STM

Worth every penny.

I don't believe any manager would have done a better job than Howe has done for us. They might have matched him and it might have taken a different path but i doubt they would have done better. I can see a scenario where someone had a slower start and we gradually grew into a CL challenging side but ultimately they would have ran into the same problems; fixture congestion, fatigue, injury pile up, expectations getting higher and ultimately a plateau-ening of our trajectory. The real question is whether we want Howe or someone else to take us forward and while everyone is welcome to an opinion, personally I think you'd have to have a screw loose to seriously think there's anyone out there that is realistically going to do a better job. There's plenty of side ways steps but very few definitively better options. Every time Howe hits a bumpy patch we seem to come out of the other side without embarrassing ourselves for too long or not picking up some results. The type of football we play is fantastic, we have reached 2 semi finals + 1 final, gotten to the CL, made some of the greatest memories in our history, broken shit tonnes of statistical records (for what they are worth) and it's been overwhelmingly enjoyable. Long may it continue IMO.

Harwood-Bellis is a good shout. Another one who fits our profile.

I won't change history, I wanted Howe to change the Bruno/Tonali dynamic weeks and weeks ago. However, I've also seen loads of NUFC managers who didn't even attempt to rectify problems or even acknowledge that a problem existed in the first place. I'd rather a thoughtful manager who made changes slowly and methodically than one who chopped and changed based on a few performances. It's taken a while and it's been frustrating but I feel like finally we've got there and the manager deserves credit.

If we have an away leg first, we can cope without Bruno. Play more conservative and play on the break. Second leg, under the lights. Chase whatever score we have to.

I don't even know where start, his two goals are mere icing on the cake. His first time passes are sublime. His first touch assured. His vision is great (you see that pass to Gordon). But his off the ball work... The way he sprints with real pace to get back, cuts out passing lanes, commits little fouls, nudges, kicks, annoys.. it's all this stuff we've been missing. We all love Bruno but it just isn't his game and we even get Bruno Mk 2 which is a mile better than Longstaff. Can anyone remember the West Ham away game, before his suspension, 2-2 IIRC, where he didn't deal with the situation and pretty much cost us 2 points? He was nowhere near it. Now we have our gladiator that we signed and we've also got Bruno back.

He's an absolute handful, if anything. At least he puts himself about, we've all seen strikers do nowt all game. Hopefully the goals will come.

You are utterly pathetic.

I presume Howe wanted Tinos pace against Mbuemo but Tino himself was knackered and it left a gap anyway.

Nice comfy win.

Trippier for Hall switch didn't work.

Couldn't have had the clean sheet lads.

Cheers Eddie. Another Semi Final. Gone are the days when we bow out early from every cup.

Howay lads. Let's keep the clean sheet.

That's a fair shout. They have a similar way of striking a ball.

Never seen someone who looks like scoring every time he shoots like Barnes.

I'm going to be thinking about Tonali all night.

Battering them.

Think that's 2 assists and 2 goals in 3 games for Bruno playing in that position.

Another assist from Bruno playing further forward. If you include this, Leicester and Liverpool how many goal contributions does he have?

Lovely from Bruno for the goal.

Willock has looked lively too. We need him to.

Tino man. Careful.

Watch Tonali closely, the way he cuts out passing lanes. Reminds me of a young Sean Longstaff.

Just need one more IMO.