Tsunami

Reading the Oatcake we're privileged to be sharing the same grass as them what with their Champions League players and our Championship attack. Oh and being utter utter dog shite. Stokalona City

but he didn't blast it and Jamaal made the right tackle, so get the f out of here trying to find a way to criticize him after such a great performance. Weirdly miserable. Or just being realistic. Swansea didn't test us defensively. Merino was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch.

Are people forgetting that he has the turning circle of a supertanker and the speed off the mark of Lisa Riley in cement? It'll take some fantastic coaching to disguise his basic weaknesses. He's got the physique, the right attitude but he's a fraction too slow to see what's happening too often and he's then too slow to make up for this. He recognised himself that he got caught napping for the Abraham chance and if Abraham had kicked the bloody ball we'd all be talking about what a soft goal we'd conceded.

Fans in the first few rows seemingly getting soaked by the way they're leaving their seats.

Comfortably the best player on the pitch today.

Did fine today as the "safe" option, Shelvey may well have got out of position had he come on but he could also produced some fantastic counter attacking options for us as Swansea left themselves open to this. It was perfectly set up for Gayle to be put clean through at some point.

?

Diame?

Do not understand that substitution

I've just realised that I know who Janey is, bloody hell she's got very bitter given that she's from Washington and is old enough to know and remember how it used to be before it got annexed by Sunderland and the internet was invented. You'd think she'd never come across a Newcastle supporter before.

As much as I dislike the keyboard warriors on RTG I really do feel for the good honest Sunderland fans because they look in deep deep trouble on just about all fronts. The club is in danger of imploding. I enjoy seeing them suffer a bit but bloody hell

Bailly ?

I think the answer is you can't challenge with your foot that close to an opponents head at that speed full stop. You can say it's soft and all but plenty of athletes have died to head trauma. If that doesn't qualify as 'endangering the safety of a player' what on earth does? I'd call it a hospital ball, both players had to go for it and one was always likely to get hurt. If you're a competitor you're not going to not challenge for that ball. If you're someone who wouldn't go for it you wouldn't be playing in the first place.

Lots of reds are because the player has gone in with excessive force, Mane had only 1 way of getting the ball and a fraction of a second quicker and he'd have got to the ball and been cleaned out. Would the keeper have been sent off? The injury shouldn't influence the decision. I'm really not sure what else Mane could have done?

Can't agree that's a red, awful clatter but he's got to be allowed to go for the ball. You can't not challenge just because someone else might be there. If he had tried to pull out he'd have been cleaned out himself. These things happen in a contact sport.

From the man who was allowed to spend just under 20 million 10 years ago on 9 new players (including several frees & 6M on Alan Smith) and also claims we were in for Modric, Baines and Jagielka. And still made us into an absolutely awful side, mind you with Smith, Geremi, Cacapa and Faye being just 4 of those acquisitions there's no surprise.

And to follow the runner once you've lost it....

When all is said and done if we'd signed Kenedy and Targett on loan would most of us have been happy and would Rafa have been? Missing out on those 2 shouldn't define our season but the abject failure by Ashley to back his man to spend reasonable amounts to secure a left back, a keeper and another striker could. We don't appear to have been anywhere near to getting any of those positions filled by permanent replacements. There were names linked with us that were simply not going to happen; I have no idea what the actual plan was. I'd love to know who was on Rafa's wish list and who he expected to get (Abraham, yes but who else). If I were Rafa I'd walk at the first opportunity, Ashley has completely mugged him off.

Left Back

We really are having the piss taken out of us by Ashley. I'd be interested to know what kind of loan fee Southampton were asking for a young lad who has played a handful of games. We'll limp through to January and do the same again.

We'll keep him and say how well we did to hold on to him despite strong interest from Fulham, turning down 18 Million will be proof that we're no longer a selling club. Great story.

Rafa must be ok with this; if anything we appear to have been encouraging interest in Gayle. Of course it'll all end badly as we subsequently fail to get a replacement over the line due to some ridiculous demand from the player, agent or club. With said player/s ending up at Burnley, Stoke, West Brom or several (19) other clubs we can't compete with. C'mon Rafa, pull a rabbit out of the hat.

If we have a replacement then I'd sell in a heartbeat. He was great in the Championship but if we were relying on his goals in the PL we'd be in deep trouble. I have a feeling he might know that the Championship is his level. The downside to Gayle going would be that Mitro would most likely be staying, I can't see us getting 2 strikers in.

Aye, he'll help plug their defence. Toodle pop.

Leicester offered 27M for Townsend ?