KaKa

Welbeck is an absolute handful. Makes so many things happen with his play. The Arsenal team look so much more threatening when he is in it.

Oh my goodness man ... Arsenal are wasting every chance you want!

Ridiculously bad effort from Ozil. Crazy.

Well done refs. Well done.

Why can't they take their time to make the right call like that more often?

Bernardo Silva is quality. Love his game. Very nice pick up for them.

Some interesting bits from an article in the Chronicle this morning. Rafa getting stuck in straight away. Such a great manager man.

Rafa Benitez wants the majority of his Newcastle United recruits signed up by the start of pre-season – just as they were last summer.

 

Benitez is once again foregoing a summer break in order to rebuild his Newcastle United squad. Where previous managers were happy to let events take care of themselves when it comes to recruitment, Benitez wants to force the issue and there is no sign of his remarkable relentlessness receding.

 

 

Benitez was on Tyneside last week detailing minor tweaks that he wants at the training ground. Last summer, of course, he ordered structural changes in order to freshen up the environment the players were operating in and he’s asking for similar this season. He wants additional space in the player’s area and believes these Magpie marginal gains will again help create the sense of a club moving forward every close season.

The truth is Benitez and his staff have hit the phones since promotion was assured and are carrying out extensive groundwork in assembling a list of players they think can add quality to Newcastle’s squad in the coming weeks and months.

 

Make no mistake, Benitez is spinning plenty of plates as he bids to make the high calibre additions that will lift both Newcastle’s level and send a message to the players that there is work to do if they’re going to manage the serious step-up in quality that promotion brings.

 

Newcastle have struck up a fine relationship with Chelsea, where Benitez used to work, and are in prime position to land any one of the high calibre players they are prepared to loan out this summer. Tammy Abraham is one, with Chelsea keen to send him out on a season-long loan to a Premier League club next season. But another worth watching is Kurt Zouma – a player Newcastle tried to sign when he was in Ligue 1. He has pace, ability to play from the back and composure on the ball – all high on Benitez’s check-list as he considers the next recruitment move.

What is striking is the amount of leg work Benitez and his team are carrying out. Background checks are being made on plenty of players and many of those linked HAVE been on Benitez’s radar.

 

He will also look to exploit contract clauses and any situation where the hand of selling clubs might be forced by a player’s reluctance to commit to a new deal. Burnley’s Andre Gray and Fulham’s Tom Cairney are both understood to be keen on a move to Newcastle.

 

Benitez is in a rush to get things sorted as soon as possible. He wants pre-season to be as intense and important as it was last season, when he laid the groundwork for a long and gruelling campaign on two-a-days at United’s Benton training base in the weeks before the campaign began.

 

He wants his summer signings to play a key role next season so it makes sense that United are keen to get them bedded in as soon as possible. Benitez would be entitled to take a break after a long and hard season, just as his predecessors were. But the message from the manager’s office is the sooner the better as Benitez refuses to rest on his laurels.

WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT?!

Think Rafa is going to buy a lot of players that are not quite established yet, but have really good potential, who can all make a contribution. Similar to his early Liverpool days.

The guy has already addressed it and apologised. Leave it be man.

Herrera is such a con artist.

Lingaard man

What a weakling

Mourinho just can't do decent football.

Big game and so didn't want to take any kind of risk, which is understandable, but my goodness this is disgusting.

Everton have never really had a quality attacking midfielder known for creating chances either have they? Barkley never quite figured that role out.

Having Hazard and Pedro in behind him would be absolutely frightening. Think he'd really flourish.

Considering he's coming on a free its not that bad. Its like paying 4.7 m for him for 3 years without wages. He probably has 2 good seasons left in him

Very true.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!!! That is unbelievable

Yeah, we definitely shouldn't sign him. That would absolutely happen if it were us

Defoe is one of those blessed onesthat ages incredibly well.Having said that, it's a bit of a stretch, but I feel he will still look good at 37. The guy seems to always be in great nick.

Gylfi Sigurdsson on his way to Everton apparently.

Karanka left Boro over issues of being supported with funds. No way he goes there.

Only someone looking to take advantage of them to get a paycheck would go there right now.

"if it's the right long term project" Aye pards. Because you're so far above Sunderland's station, you'd be doing them a favor.

He's so full of it. He just want back on the gravy train man. Doesn't care what kind of project it is

http://www.espnfc.co.uk/sunderland/story/3131943/alan-pardew-in-consideration-for-vacant-sunderland-job-sources

 

Would be genuinely hilarious if he got it. The most unpopular man in the North East since Wearside Jack.

:lol:

http://www.espnfc.co.uk/sunderland/story/3131943/alan-pardew-in-consideration-for-vacant-sunderland-job-sources

Alan Pardew in consideration for vacant Sunderland job - sources

 

Former Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew is the surprise name in the frame for the vacant manager's job at Sunderland, sources close to Pardew have told ESPN FC.

 

Sunderland are beginning their search for a new manager after David Moyes resigned from his role on Monday just 24 hours following the final game of the season -- Sunday's 5-1 defeat to champions Chelsea.

 

The Black Cats are keen to get the right man to replace Moyes. They are currently preparing for life back in the Championship next season after they finished bottom of the Premier League, with just six wins from their 38 games.

 

A number of names have already been linked with the vacancy, but it is former Newcastle chief Pardew's name that is the surprise for the Sunderland role.

 

Pardew is keen to get back into management this summer, having been out of work since being sacked by Crystal Palace in December.

 

The 55-year-old has been linked with several jobs since leaving Palace, and sources have told ESPN FC he could be interested in the Sunderland job if he feels it is the right long-term project.

 

Pardew boasts a wealth of experience, having had spells in charge of Reading, West Ham United, Charlton, Southampton, Newcastle and Palace. And he has the experience of leading a club to promotion from the Championship to the Premier League after guiding West Ham to the top flight in 2005.

 

Pardew spent four years at Newcastle, including winning Manager of the Year in the 2011-12 season as he guided the club to a fifth-placed finish in the Premier League.

 

Sunderland have shown in the past they are not afraid to appoint a former Newcastle manager at the Stadium of Light after giving Sam Allardyce the job in 2015.

Pardew man ... such a desperate leech. Will do anything to get on the gravy train 

Only someone absolutely desperate to get back into football would take this gig. Someone that couldn't get a job with anyone else at all. They are in an absolutely awful predicament. Crazy club.

Leicester's pitch pattern is pretty epic.