Kasper

There's something quite Trump like in him. Big baby who throws his toys out quickly. Just imagine him using Twitter.

Let's just list everyones diseases and illnesses and whoever has the worst does it. If it ends up being someone with herpes then so be it.

Green light to bid 50% of asking price.

Expecting him to join another club on loan before the window closes.

So they just decided to play that way or Swansea forced us into playing that way then is that it? I was there and saw Rafa telling the players to keep it, Lascelles telling the keeper to keep a hold of it, Rafa instructing Perez to go deeper. As soon as the whistle went we dropped back deeper and stopped pressing. Again this isn’t a one off, we usually start that way at home, only we started that way second half this time. It’s s if because we didn’t score first half Rafa decided a different approach. Again this sums up Rafa. He didn’t trust the team to keep going in the same vein and getting reward so decided he’d try a different way, a way which let Swansea back into it and to take the lead. Then he had to make a change which did work, but by then it was a case of oh well, a point is better than a loss. He didn't trust them to keep going the same way? What are you on about? We played a very compact shape first half and they never looked like scoring from anything other than a set piece. The argument that Rafa wanted to make us more defensive after half time is just mind bogglingly stupid.

You cannot be serious. We were the total opposite in the second half man. You say Swansea forced that. Bull shit. They didn’t and even if they did we did fuck all to counter it and were happy to sit in there and contain and protect. Either way it was bull shit nonsense at home to a worse side than us who again wee wasting time from minute one happy to get a point. This sums up their adventure. 45 minutes they get a corner and they take an absolute age to take it. There was little chance of us breaking from it but they didn’t want to just send it in and take a chance. They couldn’t wait for that whistle. WE invited them back into the game by dropping off, not pressing and launching it long. Basically the opposite to what we did in the first half where we carved the, open, they couldn’t get out and we created chance almost after chance or opportunities. You're talking complete crap man. They had lots of posession in the first half. Actually they had more in the first half than second. Almost all our chances in the first half came from them just passing it around and eventually making a mistake. It wasnt a relentless pressure you're describing at all. We were patient, waiting for the chance to win the ball and going direct when we did. Nothing changed in our tactical approach.

Just wake up for a minute and think. Why on earth would Rafa tell them to stop playing the way they did first half? Swansea wasn't dangerous at all, there was no need to change to a more defensive approach. If you're argument is that Rafa would settle for a point then we could've played the same way we did first half. We were very compact already. You're argument is that Rafa is a complete moron. Why do you think he made these "changes"? Quotes because it didnt happen.

I'll watch the start of the second half later again but I'd bet decent money that we're not any deeper by default. Obviously you're pushed back if you keep loosing the ball and opposition finds space in your defense and manages to keep posession. I think you're just very wrong on this one.

There is going for it and going gun ho. No one expects us to go all out attack. But there should be a balance. Second half we literally dropped back and conceded territory, possession and the game to them and when we did equalise the game was begging out for us to go back at them and bury them and we didn’t. I’m of the opinion that someone like Hughton for example would have us doing just as well (or bad whatever way you want to look at it) with the same players, but we’d play better football and not be so negative, especially at home. Now that’s not me saying I’d swap Rafa for Hughton before anyone starts or that I think Rafa is shit. I just don’t buy into this whole we have to play this way because the players are crap. First half we did everything but score. Why couldn’t we play the same way in the second half? You cannot say because we don’t have the players or if we did we’d get beat. We actually conceded and looked like losing by playing the opposite to how we played in the first half. We were not all out attacking or gung ho on the first half, we were on the front foot though and caused them problems and again, did everything but score. Such tactics have cost us at home dearly and if we go down, we can look at that as one of the main reasons. Like someone just said in the match thread: Do you think Newcastle is alone on the pitch? There's this other team there who can change things and improve their game. We were dropping back first half as well. It was clearly a plan to get some space behind their defense and use our fast players to get there when we won the ball. Maybe they changed something that made it harder for us. I don't know. But clearly it isnt as simple as "why couldnt the second half be like the first".

Yeah. Spot on.

I'd love to see what would happen if Rafa would encourage this lot to "express themselves" Well we all know it'd be a massacre, and not the good kind. What Rafa is doing right now is absolutely spot on and the only realistic way for us to survive. All these cries for attacking football or "going for it" really frustrate me. We aren't good enough to take care of the ball. We make a lot of easy mistakes controlling the ball or passing the ball. If lose your shape and make that mistake in transition several times a match then you're always looking like conceding. The shape and rigidness is what's keeping us a live and covering for those mistakes.

I agree that Murphy should've played but slightly disagree with "going for it". Our squad clearly isnt good enough to be trusted with that attitude. We almost lost it at the end by committing players forward, luckily Bony didn't even have a look before shooting. We're a complete mess defensively when we fail to keep a tight shape and game goes in the "end to end" fashion. The whole thing is based on team structure that tries to hide the weakness of the individuals, lose that even a little bit and everything falls apart. I guess percentage wise it comes down to how much you value a point in this game vs how likely we're to win/draw/lose by "going for it".

I didnt think there was anything wrong with our approach. Invited them a little bit forward, robbed the ball and hit them. Our approach was what delivered us a lot of chances but we couldn't finish anything.

More than enough chances to win that by a couple of goals.

Predator. What a sub.

Oh dear how bad Gayle is

I dont want to jinx it but Dummett’s passing has been brilliant.

As much deserved shit the local press gets I'm fairly sure when they are actually close to an announcement it's gonna come out through the press.

And now just imagine how Rafa feels

I changed my vote.

My understanding is that they buy shares back all the time.

Double bump.

PCP Capital Partners company status Dissolved it says on there lol. Just seen that. Doesn't bode well! Dissolved in January 2014. This makes me very worried.

I might be a bit stupid but how does not spending money on the transfer window maximse Ashley's profits? It's not like he's spending his own money. Money spent by the club might be deducted from the sale price. It's a big gamble though. Doesn't the money just turns into club assets? Yes, but it's not a 100% correlation. Wages and depreciation until summer would shave off a few million. Plus the prospective owner might make a different (lower) valuation of those new assets. Sure. But considering our situation surely those assets would decrease any risk factors in the investment (as in relegation).

So no progress at all after 2 months, Ashley happy to gamble as always This isn't just down to Ashley though. His reported compromised asking price seems reasonable. You wouldn't take a low ball offer on your house after you've dropped it to a reasonable price... Dont see why he should go any lower. I want him out as much as the next man but we've got to be realistic on what he's going to accept. Total mess and jeopardising our ability to remain in the league. £50m and we could be set back years and years after a 3rd relegation. Seems really cheap and shortsighted to me from the prospective owners. Of course if it's true. Could still be all done, could still be all bollocks and we're being taken for a ride. The offer reflects the current amount of uncertainty regarding our future and considering the complete lack of investment from Ashley and the amount of investment required for us to fulfil our potential seems fair to me at least. Yet the price would drop should we invest? Not a great scenario for Mike.