Cronky

I think that's the most impressive collection of goals I've ever seen. Thank you.

Always seemed like a child in a man's body. But what a player.

Same. I remember the season and went to quite a few games - including that 3-3 away at Man City. But I was only 6, I was just enjoying the ride and thought it was great that we were one of the best teams and that was all I knew - when we didn't win the title I just thought we'd win it another year. Fucking idiot Ha ha. I can remember my little nephew at the time saying, 'Coming second is still pretty good'. I just thought, if only you knew how seldom the chance to finish first comes round.

We'll never know for sure whether things would have turned out differently if Keegan had done differently, but I've since been inclined to think that Clough made the right call. Tino was a good player all right, but he wasn't the player we needed. Including him meant that the Sir Les - Pedro partnership, which had been so fruitful, was disrupted, with Beardsley being pushed out right. The weak link in the side, and the player that should have been replaced, was Gillespie. We needed a wide player. Didn't Gary Neville snap him in half around January time with a late tackle and he missed the 2nd half of the season? As I remember he was doing great and then when he was gone we were worse because the other could just focus on Ginola. I've checked this out, and he didn't actually miss all that many games in the second half of the season. He did end up on the subs bench quite a bit though. I think Gillespie was a more limited player than Keegan had at first thought. He'd scored a good goal against us the previous season, and I think that influenced Keegan's thinking. But Premiership defenders sussed him out after a while and he became less effective. In the first half of the season, that team had a beautiful balance to it, with Sir Les leading the line, Pedro and Rob Lee creating things down the centre, Ginola and Gillespie down the flanks, and Clark acting as the anchor man. Batty for Clark was a good exchange, but as I said in other post, Tino's arrival forced a change in the set up. If Tino had been a wide player it would have worked, but he was a central striker and the whole balance of the attack was disrupted.

It's very hard to convey just how badly we played after Batty put us ahead. I've always thought that if there's a hell, they could do no worse than force me to watch those 10 or so minutes over and over again on a continuous loop.

We played with a bit more spirit and confidence in the second half. Longstaff is coming back to form but he just needs to be more street wise. He could have taken a yellow and stopped their attack for the second goal.

Bit of inexperience from Longstaff. He needed to take Werner out. Looks like it's over now.

He wasn’t pushed, he was kicked in the calf. But you’re right. There may have been a kick as well, but Chilwell made a push with his arms. It wasn't a legitimate challenge for the ball. Despite what McManaman thinks, there's no rule which says you're allowed to push if it isn't too hard. And in this case, it caused the goal. I thought this was what VAR was for.

We've been outplayed but their goal shouldn't have stood. Fernandez was clearly pushed before making contact with the ball, and that made all the difference. Their high press is very good and we're struggling to get the ball up the pitch. When we do get in their final third, we're getting chances so we may just nick something.

I think there's something in that. I always remember around the time that we signed Tino, I read this article by Brian Clough in one of the tabloids. He said that when he was manager of Notts Forest, during their title-winning season, he was very tempted to make sure of success by buying another player towards the end of the transfer window. In the end, he decided to hold his nerve, because a new player at that stage might be difficult to integrate, and might be seen by his existing squad as a vote of no confidence in them. For those reasons, he decided against entering the transfer market, and he now had similar doubts as to whether it was wise for Keegan to buy Tino. We'll never know for sure whether things would have turned out differently if Keegan had done differently, but I've since been inclined to think that Clough made the right call. Tino was a good player all right, but he wasn't the player we needed. Including him meant that the Sir Les - Pedro partnership, which had been so fruitful, was disrupted, with Beardsley being pushed out right. The weak link in the side, and the player that should have been replaced, was Gillespie. We needed a wide player. I recently saw an interview with Sir Les, where he himself said that changing the line-up to bring in Tino was a significant error. It's not that Tino can be held 'to blame'. It's just that he was the wrong player at the time.

Pav and Shaka were perfectly fine keepers, rarely conceding goals that they 'should' have been saving. However they also rarely put in performances where they were pulling out saves that they shouldn't be making, and that in a few games that season could have made all the difference. 5 of our 8 defeats were by 1 goal with a further 6 draws (4 being 1-1) I'm not sure Martyn would have made that much of a difference, but a Flowers or Seaman probably win us the league. Southgate for £3-4m from Palace in 1995 would have been handy. I agree. That was a big miss.

