Jamie87

He's got such an awkward gait. Someone on here described it as running across a swimming pool on inflatables, or something to that effect. But he absolutely eats up ground like. He also looks like he doesn't have the ball fully under his control, but then seems to have an uncanny ability to move it very quickly away from players. He's shown some unreal skill at times. I like him. Do we build a team around him? Probably not, but he at least tries to take a man on and adds a bit of excitement. I don't know who else in our 11 actually is capable of beating someone one on one... Hall maybe.

Is everyone ok? Feel like the mood is so downbeat. We've had shit spells before under Howe and he's always turned it around. I'm excited about tonight, I'm excited about potentially retaining a Cup. Think we all need a dose of Vitamin D and a quick look back at cup performances pre-2020.

Why not send him a message, or give him a call? It's been done publicly. I don't think he needs to be remonstrated too much for it, but it clearly is a public statement that trivializes the complete twattery we've had to deal with as a club heading into a Champions League campaign. Also, fuck Liverpool and fuck Isak.

The only way we should even consider an offer from Liverpool is if it is ludicrously large. If they are willing to pay £116M for Florian WIrtz, then shouldn't we be holding out for £250M for arguably the best striker in the Premier League? We'd be selling to a Champions League spot rival. We'd be selling to a team that is seemingly flush with cash. We'd be selling to a team that desperately need a player in Isak's position. Everyone is panicking like Liverpool hold all the cards. Do they fuck! They have the draw of being Liverpool, and historic and recent success, to attract the player, but in terms of negotiating a sale they can't make us do a damn thing. All this talk of bracing ourselves makes no sense. Either Liverpool offer what we think Isak is worth (i.e. £250M) or they can fuck off. And the idea that they are using their approach for Ekitike as a bargaining chip is laughable. It makes no sense.

I'd rather sell him to anyone but Liverpool. I'd sell him for half the price to a team in a different league. If he goes to Liverpool, he'll score 40+ goals a season and never be injured again in his life. We now have the London and Merseyside (also heavily London-based) media mafia doing their best to unsettle our star player. They can Foxtrot Oscar.

All I'll say about Wembley is that it cemented my absolute hatred of Man Utd and their fan base. Sang about Shearer and booed Karius. That's all I remember. And Wembley is basically a Home game for the London crowd as well. I can't speak for everyone, obviously, but I have to admit to being slightly overawed by the whole Wembley thing, it didn't feel real. I didn't think we were the meek and quiet crowd that some make it out, but it was disappointing not to hear the Blaydon Races at least once. I'm angry all over again now, fucking Pope getting sent off against Liverpool was so disastrous.

Signed an agreement to not break already established rules which as a member club we are obliged to adhere to anyway? There's no way we've entered into any agreement to not challenge the status quo, how would that suit us in anyway, and would amount to a side-agreement not sanctioned by all member clubs. Think it's tinfoil hat territory. I think our owners are most likely watching what happens with the Man City charges. Why would we get embroiled in a lengthy legal dispute when there's a good chance that another PL member will destroy the rules in court. In the meantime we build slowly, maximising PSR allowed losses (which is still a net investment, especially compared with our previous regime), and when its open season we get to invest more aggressively but at least with a sound foundation. I wish they'd announce the stadium plans.

I'm fairly certain we did.

Considering we offered £70m for Olise, they're well aware of how much we can afford unfortunately. Puts us in a tricky negotiating position.

Can he kick the shit out of advertising boards is my only remaining question.

Not sure it's that far away. Agree there will always be bias in any trained model based on the inputs its trained on, but over 30 years worth of televised football captured and a panel of referees picked from every league would surely reduce its bias. At least it would remove any feeling that a decision was swayed by external factors (conspiracy or otherwise).

What about an AI based VAR?

Longstaff is the best product from our academy in arguably over a decade. He's obviously a massive fan and comes from a Newcastle mad family. He gets a pass from me on making the odd blunder just for that. But when you add in the fact he works harder in that mid 3 than anyone else, covers such a huge amount of grass, and seemingly has an immaculate attitude, I really think he deserves his place in the team currently and some of the criticism is way over the top. He's only 25 and working under a good coach now, he still has head room. Also, it's documented that online criticism and comments in the media caused him to have a bit of a personal crisis recently. We should back him and hope he continues to grow.

https://www.footballmanagerblog.org/2022/01/joao-pedro-fm22-wonderkid-report.html He's an FM22 wonderkid. He's the next Ronaldo. Chill.

The contrast to a Steve Bruce press conference is nuts. He's articulate, intelligent and deliberate in what he's saying. It's so refreshing.