TRon

It might not be this one but feels like we are gunning for multiple targets at the same time. Big difference from last season when we had a makeshift recruitment team.

Those were the comparisons which made me watch the video. I found them a bit worrying for a wide man tbh, I always thought of Bellamy as more of a striker who pulled wide, but Munoz does look a bit more of a natural dribbler so I think it would work.

It was very competitive in a Sam Allardyce sort of way. Everyone in tactical cunt mode with set pieces and low blocks being used to snuff out any form of creativity.

Hopefully this is the Ross Wilson way.

Must admit I went against my policy and watched a video of this kid despite there being no evidence we are anywhere close to signing him. I can see why Howe would like him, very direct and Anthony Gordon-ish.

Still worth a try isn't it?

He might prefer a move where he gets to play in England.

I do agree with you there. SBR was supposedly losing his marbles, but I agreed with him at the time re Shearer. I always thought Shepherd was a huge fuckwit who should have spent less time in the boardroom, and more time hiring prostitutes in Spain.

Like I said earlier; I know Pope has declined and is making more mistakes than he used to. But you only have to experience Ramsdale for a few games to see how much worse it can get. Pope is still a fairly decent PL keeper for me. He needs replacing, but if we can't sell, then he can play out his contract for me while we bed this up and coming superstar in over the rest of this year.

This is the way.

We'd need someone to want to buy him first.

It's just a shame we can't sell players like Jacob Murphy after they have a couple of bad games instead.

Definitely. We wouldn't be spending that much to sit him on the bench for two seasons. Age is just a number, he might need introducing gradually, but hopefully he'll step up and relegate Pope to No 2 keeper by Christmas.

Looks like the first one might be landing but will he be a hit or a flop?

I don't have any problem with having Pope and Jaouen as his understudy. Pope is making mistakes but unless he's sold and we can replace him with someone better for the same sort of money, I think we can work with that. This is how you do the new transfer policy. It's got some risks but getting in promising players is the only way to increase the spend power eventually.

He'll be competing for the No 1 jersey right off the bat IMO. We'll keep Pope who will start no 1 then ease Jaouen in if Pope starts making too many costly blunders.

Top 5 was always performing above our station tbh. Top 7 is around where we should be.

It's just semantics at the end of the day. If you play Anderson today where he ends up running into traffic on the left instead of deeper in central midfield in a system where he has more time on the ball, he'll look worse.

Yeah I could see it being a difficult transition to a more versatile way of playing given how all in Howe has been on his Plan A for the last few years. What would you consider a reasonable expectation for next season given we are moving away from ready made stars?

Exactly. I'm not saying Howe's way is wrong either, but it is very dependent on certain type of players, a striker with pace and outstanding finishing being one of them. But historically, even at our peak, when that striker was out, we looked kind of lost.

Isn't that what I said? He didn't fit into our system of play but looked a lot better at Forest where he had time on the ball? Whichever way you want to slice it, he was the wrong player for us but immediately the right player for Forest, and now Man City are looking at him, and his value has trebled.

Just another take on this: we keep hearing how Eddie Howe improves players...well by that logic he made Anderson worse. He's looked outstanding for every other team he's played for, Newcastle under Howe is the only time he's looked poor. At the time I was pretty critical of Anderson because I was all in on Howe's tactics and playing style, but I feel we've seen the limits of it when we come up against the better sides, and now we are even seeing the limits when we come up against poor sides who play an effective low block.

That was the point really. It might be that he just wasn't suited to a high intensity game style where he got caught with less time on the ball.

Probably because he looked very ordinary in a Howe team.