Cronky

The League Cup is a far more difficult competition to win than the Europa League, simply because the best teams enter it. In the 11 seasons prior to us winning it, it was won 6 times by Man City, twice by Liverpool, twice by Man U and once by Chelsea. It's not a third-rate competition any more and of course entering into it is automatic anyway. As for prestige, does the Europa League really count for much? Spurs won it last season and their manager got sacked soon after. We've already seen how the physical demands of extra European games affects our league form. We haven't yet got the squad to absorb the extra strain with no cost. If we compete in Europe, I want it to be worth our while, and a team in the Champions League can attract better players than either of the other competitions can.

As far as I'm concerned, the Champions League is the only European competition worth entering. The other two have all the hassle of extra fixtures and few of the rewards. In terms of recruitment, are good players really motivated to join a new club by the dream of playing in the Europa League or Conference? I doubt it.

I've just watched Eddie's press conference. He's really up for this one. If he can transmit that energy to the players, we're in with a chance. And I think we deserve a break.

Just thought I'd share something with you all. I was talking to a Man U supporter a few days ago, and when I told him I supported Newcastle, he said, 'Oh hard luck'. Now in my 60 years of following our club, I've often had to take that comment on the chin and smile gamely. Not this time. I told him we weren't losers any more and that I was looking forward to the future. It was a spontaneous, natural response and I put it down to our great manager.

I couldn't agree more. Last night, we went a man down and then conceded an equaliser right on the stroke of half-time. That's a massive downer but he sent the players out looking fresh and focused like nothing had happened.

He looks very confident in that striker position now. I thought he read the play and linked with his team-mates really well. He's made a lot of progress in those aspects of his game.

I'm a bit surprised and disappointed about the results of the poll. Surely Eddie has done more than enough to earn our trust. We're struggling in games when we're up against teams who have longer to rest and prepare. Brentford was a good example of that. When we play in midweek, we do better (eg in the Champions League games), because the playing field in respect of physical fitness is more level. When Eddie came here, he put his reputation on the line for a club that looked certain to go down. That would have been two successive relegations for him - practically career suicide. The guy is special and we need to back him through the hard times.

Sorry, but who do you mean by Andy?

The main question running through my mind after the game was just how good a full back is Lewis Hall going to become? The last few times I've seen him, he's been taking the ball in quite tight, tricky situations, and going past two or three opponents. Last night, the only way PSV seemed to be able to stop him was fouling him. His defending has improved as well, but he's become a really good attacking threat. If he keeps up this form, he's nailed on for the England World Cup squad. He seems quite a bright lad who wants to get involved in decisions, so I would see him as a future captain too. Sorry Alan Kennedy, I am officially dropping you from my all-time Toon XI.

They often had the air of an over-coached and anxious side under Amorim. Today, they looked eager to be on the ball, and unafraid of taking risks. All the attention lavished on tactics won't have much effect unless the mentality is right. As for City, they looked weak at centre back, and at any level of football, that's a big problem.

With Semenyo and Doku, Pep is really targeting our young full backs. I'm fearful, but that's not for the first time in the last four years. In Eddie I trust.

The factor with Kevin Keegan that isn't being mentioned much is that he was given major backing in the transfer market, relative to the times. I think only Man U were spending more. Every time the momentum stalled, he was able to go out and spend big. Sir Bob and Eddie didn't have that advantage. Eddie's achievement in actually winning something is being underestimated a bit. There's a big gap between coming first and coming close. We had gone such a long time without a trophy, and the pressure that brought was only increasing over the years. Eddie conquered it in spectacular fashion. I can't get over the fact that in winning the League Cup we faced five hours of football against the top two teams in the country, and blew them away. We scored 6 and conceded 1 with a team that, player for player, was considerably weaker. We weren't lucky. We were better than the opposition on the day. In at least one of the games against Arsenal, Schar was leaving his defensive position and closing Rice down when he received the ball. Eddie had noticed that Rice, good player that he is, likes to have time and space, and Schar was the best player to deny him that. Arsenal don't like playing long balls so their main strategy of playing through the midfield was strangled. Now if that had gone wrong, everyone would have said that Eddie had been reckless. However he had the courage to try something unorthodox, and get his players to have faith in his instruction. It's that combination of brains and guts that makes Eddie so exceptional.

My top five - 1. Eddie - no question for me. He's the complete package and he has massively and consistently over-achieved on the resources available. 2. Sir Bob - another over-achiever who took us from the bottom to the Champions League. 3. King Kev - he had his flaws, but he completely changed the club's identity and expectations. We will never go back to a pre-Keegan situation. 4. Jim Smith - a very unlucky manager who never got his chance with a big club. He was a bold innovator. 5. Joe Harvey - I was a bit young to assess him properly and he managed in a very different era. Still, he won a trophy and stayed with us for a long while, so he's in.

