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Eddie was asked about Barnes in the post game conference and said he wasn't close yet not sure how true that is.

Miggy is starting to remind me of Jonas Gutierez he is a ball of energy that runs and chases and gives his all for the side. Seen him step up last few weeks helping out defensively, being asked to switch sides and work through the middle. He is from an attacking sense a 1 trick pony but gives his all. I can see why howe likes him but as others have said he doesn't suit every opponent but is being asked to keep playing due to current squad issues. Would like to see him replaced as automatic starter next season and rotated out. Being in and out of the squad may help or hinder him but we need alternatives when things aren't working.

The desire to freshen the squad won't change the approach I don't think. Realistically it's buy young to compete with someone for their place with the hope that the younger player takes over being first on the team sheet and the older player goes to bench. That in itself may not be realistic as if we hope to regularly get European football the full squad ends up getting utilised. Next few windows seem big with the extra income allowing more money to be spent got to get it right.

Stupid question but surely getting 3 points already to villa and seeing them pick off others above and around us is a good thing for us?

Eddie confirmed was performed as key hole surgery so slightly less invasive no timeline but he quoted 8/12 weeks recovery then fitness to bring back up so won't be anytime soon.

Other sides will drop points and will have a dip in form it's all about being in a position to capitalise on that.

The camera was panning away there was a moment he was tackled and the other arsenal player went down too and he cupped his hands on the lads shoulders to keep him from getting up and supporting the attack I actually really enjoyed. Felt a little isolated today and maybe the game was played at too high of a tempo for him at times. Got to remember right now we are asking alot of him an so far hasn't let us down.

It doesn't feel good enough to describe this as a smash and grab performance but taking into account the team being asked to go again so soon after man u it sometimes feels nice to see out a 1 goal lead. Can't win them all with free flowing football. We gave as good as we got here particularly the second half as they just appeared to run out of ideas. Only downside from this is the injuries.

Great stuff another mid table prem opposition

Not a man u fan in the slightest but if we had the season they had last year it would have been our best in more than half a century. The legacy of success is crippling the side they aren't what they once were and may never will be. Full generation of fans flocked to the club in the 90s and 00's but the tide has turned if success comes back its not because they turned the tide and got back on track it would now just be a new era. Happy to accelerate past them on our way to success but while the revenue stays so high they will never be that far away. Credit where its due we are just better than them right now but it isn't plucky little newcastle while we did have 8 changes the squad still had 4 x 30/40 players in the line up so while saying "we have arrived" might be a little dramatic its no longer a freak one off result for us in the grand scheme of things against upper half opposition. Long may it continue.

As much as Hope can be an arsehole I gave his youtube video a watch ( don't judge me). His point is right now you buy players to push current starters to the bench, therefore providing depth while strengthening the first 11. We gambled on rewarding the current squad and putting our eggs in youth and bringing the average age of squad down. In hindsight, it may well have been the wrong call. Issue is we financially can not afford to do both, but ideally do need to do both so as to not push the issue down the road so damned if you do or don't scenario. We weren't happy with the drop in quality from trippier to the next player and weren't 100% happy with the other side as it turns out we have needed further up the pitch. Had we had injuries still, but mainly in defence, we may have seen the summer as a masterstroke.

Maybe with Murphy out when miggy needs a break how about trippier for his role and livramento behind? I guess that only works when Trippier doesn't need a break himself. Going to have to be creative at times as dont think January window solves all potential issues. Either due to ffp or player availability. Did anyone screen shot that board from the documentary where it showed positions to target based on priorities?

It's how you manage blips and dips in form every club has them It's how long they last and if you have more than one. It's not uncommon to see clubs at certain stages of the season to be higher or lower in the table which do level out. While it does appear that the top 6/8 will be very competitive. Its great for the league in general for sides to be able to take points off each other. Selfish newcastle fan hat back on hope we smash our way back into the champions league again seen as the norm is a massive drop off in form 1st time you qualify hope to prove that stat wrong.

It wasn't one of our speculative low ball youth punts. It's annoying and frustrating as 1. Newcastle's name gets dragged in the muck by association. 2. We lose a player for a period of time we weren't at fault for. 3. The money allocated/spent on reflection he was our marquee signing of the summer seemingly passing up other viable targets for this man. Spending which we can't just spend again due to ffp even if its 6 months as a % of his overall contract length its a big chunk. Possibly long term devalue his actual worth in the future or limiting it due to the nature of the charge. I know its not a shop and there are no refunds but in hindsight its obviously been a big mistake he may never recover from. We are a forgiving bunch of supporters and have signed players with a history of less than glorious behaviour but had hoped that was times of old. Plus the fact he's hardly been here very long and made an immediate impact adds to the feeling the signing has been a failure before its even really begun.

If he gets a ban say that writes off the season do we go for another midfielder in the Jan or make do as its short term? Certainly anything substantial is like getting a long term injury and surely changes Jan's plans.

I love the almost hopeless chasing after the opposition to win the ball the energy to keep running and chase and harass is a joy to watch at times.

Great work ethic but shame chances keep falling to him he has no composure when it comes to actually scoring.

Does that mean sky wanking city off can stop for a bit?

Thought he grew into the game and started shakey like the rest of the side. Win like that does wonders for your self belief with 3 midfielders currently out he is currently needed to perform alot more than a cameo.

Milan were also very good at reducing space and man marking at points he had limited ball Outlet options and 3 men on him. Same happened time and time again when we looked to build from left and right back positions as we usually do and were sqeezed into a tight pass which was snuffed out or went out.

I love him but panic when anyone gives him the ball to his feet to do something with.

Way I see it if you just looked at the result and only the result against that side your pleased. The stats and in game play was so sloppy at times we struggled to keep the ball headers and lobby the ball forward doesn't allow you to control the game and increases the chance of losing possession. Early attacks near the end of our half were quickly snuffed out and in the first half we sat deep but also seemed to leave alot of space in the middle for them to roam and break forward. If they had anyone who could put the ball away we would have lost but we just didn't look like scoring. A point on the board and we didn't embarrass ourselves. Hopefully can give teams more of a game at home.

When things aren't going your way you look to causes and we were spoilt last year by the lack of losses. I think is it was known he wanted to bring the age of the squad down and he has buying 28/29/30 year old may have broadened the pool of talent we could sign but would have meant a bigger rebuild more often which in current climate is big spends. Wanting to capitalise on immediate albeit unexpected success is a natural thing. You cannot say the club is not spending big within ffp limitations so its not owner ambition that's holding us back too many quality holes in the side and also while we don't like it not all signings will make it here. It's hard to do everything all at once trying for the here and now is just as important as planning for the future. Thanks to ffp its not possible to pull off both fully. The compromise may be we tail off this year hope the bigger players are happy to ride the journey out and we go again next year. Being a sustained European side might have to be the step rather than champions league annually. But again thanks to ffp the lack of annual champions league money will be missed. So frustrating thinking about these owners before they put the ffp shackles on an what might have been.

If the maxi fee had of been more 50m than the 20ish we supposedly got and it supported 2 40/50m signings then it would have settled better with me. Right now on the face if it we got Barnes. Going down the route of premier league premium the majority of the time also limits how much we spend and right now we arent sure if its a gamble that will pay off.

7 happy we have thought long term and also added depth to squad. Big money spent again but took a 1st team squad player to do it. Still areas of concern which is impossible to address when we are rebuilding and conforming to ffp. Next season big rebuild still needed does Wilson get moved on or stick around? CB positions and RW based on how the player sale market has gone fee wise not sure its all achievable without another big player sales as the fringe or surplus to requirement players aren't going to cover much in terms of recovering fees.