Memphis

In all three away matches this year, we've trailed at the half. We have not scored a goal in the first half away from home. We have the third-worst xG differential (-0.61), behind only Brentford and Ipswich Town. We have only won the xG battle once all season, and that was against Wolves...barely. We have the third-fewest touches in the opponent penalty area while allowing the second-most touches in the penalty area.

In spite of that, we have only lost once - and yeah, we perhaps could have snatched a point against Fulham. 

But the underlying numbers are telling the story of a team that isn't creating enough good chances, isn't stopping opponents from creating enough good chances, and has relied on luck, goalkeeping, and blockbuster goals outside the box to win matches. That cannot be sustained. So now the onus is on Howe to make some significant changes. No one should be safe from being dropped. We have used the fewest number of players in the PL this year (19 total); whether we have enough depth to play more is debatable but we already have a midfield that looks tired. I have backed and will continue to back Howe, I think he's a brilliant manager and has been a huge blessing to the club. Still, there are enough significant warning signs that some major changes are needed before our form takes a huge dip. 

Wouldn't be averse to the unprecedented QUINTUPLE SUB at the half. We are absolutely shocking.

It was a lovely interview and he does seem like a very sweet guy.

But fuck man the production is bad. So many cuts, I guess to get around Sandro's English? 

Then you have some random agent/producer/whoever getting a toe in the shot. 

On top of that, the room could not look more depressing. I dunno. Get your shit together, Sky.

We're definitely due for a 30-shot game where we lose 0-1 on a horrible penalty decision. 

I would say we can't keep this up but maybe we can. Surely we'll find the right mix and push on. Hard to believe we've played well for maybe 1/4 of the match time, if that, and we've got 10 points from 12 and are sitting third. 

Winning is a skill. Good teams find ways to win and bad teams find ways to lose. 

This shit-stirring is getting seriously weird now. As ever, people are talking past each other rather than to each other. 

FACT: Paul Mitchell doesn't think the existing scouting setup was "fit for purpose".

FACT: Paul Mitchell was hired to overhaul the system, with his job considered "90% about recruitment".

FACT: Within the existing scouting system, Eddie Howe - aided by Nickson, Ashworth, et al - made several astute signings.

FACT: Eddie Howe has said he understands and supports the idea of reshaping the scouting system and signing internationally.

FACT: As a club, we have to modify our existing way of recruiting because PSR/FFP is restricting our potential outflow of cash.

FACT: Paul Mitchell has praised Eddie Howe's coaching and has spoken that they're forging a working relationship.

All of those things are objectively true. Mitchell can call for an overhaul of the scouting system without shitting all over the previous signings. Howe can rightly be proud of his role in the signings while also understanding that the system was not good enough or able to identify a wide enough variety of players.  What people are doing is conflating all these things - saying that Mitchell calling the previous system "not fit for purpose" means that he thinks all those signings were also not fit for purpose. That's incorrect. And by the same logic - Howe defending his signings means that he's criticizing Mitchell's new approach. Again, not necessarily true.

Nature abhors a vacuum, as the saying goes. When Mitchell delivers his interview on the first Monday of a two-week layoff, people have got to fill their column inches with something in that interim period. Level-headed, reasoned analysis doesn't sell papers.

This is an interesting situation. I have to say, I do give Mitchell credit for doing the interview - apparently he sat for 90 minutes with the Newcastle-based journalists and that's a step in the right direction. I didn't expect that he would do that, and I didn't expect that he would be as candid as he was. 

I think you have to look at everything through the lens of: Why? Why would he do the interview and what was his goal? I think he knows that to get fans back onside, he has to make it right. Certainly he wants to wash his hands of the mess that was this window, but I think he also wants to reset the perception of Newcastle in the market, both inside of football and outside. We have been seen as domestically-focused, willing to overpay, unable to sell, and behind the eight-ball when it comes to PSR. Some of that is just perception, some is true. But I think Mitchell wanted to assert that he is in control, that he is setting out his stall to change the way we operate in player trading, and that changes will be coming. That's important for fans but also for other teams, we have to reinvent our plans with the PSR nonsense now restricting us greatly.

I think he also wanted to underline that PIF are still investing, still involved, and still have huge ambition. That remains to be seen - the stadium will tell the tale on that - but it sounds good for now.

