merlin

Great result from a very professional away performance - just what was needed for this game. We were in charge virtually from the kick-off in the first half and soon had them rocking because I reckon they had planned on getting at us straight away in order to try to get an early goal/get their crowd going but we took the wind out of their sails. The first goal was a bit lucky, only Gayle's anticipation and being on the spot for the mistake from Green made it better than an OG, but we did deserve to be in front. They came into it more towards HT but good defending kept their chances to a minimum although we didn't have many clear ones throughout the whole game. Gayle's second, from an excellent move, gave them a mountain to climb and to their credit they never really threw the towel in and they began to get more of the play, mainly because Perez gave the ball away several times ; he was really bad at this in the second half, delaying on the ball far too long and getting dispossessed instead of playing a simple space-making pass to a waiting team-mate. Perez looks great at times, but is very inconsistent and this is a trait we need to wipe out of the club if we are ever to win anything as Rafa will well know. Under Pardew etc we would probably have lost this match or dropped 2 points at least - Rafa's ruthless setting up of the side, esp away from home, makes it hard for opponents at this level to get at us in a really meaningful way and that is the key to getting out of this league. Entertaining is for the home crowd in my book and I don't care if other fans hate us as long as we get points at their grounds. Monk DID have his words about us and Norwich well and truly rammed down his throat as I had hoped and he was grasping at straws about their refused pen...it is true that a weak ref may have given it to a home side in that situation but this ref was correct in his final judgment as to whether it was a deliberate handball. For all Colback's faults, this would have been a harsh award had it been given. I hope we see plenty more opposing managers whingeing about our 'good fortune', and 'expensive players' as the season goes on although its inevitable that we will drop points at some stage. I wouldn't think that it would be a recurring phenomena under this manager though...! We are SO lucky to have this guy in charge and long may he remain as boss. If we go up, there will have to be major changes to parts of the side and I am sure Rafa knows this too......

The applauding in the 17th minute should cease now...this happened over 2 years ago and nothing is going to bring these guys back. The fans have more than shown their affection and respect for the guys killed and now we have to move on. Millions died in 2 World Wars to keep the country free but we only note their sacrifice ONCE a YEAR. Enough is enough now.

That's because all the media etc are depicting this as a more difficult game than any we have faced which is not strictly true ; what IS true is that we are playing a team against whom there has always been a degree of niggle at a time when they are showing some good form...and we are away from home too. My only concerns surround our own side and whether they have the bottle and collective grit to overcome the obvious disadvantages after they have become used to steamrollering previous opponents - the fact is that if both sides play to their true capabilities, we should narrowly win...if not, and we play below par, we could lose. The longer we keep a clean sheet, the more likely we are to win..an early goal for them will get their tails up. An interesting scenario - normally, I wouldn't worry too much about a defeat after so many wins but in this case, I want to see NUFC ram Monk's words down his throat... What words were they? He said that he thought Norwich were a better side than NUFC and more likely to win the league.

That's because all the media etc are depicting this as a more difficult game than any we have faced which is not strictly true ; what IS true is that we are playing a team against whom there has always been a degree of niggle at a time when they are showing some good form...and we are away from home too. My only concerns surround our own side and whether they have the bottle and collective grit to overcome the obvious disadvantages after they have become used to steamrollering previous opponents - the fact is that if both sides play to their true capabilities, we should narrowly win...if not, and we play below par, we could lose. The longer we keep a clean sheet, the more likely we are to win..an early goal for them will get their tails up. An interesting scenario - normally, I wouldn't worry too much about a defeat after so many wins but in this case, I want to see NUFC ram Monk's words down his throat...

If Shelvey DID make stupid remarks then he is an idiot....this could cost us dearly and he should have thought of that before making them ; there are plenty of things he could have said to an opponent which would have been 'legally' insulting rather than falling into the trap of using racism, which as we know, is a prime crusade of outfits like the FA. If it is an attempt by an opposing club - esp one which would like to scramble into the promotion frame like Wolves who are on the fringes - to cause trouble without real proof, then they should be punished. We are going to have to get hold of a creative m/f player pronto, either by loan or in the Jan window or our promotion push could be derailed because we will struggle to score the necessary number of goals and the powers that be may just be a bit pleased by this...I believe we have powerful enemies both at political(because of Ashley)and football level...look at the lousy decisions we keep falling foul of - some MAY be inefficiency but....

