AyeDubbleYoo

In another time Barnes could probably be a striker IMO, but probably not in an age where everyone only plays with one.

Yeah IMO if you have VAR then it has to be with the aim of correcting on-field decisions. It just looks silly to have things that are clearly wrong upheld because the ref said so. The spirit of the offside rule is harder to solve though, because it was written in a time where an inch here or there wouldn’t rule you offside. Of course, it also worked the other way where you could be ruled offside when you were actually on. Which now shouldn’t happen.

One stand is corporate and children, one stand is retired people who’ve been going for 40 years, the rest is people sitting on their own because you can only buy single tickets. It’s going to be hard to get any kind of consistent atmosphere in a normal game. Especially an easy game. We need real action on the pitch to wind everyone up at the same time. I was near to the corner so it sounded like the atmosphere was decent to me. A few people in east stand joined in. The main issue I have is people leaving 10 minutes before the end of each half. But I guess if you need the toilet and a drink it’s your only chance to get it done before the second half starts.

Bruno has to be allowed a little leeway to hold onto the ball IMO, because he can roll an opposition player and really open the game up. It’s about when he decides to do it obvs.

If they really develop an understanding they could be playing together for club and country for the next decade.

If you do that over the goalkeeper you get a penalty with no questions asked. Leave your legs behind to trail into the contact and you’re good. Found it a bit unnecessary to focus on it so much.

I would’ve brought him on 10 mins earlier but otherwise I was really pleased for him. In the warmup he always looks amazing, full of tricks and thunderbastard shots.

Hopefully Hall and Gordon both know that they could form Newcastle and England’s left side for years to come. If they can develop a good relationship then they’ll be sorted. It was nice to see Gordon using Hall on the overlap a couple of times at least. Gordon was very positive in giving the ball to others in general yesterday.

It was the reaction of the players that changed the refs mind. He was fairly weak overall on things like that.

It’s a very fine line though. I don’t think anyone would bat an eyelid if Harry Kane did that and got a pen for it.

Give it a couple of weeks

I think it’s because it looks like he’s hanging back to cover the counter attack with his pace. Fair point though

Almost everyone who gets a penalty goes down themselves when they could’ve continued. He just got the timing a bit wrong to make it convincing. I didn’t actually understand what the ref gave, was it a freekick for handball? I think Leicester eventually took it as if it was a goal kick, it was very weird.

I agree with this really, it’s just that TV then started drawing lines and spending hours debating goals that they said shouldn’t have been given.

I was very please with how he took the second goal, given he'd blazed one over the bar just before. Would've been easy to bottle the shot, try something else or dwell on the ball. But he just went through the correct routine of hitting it hard and low across the keeper.

I still hope Chelsea will implode but I think the manager is ruthless enough to just dispose of anyone who rocks the boat.

Today was a genuinely amazing performance for such a young lad. You can tell how much he's been coached up through elite development systems. Made one run in the inside channel with the ball that very few fullbacks of any level of experience can do .

It was brilliant that they made him go off on the far side, would've been far better for Leicester to let him jog across the pitch.

Ruud seems to have no business being a PL manager at this point in his career.

It is chaos.

Absolutely, especially West Ham. The idea their performance was something to be happy about was silly.

I think Tino is stronger and quicker so looks better in races with wingers. But otherwise there’s not much between them defensively IMO. Hall is great in the air, for example.

Still a tough game like, hopefully we treat it as a chance for revenge rather than dwelling too much on what went wrong last time.

I don’t think anyone really dislikes him but you have to expect a few groans when you keep gifting the ball to the other team.

Hmm, I dunno. He was playing brilliantly while Bruno was on as well.