Tsunami

With our lack of quality we need to make more chances as our conversion rate isn’t great. This hits us hard at home, we’ve been better away as chances created on the counter attack can give the more clear cut chances as the opposition are caught out of shape. Swansea didn’t press us in the first half yesterday and that allowed us to play higher up the pitch. Both Gayle and Perez should have done better with their chances. I’m struggling to understand why we didn’t come out at a high tempo in the 2nd half. Swansea changed their style and played higher up the pitch and we conceded the ground. Swansea really were terrible and we nearly lost. The mentality at home has to change, 2 points from 21 can’t get much worse and it will send us down. We can’t rely on picking up points away from home. Getting a proper goal scorer would be fantastic but it’s unlikely to happen so why not be more expansive at home?

Not really, he was s***? He was no more shit than some others and importantly he has the ability to pick a pass to win a game whereas someone like Diame doesn’t. That substitution smacked of a let’s not lose attitude, Rafa has to get the crowd involved and put opposition under pressure when we’re at home. We are far too easy to play at home; Swansea sat off us too deep in the first half which is the wrong thing against us and changed in the second half and we simply retreated.

Taking him off was a very negative substitution. Rafa wants the fans to stick with the team. Here’s an idea; let the players try and take a game to the opposition and feed off the crowd. All that’s happening of late is that the home crowd become unceasingly frustrated and the opposition feed off it. Taking Shelvey off smacked of an unwillingness to try and win the game.

Swansea were awful under any kind of pressure today. They surrendered possession continuously in the first half, that McBurnie wouldn’t get a game in a 4th Division Sunday League side. As much as I believe Rafa is the right man and pivotal to any takeover I can’t get my head around the fact that at HT he failed to get the team out in the 2nd half to win that game. I can only take out of it that Carvalho decided not to sit as far back and we simply retreated. Swansea really were as bad as any side I saw last year; I’ll except Ayew out that, put him in our side and we would have won. Our home form is nothing short of a disgrace.

I’ve said for weeks that our home tactics are woeful. Swansea are comfortably the worst side I’ve seen up here this season. They sat of us and regardless of our own deficiencies we should have had enough to have put that game to bed by half time. Our home form will get us into big trouble. I can’t stress how bad Swansea were

I think Walters will struggle in that team and that league. Hope he gets a 3 year deal.

Can’t see any sense in selling him at that price; who would we replace him with for similar money? A loan signing probably, perhaps Kenedy, if Shelvey is sold it can’t be a good thing. End of season ok but not in January when we’re hovering around the bottom 3 with a takeover on the edge.

Maguire looked far too big to me when Leicester played up here. He’s bloody huge; I can’t see him as anything other than a stopper I’d imagine Vardy and Mahrez have him on toast in training. Didn’t look like he had much of a football brain either.

Aye, loops up he must kick it onto his right foot almost at the same time

I type something and by the time I post it there’s load of takeover talk; what’s going on?

I used to play centre forward for a Sunday League side from Houghton but were run by the Commercial Manager of NUFC (Graeme McDonald?) and we played some of our home games up at Benwell. Our kits were last seasons first team kits (the Greenhall strips, normal stripes). Anyway, I’m 5”9”, probably 10 stone something at the time and I’m wearing Micky Quinn’s old kit. The top was ok but the shorts were huge, nearly covered my knees at a time when shorts were, well, short. It was a great kit though.

First one better

Just seen Spurs goal, just a touch of offside about it ?

Good game today ?

He’s played far better the last couple of times - still a long long way to go

Great win. Get the home games sorted and the takeover completed and jobs a good ‘un.

If you could keep the loyalty points loads would be jacking it in.

People have to accept that fans go to games for different reasons. Some go simply for the day out and a few drinks, quite a few go out of habit and quite a few have no idea what’s going on and howl in derision because we don’t score with every attack. They do however all pay their money and they will and do boo. My step son is thinking about jacking in his ticket because he’s not enjoying it. He’s traveled all over the country to watch Nufc and seen plenty of rubbish in his time. Make no mistake; things have to change at home, it has been unacceptable. People on here are being too kind to both the players and Rafa. I mentioned in a thread earlier on that my brother has been to 4 home games this season against Watford, Bournemouth, Everton and Brighton. He’s not seen us score and we’ve collected a single point. That’s very poor by any standard. God help us if the takeover doesn’t go through.

There were quite a few boos and they were pretty understandable. It’s been very poor stuff at home for weeks now.

I thought he was poor yesterday, he was out muscled a good number of times by Bruno when you’d reasonably expect your target man to be able to handle a full back. The way we set up doesn’t help him but his lack of threat makes him too easy to play against. If he’s still a regular come February we’re well and truly up against it. He needs dropping but it’ll not happen. I’ve said he’s functional in the past; I’ll say barely functional now.

Thinks that’s just worth a yellow eh?

Wow

Brighton were more progressive than us in the first half and must have had more possesion than us. We got deeper and deeper as the first half went on.

The squad is what it is. Hoofing the ball up to Joselu and seeing him lose out time and time again against a big side with questionable mobility is all about set up and ambition within the match. Joselu should have been off at half time and Shelvey should have had at least 30 minutes. We needed to get in behind them and break their shape. Defensively they’ll not have had an issue easier away game all season. Joselu isn’t fit to wear the shirt and is a nailed on starter every week.

My brother had been to 4 home games so far this season: Watford, Bournemouth, Everton and Brighton. He’s not seen us score yet and we’ve picked up 1 point from 12 available. Rafa’s team selection, tactics and lack of willingness to change things earlier is costing us big time. Look at those 4 games; we’ll go down with a whimper at this rate. Rafa simply has to change things at home. The crowd are trying but they’re becoming impatient and the booing at the end today was completely understandable.