I've held out hopes that the emergence of the Longstaffs might raise us to a better level, but that confidence took a bit of a knock last night. Sean got caught in possession a bit too much. Matty seems to have shed a few pounds, but didn't look up for it at all. Still, that's just one game. If we're going to press higher up, we need to be more committed. We were running up to opponents and then stopping about five yards away, just in case we got beaten. The whole point - I think - is to be fully committed so that the opponent has to release the ball. It can only work if the pressing is done with the confidence that other players are pressing as well and ready to pounce on a pass that has been hastily delivered. We seemed to be pressing as individuals and not as a team.

The problem I saw last night with ASM in that free role is that he doesn't read the situation in front of him. He runs up blind alleys and doesn't seem to be able to release the ball without trying something himself first. A player in that position needs to show more flexibility and footballing intelligence. I'd like to see Fraser given a try in that role.

I don't get the feeling there's any leadership on the pitch. Lascelles doesn't really look that confident, Hendrick has the experience in midfield but doesn't impose himself either. If we get a goal, the game changes completely. We lack conviction at the moment.

Ultimately, it's about getting the most out of a combination of 11 players, so not everybody is going to get their ideal role. I don't think we should put him on the wing and then fit everyone else around that. That acceleration and change of direction that he's got can be a very useful asset in a number 10 role anyway.

I didn't think this lad was going to make the grade, but he's found a good role as a RWB. He always looks like he wants to make things happen and it's good to have that sort of positive thinking in the team. The last two games, we've looked much more confident and relaxed.

Yeah, not clever. It's all right to know every trick in the book, but the most important one is to appear not to.

Second half was the best I've seen us play this season. Not saying much I know, but we seem to have found the right combinations. Hendrick - nothing great, but a different player from the frightened rabbit of the first few games. Longstaff - looks much more relaxed and coming back to his best form. Almiron - adds so much energy to the midfield. Murphy - seems to have solved our right back problem, hitherto our weakest position. And I'd agree that, whatever Shelvey's abilities, we can't afford to have anyone that slow in centre mid.

I've just read the letter. Given the apparent complexities and technicalities of competition law, it would be surprising if there wasn't any documentation within the EPL that couldn't be used as further evidence that there were breaches. I think a lot depends on whether the consortium are seen as having the right to take things to court. I can't see the EFL relishing the prospect of that sort of scrutiny, because I'd have thought it inevitable that there were some discussions or exchanges which would be quite embarrassing. The big six have also somewhat put their foot in it by subsequently making it clear that they are seeking the right to block potential takeovers. That ill-thought out gesture may have triggered the consortium's letter. My concern is that, ultimately, couldn't the EPL say that they didn't turn down the takeover? They had asked for more information and the Saudis responded by not providing it and withdrawing?

Someone was slagging off his half time comments in this thread which I disagreed with, I thought he was pretty much on the money. Dyer was a pretty decent pundit IMO, didn't shy away from giving his opinion, and spoke well for the most part. I know a significant number of our fans hated him when he was here because he was perceived as arrogant, but he was a big part of one the best NUFC teams I had the privilege to watch. I thought Dyer's comments were exceptionally perceptive and clear. They should use him much more.

Phenomenal work rate, often at high pace. Defensively, he gets pushed around like a rag doll, but a great nuisance who never gives up.

Our midfield had more pace and mobility. Hendrick had a role where he was clearly more comfortable and at last looked up for it. Neither Almiron nor Fraser are great tacklers, but they covered the ground well - Almiron exceptionally so. Hayden-Shelvey-Hendrick has always seemed a poor, one-paced combination. Murphy looks a good option in that wing back position.

I'm not convinced Fergie would be a good manager these days anyway. This is some claim, surely worthy of elaboration? I think the game has changed so much since he was last managing. He was about work ethic, man management and a strong disciplinarian. Despite his image, there was more to his management than that. He was one shrewd customer.

He has neither pace nor a change of pace. With the game getting faster and standards in the Premiership improving every year, he looks less and less effective.

You're being a bit harsh there. Weirdly, we were still in it at that point. We were creating the occasional decent chance eg when De Gea saved from Wilson. I didn't think it was a pen. I can accept players going to ground when they've been impeded in getting the ball by some slight push or whatever that deliberately throws them off balance. But Lewis was withdrawing his foot and the contact had no impact on the situation. The own goal was created by us putting pressure on their defence through a good counter attack. Ultimately, they were the better side with better players, and we're a very boring team to watch. We've seen games like that countless times. It boils down to whether you think a different manager could get better results from our current squad. I'm not convinced of that. We still have the glaring problem of a lack of pace and technique in central midfield.