Gallowgate End

Winning again 1 up within just 6 mins Rondon with the assist. Could make it 6 wins in 8 today.

Premiership Winners: Man City Runners Up: Liverpool 3rd-6th: Spurs, Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea Relegation: The last team to drop is near impossible to call but definitely Sheff Utd, Norwich Overachievers: No one Underperformers: Wolves/Aston Villa/Brighton/Newcastle/Palace Top Goal Scorer: Aguero Break Out Year: Moise Kean, Longstaff, Harry Wilson, Sarr, Pepe Season to Forget: Norwich PFA Player of the Year: Sterling PFA Young Player of the Year: Rashford First manager to quit/be sacked: Farke or Hodgson. Championship Winners: Leeds Runners Up: Fulham Newcastle United Where will we finish? 15th-18th/35-40 points Top Goalscorer? Joelinton How will we do in the cup competitions? Not win them Will Bruce still be manager at the end of the season? Hope not Who will be the first player to be sent off for us? Hayden or Schar Premier League table. 1st Man City 2nd Liverpool 3rd Tottenham 4th Arsenal 5th Man Utd 6th Chelsea 7th Leicester 8th Everton 9th West Ham 10th Wolves 11th Watford 12th Southampton 13th Burnley 14th Bournemouth 15th Newcastle 16th Aston Villa 17th Palace 18th Brighton 19th Sheff Utd 20th Norwich

Totally agree. I've supported them for 32 years. Couldn't be more disenfranchised with the club, the majority of fans or the ownership than I am right now. This is where I'm at.

Nope. Only area that they’re weaker though.

Not a chance that is true. I'd say there's a decent chance it's true. He was presumably on at least £100k a week at West Ham, the appearance would have to be large for him to contemplate a mainly pay as you play deal with a low basic and wages are generally higher for free transfers anyway The Sun saying it’s 70k everytime he plays 20k basic salary.

Paying Andy Carroll 70k every time he plays apparently

Rondon wanted ‘a normal wage’? There’s a reason he’s in China and not at Wolves, West Ham or Everton etc now. Yeah, that reason is Rafa. Now fuck off you WUM.

It'd have been amazing. Rafa with money, support and the beginning of a long term strategy. Oh, what could have been . What we got instead

In the voice of Lucas Leiva. “Unluckyyy”

Brighton are set to sign Huddersfield’s Australian midfielder Aaron Mooy, according to Sky sources.

So Brigthon have spent around £60m without selling anyone for real money. And have seemingly bid £28m for another player. Interesting. Brighton have spent over £200million net in the last 4 years Imagine if Rafa got that net haha.

True. He’s actually the midfielder that ends up in the most offensive positions. Shelvey has been playing in a deep quarterback role under Bruce. Longstaff and Hayden have been playing box to box they’ll both need to get goals in their roles next season.

Agree. He was excellent in his old role but has the talent to flourish in that new role. However Hayden won’t offer us goals in that new role and it’s diffecult to be confident Almiron will get 10 goals as a our second striker. = Goal issues.

He played weakened teams in the cups, must have been too stupid to realise we'd get knocked out by your logic. Every manager does it. Watford made 11 changes when they played us and got to the Final. We only made 5 changes yet it was Watford with 11 changes who were the ones that took it serious and went “all out for a Cup run” No they just won a few matches with loads of changes.

He played a lovely reverse pass wide through to the wing back for the Joelinton goal vs Hibs He’ll need to score goals if he’s going to play off Joelinton as our second striker though. Big risk having him as our 1st choice second striker when he hasn’t even scored yet. More worried about goals than anything under Bruce. The “expansive football” will prove to be mythical just like it has been his whole managerial career.

Watford get Welbeck. The best pick of the free striker options I reckon.

You’d have to make them favourites for the last relegation spot if Zaha goes. They’ve had a disastrous pre season. Hodgson might just keep them up defensively though.

This is what I think I’ll be like next season I don’t even know if I’ll celebrate if we score. I haven’t felt anything since Rafa left the signings have felt like another club signing them never felt like that about Newcastle Utd before. It may change when we kickoff on Sunday though I don’t even know.

I don't reckon Bournemouth will be in there anyway. A decent side will take that last spot though. I think anyone from Brighton, Villa, Palace(If they lose Zaha), Newcastle could be the last team. Hard to call that last spot.

I don’t think he’ll do that that will be the issue. It will be Joelinton upfront and Saint-Maximin & Almiron taking turns to partner him. With all the mythical talk of the new exciting front 3 and attacking approach he’s promised I think fans will be angry when they see him refuse to play the front 3 together. When has Bruce ever delivered on his managerial words though.....

Well drilled or not Rafa's team started defending from the front and the midfield role was perhaps most important in protecting the back line. Any more adventure to attack and you'll see the back increasingly over exposed. I agree defensive we won’t be as good but with keeping the well drilled back 3/5 of Rafa Benitez we’ll at least not conceded loads. I think Shelvey has learnt enough defensively from Rafa to play this quarterback role that Bruce has given him too. We’ll also have both Longstaff & Hayden in midfield too winning the ball back. My main concern is actually going forward.

Same, on paper it's not bad. That's the only point I'm making while Dean wets the bed. Player wise we're in decent shape, on paper. Agree player talent wise If you look at our starting 11 last season & first season up compared to what it will be vs Arsenal it’s much more talented. Unfortunately we have a manager that will underachieve with his squad rather than overachieve. We’ll most certainly finish below our 11.5 Premier League positional average since promotion.