Colos Short and Curlies

I’d love it if this was actually the King

I can see us getting to 66 points, would normally be enough to be 5/6. we’re only 2 wins down on Spurs, it’s the losses rather than draws that have done the real damage first half of the season, a few players back and we can fix that

is it 3 years we get to ‘bank’ the sale proceeds for FFP? Got to be a way we part ex Dubs for £10m but pay £10m over the asking price for someone to make it work

nah got to love the complete lack of appreciation to the wider game and just being caught in his own moment

we know that Howe is the type of manager who puts a lot in ‘system’ players and doesn’t just look at the individual attributes of them. we can see that ekitike in particular can play in the current system and if he’s available on loan feels like a no brainier to see out the season

Top 5 will still be the goal Winning the FA cup will still be the goal. european football of some sort will be the minimum accepted finish. Top 4 last season may have been ahead of schedule, but playing in Europe in 2024/2025 will have been part of the strategy

it’s not total mitigation though. everyone knew this season was going to bring different pressures and the summer was a time to put in a plan B ready for when the fixture stress hit. its weird as we moved forward summer of 22 but didn’t last summer.

genuine question - has there been progress? Not in results or even performance as there is obvious mitigation to those but have we developed since last May? Maybe it’s behind the scenes where this will show but on the pitch there’s little sign of evolving play etc

If PIF are planning on spending in Jan then he’s gone before Jan 1st. I can see them being ruthless

Are the prime games available on demand later? at the in-laws for lunch so can either half watch parts in the background or pull a likely lads

Tonali in disguise ready to nip into William Hill. Eddie looks like he’s desperate to get off for a shite.

I did say Europe, not specifically the CL. and I’d argue that it’s a bit different at Liverpool where they’ve challenged (and won) the league constantly for a number of years. Last year was obviously a blip for them. the players we’ve bought have now had a taste of CL and know they are good enough to go and play for a club pretty much guaranteed to be there year in year out.

no Europe and we probably lose one or two of Bruno, Botman and Isak so a rebuild will need to start, again looking at players who buy into the project. we may have overachieved last season but we need to maintain it if we are going to continue to build. and if that’s what needs to happen, so be it - we’ll just go again

On Balance our home fixtures have been more difficult than the away games based on teams expected finishing position. You’d say spurs and city are the only 2 left at home where a win shouldn’t be expected. first of 10 v. Important home games

hes 33 (or fast approaching it), and with Tino coming in it could be that taking him out of the firing line ends his career as a first choice right back. Weird as that is for someone of his ability. definitely see this as his last season as our undoubted number 1 right back, which says as much for Tino as it does Trips

they aren’t mutually exclusive. I love what he’s doing and 100% think he’s the right man at the right time for us. ill continue to love it whilst he’s here, missteps and all. doesnt mean I need to think he’s going to be here for another 10 years or need to believe that to enjoy today

easy, enjoy the moment without worrying about what may or may not come down the line.

Players and managers putting their hands over their mouths when talking.

I don’t see it here, maybe in his next job. He just wont be afforded the time to move from where we are now to a possession based style.

the last time they had to move from 1st to 2nd choice didn’t work out too badly

I blame the Sweeney pics in the pre match thread

even though it’s straight to pens you’d think that this season would find a way to put 30 mins added time on the end

someone show him the pre match Aniston pics?

It’s one of those ‘if perving on Jen is wrong I don’t want to be right’ moments