midds

Time to work on the shape/basics on the training ground and rest predominantly

This is fucking garbage like. With 3 weeks off to prepare I was expecting a lot better than this dogshit

And that is why no fucker should bet on games immediately after an international break

It's just an article that (probably) millions of football fans will read at some point. I didn't write it mate

First and possibly biggest domino that we signed all those years ago. Immediately raised the bar on the field and in the dressing-room to a ridiculous extent that I'm certain him signing convinced others to join and it set the dominoes in motion. Class player and looked like one of the best RBs in the PL (maybe in Europe) for a couple of seasons until his age caught up with him eventually, it's the right time to go and see out the November and December of his career but I've got a feeling he'll be back once he hangs up his boots as a coach. Top player and the best RB and captain I think I've ever seen in black and white

Even when the fixture list was revealed last summer, it was perhaps predictable that the middle of March would represent the crisis point for Newcastle. If they had reached the Champions League quarter-finals and won the Tyne-Wear derby at St James’ Park, a lot of other frustrations could have been forgotten. Even better, that game against Sunderland would have had to be postponed had Newcastle reached a third Carabao Cup final since 2023. Those days of celebration a year ago feel a long time ago now, but the mood could easily have been very different. Newcastle were the better side in the home leg against Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League. Only the concession of a daft late penalty denied them victory and they were a persistent threat on the break in the first half of the away leg. Only in the second half of the second leg did the game get away from them: a 7-2 defeat made the difference between the sides seem much greater than it actually was. Eddie Howe faces seven-game test to secure Newcastle job for next season The derby, similarly, might easily have been won. Newcastle led at half-time and had hit a post. But they have the fifth-worst second-half record of any Premier League side this season, raising questions about their fitness. Sunderland came back, Brian Brobbey’s winner resulting from a straightforward pass from Granit Xhaka. There are not many similarities between Hansi Flick’s Barça and Régis Le Bris’s Sunderland but both capitalised on surprising space in the Newcastle midfield late in the game. And so a season that had teetered on the brink toppled into frustration. There is serious talk Eddie Howe could be under pressure. Certainly the chief executive, David Hopkinson, did not offer any great endorsement of Howe this week. With the opportunity to back him, Hopkinson said only that “we’ll talk about the future when it’s time”, which sounded distinctly ominous. Howe arrived in November 2021, a month after the Saudi-led buyout of Mike Ashley’s ownership. He has earnestly and politely led the club into the Public Investment Fund era, largely evading inconvenient talk about human rights. He has twice led Newcastle into the Champions League. Most gloriously of all, he led them to the Carabao Cup, their first domestic trophy in 70 years. Nobody was suggesting he should be sacked at this point last season. However, the question is less about on-pitch performance than structures at the club. Most of what has gone wrong this season can be put down to poor recruitment, and Howe had a significant hand in that. In the absence of a sporting director, Howe’s nephew, Andy Howe, worked with Steve Nickson on first-team recruitment last summer. The Alexander Isak sale was handled remarkably badly. The saga was allowed to dominate the summer and, when the forward left at the end of the window, it felt like a defeat. With the Swede so determined to leave, the better option, surely, would have been to drive the fee as high as possible and wave him off, with enough time to spend some of the proceeds on broader squad-strengthening. Perhaps it was never possible, but a more imaginative hierarchy could at least have tried arranging a deal to let Liverpool have Isak in return for them giving Newcastle a clear run at Hugo Ekitiké. Newcastle were unfortunate Yoane Wissa was injured soon after joining, but they signed Nick Woltemade without really seeming to have a clear idea of what they were going to do with a player with an unorthodox range of attributes. Anthony Elanga and Jacob Ramsey have had a limited impact, meaning that, at this stage, only Malick Thiaw of the summer signings can be hailed as a success. As a consequence, the squad has lacked the requisite depth for the extra demands of the Champions League, plus a run to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup and the fifth round of the FA Cup. If Newcastle have looked tired, as they have frequently in second halves, it is hardly surprising. The question then is why and that comes down to broader structures. There wasn’t much Newcastle could do about Dan Ashworth’s departure for Manchester United. But Paul Mitchell, his successor as sporting director, became disillusioned and it was his departure that led to the vacuum of the summer. Mitchell was unimpressed with the club ownership, but had also reportedly clashed with Howe over player conditioning. Ross Wilson arrived as sporting director in October, with Howe’s approval, but he faces significant challenges even beyond suggestions that the decision-making process among the Newcastle ownership is not as slick as it should be. Although the club insist the decision to sell the stadium to a subsidiary is merely a streamlining of bureaucracy, finances have come under sufficient strain that Newcastle are facing a Uefa fine for 2025. The sale of Isak and the return to the Champions League should ease the pressure, while the switch from profitability and sustainability regulations to an unanchored squad cost ratio should benefit owners with the deepest pockets, but it remains unclear just how committed the PIF is, given the general Saudi retrenchment. Talk of a new stadium has been notable by its absence for almost a year now. That declining interest itself may have protected Howe from scrutiny. Hopkinson’s description of Newcastle not as a selling club or a buying club, but as a trading club, seems realistic, but there was also a sense he was preparing fans for a departure, with Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Tino Livramento those perhaps most likely to be on their way. Which is to say that even if economic conditions are softening, Newcastle may not be inclined to take advantage and the probable absence of Champions League football next season resets the parameters. The underlying issue, though, is how Newcastle is run and the degree of influence Howe has accrued in the absence of a clearly defined hierarchy. In terms of on-field considerations, there is little reason to replace him and without the strain of European football form is likely to improve anyway. But if Newcastle are serious about changing the culture at the club, at becoming a serious modern organisation, it may be that Howe’s departure is a necessary part of their restructuring. Quick and dirty paste

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/apr/04/newcastle-eddie-howe-join-exodus This is exactly the type of shit that the CEO's remarks stoke up. Such a careless choice of words and this won't be the last piece like this. Not dismissing all of the things he's saying but the timing of it is hardly beneficial or coincidental

Aye they counting Houllier's time in the job share with Roy Evans too though? What a weird set up that was looking back, 2 managers with different styles running the same team. Very odd

Where does it say that?

