aerial balls close to goal and cause problems.

Are you serious? Meunier slips infront of Neymar bringing him down. It's as clear as it get ffs. ''You can't exactly argue you were tripped by someone's head'' One of the dumbest things ever posted on this forum. Come off it man. I've no idea why you're so upset that someone thinks Neymar dived (which he did). Surely he wouldn't do such a thing?! Considering your username I'll assume there's just a strong element of bias here.

What a turnaround, but it's not a good advert for the game. Neither are penalties, and with a stronger ref Neymar and Suarez are looking at 2 yellows each for diving. Flinging yourself to the floor the moment you feel contact doesn't constitute a penalty, and you can't exactly argue you were tripped by someone's head. I thought the ref was going to book Neymar, but his assistant who is even further away advises a pen and the ref overturns the decision. It's comedy refereeing, unless you're a PSG fan. If the intent is to con the ref then you should be booked. The Nou Camp, the big crowd and the occasion - I think the ref's completely bottled it.

Can see a very tight game, both teams will see it as a must-not-lose and set themselves up accordingly. I honestly think both sides would take a draw.

We simply can't afford to risk our best players because we will drop points if they're out. We're a couple players short, Rafa knows this. If we'd got them in we might have seen a stronger side but since they haven't arrived, he's not going to gamble promotion on getting to the 5th round. Some people here seem very relaxed about promotion and squad depth but the period without Shelvey was quite alarming (if unsurprising) and we are only one injury away from a return to that.

Team selection speaks volumes about how Rafa feels about the current season and our squad. If signings had been made I don't think he would have done this.

If Shelvey/Ritchie aren't injured, I'm confident we'll go up. If they are, we'll drop points, pressure will be on and I reckon it could get tight. We have to weigh up the risk of being lumbered with a player for years who isn't Prem quality and we can't shift him but he helped us to promotion, and the risk of not getting promoted.

Would like to see us sign a young understudy to Shelvey, someone who may have the potential to play in the Premier League but would be happy to start off as a bench player at a club on the up. One advantage of us playing at this level is that we can blood youth at a lower level than the Prem and integrate them that way. Notice a lot of Prem teams have to loan their youngsters to these divisions because the stakes are so high that they can't afford to risk untried talent at the highest level. Teams like Man Utd and Arsenal do take a chance on youth but they can bring them in when games are wrapped up or against teams they expect to beat, a luxury most Prem teams don't have if they're trying to keep their heads above water and expect a tough game. We should only be chasing loan deals with an option to sign, otherwise why not just buy our own. I can't name names because I don't follow the lower leagues that closely, but there must be some young Lascelles, Darlow, Richie and Gayle type players out there whoare worth a punt and who may or may not make it in the Premier League, but will help us get there.

It's probably our brinkmanship tactics which is how we've generally operated under Ashley. Paid off with deals like Sissoko and Carroll, but has cost us dear ending transfer windows without what we need. The philosohpy seems to be we either get a good deal or nothing at all. It's one of the reasons we are where we are - we are prepared to walk away and take the gamble.

Of all our summer exits, his was the most disappointing. I was in two minds when he left. It hurt because he was the one player I didn't want us to lose at the time - he'd been one of our best players and had given his all. Having signed so recently in January and having waited his whole career to get a run, he seemed to have found a home and I genuinely thought he might stay on. Once a Premier League club came in and triggered the release clause though, I'd say most players would have left too. Townsend made a dumb decision to go to Pardew's Palace and we all knew it at the time. They'd been statistically the worst team in England all year. You'd think he surely knows he made the wrong decision now. Rejecting him out of stubborn pride would be cutting our nose off to spite our face. He didn't down tools like Cabaye or whore himself around like Sissoko or act unprofessionally in any way - he was simply offered an opportunity for a club in a higher division and took it. If we have an opportunity to sign him, it's a no brainer. He's shown he can follow Rafa's instructions and fit very well into his system at Premier League level. It's as low-risk a signing as we are going to get and we don't exactly have a string of deals lined up for Premier League-ready players.