This is a tough game for a number of reasons - Monk has gone out on a limb to say that Norwich are a better side than us and he will be anxious for his team to prove it ; games against them are always tough and competitive, I can remember us beating them at SJP a few times in the early 70s and they were the best side in the country then ; they will also try to use this game as a springboard for a promotion push and a win for them would raise their hopes so they will be going for it in front of a full house. A real test of our Champions' potential and if we win this, it will dishearten the other promotion chasers...if we lose it will raise all their hopes.

Yep - he's decent at Champ level but hasn't got the pace to be a PL CB...he's a year or two older than Lascelles as well.

True right now but under Rafa, I have zero doubts he will become that, I'm pretty sure the change in Clark since he joined us has a lot to do with the coaching he's recieving. I've certainly not seen anything from John Stones to suggest he is worth the money Man City paid and that's your benchmark right now for young English CBs. Agree totally - Lascelles has the potential to be a top CB and is English to boot...would be a mistake in my opinion, if he was sold at this point because Rafa can get much more out of him and his attitude is spot on too.

Cannot see Lascelles leaving at this point, but he could easily do so if we fail to go up, or we do go up and Rafa falls out with Ashley. 18m would represent a tidy profit and we all know how our owner looks at that....if everything looks OK, he could hang on for a year or two.

Winning these type of games is what gets you promoted....being able to dig in and battle away from home as well as turning on the style at SJP. Haven't seen any of the game but by the sound of it, we had to fight for the points and that shows character...remember that they had beaten other promotion challengers prior to this so we have broken their run. The referee sounds as if he has both done us a favour(with their pen refusal)and screwed us with all that extra time - all credit to our players for being able to play the game out against the odds. I am not surprised that people are impressed with Darlow because I also think he has shown he could be a great keeper...improved with every appearance last season. Another win, another step to the target....

Some are being very conservative in their estimates of how the club can do in its first season back in the PL...IF we get promotion this season. I am not prone to looking at the possibilities through B & W glasses, but I definitely believe Rafa - if properly supported in the transfer market - can get us into the top 10 relatively easily. His experience and mentality will ensure that there will be no 'consolidation' in the first season and he will demand the same attitude from his players. Getting into top 6 may take a while longer, but I wouldn't rule it out as a possibility. All this depends on getting promotion this season and that - and only that - should be what we are focussed on. Rafa will have the players in that frame of mind but he WILL have a plan to carry forward IF we achieve that....on the downside, he may also have one to action if we fail...!

This match is a great test for the players..against a side who have been doing well in the League of late and who we have just thumped but rested many of their first teamers for the cup as did NUFC. We need to get results in games like this and on previous occasions we have flopped after a good performance. Consistency is everything at this level and plenty of people are dying to see us flop again, esp other teams like Villa, Brighton and Norwich who feel aggrieved that we have done so well after relegation and also because we have bought well. Promotion from this league is all about being able to handle pressure - esp when you are bookies' faves to go back up again - and about grinding out away results against teams who want to knock you down. PNE fall right into that category right now and a win there would dishearten many of our rivals, so we need to go to it.

I wouldn't bank on that - Arsenal want trophies and Rafa delivers them. Look at Everton under Koeman, he's a good manager but he has hardly had the instant impact that Rafa has had on NUFC. Arsenal are under pressure from their fans to win silverware - esp to challenge for the PL title - and a manager like Benitez is their best bet of delivering that. I have no doubt that if Ashley supports him in being able to challenge the likes of Arsenal in the transfer market, he will stay at SJP - he has more to gain here. If Ashley doesn't, he would be attracted by a club like Arsenal because they would offer him a better chance of challenging the top 3 and obtaining CL football.

Whether Rafa leaves any time soon is really down to what happens in the summer if we get promotion. If he senses any withdrawal of the club's ambition at board level, there is little doubt in my mind that he will be off when the first decent offer comes in. He wants to make a success of whatever he chooses to do and that means being able to compete with clubs like Arsenal etc. I won't say Man C, Chelsea or Man U because those clubs will always have far greater resources than we will unless we too are taken over by unbelievably wealthy Arabs or Chinese but I don't think those clubs are his yardstick anyway. Arsenal WOULD be a draw unless we show we aim to compete with them in the transfer market. As for England, he may be flattered but I cannot see him leaving for that job just yet and in any case, he will know what a poisoned chalice it really is...why would he want that when much of the NE is behind him at NUFC unless the job here becomes impossible or too difficult. In 5 years it may be a different matter but I hope he has made NUFC a successful club in silverware terms by then. He is one of the world's top managers and we should be very grateful he is here but clubs and countries around the world will always want someone of that calibre when there are vacancies at management level....let us hope it doesn't happen any time soon.