Sad to hear. Hopefully he'll pull through, but it sounds a bit grim.

I visited the Man U Red Cafe fans forum and saw their poll for next permanent manager. Interestingly, Eddie figured well down the list, with only 2% of the vote. The popular choices were foreign managers like Luis Enrique, Emery and Tuchel. I think Eddie's reputation is affected by the idea that foreign managers are more sophisticated and clever whereas British managers have too much of the Mike Bassett about them. Eddie's modest, reserved demeanour also suggest wrongly that he's too nice to succeed at the very top. Simon Jordan in particular seems to cling on to this idea that we'll need someone that bit better to make that jump to the elite, despite all the evidence to the contrary. I was quite happy with the choice of Eddie once it was made, but beforehand, looking back, I think he was a bit of a 'second choice' in my head. Somehow, I wanted someone with 'a little bit more', if you get my drift. I see things differently now, but long may Eddie continue to be passed over by other clubs in favour of more glamorous options.

The old adage about no battle plan surviving first contact with the enemy. I'd agree he wasn't good at adapting but I also don't think he encouraged his players to show leadership and take initiatives.

Oh come on. 3 points separate 5th from 12th. At the moment, in reality you're mid-table.

Both Amorim and Maresca seem to have fallen out with their Directors of Football. The stated strategy often seems to be that a DOF in charge of recruitment will ensure that if the Head Coach is sacked, there won't be major changes to the playing squad, but does that really work, in practice? A big club will want a top manager, and a top manager will want to establish their own ideas rather than be dictated to. A yes-man doesn't become a top manager. Getting a pairing of DOF and manager who naturally dovetail is quite a tall order. It's said that with the complexities of a modern football club, an old-style manager like Fergie would have too much on their plate. However, in practice I think Fergie didn't mind delegating a lot of the first-team coaching to an assistant. With our club, we have a Head Coach who seems willing to do two jobs (hopefully not at the expense of his health) and a DOF who is prepared to accept a less powerful position. There are all sorts of ways to deal with this problem, but the idea of having a DOF who appoints a series of coaches to carry out his ideas seamlessly is a pipe dream.

I guess this is bad news because they have a good squad that is capable of good football. I expect them to kick on from here. Despite the apparent political problems behind the scenes, a decent manager will look at those players and be unable to resist having a go. Amorim was always a fan-type choice and Ratcliffe is a fan. It seemed to be based on the dream that he was going to be the next Mourinho or Guardiola. Maybe the guy has talent, but he never looked ready for a job as big and pressured as Man U.

It was very odd how Clough managed to turn such an ordinary group of players into winners. Players can produce peak performances for periods during a game, and for the occasional game. He seemed able to get them to peak for just about 90 minutes of every game. His widow once said that he 'took the fear out of football'. Perhaps because he appeared to be so fearless himself, he was able to inspire that spirit in his players. They always seemed so relaxed and focused. Although he's a different character, I've seen Eddie have a similar effect. I can't get over the semis and final of last season's League Cup. Five hours of football against the top two teams in the country, and we concede only one goal and score six. That's faith in action.

That Forest team, with their First Division title directly after promotion, followed by two European Cups, was the most outrageous example of over-achievement that I've ever witnessed in football. Robertson was a major part of their success. At one point, they went 42 successive First Division games without defeat. Considering the quality of their squad, that was amazing. PS - 21 wins and 21 draws, as I recall, before the 3 points for a win days, when draws carried more value relatively.

Nice message, Mattoon. Merry Christmas, all on here, and Merry Christmas, Eddie - 1000000 thanks.

Normally, I'd be feeling very down after the loss of a 2-0 lead, but I think we're getting back to our best form. We deserved to win, but a brilliant free kick and a stumble by a defender both cost us dear. I wanted Eddie to bring Wissa on a bit earlier. With the state of our squad, our best bet is to out-score the opposition, and Woltemade was running out of steam. Miley's confidence is growing game by game. I've been waiting for him to make his mark with real authority, and I think that step is getting closer.

Bonds was a very good player. It's strange that he was never capped.

As on many previous occasions in the Eddie era, I looked at the line-up before the game and thought we were heading for trouble. I should have learned by now. I prefer Ramsdale to Pope and I hope he keeps his place. He's so good with the ball at his feet and that does make a difference. Why do we get called a 'physical' side? The opposition, as I think is normal for us, seemed to get the better of most of the 50-50 challenges. I did get annoyed by the goal we conceded. It was a long ball up to an isolated attacking player with two defenders around him. Tino seemed to be hoping that he wouldn't have to do anything. I do sometimes feel that he doesn't take enough initiative, although his attacking game has definitely improved. But overall - Yay!