macphisto

Worth mentioning the the impact of the world cup next season. That could seriously distort the league. Will those teams with few players in Qatar/latter stages of the tournament have a big advantage? A real unknown.

Hall had planning permission for the training ground at Woolsington in the past. It might have lapsed but there was no problems securing it back then.

He hasn't got a great attitude on the pitch where he hasn't put in the hard work. The Man U fans on their forum would certainly disagree too.

We see football slightly differently as in my view most of the players above were either never originally tipped as being that great when they were young (Lingard, Huth), their drop in form wasn't anything like Rashford (Cole, Modric) or they didn't exactly hit the heights when they recovered their form (Shaw, Lingard again, Zaha).

I would say not being a regular in this Man U team is a catastrophic failure as they are terrible in relation to where they have been in the past. He's only scored 4 goals and has 2 assists. Regardless of the problems at Man U, at this stage of his career he should be doing more than enough to be starting for the team and contributing more than he has. Stats wise, apart from 2019/20 and how bad he has been this season, his goals and assists have not significantly improved since he came onto the scene. To widen the discussion, I had a look at the youngest players to play for England. A good few of them burst on the scene, went downhill and none of them went onto fulfil their potential (I am only talking about the ones who had a big drop in form); looking at the list, in most cases making an England debut as youngster is a bad omen! Not a flair player but the only one who stood out to me was Gareth Barry as someone who was highly regarded as a youngster, middle years were not great and then was well thought of again in the latter years of his career.

As I said above, not making excuses but changing countries can often account for changes in form, both up and down. Can you think of anyone who only played in one league who went on to fulfil their potential after a drop in form like Rashford?

I'm not making excuses but with Forlan and others, for example Jon Dahl Tomasson, some are just not suited to certain leagues so changing countries can sometimes account for a drop in form and it is not too surprising they recover when they move to a different league. Vary rare for a player to been as the "next best thing" like Rashford (he made his England debut in 2016), have a dramatic dip and then recover all in the same league. Andy Cole was mentioned, but he went from roughly one goal in every three games at Man U initially to one in every two games after a few seasons so stats wise he wasn't doing that bad when he went through a low. I really can't think of anyone.

I wouldn't think so for ASM or Shelvey as I can't see Ashley/Justin Barnes allowing those type of clauses. The only issue with ASM is that I would think when he signed that "informally" he expected to have moved on by now or been sold in the summer under Ashley where he would have received a signing-on bonus and increased wages from his new club. I'm sure players signed for us under Ashley with the understanding that we would offer them a platform to perform in the PL and would happily let them move on as long as we maid a profit on the transfer fee.

I hear what you're saying but he should still be putting in more of a shift in my opinion. I don't mind him being poor but it's more the lack of effort I find a concern. Look at Joelinton before Howe or further back Shearer, under Gullit, they still put in a shift even if they were out of form/out of position/problems with a manager. Genuine question, can you think of any players in the past, similar to Rashford, who were seen as a top young player, had a big dip, and then went on to be a top player? I'm not trying to be clever asking that question, I just can't think of anyone off the top of my head.

His work ethic this season is what I find most concerning. Players can be out of form but he's just not trying which is a real concern for a local lad who came through the ranks.

I would not want Rashford anywhere near the club but if he did come then I'd want his salary highly performance related.

The idea we're not going to go much above a wage structure set by Mike Ashley is baffling. With regards to Bruno, we've no idea what his salary is or what he received as a signing-on fee; there may also be other ways to pay someone, for example family members. But lets not kid ourselves, a Brazilian international isn't going to come to Newcastle when relegation was a real threat unless he's getting very well paid. He knows he would have had other clubs to choose from this summer.

I agree about a manager not having too much power but I would say that's where the importance of a Director of Football comes in as they set the philosophy for the club to follow and appoint appropriate managers to fulfil that philosophy. I guess the crucial question for the future is how rigid will the club's philosophy be in regards to appointing managers? With respect to signing players, I like the idea that Liverpool follow in having a transfer committee where in our case it would possibly be Howe, Ashworth, scouting team and the data team. Reading what you've said above, I don't think we're miles apart in our view but my emphasis is not on "Targett out" as he's not our player but rather "Targett in" at the expense of a player more suited to Howe's style of play. If he is suited to Howe's style of play then great, I have no issues at all. I would imagine Howe and Ashworth are not far apart in their views. We will undoubtedly make mistakes in the transfer market and but based on the club's pragmatism and business in January together with Ashworth's input I am sure we will avoid the mistakes that Everton made. A few months back, Staveley and Ghodoussi went to look around Man City and I am sure they must have discussed the mistakes City experienced in their first few years and also the importance of having a strong infrastructure in place.

