robbo_11

He started brightly, scored a screamer in his first training session and made a mark in the first half of the season (mainly at home). I don't hate him, but I don't really like him now as a fit for our team. On his day he can be a top class player (his control, ability to run with the ball and finish has been noted), but sadly he has been missing on too many occasions. It was interesting to see when we got the penalty today that he refused to allow Townsend or Sissoko to take it. Obviously he could receive a bonus on goals scored, it might be the penalty order for the team or other external factors but after that interview I think its quite clear that he has no interest in remaining with us in the Championship and is very much an individual 'talent'. Hopefully we can get between £12 - 16m for him and strengthen other areas of the squad.

If we take a look back at 2009-10 the core group of players involved included Harper, Collocini, Enrique, Simpson, Nolan, Guthrie, Smith, Gutierrez and Carroll (30 apps +). Four players contributed to our goal tally with double figures (Nolan, Carroll, Lovenkrands and Ameobi). Its fair to say that we dominated the league, only losing 4 games across the season, but we had a a squad with a bit of character and experience. What we have lacked this season has been character, ultimately collapsing earlier on in the season when going a goal behind and also goal scorers. With Rafa at least we have brought some team cohesion and attempting to do the basics right. Sadly if he was to leave (which I would assume is very likely) then no doubt we would replace him with someone massively inferior. Of the current squad I can see the majority leaving if they haven't already instructed their agent to find them a new club. Luckily I think we have some competition at GK with Krul, Darlow and Elliot. At the back I'd love to think Lascelles and Mbemba would stay, with Mbabu and Dummett capable of doing a job. I'm sure Mitrovic would be a similar age to Carroll when he was taking part in the Championship which could be a good thing if he was to stay as it was certainly a bit more physical with the likes of Chris Morgan, Wes Morgan and Darren Purse at the back. Sissoko, Wijnaldum, Janmaat, Perez, Taylor, Townsend and Thauvin will very likely move on. Although realistically at the lower level these types of characters are not what we need in a push for promotion.

That Gaston injury, worse than the Kevin Doyle gash. Definite red.

While I think its highly likely that we will go down, results like today will add pressure on to Sunderland and Norwich. I can see Sunderland getting 5 more points this season and Norwich getting 4 more points with their remaining games. Ideally we win two out of the final three games, but the mood will change on a game by game basis. Its a shame to think of what could have been if before La Manga we replaced the manager.

It makes you wonder if the board had any other influence on potential selections into the team based on player clauses etc. I'm not saying I had total trust in them, but it now brings serious questions about the leadership behind the club and that morals lie beneath finances. I don't disagree that Jonas performances could be infuriating and I wasn't that bothered when he went to Norwich as I felt we had better players, but you couldn't fault his effort. Given the situation he faced to still deliver some of the performances he did highlights his professionalism and the type of guy he is.

As much as I'd love to see Rafa stay, surely another club will snap him up. Our squad is awful and a lot of the players we are relying on don't care one bit.

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rafa-benitez-cant-change-much-11136648 Wullie is Lee Ryder...nice use of Titanic

There seems to be a pattern with our reserve keepers being heralded as the best players. I struggle to see a way back into this game with this current team as they don't contribute anything to the game. Wijnaldum has been anonymous, Cisse bar a header over the bar has done very little, Sissoko shanked a cross way over and Townsend doesn't get involved. Defensively we invite pressure on by failing to retain the ball and often allow the ball to bounce and enable the 50/50 with the opposition (which we ultimately lose out on). 6 points will be a massive task to claw our way out as this team have about as much heart as a jellyfish.

Is he actually deluded? He drops in that we are normally very positive in our attacking play...a team struggling to score in most games, I think its about 7 goals in the last 20 away games. He mentions again that injuries cause us problems referencing Jack Colback at full back, yet this is the main responsible for doing that. They knew in January we had to strengthen the defence so that will not pass as an excuse. The first goal was a deflection which can be put down to luck, but the play prior to that with players out of position and lacking any heart to prevent the ball reaching the Bournemouth player is not down to luck at all.

I didn't follow the game today, but I'm not surprised to see we lost. My interest is waning in this current side just because I don't think anyone in a position to change what is going on actually cares. We should win some of those last matches, but given recent performances you can't be certain which side will turn up. I know it was mentioned at the Fan Forum, but no one is accountable for anything that goes wrong across the board. Chris Hughton achieved what we required and his reward was a few months before he got the sack. We harbor a losing culture, especially away from home, and across the first team, U21 and U18 groups. We retained coaches within the setup because it would be cheaper than getting rid of them hoping other clubs would 'poach' them from us. We have players deemed available for sale that are now required to do a job given our current situation. We struggle to bring through young players for fear of scarring them, but then when needs must chuck them into the firing line. At board room level we've had failures such as Joe Kinnear and that poor January window...Joe Kinnear in football after 1999...jesus wept man. Our previous transfer plans mirrored Aldi and the food they sourced...often imported on the cheap from another country in the hope it turned out to be alright...who needs Kelloggs corn flakes when you can get some Aldi Kornflakes for a fraction of the price. It's interesting to see Shelvey as captain tonight as it highlights a lack of character prior to January. Coloccini was constantly hammered for lacking leadership skills, yet a January signing is given the armband ahead of players who've been with us a season or more. I'm not saying every player should be able to be a captain, but you'd like to think we had some who could step up and lead the current squad. If we go down, we've only got those within the club to blame, but realistically those players too good for us will be rewarded for a poor season by signing for a mid table Premier League team and we'll be thankful that Sammy Ameobi is returning to the club due to 'experience at that level.' Ultimately no one is culpable for failure and we reward the fans with mediocrity.

