Mattoon

Don't understand how people think they're going to finish further up the table. They're genuinely diabolical, the odd time everything does click for them and they scrape a draw or fluke a win results around them keep them in it. They're a bit better at the back thanks to Coleman but still prone to comical lapses as today suggests and they have absolutely zero threat going forward, if people think we have a very real chance of going down you have to see that a much more I'll equipped team is going to do just as bad if not worse. I get it, it's Sunderland, the perennial survivors, the perpetual drain swirlers, they have gotten out of so much worse but this time they're in real financial trouble, no money to spend, no new manager bounce, no NUFC fixture and no Defoe. I'm more concerned about our immediate future but if we do go back down I still think we'll be in different league's.

A game changer and that's saying something for a defender! Clearly a different team with him in the side, I've had my doubts about him but he's just constantly getting better.

Nah, if it's the same person asking the same question and getting the same answer time and time again from different people, it's not everyone else's fault that the lad's a complete dunce. Your love for Rafa is clouding your judgement lad, many many people on here are so reluctant to even question his failings and inadequacies this season. Lots of things that he has done or implemented this season is open for question Mike Ashley is solely at fault for false promises or providing an adequate budget to obtain quality within the team that's true. What he is not at fault for is team selection; tactics; squad rotation and motivation. So my question to you again is whos fault is this? take the black and white glasses off before you answer it You either ignored or didn't see my question to you yesterday so I'll ask again. You lambast Rafa at every opportunity. I assume you want him gone. Who would you like to replace him then? I don't want him gone im just not one that as every week passes with every woeful performance and every loss or failure to score thinks its fine and he shouldn't be brought up for questioning. To me in any team sport it doesn't matter who the coach or manager is and what he has at his disposal its upto him to get the best out of what he has to work with. Bobby Robson turned Aaron Hughes; Andy Obrien and Titus Bramble into champions league players FFS. Rafa has had to work with inferior players but to me if hes as good a tactician/coach/manager as everyone perceives him to be then he should be able to get his team to compete win or even to score against Bournemouth; Burnley; Hudersfield; Brighton x2; Everton and Watford As a fan of over 40 years im entitled to my opinion and from what ive seen this season even with meagre resources Benitez is failing at his job. K then!

I don't get the blame for Rafa, I really don't! Imagine being a mechanic, you've been working pit crews for years, McLaren, Ferrari, etc... but you've had enough of travelling the world and you want to go home. You go for a job at a local garage and it's the only one in the town and has a huge list of customers in it's catchment area but it's been doing shite because the owner got some money off his dad and thought he could run something he knew nothing about. You reckon you can easily turn it around and the place could make a fortune, you're an amazing mechanic why wouldn't it be easy? Then you find out the last guy to run the place broke all the tools and with his last budget he went out and bought a couple of dildos!? So you ask the owner for some money to buy some new tools, but he makes you sell the old ones for scrap first and only gives you £10 to go to Poundland and you have no choice but to buy a ratchet multi-driver, a size 10/11 spanner, some gaffer tape and a spirit level. Obviously you have massive issues trying to fix any cars and they keep coming back broken, when you try and explain to the customers you've been screwed over with the tools in the box you get told you shouldn't have spent your money on all that crap and just got yourself a really good spanner for the full whack, but what good would that have done without any other decent tools? Has this guy suddenly become a shit mechanic?

Is there a good chance we'll be relegated to the 1st Division if we're not careful like?

I thought Saivet did enough for a space on the bench and Mitro may as well be out the door already. But a decent line up, let's go toons!

And hark, a lone voice of reason amidst a cacophony of bilge. Mag

Ffs [emoji23] Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

Merry Christmas everyone, may all your Lynx be Africa! Have a good one.

You just know the media will blame the players and Pardew gets his free pass again. I can't wait until he let's them let their hair down

Top trolling some major whooshes in here

That's just being daft. Colback's a midfielder, how would he be able to replace a forward? The ginger pirlo can play anywhere as well you know it, stop being facetious

....and yes I'm an idiot. Ffs Edit: And a NPW!!

I haven't seen this posted anywhere so I thought I'd pop it here, sorry if Giggs: http://www.nufcfansutd.com/news/december-21st-2017

I wonder if my comment on Keys' website will make it through the moderators?

Delewded

£25 for that photo only an itk could fork out for that!

Top notch that

Seconded. Yes lets all feel sorry for someone earning millions of pounds and living a life of luxury. Rafa will know that even with a decent spend in January hes more than likely not going to end up with a squad as good as the one he couldn't save from Relegation 2 years ago This is a squad that has no Townsend,Janmaat,Wijnaldum,Sissoko,Cisse or Tiote Theres 6 players that would instantly walk into our 11. I really don't know who people are expecting or wanting us to sign next month but we are going to need at least 6 IMO and in January that just doesn't happen He couldn't save a bunch of players that had all the confidence sapped out of them by a clown of a manager, he couldn't save a team in a downward spiral with only a few games left to turn it around. That is in no way equivalent to what he has right now. Had he have had a few more games that season we would have stayed up, he doesn't need to find his feet, he needs a few players to fit into what hes trying to do here.

Fuck me surely it's not fucking complicated. The longer this goes on the price of the club will tumble. If he doesn't spend in January we will be relegated he will then have to put more money into the club and will never have a chance to get his money back. Honestly man someone needs to go and give their heads a shake. Ashley has no choice, he HAS to keep Benitez and he HAS to keep us in the Premiership, otherwise he loses the deal and a whole lot of money. He has to spend now and make sure he keeps Rafa happy and keeps us in the Premiership or he's out of pocket serious money and left with a club no one wants that is likely to be relegated and with very little chance of bouncing straight back up with any manager worth his salt not wanting to touch us. He lucked out twice in the championship with two great managers at that level, it won't happen again. Surely he's not that stupid, he must see his back is firmly against the wall.

FFP does/will though What they gonna do? Fine him

Both great and devastating news in equal measure.

Can we just start the post match reaction here?