Big Geordie

Looks like we are gonna play on the counter, but am not hopeful. Crouch always scores against us - I can see Stoke going long and putting our back 4 under loads of pressure.

I can't see us getting owt today. I can see Saviet and Diame coming back in to the picture. Joselu will be up top again.

We haven't had a pen so far this season have we? 5Live doing their nut in about it. Shocker.

Dodgy pen to WBA

If Ashley bins Rafa - it's game over for me. Takeover will collapse too.,

Damning from .com; Premier League: Brighton peers?? Newcastle 0 Brighton 0 Newcastle's final game of 2017 saw them limp to a sterile draw with fellow-promotion side Brighton, as the home fans were "treated" to their first home point for ten weeks. This was United's first goalless draw since the blank at Birmingham City in March and the first in the Premier League since May 2016, also in Birmingham at Villa Park. Having beaten Brighton twice last season, it's difficult to see this as anything other than two points lost against a side that we should have far greater ambitions than. We clearly don't under this current regime and if Premier League survival means goalless draws against the likes of the Seagulls, then we really are in a desperate plight. Three successive blanks at home is the stuff of relegation certainties and quite where the three goals at West Ham came from seems to be something of a mystery. The tactics that day saw us going at the Hammers' defence in numbers but today's insipid showing - on our own patch - saw around the same number of efforts at goal as the Manchester City game. A Dwight Gayle penalty dive and header, plus a Rolando Aarons chip were all we had to show from that night and swap Aarons' effort for an Isaac Hayden shot and that's pretty much what we had again. With wins for Bournemouth and Swansea and Huddersfield's stalemate with Burnley, the result looks even worse - sitting 16th with 19 points from 21 games. Crystal Palace, West Ham and West Bromwich Albion all have a game in hand now, although they face top five sides. Monday's opponents, Stoke, were given a good five-goal thrashing by Chelsea but that seems likely to mean they will be facing us with Mark Hughes no longer their manager. Typical.

Rafa "We didn't play as well as we had wanted - but we did try to push forward more in the 2nd half. Doesn't know about incoming transfers - makes it difficult, so is concentrating on Stoke on Monday. Lack of creativity today, but we defended well and restricted Brighton. Wants players to be fresh for Stoke, hence making all of those changes against Man City" Hard to gauge his demeanor as I was listening on the radio.

The media and Ashley will love the anti-Rafa bandwagon now gaining further traction. Guess who wins again? The real enemy is the owner, who has dealt Rafa a really shitty hand, time and time again.

Caller on TS saying that Rafa isn't the man for the job. I'm still behind him. He needs the takeover to happen though.

Whole club is just so desperately devoid of confidence at the moment. Keep saying it, but this takeover is needing to be signed off ASAP. Rafa's options perhaps are so limited that he sets us up not to lose - first and foremost. Get the feeling that he is flogging a dead horse though.

Swansea winning,

A few boos at FT there. What an awful, awful game. Rafa's team selection has to be questioned today/ We line up with a 442 and again it doesn't work.

Murphy on for Joselu

Merino off - Shelvey on.

Ritchie off for Perez. Not sure how that is gonna work!

Darlow saves from Dunk.

This sounds all set for Brighton to bag a winner.

This sounds garbage. 442 works again. Ryan saves from Gayle.

Radio Gloucestershire on NUFC Audio?

what time does the live audio start on .co.uk, lads? Am logged in but nothing yet,

442 again - hope it work this time. Need good shifts from Hayden and Merino.

Squeaky 1-0 or 2-1 to us today, IMO. A defeat will be disasterous.

I think if the deal was going to fall apart, it would have done so by now - and Rafa would be on his bike. I'm still hopeful.

Express are running The Sun piece now. Mind, am nearly sure it's another Murdoch paper?

Good cameo from him tonight - looks really composed on the ball. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk