KaKa

Tino stinking it up. Gives it away again.

Another poor pass from Tonali.

Hall and Tino awful defending.

And now Tonali is at it playing it out. God help us.

Been this way for too long now.

Enjoying having Miley and Ramsey in midfield. Looking good.

Good play on the break. Barnes should do better.

Watch the latest press conference. He says he isn't up to it physically yet as he hasn't done the kind of training needed to get to the required level of the rest of the team. There's a difference between being fit and being match fit. Likely why he has looked so awful pressing, which he ranked highly at previous seasons.

They gave him a silly wage. Think they're stuck with him.

According to Howe he hasn't been! The teams hardly been doing any kind of full training with any sort of intensity with all of the games apparently.

Yeah, but I said in the lead up to the season. Don't think it's going to be ideal having him coming back late from the World Cup and needing to get back up to speed.

From the way Howe spoke about him in his press conference, it looks like he'll be here next season, and they'll be banking on him showing a big improvement after a full pre-season and more training time in the lead up to the season. Um ... the only slight problem is that it's a World Cup year, and he's going to be taking part, and so not sure how that's going to work out at all.

Yeah it is. I think the best bet is for him to be in a system where he is used as an 8, and where he is encouraged to carry the ball more often and shoot more often, as the video points out that he doesn't really do enough of that despite having the capability and being quite effective at both things.

Interesting break down. He brings up that he is a hybrid of a 6 and an 8 and so is not elite at either. Also mentions that he's not sure moving him to the 6 has made Newcastle better as it has affected build up play and protection of the defence. Pretty much what I see with him in that position really. Just doesn't work that well.

But why? We've all been watching him for long enough now. We can see that he's a good athlete.

Think we'll see a better balance of these attributes in the team the more we venture outside of shopping in the Prem as much. They are typically far more expensive and harder to get once they are Prem proven.

Lewis Hall is a hell of an athlete! He's quick, strong, and has a wicked change of direction.

They aren't opposed to each other.

They aren't mutually exclusive though. Just need to do a better job of finding the athletes with better footballing ability.

We always end up going to the wingers too early in the build up phase way too often, with their backs to goal, because we struggle so much playing through the middle, and it's been infinitely worse with Bruno missing. They drop too deep too often to try and help initiate play, and these are not the sort of wingers we have at all really.

He followed that up by saying with an aim to going forward and scoring goals and not just passing sideways and backwards for the sake of it. I understand where he's coming from. The main problem though is that in the central midfield area we only have one player that can consistently get on the ball and make good use of it. I think in that midfield area we can only carry one such player that is not particularly strong in that area, and it has to be in the 8 position that pushes further forward and tries to get closer to the striker. This is the position Joelinton currently plays. Having a player that is not particularly good at getting on the ball and distributing it well consistently in that deeper 6 position, in Tonali, has been a big hinderance, and I'm really hoping that can be resolved after he gets the move he is seemingly after, which could be a blessing in disguise IMO. If Gordon also leaves, looking at a left winger that is more consistent keeping hold of the ball would also be good as he can be too loose with the ball as well. And then on the right wing, I think they should also move forward with the view to having Elanga as the secondary option there as he needs to work on his game further and continue to develop, and shouldn't be the first choice on that side as things stand. A signing on that side that is also tighter in possession of the ball would be great.

So much of the pressure the team invites on itself is from poor play going forward.

Personally, I really enjoy Howe's style of play when the team are really on it. Just need to improve the first 11 in a couple of areas, and then desperately need to improve the squad with better players that can come in when players in the first team are flagging, and Howe needs to make use of these players more, so that the team can keep up the same energy levels through the season.

If they blow it then the club deserves whatever it gets, that's the way the game works. Can't just stand still and not do anything out of fear of what might happen. Meanwhile clubs like Brentford and Bournemouth have sold their best players and showed Newcastle up this season.

It will be interesting to see if this is the case. Quite honestly, I'd drop everyone that is looking like they'll be moving on. So Gordon, Tonali and Tino. The season is pretty much done and it's so boring watching the same crap performances. It's why I actually liked that he started Osula last week, and that he delivered. Put Woltemade up there with him the remainder of the way and try something different for goodness sake. Joelinton and Bruno will be out and so Tonali will have to play this week I guess, but once they return, then no more Tonali either. Lets see Miley back at right back for the remainder, where he was doing well previously and Tino can sit as well.