And? This whole discussion was started earlier on by someone mentioning the Waugh article today in the Athletic which stated Targett might not be the automatic signing that everyone assumes as Howe likes attacking fullbacks. If that is what Howe is looking for then I'd fully back him in looking elsewhere as Targett is not an attacking fullback which his time at Villa and with us illustrates. I have no problem with Targett as a defender, all I have said is that Howe should buy the player best suited to his system. I'm pleased you mention Everton as that is exactly the model people are advocating we follow if you buy players who are not suited to the style of play a manager wants to implement. If Howe sees Targett as his type of player then great, I'd be all for that. If he is not his type of player then move on to someone else. It would be crazy to buy a player not suited to your style of play no matter how good they are, that is where Everton, Man U and PSG have gone wrong in the past.

You know I was on about developing players, you're just being pedantic brining European qualification into it. What I meant is his priority with regards to developing players should be those three as they are the ones where the jury is out but all have the potential to fit into Howe's future plans and style of play.

I'm not going to start suggesting players as I don't know enough about the European markets (if you had asked me in January about midfielders then I would never of suggested Bruno) but I would say Howe views it as a crucial position in the team as we did bid for Digne and Gosens in January, French and German internationals. I have no doubt there will be plenty of other players out there who offer more going forward than Targett; whether they are as good defensively may be a trade-off Howe is willing to make. Regarding the last sentence, I'm not sure what point you're trying to make? I inferred TAA is not a great defender by saying Targett is better defensively. I'd also like to think that after this summer we will not be defending 60% of the time next season.

Based on this rationale then you wouldn't sign the equivalent of Trent Alexander-Arnold at left back if there was one available? I'd say Targett is better defensively than TAA.

If he is not what Howe is looking for then you are essentially espousing a philosophy of putting individual players before the system of play which almost inevitably leads to dysfunctional clubs (Everton, Man U, PSG). Yes, Targett is a great defender but he offers little going forward, you can't get away from his stats. I would much rather have a player who is not as solid a defender but offers more going forward if he fits more into Howe's style of play (the system of play is more important than any player). That way the club gets used to a style of play and when we do upgrade, we are only upgrading the player and not upgrading the player and changing the style of play at the same time. To be fair to Howe, his priority next season should be developing Willock, Joelinton and ASM and seeing if they can be incorporated into his system of play in the future. Essentially we already have enough players who need to adapt to what Howe is after without buying new players unsuited to his style of play (if that applies to Targett). @greydos We don't need to be afraid of the top six if we had more of an attacking fullback, only the top two. Take away Man City and Liverpool and I would fancy our chances against any of the other teams next season, particularly at home.

He hasn't scored or had an assist in 11 matches for us. Villa 2019/20= 28 matches, 1 goal, 2 assists Villa 2020/21= 38 matches, 0 goals, 2 assists Villa 2021/22= 17 matches, 1 goal, 1 assist Those figures tell you why he's available for £15 million. Good defender but offers little going forward.

It's not about the level of player but more type. Do you buy a player that is not the type you're looking for? This is not about Targett as such but more the principle of buying players to fit a system. If there is someone out there more suited to what Howe is looking for then it would not make sense to buy Targett; that is if Targett isn't the type of fullback Howe's looking for. The next few years are going to be so crucial to embedding a style of play in the team and it looks like fullbacks are going to be crucial in Howe's style of play.

All true but that doesn't change the fact Howe might be after a different type of full back. Targett has played every game apart from Villa and he hasn't scored a goal or had an assist. Some managers would be happy with that if the player is defensively sound whilst others would prefer more of an attacking threat at the cost of the odd defensive lapses. In all fairness to Targett we don't know his instructions, maybe he's been told to hold back because of ASM. I am convinced that if ASM left this summer then we wouldn't sign Targett.

But if you look at a lot of the top teams, the creativity and attacking play often comes from the fullbacks, Liverpool the prime example. The Hendersons of this world are there to allow the fullbacks to bomb forward. I agree about the balance of players but if Howe sees attacking fullbacks as key players in his system then I can see why he might look elsewhere. Maybe Howe wants the solid players in other areas of the team. I do think people are underestimating Henderson, he's several levels above Targett. He's not the most glamorous player but look at his England caps, player of the year, captain of Liverpool (after Gerrard), etc. As I say, happy for Targett to stay but if it is key attacking position for Howe then I can understand him looking elsewhere.

Target is a good player and I wouldn't be against him staying. At the same time he's not the same quality as Bruno or Trippier as a player. Now with the threat of relegation banished, I would fully understand if the club went for a policy of only buying players of a certain quality or potential. Quality over quantity would fit with the notion of evolution over revolution.

In the article, Waugh highlights the importance of attacking fullbacks for Howe. That's why we were after Gosens and Digne in January; they want the same attacking quality of Trippier on the other flank. A lot will depend on ASM staying at the club. If he stays then Howe might opt for Targett as they would need a more defensive minded player. Exciting times whatever happens and I trust the club if they look elsewhere. It shows as well that the clubs ambitions for this summer are higher than a lot of people think.

I wonder if he posted that from The Raby?