Paully

These are genuine quotes? This isnt a piss take? https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/steve-bruce-vows-analyse-himself-17019248

They certainly are - article in the Ronnie

Jesus wept “We changed to a back four to see if we are not comfortable with it. "Tactics and all this nonsense, the big thing is to have a go and show some pride.“

“Hopefully we can get a sold out stadium [against Manchester United} because at the moment we haven’t had the sell-outs that we would like. “When we have got our fans there supporting us the way they can, it makes it even harder for the opposition. “The more we try and dwell on the fact that we put a bad performance in [at Leicester], it will stick in our heads and the confidence might not be there. “We need to try to forget about it, to work hard on the training ground and make sure we put it right. “We collapsed in the second half and that is one thing as a team, with the players that we have, we have never really done that in the past few seasons. “We have never collapsed and given away the goals that we gave away. “That is one thing the manager [Head Coach Steve Bruce] wanted to address, I think as a team we knew it wasn’t acceptable. “That is one thing that can’t happen again. “This team has been successful on working hard as a team and sticking together to get results. “Obviously the manager has changed….but we all still know what we have to do on the pitch. “We train every day with the manager on different ideas but we all know exactly what our jobs are on the pitch. “The performance against Leicester wasn’t that we didn’t know our jobs. “We didn’t put the performance in and collapsed, like the manager said, we surrendered. “Even when it was 5-0 they [Newcastle fans] were still singing right throughout, travelling the distance they travelled and the money they would have spent, the performance we put in was not acceptable. “No matter what team you play for, getting beat 5-0 is a tough one to take. “There were a lot of things said between ourselves in the dressing room and a lot said in the press and the media, we have got to accept the criticism because everyone involved in that game knew it wasn’t good enough. “We have been in tough situations before throughout our time in the Premier League and we have overcome those hurdles, we’re doing our best to make sure we stick together and overcome those again. “We will be working hard on the training ground to make sure we can try and put the performance right against Manchester United. “Hopefully for us there might be a few tired legs [for Man Utd after playing AZ Alkmaar on Thursday night). “It is never easy playing so many games in a week but we know they have got quality throughout the team. “They have not had a great start but they have quality players in every position, we know they are going to be dangerous no matter what team they put on the pitch, no matter what games they have played.”

Class

:'(

Aye mate - had it in a £40 trixie too so Suarez not scoring first did me me for £1400! £195 back off the double so can’t complain!

#ThingsThatJamaalCanPayFor

Ha ha aye - tremendous craic! Poor person doing it couldn't keep up

Ha ha WTF!

Saw that - jesus wept what happened?! Ha ha! Hebburn were superb tbf and they rested a few regulars too Not sure if that was Birtley's strongest XI mind but Hebburn played some superb football - several brilliant goals!

Long article in the Athletic from Chris Waugh about the failed takeover bids

He must regret trying that audacious chip when clean through which hit the post just minutes into his debut as the no goals and no assists stat always gets used against him (especially from the League One numpties!)! He completely elevated our attack last season and looked a player under Rafa. Unsurprisingly, he looks lost under this buffoon like many others.

Anyone have the Skybet boost anytime scorers? Kane, Ronny and Costa 14/1 - the latter missed an open goal from two yards FFS!

Birtley 0-13 Hebburn!

Martin Samuel give this bellend the platform for his "exclusive interview" bollocks a few months ago so balls to him!

From 365; Losers Early loser Steve Bruce Let’s start with a statistic, if only to give you something before it all gets a bit ranty. Rafael Benitez managed Newcastle United for 146 matches, and in that time they conceded more than three goals in a match on two occasions. The first of those was a 4-1 defeat at Old Trafford in November 2017, when Newcastle took the lead but eventually succumbed to United’s pressure in the second half. The second was in December 2018, when Liverpool scored two goals in the final 12 minutes at Anfield to beat Newcastle 4-0. That is important, because it partly explains Benitez’s reason for often playing defensive football in away matches that Newcastle were favourites to lose. He figured that the chance of winning away at Big Six clubs was far smaller than the chance of getting a thumping, and a thumping can cause lasting psychological damage on the squad. Even at the start of last season, when Newcastle were wretched, Benitez will argue that he was working on defensive organisation that would benefit the team later in the season. Only with that organisation in place could Newcastle look to attack. Over the last 16 league games of last season, only four teams scored more goals than Newcastle. They were transformed because they had a platform from which to attack. Then there was a process. Now there is nothing. It isn’t just that Newcastle conceded five for the first time since the month before Benitez arrived. It isn’t just that this was a team that has had all the useful elements that Benitez forged unpicked and dismantled. It isn’t just that Steve Bruce is consistently picking players out of position, and then saying after the match that tactics are “nonsense” and it’s all about playing with pride despite Newcastle showing none of that either. It isn’t just that Bruce has a £40m centre forward that Benitez warned the club would be worse than Salomon Rondon and already looks vindicated on that point. It’s that this was so utterly predictable from the moment it started. Bruce is not the disease, merely a symptom thereof. Newcastle allowed Benitez, the most capable manager they have had in 20 years, to walk because they couldn’t muster enough competence to convince him to stay. Benitez didn’t want vast transfer budgets. He didn’t even want the club to be jolted forward, merely pointed in the right direction. And in his place they appointed a Championship-level manager because he was likely to say yes and come cheap. This disarray is the result of that strategy. Newcastle’s players have got worse since last season. The defence is far more open without Benitez’s defensive coordination (they have already conceded almost 30% of last season’s goal total). Sean Longstaff, Miguel Almiron and Isaac Hayden have all suffered a drop in form that coincides with the new manager’s arrival. Newcastle offer little as a counter-attacking threat. They are making individual and collective mistakes that Premier League teams are too good not to punish. Finally, spare me the ‘poor Steve Bruce’ angle that I’ve seen in some places. He backed himself to do this job, and he deserves to be judged on what happens on the pitch as Benitez was. And what took place on Sunday was a total abdication of responsibility. The “tactics nonsense” quotes speak of a manager out of his depth and out of step with the modern Premier League. This wasn’t a Leicester victory through excellence, because they did not need to be excellent. It was a victory through surrender. Leicester exploited the obvious flaws and Newcastle were lucky that they stopped pushing on at 4-0. The worst a struggling team should be is hard to break down. And goodness me, Bruce should know that more than most managers. This might get a little better. Newcastle will not be drubbed every week and they may claw a few more unexpected points over this tricky run of fixtures. But make no mistake, they are now battling for survival and no well-timed takeover rumours will appease the wrath of supporters if the worst befalls them. Newcastle have been sleep-walking for half a decade. Maybe Benitez was the only thing stopping them slipping into a coma.

https://www.espn.co.uk/football/english-premier-league/story/3925549/the-ultimate-guide-to-var-in-the-premier-league-all-your-questions-answered?platform=amp&__twitter_impression=true

"Rafa Benitez Utd" - Jesus wept man - what a lid

365 offer on tonight - Harold! Skybet Boost - I've gone with Spurs rather than Bayern - 10/1

Roy Keane is always a good listen!