KaKa

Can't get over how bad Scotland are man. Don't understand why they can't manage to put together a better team with all the managers and players that have been involved in football in the Prem through the years.

16 minutes ago, Joey47 said:

 

Saivet, Thauvin and Riviere disagree 

The club was such a mess that I'm surprised we had as many pan out as we did. 

I think it's impossible to know if these were really just not good enough, or if the managers we're so bloody clueless about them, and how to get the best out of them, that they had no chance from the outset.

5 minutes ago, SUPERTOON said:

Joelinton should play where he is now or not at all imo 

I'm good with whatever Howe decides on. That man really knows what he's doing like

For what it's worth, I wouldn't be surprised if even if we go with Joe pushed further up, he still then has him drop deeper defensively so we then defend in the 4-3-3 we had this season when we don't have the ball.

2 minutes ago, Joey47 said:

 

You seem to be 100% convinced Howe is going to play a 4-4-2  

 

I think a 3-4-3 or sticking with our 4-3-3 is more likely but I guess all we can do is wait and see. Fuck, I'm so excited for next season!

Yeah, it's just what I see him going with, but we'll see how things play out. Really looking forward to it too!  

41 minutes ago, Keegans Export said:

We aren't going to spend £30m+ on this guy then another big chunk on another CF.

 

Hopefully he does the business 

Think it all depends on what we do with Joelinton. 

My gut feeling is that he will be pushed further up the pitch to play as a support striker/attacking midfielder, similar to how Josh King was used when playing with Callum. If Howe goes that route then it will be Joe and Wilson with Ekitike being another option to Joe, and Wood being another option to Wilson. This would keep Wood further up the pitch like at Burnley when he played with Barnes, and looked much better, and so he'd be much more useful. Couldn't see another striker coming in, in this scenario, but instead a wide forward for either wing, depending on where ASM ultimately plays on the left or right side.

However, we might also see Joe put on the left, with ASM moving on the right, if we don't manage to get in a wide forward we like. In which case we'd likely get another support striker to go into the first team to play alongside Callum Wilson. 

Anyway, really glad to see this deal get tied up, as I read somewhere Howe has really been pushing for it, as he really likes Ekitike a lot, and the kid has been the most productive of the young strikers we've been looking at.

With how quiet this had gone, and recent links to Joao Pedro and Broja, I thought maybe Reims were being difficult, and so we had moved on to different targets. Good to see we had different options lined up though, as that might have put some pressure on Reims.

5 minutes ago, ManDoon said:

He’s falling apart imo

 

Should just enjoy his holiday, and not tweet in the middle of it, if he gets wound up so easily

1 minute ago, wormy said:

 

Careful, mate. If he sees this you'll be reported for abuse of the poor lad. 

 the guy seems so childish.

3 minutes ago, nbthree3 said:

Now he's upset 

 

This guy is something else man. Perhaps needs to find a different gig.

3 minutes ago, nbthree3 said:

 

Completely wrong about Ekitike playing mostly wide. He mostly played in a front two, dropping in behind the other striker and also moving into the channels, and also played alone upfront. He can play on the left too though.

1 hour ago, Shak said:

 

If they think those three aren't any worse as options than the other players we have on the list then by all means get them.

 

However, the focus should be on getting the best player, not the guy we can get a bit cheaper. If the choice is Asencio for 20m or spending double that to get a player that we think is genuinely top class then I expect us to go for the better player.

No man ... you buy the best players you can get in relation to what your budget is. The three I mentioned are top players that just happen to be in their last year and so they are available at really good value, which means we can get even more quality into the squad. No chance they're just looking at them because of the price, as they would obviously have to rate them as well, that goes without saying.

1 minute ago, David Edgar said:

I'm not buying it.

 

Leaving because some of the fans are racist?  He would have known that had he done due diligence beforehand so I very much doubt that was new information.  

 

Looking at his results, I honestly reckon he has taken the easy way out to get some credibility out of a situation that didn't look like it had a long term.