This is the first full game I have been able to see here in Oz since the Fulham game at the start of the season(have been away for several weeks)and what a massive transformation Rafa has wrought on this side. I expected it to take a few months before the team really gelled but they are now playing like a side who have been together for a few years. It isn't just the goals that make it all so noteworthy, but the general maturity of play and willingness to play for each other and provide great movement off the ball. Both Shelvey and Mitrovic look far fitter than last season and the result is a constant threat to opposition sides. We have had really good sides in the past and without doubt, some players(like Beardsley, Shearer, Cole, Lee etc.)who may have individually been more skilful than the current players but it is questionable whether we have ever had a more COHESIVE unit than the one Rafa is assembling. We are NOT a great team yet, but there is certainly potential to become one in future years if things go to plan. We WILL come a cropper at some stage - all teams do - but there is a great platform for Rafa to work on. We need promotion this season above all else and if achieved, watch for some great signings by the club in summer......we especially need another skilled m/f general to cover Shelvey. Delighted for all concerned, especially the younger fans because they will be going to work/school with a real spring in their step now...even oldies like me feel like that...!! Long may it continue and well done to the players and the management...fantastic stuff after the last few years.

As long as Ashley lets Benitez(who gets co-operation from Charnley on the way he wants to run the club and buy players)get on with the job and provides a decent financial support to the progress which everyone wants(that does NOT mean providing endless cash for players, just an acceptable level), then things are OK. We all know that he has made serious errors in his running of the club previously but it seems that he has been badly advised by previous members of management as well as not being realistic about the club's potential ; it is up to HIM to keep the ship on an even keel and if he does, we should all be reasonably happy with the situation. We cannot change the past and we have been singularly fortunate that Rafa decided to stick with us after relegation when he could have walked away...so has Ashley because his investment could have gone the way of the Titanic if Benitez had gone. IF we get promoted and Ashley provides Rafa with a decent budget for buying the players we will need to progress, then all parties should be prepared to put the past behind and make the club what it should be in future. Chinese investment could be good, it could be bad...its all a lottery. Man City have been very lucky that their Abu Dhabi backers have big plans for the club but it doesn't mean that ALL owners would be like that. Its annoying to think that it could have been us, but that is history now. However, any backsliding on promises by Ashley would destroy what Rafa has begun so its up to him...it's also up to us to try and put the past mistakes behind so both owner and fans have one chance to pull together - its up to both parties.

If they score first I reckon we'll lose or draw at best - we are not good at overcoming a deficit and they will see this game as a chance both to peg us back and to kick-start their season. We could well do with winning this and if we lose the rest of the division will start asking questions about how good we really are....

Would much rather have had the 3 points on Saturday than win this, esp if any injuries occur. Nevertheless, I think we might sneak it.

Promotion - every time. If you want the club to be able to attract the best players, be among the big boys(which we should be, always)and progress to be a top club perceived as such around the world, its got to be promotion. We can wait another year or two for a cup - and I say that as one who witnessed our last major silverware won in 1969.

They've signed a top youngster in Gabriel Jesus, the 19 yr old CF from Palmeiras too...he joins either in Jan or next season. Watched him playing for Brazil v Colombia and he is excellent for a 19 year old....should be too, cost them 27m GBP

