LionOfGosforth

Because one half decent performance in 4 games is considered ok or good now? For a club with your expectations, it's a terrible effort. And you know fine well bringing Howe into the discussion is completely disingenuous and not based on anything or intended to promote good discussion at all. We're in the very beginning of a slow build towards sustained success and most would know and recognize that. My initial comment was not based on 5 games either, you were quite poor for large swathes of last season too. Beaten comprehensively two seasons running by Brighton at home, we ran you out of town in convincing fashion, conceded 6 at City, 7 at Liverpool (most embarrassing result in living memory). Without microscopically or forensically watching your performances and with a fan's layman eye, I simply and genuinely don't see the basis for optimism around Ten Hag at all.

Understatement of the year

Well you were rubbish against Wolves, dreadful at Spurs, half decent at Arsenal, utter tripe today. Missed the Forest game and it took a crazy comeback to win it. So how would you describe your games then?

5 games and you've been utterly terrible in all of them. I think our expectations are radically different as clubs but Howe is 1 million percent supported by me and most sane individuals on this board.

Ten Hag is just going to go the same way as every single manager they've had since SAF. Initial optimism, giving way to grim realization he's not the answer, with a dash of refusal to accept it until another season is wasted for them.

Tune in to see how Minteh did, discover the latest news is TCD is gonna chin Jam. This forum never ceases to deliver in a big way.

The away crowd is typically excellent, has always been that way down the years. It's the sit-on-their-hands home crowd I worry about more, especially when the chips are down. Wish the home support had more of a bunker mentality every week and not just when Man Utd come to town.

Nailed it

In a nutshell. Loved watching them spank Liverpool and Chelsea last year. Their model seems to rely a lot on idiot clubs like Chelsea overpaying for their players (and manager, wouldn't be shocked if Chelsea, vile cunts that they are, tried to poach De Zerbi next) but they've made enough in the past couple of years to sustain themselves for a long time it would seem.

Just the fact you trousered 178m quid for Cucurella and Caicedo to Chelsea is enough to salute what you as a club are doing

Made me chuckle Jamo

Aye, he's actually an excellent young player from the bits i've seen

Gewch the ewtility man off to Sterk as well. Fire-sale marra but aye let's laugh at the Mags playing Dortmund, Milan and PSG

One fit forward on the bewks marra. Wonder who they'll drag in last day.

Have a misty recollection of Paul Moran too. He was on loan from Spurs around 91 I think. Only played maybe a half against Wolves, seem to recall him missing from a yard out and was painfully terrible. Actually looked drunk on the pitch. Turns out he went out and got absolutely shit-faced with Gazza the night before the game

Didn't have a single solitary attribute that would be considered useful for a professional footballer. Some players kind of look the part, even if they're not. This bloke even looked rubbish.

Even give me someone like Billy Whitehurst over a pea-hearted git like Pingel. At least Billy dismembered the odd CB and put the keeper in the net with the ball a few times.

Fair

He was garbage but he could run. Believe it or not, we've had strikers who couldn't even do that.

Wish there was a "love post" option. Pingel was just the worst. Throughout the 80s, we generally had decent strikers, even very good ones at times. Even George Reilly and Tony Cunningham were tryers, gave their best, just lacked talent. Pingel though...what the fuck were they thinking? I think he was a Jim Smith signing but could have been a ghastly Mcfaul or Colin Suggett-sanctioned buy a bit earlier. What a season 88/89 was

Pingel and McDonald were the worst I saw. I only recall Pingel scoring once and it went in off his lug against Liverpool of all teams. McDonald was a big useless lump as well though I saw him notch a header at Sheff Wed in a 2-1 win. Dave Mitchell was canny useless as well but I think the Ashley era strikers were almost as bad.

I remember him playing with Cole, signed in Autumn 94 I think

Loved Malcolm Allen, fearless and committed little radge who scored a fair few and loved his time at the club.

Kitson missed from about 3 yards against Arsenal, same game that Beardsley won it with a last minute raker in 94. I still remember the bloke behind me yelling "I could have put that in with me knob ya useless cunt". Ruthless, he wasn't.

I can't tell you how excited I was that we were trying to sign Kitson, thought he was great at Derby and Leicester and would be brilliant up top with Cole and Beardsley behind. Then he messed us about and left without signing (he later did anyway but wasn't great). I still recall the headline in the mirror "It's Paul Twitson" as he drove away without signing over some small cash thing