 

Unless something happened behind the scenes where club officials wouldn't condone the actions of the minority of racist fans? 

I was going to ask if these were the first set of black players to ever play in the league

Slimy Pardew, finding a way to slither off, while drawing attention away from the crappy job he was doing. Absolutely typical of this fraudulent mess.

Interesting read. Moving players on is going to be a big issue and could affect FFP. This gives further insight into why spending can't be too crazy this summer. Fat Mike and his stupid contracts to players we didn't need anymore, so he didn't have to spend on transfers to thank for this.

Love this guy's character man. It was such a gutsy call. Absolutely thrilled it worked out so well for him, and now he gets to be the face of the team going forward.

11 minutes ago, ManDoon said:

Think he needs a more suitable mid around him, as that’s just his play style. For France he has Kante, at Juve he had Pirlo. At man United he’s had Scott McTominay and Fred. 
 

He has that leadership quality in him:

 

 

Yeah, I'd say he definitely appears to need a lot of other really good players around him.

4 minutes ago, ManDoon said:

He was brilliant for France when they won the WC and at Juve.

I'll be honest I didn't watch him much at Juve, so I'll give you that. The league is definitely the slowest of all the top leagues so I can see it.

As for France ... I think they overwhelm teams due to the plethora of talent they have on a whole that they can throw at you. One of them is always going to end up doing something special. However, they don't really control games convincingly, and Pogba should be at the heart of doing just that.

2 minutes ago, Nucasol said:

AC Milan’s takeover was on the front page of the FT as being agreed so this will likely give them the edge with Botman and Sanches, the only thing worrying the Milan fans had been if it dragged or fell through.

Wow, just seen that. That's a kick in the teeth. Could mean we miss out then for sure.

Just now, Optimistic Nut said:

I’ve seen the reports, I just don’t think anyone would pay that.

It will happen and it will be one of Lampard or Gerrard 

2 minutes ago, Manxst said:

It’s been quoted that Everton and Villa are offering £120k. That’s what’s he’s after as his last contract, and coming on a free. 

Agreed. As a free agent he's definitely going to get silly money. That's the whole point really.

1 minute ago, Mike said:

Thought Sanches was more "what could've been" rather than "what is" re his ability. He sorted it all out?

Yeah, he's come good at Lille.

Was a big part of them pulling off a massive upset to win Ligue 1 ahead of PSG, not the season just passed, but the year before.

Just now, Manxst said:

Maybe those others weren’t available in January and we’re now investigating the possibility of alternatives? As per the above posts, I think a deal was struck but it was extremely last minute, and the player himself wasn’t sure. Now the season has ended, the terms of that deal wouldn’t necessarily apply again, to any of the concerned parties. 

Yeah, seems that way.

2 minutes ago, et tu brute said:

 

That was a little earlier in January if I remember, pretty sure they agreed a deal on the last day, but the player decided timing was not right.

Ah, right. If that's the case and it was all agreed then it looks like something's gone awry, as nothing has happened since the season ended. 

1 minute ago, Manxst said:

And this is from Ekitike:

However, their attempts to sign him in January fell through, despite an agreement reportedly being found with Reims on deadline day.

It was Ekitike himself to scupper the move, since he favoured staying with Reims for the rest of the season.

Now, the forward has broken his silence on his decision to remain with Reims rather than make the move to Newcastle.

“I have a lot of respect for that big club,” he told L’Equipe. “But it was all happening very quickly; the timing wasn’t right.

“It was better to stay here, to play a full season, to establish myself.”
 

https://www.teamtalk.com/newcastle-united/hugo-ekitike-explains-why-january-transfer-wasnt-right

Yeah, but I'm not sure we ever actually agreed a deal. 

If we had done, then it would have been straightforward after the season ended.

Instead we are now seeing links with other similar young strikers like Pedro and even Broja.

Just now, McCormick said:

He’s since said that they’d sell for €20m.

I think that's what they want upfront now, but they still want bonuses attached.

If they had knocked it down that much we would have sealed the deal straightaway by now.

I will never understand the Pogba hype.