Memphis

A bit disappointing but ultimately a point at Villa Park given everything is just fine.

Barnes. Just not good.enough imo.

It actually works against us a bit being against 10. They can really defend deep and we can't really use our pace to attack, need a talented number 9 to attack these spaces, our lack of true quality finishing and great runs really stands out.

Very good point. Our energy levels have been fantastic. Tracking back relentlessly, hounding Villa at every opportunity. And - dare I say, apart from one miskick, Pope has looked a bit better and more proactive on the ball...

From my perspective, at a ground we typically struggle at and after a really difficult summer, this has been a fantastic half of football. Just missing the goal.

This is an excellent overall performance in 90% of the pitch. Very reassuring. If we had a certain centre forward we would be 2 or more up.

It's a bit concerning how much I love the man. For our club, I could not rate him higher. He understands the tactical side of football and his training continues to be meticulous and enriching. But it's the things beyond that which I find most important. He gets the club. Gets it in his bones. He gets the people and the area. He respects what this club has always been and has a burning ambition for it to fulfill its massive potential. He represents the club brilliantly. He treats his players as grown men and helps them to understand more than just football in their lives. Yet again, he has taken a difficult situation and managed to handle it perfectly - he has made it crystal clear how disappointed he is in Isak and how much it has added difficulty to our season preparations. But he has also not allowed it to serve as an excuse for us, nor has he given in to the temptation of venting his obvious anger publicly, so there's always a way back for Isak should he change his mind. There's truly not another manager in world football I would exchange him for.

I have always really rated Mateta. Just about every time I’ve watched him play, he has looked a real talent. Would be thrilled to see him here.

They are reluctant. Because it does usually mean a financial penalty, yes, but it also does mean something - it means they are publicly making it known they cannot abide being at the club any more. Players know that will generally make them look like shit to most supporters - so they want to have their cake and eat it too by surreptitiously engineering a way out. But it’s important to me that he owns this entirely.

I think some are missing the point of the transfer request. It needs to be there to make it absolutely crystal clear what his intentions are. It also puts it on the record that he has asked to leave - not that “there was a deal where the club said he could leave” or “we had both agreed that he could explore options”, stuff like that. Those are all vague, nonspecific phrases that can be interpreted in multiple ways. A transfer request is very clear and very straightforward. If he wants to leave, he can submit the request. Then he can publicly say what he was promised and he can air all his grievances out for the world to see. If he’s telling the truth and if he is being so badly treated, revealing all of that publicly should result in a swell of public support. Unless…

All isak had to do was to be professional. All he had to do was to be a reasonable person. If he had done that, he could have left next summer with our regards, knowing he was a key part in the revival of a great club - and our supporters would have held him in high esteem as one of the true greats. All he had to do was be patient. But he couldn’t. Now he has forever tarnished his name among the people who loved him most. He turned his back on the manager who helped him go from potentially world class to actually world class. He turned his back on the teammates who helped create his elite status. It’s all such a shame.

Absolutely catastrophic defensive positioning on that counter. Was 2 v 0 until Tonali scrambled back.

I would have thought by now all of us would have learned that Eddie knows how to find and best use players who fit his criteria. Thiaw is fast and is good in 1v1 situations. He’s also got room to improve, and I would expect him to in our setup. If he has a good season, the fee will look like a bargain - see Gordon, Anthony. I welcome him and can’t wait to watch his rise to glory.

Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse all over again

I think the quote was actually Randal Kolo Muani: "NUFC talks for striker? In concrete."

This is the only true Vangelis

Aghehoway Just getting that in early on the off chance he signs

Reminiscing about the time we considered signing Dirk Kuyt for the better part of a decade…

You cannot make.this shit up

I do think Jackson could be an inspired signing under Howe... ...not that it should excuse the slipshod nature of this whole process

I'm excited to see how many new humiliations we can suffer in the coming days!

Can we finally fucking move the fuck on from this shit show?

I have to wonder how long Eddie is going to want to keep spinning straw into gold. It has been a really difficult, albeit fulfilling, run in charge and yet again he is being let down by the shocking trainwreck that is our transfer policy. To be clear, I don't see any signs outwardly that he's considering leaving or that he's unhappy, I'm just speculating that, were it me, I'd be absolutely furious that the wealthiest owners in world football continue to fund our rivals while dragging their feet on making critical decision after critical decision. I'm sure they feel comfortable doing that because Eddie has been so good at overachieving. But it can't last forever.

We have got to find a better outlet for our humiliation kink.