TRon

If Liverpool are happy to let Jota go because he's injury prone, it's probably for good reason. Like Staveley said, we can't afford any dud signings.

Probably at our expense if it happens.

I like Potter but I absolutely despise Chelsea. The last thing we need is a morale boosting back to back win for direct rivals.

His finishing looks terrible now, but his all round game is actually much better.

Took my nephew to that game, he was down from Scotland, and that goal made him want a Ben Arfa shirt and probably got a soft spot for Newcastle for life on the back of that. Then my daughter got pissed that I'd took him to a game so I took her to the Stoke game where they went down to 9 men and Ben Arfa ran riot. I wasn't going to many games by then, I think I just got lucky that season.

I wonder if there would be any mileage in going back in for Pedro in the summer if they are struggling in 9th spot? I'm not sure he's the answer either for goals in the Premier tbh, but we did seem pretty keen on him pre-season.

There's part of your problem right there. When Almiron and Joelinton are making up a big part of your attack, you will struggle to score goals, Almiron's amazing start to the season withstanding. We need guys who will hunt the space in the penalty area. Joelinton did manage it against City for the Murphy cross, but he missed the ball altogether when all he needed was to get a solid contact on it.

Maddison looks more polished, he scores unbelievably good goals. Probably a bit of an undersell to describe Mount as a poor man's Lampard, but I get what you mean, he's not as silky a player as Maddison. But he'd be a great fit for the team.

Noticeable that Bruno isn't scoring goals any more since he moved into the holding position. He was getting a few goals when he was playing ahead of Shelvey.

I hestitate to mention him in the same breath as Messi, but he did possess that level of skill and vision. I mean the guy wasn't just a dribbler, he could hold off defenders and had a hell of a shot on him as well. A bit of a less selfish streak and he'd be a world beater most days of the week.

Osimhen seems to be one of those players who all the top clubs will be trying to sign, we are probably still a couple of years away from being able to entice the likes of this calibre of player, unless they are still (relatively) unknown over here, like Bruno.

I think injuries and suspensions have had a lot to do with it. But yes I agree, Howe is not one who likes to switch styles much, he's very much invested in his formation and playing style. I would have liked us to be a bit more cagey in the Carabao cup final and try to hit on the counter more, but he's not going to go backwards if he thinks we are moving in a new direction.

Not going to pretend he didn't have his drawbacks, but very few players have that sort of God-given ability. You would go to a match just to watch him tbh.

Or he just doesn't reckon swapping in players from our current bunch will make that much difference. And he's probably right. That said, it does look like he's prepared to haul off his first choices during a game if they aren't performing.

One of the reasons I was reluctant to drop Willock from the team during our good run. His end product isn't great, but he is really good at making us tick and transitioning the ball from defence to attack. Our football has looked less slick since him ( and Bruno) have played less games.

£30m does seem a lot of money for a left back who can't get in the Arsenal side. I'm sure he's a good player, but there will be a reason they don't rate him that highly any more.

Yep. We are far better than we were were a year ago, but against the good sides, our lack of quality in certain areas really shows.

At this point I think it needs to be said that everyone considers the Carabao cup as a joke competition where clubs usually play their juniors or reserves. Man U would rather have lost that and today's fixture 2-0 if given the choice. They have been fucking humiliated. Let's not beat around the bush, that's the truth of it. Can they come back? Not sure tbh.

Love it.

.

Ok coming down a bit now, I hadn't realised ManU are 8 pts ahead of us. Fuck, how did we let that happen? Still, any team that can lose a grudge match 7-0 must be vulnerable. Arre they just genuinely shite? This question must be asked.

And then we have to beat Man U 8-0.

We have to pretend they are Man U and try to win 7-0.

Kop singing Walk On are missing a trick here. Should be Jog on, Jog on you fucking fake north frauds.