Shak

Aye, he's been fairly shite. Do think a RW is every bit as big a need as LB or CM this summer. Miggy had a quality purple patch and Murphy is proving a quality squad option but both are quite limited.

Was clearly a typo that was meant to say 'ref'

Aye, ball just bouncing off him every time he gets near it.

This looks quite bad?

No big reaction from Spurs then Obviously it's ideal that they'd get something in that game but if they are going to lose another absolute bumming would be kind of funny.

Fucking goal. Started with a real bit of quality from Wilson there, fucking quality CF play.

None of the front three have been able to make the ball stick at all.

Almiron has been particularly gash.

Not a great start, need to settle and quiet the crowd. Biggest drop off from Isak to Wilson is in terms of what they offer as an outlet ball IMO, just don't fancy Wilson to make it stick like I do with Isak.

Rip these cunts' tits off!!

Probably a bit harsh. They'd finished between 3rd and 6th for six straight years before Abramovich got there and had won three domestic cups in that span as well as a Cup Winner's Cup.

Heroically limps on while blatantly injured and gets the pass away to take advantage of the promising position and just gets shat on for not playing a better pass

Can sense the absolute annoyance in this post.

One of our targets this summer should absolutely be a top class CB prospect that we view as the long term partner for Botman. Hopefully Ashworth has his eye on someone, there was a link to that young Croatian lad who's apparently highly sought after so I suspect there will be someone brought in. Ideally though we would keep Lascelles and there'd be no pressure on that youngster to be involved right away. If he is quality straight away all the better but you don't want to throw an unprepared young lad in too soon and knock his confidence. Similar to how we'll probably keep Krafth next year and give Ashby more time to get up to speed. Then when Lascelles and Krafth's deals are up in 2024 you let them move on and Ashby and the new CB are ready to step in. Maybe the club would like to make a return on Lascelles though rather than let him walk for nothing a year later? Anyway, I have a sneaking suspicion that if Lascelles has to play at some point he'll be really good. Why should he be any different to everyone else that Howe gets his hands on?

Don't love the fact that the Broncos have also been shite ever since that game, mind you Was thinking earlier, don't think it's just because they've little in the way of draft picks that I'm not arsed about the draft this year. Having Newcastle back as a team I can actually get excited about is fucking wild and it's completely taken over my free time sporting pursuits.

Think Isak in particular was taken off early against Spurs with Eddie having one eye on this fixture. I'll be absolutely floored if there are any changes to the starting team for this.

Draw wouldn't be a terrible result but I certainly wouldn't take it right now. Bookies have us 8/11 for a reason, they'll make it tough for sure but we should beat this lot anyway as we're fucking quality.

We were linked a month or so ago but nothing too strong. His contract is up in 2025 so I guess if they're going to cash in on him this summer is the time to do it? I did only mention him as the absolute dream signing in terms of what I'd want from the position. I'd say Tierney or Grimaldo are far more likely.

I think he'd fill a very necessary role in our squad as someone who can play CF if Isak is out but is also able to play out wide. However, his wages and transfer fee would be too much IMO. Hoping Ashworth has his eye on a lesser known young player for the role.

Howay the Spuds, let's hope they rally and get a couple of decent results in the coming week. Be class if we've rinsed them so badly that we've forced a reaction from them and they go and take points off Man U and Liverpool

Absolutely mad posting all of this shite considering where the club (and my interest in it) was 18 months ago Like, as a collective group I realise that bringing in Davies, Rice, Diaby and Maddison is a bit far fetched but individually these four are all players we'll have a shot at luring here in the summer if we finish in the top four. Being realistic, the exception is probably Davies as his wages might be an issue, he's already at Bayern and would presumably have everyone else after him if he is available. But we've gone from an absolute non-entity of a club to on the verge of being one of the most attractive clubs in the world to the game's best young talents in less than two years and it's all a bit mental

Aye, I'm also very much of the opinion that Bruno should stay in the same position. I do think he'd still be quality in a more advanced role but the DM we bring in would have to be absolutely world class or we're downgrading that position in our team. Leave him where he is and bring in competition for Longstaff. It's why Rice would be ideal, for me. He'd be a beast in that role Longstaff plays but he's also tidy enough on the ball to play the role Bruno does in the event that Bruno gets injured without the catastrophic fall off we've seen when he's been out this season. The concept of going forward with Joelinton as primarily a LW is an interesting one to me. Generally I've been against it as I think that when teams sit back and we have to break them down he's not going to contribute much in that regard. However, if you added a genuinely top class attack-minded LB I think I could get behind it. Joelinton, Willock and Alphonso Davies down that side seems like they could do some serious damage going forward while being very solid defensively too. I think if you are going to use Joelinton on the left, you need a LB that is really good going forward. A deluxe Dan Burn type only makes sense to me if you're going with an ASM type at LW. Might be something that could make a lot of sense if Saint-Maximin does leave as has been rumoured? Instead of replacing him with another winger, leave Joelinton and Gordon to compete for that spot and see it as a spot that pays off mostly when we're out of possession and can cover a marauding left back. Instead of bringing in a winger to replace ASM maybe you bring in someone like a James Maddison, who'd give us something different in terms of his skillset and could probably play in quite a few positions in our team.

Aye. Like I said, those were basically my first choices of the players we've had any links with. Something like Kieran Tierney, Manu Kone and James Maddison might be a bit more realistic as our three major signings and I don't think that would be bad I actually think we'll sign Diaby though, for some reason. Seems like he's been a long term target since the takeover and we've been biding our time.

Aye, he'd be absolutely mental to want to leave IMO. He's never played a game in Europe in his whole career, surely he's going to want to be a part of next season at least. With five subs these days he could carve out a very nice role for himself as a sort of super sub for us for the next few years if he's willing to embrace it.

It's mental how much good will I have towards our current squad of players. Like, I'm at a point where even if it's financially feasible with FFP I think I wouldn't want us going out and signing half a dozen absolutely top class players Players like Willock, Almiron and Longstaff deserve to be in the running to play a lot of football again next season. Think so much of our success is down to how the dressing room is managed and we need to prioritise keeping that above all else. Quality over quantity this summer. Alphonso Davies Declan Rice Moussa Diaby Give me those three this summer and no significant outgoings please. Listed those three as they're probably at the top of the list of each of the type of players I'd want. A dynamic LB, an all-action midfielder and a left-footed right winger who scores goals. I realize that those three are all ambitious targets who may have better options but if we do get a CL place there'll be only half a dozen clubs out there that are out of our league in terms of pulling power in the transfer market. Add two or three tasty treats that Ashworth has hopefully identified that can come in and provide exciting young depth and we'll be golden. Maybe a CB, CM and a versatile striker that can also play on the wings. Only first team player I can see leaving is ASM. Just hard to call what'll happen with him IMO. Think it's all honestly going to come down to whether the medical staff think he can be got to a point that his body is able for what our style of play demands. If they don't think he can, we'll need another option for LW.