Lotus

Agree about a Bergkamp. But then again, couldn’t everyone do with a Bergkamp ?

Think he could be a good option of the midfielder running beyond the striker if we play with Isak as Isak likes to drift wide or drop deep to help the continuity of play.

Think Spurs would’ve been a good shout and they are not competing for the title.

Not exonerating Gordon or any of midfielders for that matter but I think our lack of movement in the box is to the detriment of the other passers in the team. Yeah, Bruno can do it but I think others could offer more as well but it does need he forwards to make those little runs that just create a yard of space. Or wide players making out to in runs too. We don’t do enough of that. As others have pointed out, we’re a little too static. And against a well organised defence, it’s not helping us at all.

Hard lines tonight. It all changed a bit too quickly really. Do you still have faith in Klopp?

Some peoples lives have made them very pessimistic. It’s a defence mechanism I suppose. I wouldn’t let someone else’s misery detract from enjoying our season overall. Even if I have got the right jump over yesterday’s result.

Jokes aside, he was great in Germany. I’d love to see him rediscover that form for the final. Would be elated for us and him.

I’d like to get European football next season and I think we will. Probably as a result of Manu getting top 4 and beating us in the final. I think CL would be a step too far for everyone at this stage. I think a season or 2 with UEFA cup football as we mature into a side who can handle CL group games mid week coupled with high pressure PL games at the weekend will take a bit of time for everyone, players and coaches alike.

Or Michael Spinks comeback against Mike Tyson….on no, wait ?

I’ll preface this by, again stating I’m incredibly happy EH is our manager. Love the bloke. However……I am very curious to see how he faces and adapts to challenges we have coming for the rest of this season and the next. Our plan A is faltering. It’s clearly a trend, I think there were signs of it against Leicester (despite the victory). What’s wonderful is that we have a plan A. Even a plan A is a massive improvement over Bruce. We have had a clear tactical plan that had been effective. I have always been a suspicious of teams whose route to victory involves running harder than the opposition. Simply because it’s a limited way to improve. It has a ceiling. Ours hasn’t been solely down to that but it’s been a highly contributing factor. I’ll be curious to see if we persist with it, the high intensity plan. It hasn’t got much of a future coupled with Eddie’s tendency to not rotate. Of course, with a better squad, rotation may be something that Eddie finds more palatable. It’s that or a change of style. If we get European football next season our form fall off will happen quicker. EH has shown he can see our problems previously and then formulated an ideology to get us going forward. So he has a history of solving Newcastle’s issues. So, obviously I trust him to to it again.

It’s completely possible to be both very happy with the progress of the club over the past 15 months and critical of our form over the past couple of games. One doesn’t negate the other. If anyone can’t hold these 2 opposing appraisals, one of the long term project and the other of the current performances, it shows a incredible immaturity imo.

………..

I’m struggling to understand the reality of our tactics atm. We can all see that even the likes of Bournemouth can play around or over our high press. When they do it’s one ball that takes out most of our midfield. We’re then playing a high line with no real pace at the back and we’re not even getting consistent pressure on the ball. So our very one paced defence is exposed a bit too often. Against better players that’s gonna hurt. It will probably be worse against Manu unless we make some clear adjustments. We might well be working it differently in training but that’s the reality of what’s happening and has been for a few weeks.

Tbf, if we had 11 on the pitch I think Liverpool would’ve pushed for, and scored a 3rd.

Yeah, I’m not seeing them ‘not turning up’ at all. We just have very big holes in the squad.

Think our performance so far has been very much the same as against WHam and Bournemouth. It’s just that Liverpool have better players and have turned up.

Yeah, but it was Bournemouth.... And they had plenty of the ball in the right areas tbh. They just couldn't do much with it. That's why they are where they are.

Wonder if he'll look to bypass the midfield, as on the evidence so far, we lack everything without Bruno.

Anyone who could see and understand anything about football knew that 5th place was a one off. You can enjoy the results and there were some tidy players mixed with very very average ones. But the facts are he didn't know how he did it and so he didn't understand where it wrong after. He was as clueless the year we finished 5th as he was the year we finished 16th. The fact he's a cow son is bye the bye. He was/is incompetent at this level and didn't have a f**king clue what his shortcomings were. Shame he never asked.

I think dropping deep picking up the ball and driving in field is a good look on Miggy. Isak does have a tendency to drift wide so it would leave the space if Miggy/ASM/Gordon would do that. Bit of fluidity in our front 3 would be welcome. As long as they all press correctly from whatever position they find themselves in, could be very good.

Apart from Bruno, none of our other CMs have shown the tactical nous needed to protect the back 4. And the back are starting to look like a bit of shielding wouldn't be a bad idea.

He needs midfield runners. He’s quite cute at dropping off and helping the build up but we didn’t have anyone from midfield or from the wings running into the space he’d vacated (whilst dragging a CB with him). You’d think Willock/JL7, Miggy or ASM could do that as a natural part of their game….

Love the guy but didn’t think he offered anything the Bournemouth midfielders didn’t.

He was so bad (apart from the defensive headers) that I genuinely couldn’t imagine Lewis being worse.

To look at that game without the context of the season, we were lucky to get a draw. They found it pretty easy to get at our back 4. Our midfield was not a shield but it was not a creative force and couldn’t control the play either. We found it hard to get in dangerous positions except for maybe twice, once was for the goal. I think the ease of a team like Bournemouth (no disrespect intended but they are down the bottom) getting into channels, forcing one on one situations with out defenders, something we barely managed ourselves, the ease of which they did it was a real concern. We looked both toothless and vulnerable against Bournemouth. Can’t sugar coat it, that’s what it was. I think we’ve been steadily getting worse rather than better over the last few games and today was the worst so far. Hopefully we’ll reverse it. I can’t confidently predict we will, I can certainly wish for it but right now, the trend is going the wrong way. I’m at least hoping the emotion of playing Liverpool at home means we’ll raise the energy and intensity.