TRon

Oddly enough, this is just about the perfect time to play them. They are smashing everyone, no one is going to expect us to get anything, no pressure on the players. They should relish the opportunity to make the critics eat their words. But Isak seems the only one who can score goals against them so unless Howe is ready to unleash Wilson, the lads might not fancy it as much as they could do.

Re-signing Gundogan was a weird decision, seems like Pep was hoping these players would just keep going forever. There's been no thought given to refreshing the team with new legs.

We nearly pulled it off yesterday tbf

it doesn't.

Is any of that criticism ever directed at his lack of pace or is that not as much of a factor outside of English football?

Don't think anyone could complain if we finished 6th/7th tbh. After the Arsenal game I even thought 4th wasn't out of the question. But that run of 3 games has been a blip so far this season, our current position of 10th looks pretty fair to me.

I'm with you, would like to see him used a lot more, even for short bursts to take the workload off Isak. I assume Howe doesn't think he'd fit into our shape and isn't fully trained into our way of playing. But tbh we've had players here for three years who still don't look on the same page.

He plays for their national side doesn't he? I would think he's pretty famous then.

Fuck me I'd have scored that.

Foden's a fabulous player but he doesn't help in the physical make up of the side. City just look short of pace and power in too many areas.

Agree. But I think FFP/PSR wouldn't be an issue if the cartel clubs weren't behind it. So fuck them infinity +1 and that's the end of it.

I see Liverpool as the bigger obstacle to our success. So fuck them more.

The cartel clubs would be coming after us for the same reasons they are going after City. They don't want competition, that's the whole point of being a cartel. I'm not excusing flouting of the rules, but if it was left to the Liverpools we aren't ever going to be a CL side on a regular basis. They are the enemy for me.

Does anybody on here watch him regularly for Brazil? I know @Flip used to keep us updated but I don't recall seeing him post much these days. Just wondering if he's as popular with Brazil fans as he is at Newcastle. I know they didn't rate Joelinton much as a midfielder after a couple of sloppy performances.

Nah it's red top cartel teams that are doing us in. I'd much rather see Liverpool suffering immensely.

They look like a side full of players a year past their sell by date.

1-0. Had to happen.

Liverpool are putting City to the sword here.

Did you see our bench yesterday? There was over £100m worth of talent sat there. I know we don't have Chelsea levels of reserves, but there's enough players to switch things around, I don't think we can use lack of options for looking stale.

It's not so much in context of yesterday's game because I don't think he was needed with Wilson being fit (by his standards), but with regards to the whole season so far. I agree Osula's not ready to start games, but is there really no scenario where he could have come on and ran at defenders for 20 mins just for nuisance value, or to hold the ball up? I think Howe is far too cautious introducing younger players personally. I reckon the talented ones would relish a run off the bench for a limited period and I've said it before in this thread.

You could have said the same of Bruce.

Yeah just you said he knows more than us, which tbf is obviously true, but that doesn't mean he's always right so it's just not much of an argument.

Do you think Tonali wasn't ready to play in the no 6 role until yesterday after two years of prep?

That doesn't sound too bad until we remember we were playing CL football and had a squad decimated by injury. I think we were putting two goalkeepers on the bench in some games just to fill the quota.

How do you square all of that with what we are watching this season?