Not sure if it had been mentioned, but Basel striker Albian Ajeti linked to us after contract talks stall. His contract ends in June and apparently seems like we've offered him one. http://www.blick.ch/incoming/newcastle-bietet-mehrjahresvertrag-fcb-stellt-seinen-jungstar-kalt-id4525770.html

I thought Anita came into the game in the second half, breaking up play and getting the ball forward. Mbemba was solid, great tackle to prevent Lukaku getting a shot on goal just before the corner. Colback wasn't as bad as usual, but we lack creativity in the centre of the pitch with both him and Anita. We either give Thauvin a run on the wing and move Wijnaldum to a more central attacking role to try and rectify this. I thought De Jong had been playing fairly well recently, bar the missed chance vs Villa, so surprised to see him drop out all together. The two chances for Mitrovic and Wijnaldum could have gave us a goal, arguably Mitro should bury that running onto the ball. We were lucky that Janmaat remained on the field, it would have been two soft yellow cards, but as we saw at Swansea sometimes that does happen. Ayoze had a quieter game than usual, a couple of chances, but in that opening half he was sloppy with possession. He dropped deep, turned possession over a number of times and that enabled Everton to attack us. The opening 20 minutes were dominated by them, we couldn't hold on to possession as a team and their formation allowed them to attack our weak spots at fullback. Elliot made some good saves, the punch could have been away from goal, but generally has played well since he came in. I'm hoping a couple of signings in January can improve our team, but its going to be a long process to have a greater impact on our team. If we get relegated that would push us back even further as I'd guess most of this team wouldn't stick around like in 08-09.

Head and shoulders the best player when I was watching them in LA and against Houston - stands out a mile. Sevilla or one of the other spanish teams been linked with him as well.

Its frustrating how many of our team receive the ball facing towards our own goal which results in the side way or pass back. Since De Jong has came on we've been better at playing the ball into players for them to go forward at least.

Abysmal

I have the feeling the referee union will back Marriner after this game. Howard Webb already stated he felt that apart from the penalty he has a good game. It will be really interesting to see future games and the outcomes of similar fouls. The Colo yellow was a good tackle, potentially the follow through after the tackle is what caused 'injury' to Coquelin, but I'd be disappointed to be booked for that. A game ruined by the referee imposing himself on the players not even 5 minutes into it. Its very frustrating that potentially it could have been a good game as the team had the spirit and desire to defend to the best of their ability.

Mbemba booked for exact same foul as Monreal just did. If the ref is playing this game that way should be the same.

This commentator is atrocious.

Early booking given to Sissoko has set the tone. While there was contact, Monreal made the most out of it and it was early in the game. They should have had a penalty, there was contact and we got lucky. Mbemba's booking was probably just, but every foul has received a yellow. Mitrovic red card is a tough one as I don't think he has went to stamp on the player, but he has raked his studs down his shin. Thauvin in the nature of this game is a yellow, but Coquelin made the most out of minimal contact. There was nothing in the Sanchez tackle, but in this game surprised the ref didn't give him a yellow. I can see us holding out till around 55/60 minutes and Arsenal start to open us up. Very likely there will be more yellow cards and at least one more red. We've played alright, but this will be a containment game now with hope of a quick counter attack against one of their full backs.

An opportunity to secure regular playing time ahead of Euro 2016 in a team he is likely going to be one of the "star" players and stand out in. It is also based in London which is closer to one of his best mates. It would have been interesting to know which other teams were interested in signing him as well. He is a good player and I would have welcomed him into our team, however if he has a good season I can see him looking for another move before he gets to 32/33 years old, especially if he does make it into the French squad.

I'm sure he'd love to sign for Newcastle but sadly he isn't good enough. Still to those Dutch lads today on the tour he was a new player haha!

I had one of the Brazilian lads from the project last year visit the stadium today, posted a tweet to say he was there and signed for the U21s as he got mistaken as a player by a huge tour group (he loved it practising his English) and already fans are retweeting it. People seem to feed off being the first with information, you'd definitely get Ryder with it!

If there are any positives from that link then its the side story about the Venezuelan presenter stripping...

Lazio linked with Thauvin for €10-12 in Corriere alongside Valencia, Spurs and us with an expectation of news in the next 48 hours.

It will save a messy end in a few months once the transfer window had closed with Vieira, Carr and Charnley struggling to get any players over the line. The worst thing is people will have been feeling positive following that Mike Ashley interview about a big recruitment drive "punching above our weight for players". Instead its likely to be a few promising youth players coming in that are unexpectedly going to be required once some suspension/injury plagues the club after Christmas since we don't deal in January. McClaren is struggling with a drop in form so turns to John 'winning' Carver to inspire the troops with his experience. Normally your gut instincts are a good measure of the outcome of something. If we appoint Carver its a total disaster, not worth considering. If we appoint McClaren its a bit of a meh, better than Carver appointment. If we had went for Vieira it does carry a risk, but the movement away from the blueprint or the usual tripe we are fed is something to at least show a change within this club.