Cronky

He looks more like a withdrawn striker - a replacement for Ayoze, rather than Rondon. And he looks pretty decent too, so I'm prepared to buy into the dream for the time being.

Ref has to send him off then. btw wat If a player refuses to leave the pitch, then ref has right to send him off. They should have just put the numbers up on the board. Not sure how in-date this is but was posted on Reddit: https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/refereeing/law_3_the_number_of_players_en_47419.pdf Slide 5: "If a player who is about to be replaced refuses to leave the field of play, play continues". Not sure the ref could do anything about this. Mental behaviour from Kepa. That surprised me, but it looks like the rules need to be changed. Refusing to be subbed should be like refusing go off when getting a red card.

Encouraging if true, but it's only February. We can't be the only club that's interested.

He's Mr Perpetual Motion. He invites comparison with the greats, so I give you Colin Bell. (Ask your Dads)

Searing pace, but I also like the way he often keeps the rhythm of an attack going by releasing the ball quickly and decisively. He's twice the player I thought he'd be.

Interesting question, because part of the fascination of football is that every player brings their own unique package, which becomes more and more apparent the more you see of them. Hansen and Stones is a good call. Andy Carroll and Duncan Ferguson, I'd say. On the opposite tack, the player who I'd say was most unique, the most difficult to compare with others, was Cruyff.

As there's no chance of a deal being done unless the club is safe from relegation, I think we can all keep calm for now.

The problem for the Premiership is that the huge amounts of money involved in either staying up or trying to reach the Champions League mean that clubs are reluctant to risk young players. The huge amounts of money involved also make it too easy to buy ready made, experienced players from abroad. On Longstaff, two or three times a game, the opposition will try to close him down and he just drifts past them with the ball into open space. That's quite a rare quality in a midfield anchorman - or at least an English one. Looking at who we've got, Dier looks like a defender who's a bit out of his comfort zone, and Henderson, good player that he is, doesn't have that particular ability.

He showed some real pace and at least tried to get stuck in. All in all, much more promising than I had feared.

Will play for England within 2 years.

His shot-stopping is his strength. He can be a bit unsure of himself with crosses unfortunately. There's no way I'd drop him though. He was criticised a bit unfairly for the goals against Man U and Spurs, because in those instances the ball dipped and bounced right in front of him, and that can be tricky. However, this one was a bit of a howler. ON - interesting photo. Most refs automatically give a foul when the keeper is challenged in the goal area. But he still should have punched and not taken any chances.

Both players are fairly young and lack Premiership experience, so it's impossible to tell how long they'll take to find their feet, if they manage it at all. However, left back is a problem area, and Almiron is likely to be an improvement on our current options, so overall I'm not too disappointed. The big fingers-crossed situation is whether Rondon stays fit.

What did you have to say that for?

Always seeking to get involved, takes responsibility, can pass as well as put his foot in. His emergence is a real bonus.

You wonder what the point is in having an experienced ref in there to explain the decision (which after all is a fairly standard one), if they're then going to carry on regardless.

We're still hanging in there, and there's a chance we might get something from the game. A second goal for City would open the floodgates though. Rondon has done very well with very little. His fitness is vital for us. On the debit side, Yedlin is a real liability.

It amazes me that pundits and commentators on TV are paid for their knowledge and then it turns out they don't know the rules. If you take a free kick when the ref asks you to wait for the whistle that's a yellow card. That's basic.

Admittedly I've only seen him on YT, but I've not been impressed. Hopefully better than Atsu, Murphy or Ritchie though.

Yeah. Tries hard but he struggles to keep hold of the ball when put under any pressure. Mind you, that could be said of a lot our squad.

Good shout.

Looks like a very good all-rounder. I wouldn't talk of potential, I think he's arrived.

A mistake, but not that bad a one. The ball was swerving and bounced right in front of him. He's a great shot-stopper, but not always sure of himself when coming for crosses. That's his usual weakness, but still our best keeper for some time, as others have said.

Whilst there's Rondon, there's always hope. But we need to get lucky. Ayoze has been very poor. Just can't keep hold of the ball.

I can only think that doubts about his defending have held this player back. Either that, or he's struggling with a long-term fitness issue. Such a shame, because he looked great on the ball, and often when he came on, it seemed that the whole mentality of the team became more positive. Hopefully, he'll come good in time.

First time I ever saw the Toon was 1968, at Old Trafford. Man U beat us 6-0, with Best getting a hat trick. He absolutely tore us apart.