Nothing to worry about man. Haha well timed!

Let's not kid ourselves. The squad is seriously short on creativity despite being big on numbers. One or two injuries to key personnel will kill us. It sounds cliched but complacency is what will stop us going up. We need signings.

They will, same for Cairney, Wilson and the other names. I can't see us paying what they'll cost. It's loans or bust I reckon.

If we want a Premier League-ready player we're gonna have to pay Premier League prices. Plus a January premium, because who wants to sell a key player in such a tough market? Loan deals sound far more likely and make more sense in our situation. Problem is clubs won't be keen to loan out decent players til they know they can afford to at the end of the window, and that doesn't leave us much time if we miss out.

No one's saying everything's bad... that's like my saying it's mental how complacent everyone is. It's difficult to judge what sort of position we're actually in because the only time our squad's been tested it has come up short. Our recent run without Shelvey is not some sort of unfortunate coincidence. We're at the halfway point and hold a slender lead over the playoff sides. During that time we've been fortunate with injuries and we lose 2 of our only 'creative' players for quite a while. Of course there's a lot riding on this transfer window.

It's gonna be hard to get the right players in January, this really should have been sorted in summer. I do think with Shelvey back after the Brentford game that we need to focus on getting the right players in rather than rushing to get anyone. There are plenty cloggers who've played years in the Prem but might not shine at this level - look at Colback. Saying that, we've known the squad was short on creativity from the moment the window closed, so the fact nothing has happened suggests we've either failed in our attempts or are hoping we can pick up what's available as players move at the end of the window. Plenty time in the window left but looking at our current form, I'm not sure the current squad would finish 2nd, especially considering we've been quite lucky with injuries (by our usual standards). This window will make or break the season as recent form without Shelvey has shown.

Wouldn't give up on him after a handful of games. As others have said, De Gea took a while. Depending on Elliott's condition, I think a loan move for Sels would be the best option.

Transfer window will make or break the season. We only use 1 striker and we only play one way. Teams have figured out that if they sit deep and deny Gayle space, they have a chance off set pieces, especially with Colback giving away cheap free kicks all the time.

I believe one of the reasons we struggle at home is the lack of physical presence up front. Gayle's been a revelation this season, don't get me wrong, but when teams sit deep and deny space in behind, they leave themselves vulnerable to crosses into the box. That's exactly where players like Mitro thrive, playing closer to goal where their lack of pace isn't an issue because they don't need to get onto through balls. I still suspect something has gone on behind the scenes with Mitrovic, because he has been decent when he's had the chance and has done well with Serbia. 10 minutes here and there isn't giving him any chance. We were crying out for him yesterday. Rafa got the team lineup wrong but the bigger issue was that he didn't react to the unfolding problems. Yes the referee was ridiculous at times and gave Gayle no protection but you will get refs like this. We can't blame Sheff Wed because all teams do as much as they can get away with, especially away to the league leaders. They were happy to concede countless set pieces because it slowed the game down and we weren't a threat off them. In that kind of game we need to be equally aggressive - why let yourselves be bullied? We shouldn't normally get drawn into that kind of game but if the ref offers no protection than you have to. It's a problem Arsenal have often had over the years (not comparing us to Arsenal btw). Mitrovic would have offered more than Gayle who was just cleaned out whenever the ball came near him. Most refs won't stand for that level of persistent fouling but some will and there has to be a plan B to deal with it. Rafa's lineup was wrong in hindsight - yes a case could be made for minimal changes to a winning team - but two defensive wingers and two defensive full backs at home when you've lost your only creative player doesn't suggest a clear game plan. Good managers learn from games like this and I think Rafa will ring the changes. Clearly we have to find another way to hurt teams without Shelvey. I also think he has to bring Mitro into the fold in these home games. Hopefully this will serve as a timely reminder that we're one or two quality midfielders short.