Beren

Who is the last player Newcastle had who you could say was incontrovertibly world class? ISAK.

Huge game this. Feels like the kinda game that could carry momentum over into next season and set the dynamic between ourselves and Spurs - even with the injuries. Hope it's competitive.

Anyone got CL highlights? chappelle.jpg

They're really going easy on them.

Great result. Only caught the first half and the goal in the second half. Howe's post-match honesty is encouraging

Transferred Foden out this week

That's crackers. Only themselves to blame. Should have been home and dry. 3 points from 18 against Luton, Everton and Bournemouth. Woof.

How was extra time so short with so much of it wasted

Definitely a pen.

Dummett is the Man City slayer. Nee worries.

Was it Kaka giving Schar pelters?

I know it's a bit of a bold statement, but I do genuinely believe Longstaff is good enough to get into the starting XI for this Everton side.

Not worried.

Think it bounced up to his boot.

I reckon Anderson has done well today. Put in a good shift and used the ball well.

Great effort on the set piece by Isak and co.

Nee benefit of the doubt for the attacker anymore I take it. Don't even know the rules

Lethal feet of Dan Burn. They didn't stand a chance.

I am not seeing what everyone else is seeing in Lewis Hall. All for giving him a chance to develop while we're down to the bares bones, but he does look like a youth team player playing in the senior team right now.

American coverage of our games is class. Good half that. Great possession football in the middle, looked tiers above them. Game got a bit unnecessarily stretched at the end of the first half. Even with a good XI unavailable the gulf in quality is massive. Just need to be patient and wear them out more.

Only caught glimpses while out and about including the winner from Barnes - looked a cracker! Gordon looked menacing anarl.

Saw a fair bit of the game (no audio) at a bar last night. This England feels like Belgium's golden era team - wasted by Martinez/Southgate.

Interesting post I don't think 50%+ average possession is the gloryland personally. I don't think any possession stat is isolation is the measure of success, or what I was getting at, but it's an interesting bit of data. For example, I'd be more than happy to let Brighton pass it along their backline for 60 minutes while sitting on a 2-goal deficit vs Newcastle. Meaningful possession during meaningful parts of the game is less easy data capture though. Also, I'm not surprised Villa's stat is reasonably low either and I'm not a big fan of their style of play either. FWIW, I don't think NUFC are inherently "just runners" and they've showed on numerous occasions what they're capable of, which makes it all the more galling when the "running game" is leaned on too heavily. I also strongly disagree that it's just about players. I think coaching/strategy have the biggest impact - especially when you're NOT in the position to a have a squad like Man City's or Liverpool. Evidence of this is what Howe did with the likes of Murphy, Longstaff and Almiron last year who under a different system were in a relegation battle.