Poor choice of words from Hopkinson and it's invited unnecessary speculation from all and sundry which isn't ideal. Any post-mortem - and there 100% needs to be one after a pretty dismal season imo - needed to be done at the end of the season and not with 7 games to go. He's, maybe inadvertently, opened the window into what they're thinking when the public message should have been expressing disappointment about how the season has panned out with 100% loyalty to the boss for the rest of the games - even if they do have doubts you don't express them publically and it's kept in house. He could have used his words with more tact and got a much better and more positive message out there but he's chosen not to for some reason? Or he's just blurted it out and it's been misinterpreted? Either way we've got loads of time for this to build up into something it never needed to be in the first place The dopey cunt

Holy shit. When I heard they'd binned Tudor I automatically assumed they'd already spent the week lining someone up. The fact there's speculation on 3 or 4 names at this point is ridiculous, you don't bullet him after a week without a name, I refuse to believe that, even Spurs aren't that fucking thick

The derby result was always going to amplify the mood either way though and impact the rest of this season. Had we won it (on the back of beating Chelsea and ManU) then I'd genuinely have backed us to perhaps pinch 6th. As it is we collapsed in the second half and the natural negativity has also been amplified too. Personally I've already written the season off and think we'll finish about 10th and miss out on Europe altogether. The mood will be pretty vile and the derby results are the overriding reason why imo

Clearly waited exactly a week and have said 'mutual consent' so they don't look like the cunts they are for sacking him the day after his dad died. Fuck knows which schmuck walks into that relegation fight with those cowardly, mercenary arseholes

Convinced that watching England friendlies is the most joyless, dull and turgid way to watch this sport. They're always relentlessly boring and pointless exercises that no fucker enjoys - players, fans, managers, neutrals - everyone seems to hate the entire experience

Yesterday's second half was the worst second half we've played since Wednesday night

Not sure about the before/after HT thing but we definitely fade really badly towards the end of each half. 28 conceded in the last thirds of halves compared to 17 in the other 60 mins. That's alarming

Maybe he'd done it before and Disco dealt with it at the time?

Some utter horror-shows in that lot too. Been an absolutely honking league season. Bounced out of all 3 cups within a few weeks and lose home and away to Sunderland. Season can't end soon enough, completely fed up and sick of watching us play so poorly so often and surrender and eventually lose in similar fashions Just 3 clean sheets in the league since the start of October is pitiful

On the contrary, I don't want to hear a single word from any of them. I saw exactly what happened with my own eyes, their apologies and rallying calls mean absolutely nothing if you've just been dicked at home despite taking the lead yet again. Insincere, meaningless drivel I don't want to see or hear

I think he's going to struggle to get/keep a sizeable chunk of the fans back after that disaster today. Yet again he's been badly let down by some shocking players just not doing the basics, the passing was shit, they picked up every loose ball and kept it better too. We just stood off them and watched them knock it about at will. What Howe needs to worry about is this repeated and conscious way of managing games. We were gifted a goal, had a platform to build something and get the second. But yet again we backed off, dropped the tempo, conceded time and space whilst simultaneously having gaps all over the place and losing our shape. They step it up, gain confidence and we start to tire. Howe watches it all happen, doesn't change anything, they inevitably score and then he reacts. It's all too familiar and I find it ridiculous to say it's bad luck or just one of those days, it's clearly not when it's happened dozens of times. To lose like that yet again to that lot will be the final straw for thousands of fans. It was the one game he couldn't afford to have history repeating itself and it's exactly what has happened. Not sure he can put it right, change his way of managing or get the fans back now, it's all too familiar at this point, we all saw it coming from about the 32nd minute - including Howe. His players have let him down again but he's the bloke in charge, I'd love to know what he says at half time too

Long overdue a performance against these cunts, it's been over a decade since we actually showed up and displayed a bit of intention and drive, especially at home. Absolutely no excuse for not wading into these from the first whistle considering the abject surrender in October. Start quick, get in front, draw them out and then keep pounding them. 3 weeks off after the game, no excuses to leave anything in the tank, empty the fucking lot on them tomorrow

We got dicked in the second half of the second leg, it happens. Fair play they clicked and ran the score up a bit but there's no goal difference in the cups, it's not nice to ship 7 but it's not like it's a regular thing, it happens once a decade. They won, we're out we all move on, it's now history

Can't see any reason to do a deep dive and post-mortem into this tonight. We got spanked by a team far better than us who clearly pulled their socks up at HT and stepped it up to a level we're not capable of competing at. The second half got a bit out of hand but they're better than us and deservedly knocked us the fuck out of the CL. We're still in one piece and have the league to compete for now. There needs to be a inner burning going on in the guts of each player now to put it right and it needs to start on Sunday. Take it all out on those cunts down the road, need to nail those arseholes to the fucking wall on Sunday afternoon. No excuses

They came out in the second half and went through gears we simply don't possess. We didn't cover ourselves in glory with how we played in the second half but they're quality going forward and if you give them time and space then you're going to get fucking whipped. Thats exactly what's happened tonight, we've had our bare arse handed to us on a plate by a far superior team. We just need to take it on the chin, learn lessons and move on. It's been a horrific night, no need to start slagging players or managers, it happens, it's brutal but accept it and move on. It's only one game

Rosenior isn't seeing the weekend. He's getting binned tomorrow, PSG aren't even in second gear and they're toying with this Chelsea team