STM

I just remember Artetas tears. Was lush.

End of January would give him 10 weeks to build up to match fitness. Do we know, is he actually training with the first team or just back around the place working on his own? If he's training competitive with a ball at his feet, then he will be back before the end of January. If he's not then you may be correct.

I miss those cute little balls he can play into forward players feet. Makes it so much easier to build an attack.

I absolutely love that for 95% of our games his post match comments reflect my own views. Very rarely do I think he analyses the game wrong. After years of "rull wa sleeves up" or "the fans cost us that game (yes Pardew actually did this)" or just generally trying to pretend that we played well when we didnt, having Howe tell the truth is so refreshing. I think in his presser yesterday he said something like we were shite at Fulham, have played in spells in the other games and then looked good in the last two, which is exactly how I see it. I also love that he watches the games back multiple times to see what went well/wrong. There's nothing you could tell him about his own players that he doesn't already know.

Quite hard to avoid the "like a new signing" tag but even if we can get 3 good months of Botman it could be crucial to our season but it goes without saying that I'd rather have him fully fixed than rushed back.

He's an incredible manager and incredible person. I've said before that I think he's the best thing about our club. There's not one player I'd keep ahead of our manager being here. For anyone with the illusion that we could get better, wait until "better" walks through the door, starts acting like a cunt in press conferences and doesn't at all get the club. If Howe does have learning points in his management, then it's up to the club and the fans to give him the time required to make that next step. This man gives me amazing footballing memories and footballing moments, including the one last Saturday. Long may it continue.

Goalkeeping has changed so much in 20 years. Watch back a couple of highlights and see Given in all the wrong positions on the goals we concede but it's not just him other keepers seem to have been a bit pap too. He was a great goalkeeper at the time, had a few flaws but was good all the same.

It will be unchanged IMO.

You a betting man?

I just disagree with everything youve said.

Ramblings? Your name looks new but I feel like your bullshit is familiar. Changed usernames? Anyway, I've pointed out why you are wrong, now fuck off back to football manager.

Your first paragraph and your second paragraph are contradicting. Howe doesn't rate him so much that he didn't let him go in the summer? He's not needed now, how do you know where our next injuries are coming from? It's easy to say that NOW the money from the US seems like a good deal (not that we know how much they offered) it didn't in the summer and it wouldn't look a good deal if we picked up 2 or 3 injuries to wide players. Just a reminder, I don't rate Miggy too highly, I just don't think we can give away players who are currently in the matchday squad.

Whatever value Howe holds in him. We shouldn't just let players go for free because they are no longer first team players or because certain people in the fan base think they are "shite". Just not how the real world works.

Well I'm just glad you aren't our DoF.

How much was it for?

I love Harvey Barnes but if someone offers us our money back (or close to), we'd be daft not to take the money. Just from the pragmatic/PSR stand point. Obviously we'd all like to see Murphy or Miggy gone first but we'd actually need offers.

Darren Fletcher is a better example. Darren Fletcher was fairly average at everything he did but was often included in Man United sides that were surrounded in star quality. You'd have Rooney, Ronaldo, Scholes, Carrick and then Darren Fletcher.

Yep. It also doesn't have to be a point of contention. It's OK that he's only good at the boring, nitty gritty, shite sides of the game but also that's he's very good at those bits... whilst also saying that there's loads in his game that aren't good enough for a consistently top side.

Gets it spot on IMO. Basically Longstaff is very good at following instructions, very disciplined tactically and does dozens of small but important things during games that may not be picked up on. When people say "what can he possible do that x player can't do?" perhaps it's this stuff?

Thiaw scored for Milan in Madrid.

I know, I just can't believe it. What on earth. Is Sam Fender doing ours on Sunday?

It's not surely?

That push not a pen like.

Think it's Scholes.

What was Gyorkes doing?