TRon

I think Leeds style of play suits him as well tbf. Would he be as effective playing for Arsenal or Liverpool?

We are too early in our development to match cartel wages unfortunately. Unless we can unlock some new form of sponsorship, it might take another cycle of players or even two cycles before we are able to offer the sort of salaries the established superclubs are giving out. Not great to think about, but more noise needs to be made about PSR crippling ambitious clubs for the benefit of those already at the top.

I'm hearing "Woltemadayy!" to that tune even when I'm trying to go to sleep at night. It's done my fucking head in.

I still can't get past "Wolt-e-Madeyy!" sung to the tune of "In the Navy" by the Village People. Easy, memorable and catchy enough for everyone to learn instantly.

I didn't have access to this clip at the time but this is precisely what I was talking about when I mentioned attacking intent and quick one twos on the previous page. He looks for line breaking forward runs and sometimes it won't come off, but when they do, they cut the defence wide open.

I don't think Brighton would sell him for £60m now tbh. He's looked great in the games so far this season.

Oh yeah. Well I'm sure we'd always be better served with buying the best players.

I think Murphy isn't any better against a low block personally. He can cross a wicked ball, but then so can Elanga. But Elanga brings a few extra special powers to the table like extreme pace and a more attacking intent. I also think his quick one two attempts are underrated. He does look for really aggressive touches inside the defensive lines, and even if he loses the ball now and then, it has potential to open them up when it works.

I agree, but I think we went for Elanga because our preferred choices went elsewhere. The argument then becomes do we end up overpaying for proven PL talent instead of going abroad, because Eddie wants tried and tested over potential.

I think you are negating your own argument here. We went for Mbuemo first and he turned us down. Pretty sure we would have liked Kudus who you also cited but he probably chose Spurs over us. We can't buy players if they choose somewhere else over Newcastle.

Yep. While I think he has a lot of rough edges, he has the ability to really hurt teams when he gets it right.

I think that's just looking at his negatives though. I remember watching his highlights video and saw him whipping in some really dangerous crosses. He has a way of striking the ball which makes it hard to defend, whether crossing or shooting. Add that to his electric pace and I think that's why Howe was so keen.

The Bella Ciao tune is the only one you need. Just get that going and job done.

Agree. I don't think it was fluent or flashy football, but we rattled them and created quite a few chances even not at our best. The fluency will come, but this looked more like a trademark Howe side which is all about intensity. It will get better.

I thought the same as well. I assumed it went in the corner, but on the replay it wasn't really that far off centre. But given he stopped about 3 other certain goals I guess he can be allowed that one.

This is exactly what I mean, he has shown great skill in flashes, just not any real desire or application.

He's shown it in flashes like with that memorable 50 yd pass with the outside of his boot to Isak, and a few jinking runs. He can play, but at this level you can't get away with turning up when you feel like it.

This is me as well. I think he's a player with bags of ability, but he's been at two massive clubs now, and if that's not enough to make him put the work in, then what is? Just doesn't want it badly enough, and I think Howe has more or less given up on him.

I guess we were due a bad season for injuries after getting off lightly last year. If we can come through it in relatively good shape then at least we have a squad which should be able to push on for the second half of the season and really go for it.

Yep. Not really seen that much to convince me he's become a totally different player to what he was with us. He really enjoyed playing under Nuno because he got more time and space with a team that dropped deep, and with England he's not playing in games with the same intensity as the PL either. He's obviously a very talented player, but would he have the same problems with us as before where he would get lost in the midfield scraps in tight spaces?

This is the thing, he does everything with minimum efficiency and no fluff. He HAS the ability to jink between players or use some nifty footwork, but he only does it if he needs to. Doesn't waste time with any fancy extras which slow the game down, he plays everything at lightning speed and before the opposition have time to regroup. He must be a dream to play with. Skill, pace, running, discipline, the lot. With a defensive midfielder behind him I reckon he'd be scoring more goals as well.

Perfect. I'm still backing wor Anthony FWIW, in Howe we trust.

He's the best midfielder I've ever seen at Newcastle.

I was hoping my eyes were playing tricks with me there and I saw that wrong.

When you put it like that...