STM

Ah I saw the other side of the net ripple and assumed it had tricked the keeper. Makes sense now.

Has to be a deflection.

Again, I'll reiterate this. Don't fall into a trap of thinking Isak will fail.

Time has been a killer for Shearers reputation it seems. Alan Shearer is the best striker this league has seen.... until Haaland. He was also a better all round footballer than Haaland. He could hold up the ball like him (without the physical advantages), he could cross a ball like the best wingers around. If you rewind back far enough, Shearer was a pacey striker who could run off the shoulder, score free kicks, chip the keeper, score from outside the box, Shearer had everything. He lost his pace after 2000 but he still continued to score goals and play for the team. Kane is an outstanding striker, but the only area hes better than Shearer is his long range passing. Hes also decided to go and play in a much inferior league. Hes also had all the advantages of modern coaching and medicine. I will say on Kanes behalf... I think Kane would have scored even more than Shearer in Shearers era, but that's because the defenders in those days, while tough, wouldn't have been able to cope with Kanes physicality, outside of someone like Tony Adams. Two great strikers, Shearer is better. But its two different eras and im not going to lose sleep if someone thinks Kane is better, hes an outstanding striker in his own right.

Be interesting to see if today is the day (this match) Arteta grows some balls and plays an attacking line up.

We shouldnt be selling this lad, it would be a catastrophic decision. Hes the sort of player that ends up at Man City replacing Rodri in 5 years time and we will look really stupid. Theres going to be a time in the future where Tonali may leave the club (hopefully not for a long time), having a ready made replacement might not be the worst thing. Edit: If he goes its with a buy back.

Im one of the few people that doesn't mind Roy Keane most of the time but hes one of those blokes who has skewed morals about what is and isnt acceptable. In my world violence isnt acceptable in almost all circumstances, in Roy's world its fine provided you are "honest" about it. He went about the pitch looking for fights with fellow professionals and then calls out those who fought back. We all know this is about him looking like an idiot at SJP. The rest is noise.

And of course Cantona wasnt sneaky... nowt sneaky about Kung Fu kicking a fan in the front row. Proper bloke.

Aye nowt worse than sneaky violence, as opposed to in your face deliberately trying to hurt and intimidate opponents violence, thats the stuff of real hero's. He doesn't like Shearer because Shearer embarrassed him in front of the country.

I think the big 3 will get rotated every other week, if not every other game. It doesn't matter whether he gets games because of rotation due to fitness, he gets games. When I say trusted, I mean trusted in a way that Osula wasnt trusted last season. I think Miley at this stage is just about first sub or 4th choice CM.

Ive got a feeling that Miley is now well and truly in Howes trusted circle. He will get loads of game time. 30+ IMO.

Great draw for us.

Also, I'll say this again, hes going to score some absolute worldies.

Hes also unique, theres not many English CMs or DMs that play in what id class as a Spanish style, everything is neat and tidy. Hes not some bull in a china shop. Ive not seen much of Wharton but id imagine hes the best comparison.

Forget the mistake. This lad is the real deal. We should be super excited about him. If hes got this base level, at this age, god knows where he can get to. Hes a better footballer than Anderson at this age IMO and the latter is now an England international. Completely different profiles mind.

Also, for the first time today, you saw the Barnes link up. I can see them enjoying each other. A striker who plays like a midfielder and a winger who plays like a striker.

No wonder people hate football nowadays. If you can't enjoy watching a player like him, you might as well give up. Not a pop at you by the way. Bergkamp is a good comparison.

Some footballers you could pay to watch and this guy is that. Hes not going to be the polished goalscorer this season... come back in 2027 and see whether he is. Im not sure ive seen a forward so good with the ball at his feet under pressure. The best comparison is Berbatov. Everything is in slow motion.

Been a really good night.

Canny for cook mind.

Its these games where you see the benefit of having a good squad. It wont win us the game on Saturday but its allowed us to get a rest or some minutes into players.

Class from Bruno.

Can't see Joelinton and Bruno getting more than an hour. Willock will be on.

I know its Bradford but Miley has some serious potential.