Gallowgate Toon

There's still a lot left to play for, like. 1 or 2 results and then everything shifts again. With some tweaks, we can push on again as we still do a lot well.

Isak's played most of his career as a striker and he scored lots of goals at Sociedad in the 6-yard box from crosses and skirmishes. Yes, he's not an entire replica of Wilson, but he doesn't need to be either. Bottom line is we've not given him a fair run while we're desperate for goals.

It's also a little bit of a worry if he's going to manage us in Europe. We're definitely not going to be able to play the same team every game so he needs to be able to rotate successfully.

Again, we're largely very well coached and had a good platform in the game which makes some of the selection decisions up top even more annoying.

It's getting to the point where I actually don't like him which isn't even his fault. Should've become bench fodder 6 games ago, even just to give him a kick up the arse. Was an advocate for 4-2-3-1 against Wolves but I think I'd rather see him benched.

Should be really disappointed with himself today, imo. I thought the Gordon for ASM switch was fine and worth a shot, would've preferred it to be Miggy than ASM but City are so good at home and will pin you back. Watching Wilson fanny about for 60 minutes getting ragdolled and missing easy chances just isn't good enough though. 1 in 14 ffs. Didn't even press very well today either.

We've done decently there, some good spells of play. Hope we make some changes early on in the half, this current lot aren't scoring and it's important we make subs before a second goes in.

Nah, Isak is a great counter striker where you can punt the ball to the wider areas and he can do damage. Worked very well against Liverpool. Wilson presses well and contests headers better. Let's see how it goes.

It's weird because it also goes against Howe's entire ethos of having competition & playing those who've earned it. What's the point if you're going to persevere with an ageing, injury prone striker who has been out of form for months. Bizarre.

Wilson Got to say, I'm getting a bit concerned about it, like. Isak gets shunted to the bench asap, Wilson has endless opportunities.

There was a story about Fraser being moved on at the back end of last year and a deal had been verbally agreed? I wonder if his agent leaked that to drum up interest & Howe caught wind of that.

We're not likely to pick up a result but a performance is important, like, as is scoring. If we go another game looking limp then pressure will be ramped up for the Wolves game.

It'd obviously be worse if he's betting on his own games, but betting on others is still crap. Football is a small community when it comes to pros, if he's been telling mates who play for other teams that he's been putting down X on outcomes then it creates influence at a level of football where wages aren't great. Not assuming that's what he's done but need to protect from that scenario.

I really like the Isak-Wilson option for some games. It feels like it makes a lot of sense with our current predictability - Isak has the game to both drop into gaps and turn, help create overloads out wide, and make runs beyond defenders while Wilson occupies central space. I imagine there's some concern about defensive shape/gaps starting them both but if you have a midfield of Almiron/Bruno/Joe/Gordon behind them then that's lots of coverage & work rate.

He doesn't seem anywhere near as 'in your face' as he did before. It genuinely does feel like he's a different player to a few months ago: slow, pushed around, almost meek.

I don't think it's unfair to say that we've played consistently better football without ASM under Howe, to date. We've seen some very high peaks with him in the mix though.

I still love him but I think it'd be good to give Gordon a run on that right hand side at the weekend. It'd be nice to have one wide player on their correct foot from the start.

Maybe Targett helps a bit but I can't help feeling that ASM has other really fundamental weaknesses to his game that are just of his own making, namely decision-making. Watching Sunday back a bit, misplaced balls happen, but he had a few opportunities to just go down the outside in good positions with others in the box and get something across goal but he checked back & then tried to go again etc. He has a decent left foot so it's something he should have confidence in. The constant checking slowed everything down and allowed them to get numbers set. A few chances where he had chances to play 1-2s after making good bursts and then losing it after holding on too long. He's been fine since he came back into the XI but he still doesn't feel natural for Howe-ball with players that want to pass & move quickly and rotate positions. Big few months ahead for him now.

Feels like a tough game to drop Targett back in for. Aim to keep it tight and hit them on the break. Pope Trippier Schar Botman Burn Willock Bruno Joelinton Gordon Isak ASM

He absolutely needs consistent playing time now; whether as a striker, wide forward, or #10. I think we can get away with him & Wilson as a pairing against a lot of teams, tbh. Probs not against the best possession sides but that's where you can play him as the striker or move him to a wider role.

Guna be fuming if he's out again for a short while. What deal do we have to make to see him & our best attackers start together for a run of games.

Cracking run from Rashford for their second, like. Lucky with the finish, yes, but as soon as that break started, he knew where he wanted to go. That's the type of stuff you desperately want someone like Maxi to learn.

Joelinton is the best aerial threat we have - proper meets headers. Everyone else who's tall is a good 'defensive' header.

It's gotten to the point that I'm just fucked off with Burn Feels like he's missed (not even forced a save) about 5 relatively point blank headers this season.

It's time to evolve... not revolve. I think he'll be really relieved that this weekend is done now. I feel like we've been walking a tightrope the last few weeks in terms of team selection & squad management. This is a big test for Howe now, a bit of a sticky patch and we'll see how ready he is to be ruthless - this is bigger club management decision-making time. I'm a bit worried for him with Wilson, feels like he's been trying to back him in spite of form which is against his entire managerial ethos of playing based on merit, competition in the squad etc. You can carry a striker in crap form for a while when you're vying for midtable but not when you want to be towards the top, especially when there aren't plenty of goals elsewhere. He has to turn this disappointment around for the rest of the season and start building our next phase. For me, the rest of this campaign should be about getting our attacking mojo in order and preparing for next year. It'll likely lead to more losses than the first half of the season but it's something we have to go through. That, or we revert to more of a counter attacking team and re-style next campaign. Options are to go for it with Isak and Wilson, but that may mean sacrificing ASM for Willock or Gordon to try and preserve defensive stability. Or he tries ASM off Isak and Gordon on the left. Maybe put Isak, Wilson & ASM together as a 3 somehow if we want to keep 4-3-3. I don't buy that we don't have goals in the squad, we can have a decent attack to see us through with some tinkering and perseverance.