Beren

They've played him better than most, unfortunately. Still back him second half mind you.

Agree with this

A bad half, yes but crikey!

Thought he was really good at attacking the ball today. Very unlucky not to have the hat trick.

Missed two really good chances. The first time hit from Bruno-Elanga interchange on the left was difficult but the Wissa ball he really dithered for me. He was clean through. Just hit that first time.

Decent performance in the context of schedule, injuries etc. Had the chance to kill the game but squandered it which is disappointing. Lacking a ruthless mentality both offensively and defensively. Thiaw made a bit of a mental mistake playing Pedro that tight in no man's land then slipping but he's been class overall. Miley was a joy at RB for the most part. Bit frustrated with Barnes in front of goal. Two insane chances. Oh well.

Shameful comments about him lately

He hasn't been shite. The stick Gordon gets is mad, man. Each to their own I guess.

I really want to see him just drive with the ball in wide areas. Just to put the defence on their heels a bit more. Seems to come inside and stop, then get a bit flustered.

Fulham looked so defeated after they went 2-1 down. Like they didn't know who they were facing

Ref was inconsistent and it didn't really level out for Newcastle. Although Tonali got away with a snide hit at the end.

Great win to ensure we don't get into a self-pitying spiral. Miley did a great job at RB, and showed good composure. Tonali was immense when he came on. Absolutely shut down even the planning stages of any counter-attack by Fulham. We really saw the full spectrum of J. Murphy tonight I thought. Can be immense putting in first time balls, but it's not enough in a team game IMO. Because we also saw the other side of his game. Weak as piss, doesn't defend (which is especially poor form given Miley was playing RB). Basically entirely unwilling to carry the ball more than four paces before he hit and hopes a speculative ball somewhere in the general direction of the goal. Not a great performance but really sensible football second half to knacker Fulham, albeit not a lot of ingenuity to open them up. Tino going down is worrying, mind you.

Wissa, Ramsey, Murphy and Tino have been bright. Barnes and Willock have been passengers. So far anyway.

I only saw about 5 minutes in the first half as I was out but it looked like: - mackems were primarily concerned with trying to buy a red card rather than play football - Newcastle seemed the better side but didn't really know how to attack (not unsurprisingly given Howe's style)

What % chance do we think Wissa starts with Woltemade?

Reckon they will get an early red card and give away a penalty in the first 10 mins.

No intention to pile on you. My post was supposed to say Miley* btw.

I agree with this. I also think there was an element of seeking to weaken NUFC.

I genuinely came into this thread to say how much I enjoyed her commentary Her line about Miles looking about 12 was great. Although it does make me worried for Lewis if the mackems have another Adam Johnson in their midsts.

It's a fair challenge. I would hope we're a bit more capable of frustrating them and the riled up home crowd for the first 60 minutes. I just don't think we're well suited to a basketball match at the moment, given our porous defence and the fact they have been saving their energy levels for this one. A classic away performance might be just the ticket.

Not watched a lot of them. Are they good against a low block?

Also, the ref gave us pretty much everything tonight.

1. Hall is world class. 2. For all the flack and stick Gordon has got, he has repeatedly been unflappable on multiple high-pressure penalties. 3. Leverkusen are class. I wish Newcastle played like them 4. We are still not nearly technical enough as a team. Certain players like Joelinton just don't have it in their locker, but I do think it's mainly a coaching and tactical issue. There's not really a great excuse around "we don't have this player, that player" etc. The squad is pretty generous at this point overall. There's just still a primary focus on fitness, power and running. I don't see that changing while Howe is in charge, because it's been relatively successful (albeit many other teams are catching up fast, but don't have our resources/headstart. 5. Delighted for Miley. Game was crying out for a central midfielder to run beyond Woltemade. 6. The flat midfield three was turgid. The amount of times they passed it into a pocket behind the midfield and in front of our defence was appalling. 7. The players really gutted it out and worked their socks off. Some of the recovery runs when Leverkusen were on the break were incredible. Often doing just enough to put them off.

Joelinton is too shit for CL football.

I think they're very good too tbf.