Cronky

From hitc.com: Newcastle United are interested in Alex Grimaldo and contact has now been made with the Benfica star’s representatives. That’s according to Spanish newspaper AS, who claim that Grimaldo is attracting major interest. Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen and Fulham are understood to have made approaches to Grimaldo’s agents – and so have Newcastle. Atletico Madrid could yet make their move too, with Tottenham loanee Sergio Reguilon unlikely to be staying. Grimaldo is out of contract this summer and can leave Benfica for absolutely nothing. That makes him one of the most appealing left backs on the market, and Newcastle appear to be moving in for him. I like this one. Left back is a weak position, and this player looks very handy with free kicks. This would enable us to upgrade from Trippier without losing that expertise from dead ball situations. Trips is fine going forward, but his defending looks more and more suspect to me.

Not seen much of Tierney of late, but he is class (or was). Question is, will one of the big six sell to us? I wonder whether there's an informal agreement not to do so.

Eddie does put great store on physical fitness, and I can only think there is still some issue in his mind about Isak. He also has a 'maverick' element in his play, and Eddie may be worried about how he links in with his team-mates. Having said that, Wilson often looks to me like a player who is protecting an injury. And team-mates develop a mutual understanding through experience. So there you are.

My impression is that Ten Haag has benefitted from deciding on his best side. There seemed to be so much chopping and changing at Man U in recent seasons. However, like us, the other side of the coin is that he hasn't been resting too many players and is paying the price for that. It can probably be said of Arsenal as well. This is the big advantage that Man City have, with a bench as good as the first team. Much though I'd like to see Arsenal do it, I think City will reel them in.

The post match discussion was very entertaining, but I could see why Souness has fallen out with so many players during his managerial career. He seemed intent on humiliating Neville at one point. He came across as a bloke who has to 'win' and can't ever let it lie. He just went on and on.

Defenders know that he doesn't want to go on the outside on his right foot, and so they can concentrate on just blocking him moving across the pitch on his left. The result is that, more often than not, he moves backwards on to his left foot and just returns the ball where it came. It feels like we're back to where we started the season, with doubts about whether there was enough in his armoury, apart from workrate and application. He will always be a useful squad player for us, but we need someone with a more wide range of attacking threat.

Changing the subject a bit, I was struck by the reports of our supporters tidying up after themselves in Trafalgar Square after the final. There may have been a bit of hype. but regardless it's uncharacteristic behaviour from a large group of fans. Our 12 year old grand-daughter was going to an important audition at a stage school near Euston Square, and I was quite anxious for her, because she had witnessed a violent incident not long ago, and is still quite sensitive to aggressive, loud atmospheres. I helped her parents devise a route for her which might avoid the potential trouble areas. However, she did see loads of supporters, and actually found it all quite exhilarating and fun. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves in a relaxed way. Again, I don't know if that's typical. But anyway, this has got me wondering today whether our manager is having an influence in some unconscious, subliminal way. He presents as well-mannered, thoughful and considerate. Is something of that rubbing off on us all? Maybe it's just because of the success we're having, but it's also noticeable that since Eddie took charge, people on here are treating each other a bit more gently.

I can think of one or two no-footed players.

I just think Eddie over-achieved massively on the players at his disposal, in getting us into the top four. We've come up short against three clubs - LIverpool, Man U and Man City - who have a signficantly better squad of players than we do. These knock-backs happen. Our limitations showed a bit at times today with our chances. Joelinton has done well but his reflexes are poor and he is not a good finisher. Likewise Longstaff tends to need that little bit of extra time and space before he gets a shot in. Wilson's attempt was just poor - he looked over-eager. City would have put away at least two of those chances. It's not all doom and gloom. We just need a win to restore the momentum.

2-0 was about right. We should have taken at least one of our chances, but they won quite comfortably in the end. I can understand why Eddie wants to stick with the players who have got us to this position, but Miggy looks like he needs a rest. Targett isn't the greatest defender, but he offers us something a bit different from Dan Burn.

He looks very isolated when he gets the ball in attack, so he doesn't have a lot of choice but to move inside or back. Burn can't offer much support.

Not played too badly, and might have scored, but we're up against 11 good players. They seem to be beating our press quite easily. Miggy now looks very predictable - long term we do need an alternative. Eddie still seems to have concerns about Isak's fitness, but I hope that's sorted soon. Wilson has never been great at holding the ball up, but if his finishing is dodgy now, then he needs to make way.

It's a typical lawyer tactic. Muddy the water by putting your accuser in the dock.

Yeah, looks a talent. We may have a chance, because we'd progress his career quicker than the likes of Chelsea or Man City.

I think you've damned him with faint praise there. Hopefully he'll continue to grow and maintain his first team position.

Sign Osimhen and have Isak and Gordon operating around him. Simples.

Yeah, our back four isn't the quickest, particularly down the wings, and they had some joy through hitting their front players early.

He's had so many muscle problems, he may be holding himself back for fear of re-injuring himself, like Owen has admitted to doing. I hope I'm not being unfair, but he does look a bit half-hearted. Equally interesting for me is exactly why Eddie is reluctant to pitch Isak in. Maybe there's some muscle issue there which needs sorting out with some longer term work in the gym, and he doesn't want to over-play him at this time. On the other hand, as with Bruno and Gordon, we've seen that Eddie likes to blend new players in gently, whatever their pedigree.

I can remember the time when the problem for Owen was 'the service' as well. I just can't see what Wilson is offering us that isn't provided by Isak, who of course also creates far more for his team mates.

I wouldn't say the gulf was huge. They had quality in all 11 positions, whereas we were only half way there. Despite that, we gave a good account of ourselves. I was disappointed and surprised that we started with Wilson rather than Isak, who really showed his ability in the second half. Maybe he needs a different partner in attack.

The police often seem to ask of victims of all kinds of crime, whether they want to 'press charges'. It seems standard practice, and I don't know how difficult it is in practice to secure a conviction when the chief witness is declining to participate - perhaps effectively acting as a witness for the defence. But yes, I do wonder whether the prosecution should still go forward in some cases. What often seems to happen in courts is the defence puts the Police on trial, and their conduct becomes the focus rather than that of the accused.

That game was a total nightmare. We completely failed to turn up. Our record in finals over the last 50 years has been poor, but that one is bottom of the barrel. I'm quite sure that this team will put in a proper performance tomorrow, whatever the outcome. Ten Haag's silly comments will help our mental preparation too. Go out an annoy them will be our rallying cry.

I’d lay any money he’ll play. Rashford likes attention so be prepared for a dramatic last minute recovery.

I think a more equal distribution of wealth between the Premier League and the EPL is a positive step. That can surely be done while still retaining the competitiveness of English clubs within Europe, although the status might change from one of dominance to just a position of advantage. The current situation does encourage clubs to take financial risks to get promotion to the Premiership, or avoid relegation. There are already spending controls within the Premiership in the form of FFP - there just needs to be proper enforcement. I find the proposals to increase the say of supporter groups rather naive and unrealistic. Clubs have to be run as sustainable businesses, and supporter groups don't usually have the knowledge or expertise to get involved. What's more, a club's supporters tend to be focused on their own team's success, rather than the good of the game as a whole. Most don't seem to care about where the money has come from, the fairness of wealth distribution, or even their own club's long-term outlook, providing there's success on the field. I imagine in the end that the influence of these groups will only extend to issues like the naming of stadiums and the colour of shirts etc, which feels like meddling.

It never looked likely that he was going to get much game time at PSG, which obviously is what he needs at this stage of his career. Enough of us were saying that from this distance, so why his agent and other advisers didn't point that out, I don't know. Perhaps they did.