I think it's much too early to be slashing our wrists yet. We're eight games into a 48 game season, and we're four points from the top despite three incredibly s**** losses. No one is streaking away with the league; Huddersfield have started well but they're not about to go on some record-breaking run. Our inconsistency is something of a curse, yes, but the positive is that teams will turn up thinking they have a chance. Better that than knowing they're going to under the kosh for 90 minutes and parking the bus (which we have demonstrated we are unable to circumvent). Rafa's not going to change the habits of a lifetime and suddenly stop rotating heavily. Seems obvious his attacking options are Plan Target Man or Plan Quick Striker - but the plans don't just rely on who's up front so much as the other positions around them. We can only hope that he gets the mix right sooner rather than later, because we don't want to still be experimenting in November or January. I agree with the general tone of your post, but some things are open to a different interpretation ; yes, teams may come to SJP thinking they have a chance, but it won't stop them parking the bus as they know we are poor at defeating sides who try this - a point at SJP will be very welcome and many will try to aim for that. Yes, we still have plenty of games to go, but my main point remains because in previous promotion seasons we did not lose so many games early on and this removed much of the pressure on the team...I agree that Huddersfield are unlikely to go the distance(although many said the same about Leicester last season) but teams like Villa and Norwich WILL take heart from our stumbles at home. I am certainly not advocating slitting wrists, but the poor way the team appears to have played in more than one home game is a matter for concern and inconsistency is something a side aiming for promotion - or any other success - can afford. I disagree with playing one man up front at SJP, especially when he is not capable of being the target man...different matter if its someone like Shearer who would have caused the opposition to place at least 2 defenders on him.

Much of this is true - it does take time to turn a club around form decades of mismanagement but whilst every situation is different, KK did this in 92/93 but I believe he had the basis of a side that could improve both collectively and individually, whereas I believe Rafa has had to have a greater clear-out of players and therefore there is more teamwork to get right. Nevertheless, promotion MUST be achieved this season if Rafa is not to leave and put us back to square 1, so the pressure is on to hit that target and it becomes harder with every defeat. We can only hope that other sides hit a bad run too, esp Huddersfield, but I think sides like Norwich and Villa will start to improve as the season progresses.

Didn't see the game so cannot comment on the performance but to lose another home game, which makes it 3 defeats before the end of September(and we haven't even got Tuesday out of the way yet...)is not good if you are seriously challenging for promotion. Any thought that we might strike realistic fear into the other promotion fancying sides has gone out of the window with this result, coming as it has on the back of a 6-0 away win which, together with a comfortable win today, would have caused a loss off morale among our rivals ; the loss to Wolves, themselves coming off a 0-4 home defeat midweek, will have given teams like Norwich and Huddersfield renewed hope that we are paper tigers. In our last 2 promotion seasons we laid down a marker of our intentions early on, esp in 92/93 when we won 10 games off the belt from the season's start..and this from a side the majority of which almost got the club relegated to Div 3 the previous season. Likewise, in 2009/10 we were very strong at SJP, cannot recall losing a home game. We cannot afford another defeat on Tuesday or the pressure will be well and truly on because promoted sides rarely lose more than 5 or 6 games in a season. It seems that even a manager as experienced and successful as Rafa cannot overcome the NUFC/SJP curse of inconsistent unpredictability which has been a hallmark of the club for decades....at least right now, but lack of character among players probably plays a big part.

Never been a time like it for me. Keegan was different in that it was an emotional high and something that will never be topped, he just fit. SBR was the same if slightly less giddy. Rafa is different though in that it's the first time I've ever seen such a master tactician at this club, one of the all time great managers and he's here. I almost feel pity for the opposition because you know that as the game unfolds he will dismantle them with a tweak here or a sub there. Honestly, usually I think I know more about the game than some of the managers we've employed, but I'm in awe of Rafa. I'll actually be surprised if by the time he leaves we haven't won a major trophy unless he falls out with the hierarchy. The only thing that bothers me this, Ashley would be f***ing stupid to do anything but we've seen him screw over managers like Keegan and Hughton, I just hope this time is different and that Rafa gets the chance to leave his legacy on our cloob. The only cloud I see on the horizon is Rafa's ambition. I've no doubt Ashley is desperate to keep him right now, he's basically given him a free licence to run the club from top to bottom. But when we are back in the premier, Rafa will want to win trophies and that will mean buying the best players like we used to back in Keegan's day. That will be the acid test. Agree totally - Rafa will want to push on and win things...that takes big money and big wages. Our best hope is that he and Ashley come to a reasonable compromise on the spend for new players - if not, it will all fall apart and Rafa will be gone.

Amazing result - no sign of that materializing during the game at Derby but very welcome and will send a tremor of fear through the rest of the Champ...haven't seen any of the game apart from Shelvey's cracker but this result can only be a sign of a strong squad after the changes Rafa made. The club have never had such a huge away win in most of our lifetimes....fantastic stuff. No complacency now v Wolves...they are likely to try and park the bus after this.