We've not had someone in this position who is this qualified, competent, and confident - and that's a little strange for us to see. There are interactions we've not really had to deal with before, and how Howe, Mitchell, PIF, and everyone else adjusts will be critical. But I was sort of impressed with his confidence and his plan. I'd rather have him be a bit arrogant than a bit demure. Maybe I'm overly optimistic but I feel better about the situation than I did a few days ago.

I always appreciate the way Eddie Howe handles press conferences. He's very well-spoken and comes across as a controlled, intelligent person. I thought he walked a tightrope today with regard to being honest while not passing the blame or casting aspersions on the recruitment personnel. His demeanor spoke to his disappointment and frustration, but he certainly seemed determined to continue and put things right. He has a chance now to do his thing "on the grass", as Eales put it, and try to squeeze out results from a largely unchanged squad. 

Clearly as a club we fucked this window royally. I don't know whether to blame Eddie Howe, Paul Mitchell, Yasir al-Rumayyan, or the PSR changes. It doesn't matter to me. This was a failure on all parties to communicate and to effectively pursue the help we so desperately needed. It can't happen again. But none of that has anything to do with the job Howe has done for the club over the last two years. It's silly and counterproductive to assert otherwise. It's been a fantastic run and long may it continue, in spite of this shambles of a window.

You can't begrudge the Palace fan. Quality gif work. No issues here. 

This has officially been the biggest waste of time in recent memory. Maybe the unending Dirk Kuyt Monitoring comes close but I don't think we ever even made an offer.

Irrespective of how you feel about the club, the owners, or PSR, we fucked this up big big big time. I don't know who to blame.and ultimately in this case it doesn't matter. We fucked up. 

SURPRISE!!! We're comfortable with Krafth starting at CB!

There's no way we are in the ballpark on wages for players going to Saudi. Transfer fees are fine but I'd imagine the wages would blow up our structure. 

4 minutes ago, OverThere said:

That's all well and good but we don't know if Mitchell has a list of alternatives but EH only wants Guehi.

That's a question that could be posed to him. Among many others. Obviously he can choose to answer - or not - and I'm sure he would be discreet. But he needs to be the one facing the questions about the activity, or lack thereof, in the window. Ultimately he is the final decisionmaker and it's unfair to Howe to make him be the only one to try to explain the club's rationale.

He is well within his remit to do as he chooses with transfer policy. 

What I would ask is that after the window is closed, he sit down for a media session with journalists and face questioning. Don't send Eddie Howe out to do the mandated media appearance and force him to answer questions on things he ultimately doesn't control.

I don't think that's too much to ask.

As Geddy Lee once sang, "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."

This is one of the dumbest sagas I can remember. Have we actually been pleading with them all this time? All the info seems to be coming from Palace so who knows what we've actually done? But regardless, just walk away. We've all wasted tremendous amounts of time on this bullshit. 

I do hope there is a Plan B or C or Z or whatever we're on at this point that involves actually signing someone.

Just remember whatever happens, make sure to spin it to reinforce your preconceived notions. 

I can feel it. Today's the day. 

Two wins and a draw from three games, two away from home, and we've yet to put together more than 20 minutes of good play. I *think* that bodes very well for us but shit it's hard to watch in the meantime.

Fucking Temu Grealish

1 minute ago, relámpago blanco said:

We are missing Schar and Botman and have Krafth and Burn instead.  I think its a simple as that, we cant play out from the back properly.

For sure that diminishes our ability to play out from the back. But unfortunately Forest know that too - and we haven't really made any adjustments to compensate. 

We're missing link play apart from Tonali. Back four struggle to move it up the pitch, we're going back far too often when under pressure. Tonali is class at anticipating the next pass long before he receives the ball. Then we're struggling to link the midfield and the forwards - Barnes and Almiron have offered very, very little and Isak looks uninspiring to say the least. We miss Willock's running and his ability to move the ball up the pitch, we don't have enough carriers right now.

I'm inclined to give Hall a little break because he's still young and is playing with a pretty shit defensive group, but he has been a vulnerability.

I don't want to bang on about it but Tonali is just routinely firing first-time balls right where they need to go, he completes passes for fun that 95% of other players wouldn't even try

Tonali man 

Lewis Hall looks a different player when Burn/Krafth are the CBs. To be fair, he's been given some poor passes, but he does look shaky tonight. Our distribution from the back with this group is pretty poor.