TRon

We should start looking at some of Real Madrid's best players and consider chucking in a few bids.

I was keener on Emery at the time, and I think he could have done a decent job, but I felt he showed a lack of decisiveness when he stumbled at the final hurdle. Howe grabbed it with both hands, and by doing so showed he was the one with the balls for a job like this.

Can't emphasise how important that is. His best form was under Rafa who really appreciated his selfless running, so you would like to think he would respond well if Howe gave him that sort of backing. Looking forward to seeing how he does against Norwich now he's got a goal under his belt and some public praise from Eddie.

He stopped supporting Newcastle when he won the title as a player with Man U, pretty sure he's on record saying Man U was his club a long time ago. But typical of the wormy cunt he has to pretend it's Newcastle's fault he's a turncoat.

I always thought he gave away a lot of fouls because he was late in the challenge due to the relative lack of pace, but he was willing to put his foot in to begin with so that was a big plus. Not to mention he was a superb player when he was on the ball. Not a dribbler, but always spotted the early pass, and had a great right foot.

I get the feeling a lot of his good work gets brushed over because there's this conception that he bought his way out of trouble by spending £100m in the transfer market in January. Obviously it ignores that we lost our two best players since then, but that's not of any interest to those who don't want to know.

Honestly I just don't see him ever being that player. He's trying to do it a bit now, but often still holds onto it a fraction too long. It goes against every instinct in his body. Would definitely be interesting to see what he would look like surrounded by better players, but I think ultimately he'd still want to dribble for the sake of dribbling. It's what he's about.

I agree with this, he was always capable of hitting a really nice goal, iirc he scored two in a game in one season. Problem is they are usually just a flash in the pan. If he could score more often he'd be a fabulous player just for his work rate alone. Would love to think Howe would be able to get the best out of him, but I don't think he's got the killer instinct needed for a forward. Would love to be proved wrong though.

Never really noticed any lack of pace from Lee, always just struck me as a very measured footballer. None of the flash stuff or vision you will get from Bruno, but he had a striker's goal instinct which was worth it's weight in gold by itself. If I was going to compare him to anyone it would probably be Lampard.

Kings of the 1-0!

It's fair enough tbh, we look much more capable of defending a goal lead than scoring one.

Was thinking along the same lines, that he'll get a couple of starts once we are safe. But I think EH will want to hit the magic 40 points first to be sure. But yeah, effectively we are safe so no harm in it if he wants to give it a go.

Not when a sub par performance will get you dropped. There's some competition for just about all positions apart from up front. Even if it's not top level competition, the likes of Shelvey, Krafth, Schar and even ASM can't afford to take their foot off the gas, otherwise there's always, Lascelles, Manquillo, Willock or Murphy itching to get a crack at it.

Just makes it more surprising he's not really made more of a name for himself given all that. I get that he might not be quite top tier PL level, but you would think mid-table clubs would be in there pitching. Seems like he's wasted two years at Leicester.

Never understood why more clubs weren't in for him, at the time he went to Leicester I was desperately hoping we were in with a shout. I didn't actually know that much about him other than he used to always find a goal as a sub for Man City. I assumed he was just a finisher, maybe the rest of his game wasn't up to scratch.

It's the championship. Dwight Gayle and all that.

He's not good enough for us at this point, but you could say that for most of the squad. Before the takeover we were a shambolic club, so his type of player were about par for the course. We will be seeing more players of this calibre quietly being moved on. It's nothing personal, we just have higher ambitions now.

Same. I feel Tammy is a bit quicker too, I really want us to get someone with searing pace up front for those through balls from Bruno. Not sure either of them are top drawer mind, I would like to think even better options might become available.

Seems like a lifetime ago tbh, Howe actually talks like a manager, Bruce looks like he should be playing darts. Unprofessionally.

I suppose no one might have spotted this earlier in this thread.

Athletics is not just about pace.

He's a good solid type, nowhere near as bad as some made out, but Manky Javier has probably put a good few quid on his on sell on value tbh. Howe is rebuilding the value of the squad in the same way Kev and Sir Bobby did. He's wonderful.

Pace is usually considered part of athleticism.

All of that is true, but he's not got quite good pace, not by PL standards. But he's quick enough, and he's got lots of other attributes. So yes, because we are on a football forum we can judge him on all aspects of his game, not just how fast he can run or how high he can jump. He's a fantastic footballer.

I was trying to figure out an answer to Tiresias who was asking why Arsenal stalled on moving for him. Maybe there's a better reason, someone is welcome to provide an alternative theory.