alexf

Barnes has looked like he needs a break for awhile, plus I'm assuming Willock is in there for a little bit more defensive protection. I do hope we stick to the same system we have been puing lately but I suppose it does give us the option to move players around if it's not working.

Yeah gotta say confidence did dissipate alot when I read their line up. On paper they should be smashing us and most of the league every week but thankfully they haven't been as good as they should be alot of the time.

Yeah, pressing them high with Botman and Burn, Trippier in that away cup game clearly didn't work. They didn't have the athleticism to get tight enough to stop them turning. Felt sorry for Botman, he was being asked to do something his body just wasn't capable of. Agree with low block and counter but Eddie seems pretty keen to always go man for man against them so wouldn't be surprised to see the same tactics.

Nothing reveals the degradation of European football to me more than Fenerbache getting dicked at home 0:3 by a Nottingham Forrest team near the foot of the table. Just always felt like an away tie in CL to a Turkish side was a hostile atmosphere and they would give some of the best teams in Europe a proper game. Now they are in the Europa and getting slapped comfortably by one of the weakest teams in England this year.

I think that old cliche of the difficult prem fixture after a champions League game applies here. With extra on top of the ridiculous travel distance the team had to do and then coupled with it being man city away and our atrocious record there. What I would love to see is a continuation of our improved away performances and signs that all the recent good things are still working and will carry into the rest of the season. I just think going forward they will have too much and our slow backline we get exposed easily like it was in the cup game. Would love to be wrong and I'm hoping we can atleast sneak a draw perhaps if we are clinical with our chances.

That's bullshit an you know it The only reason Shearer's name is there is because he's our most famous designated penalty taker. When I was talking to someone during the game I said the same thing but used Harry Kane as an example. When I did that I wasn't saying Gordon compares to Kane's talent as a striker, it was within the context of designated penalty takers that have already scored a few goals usually are greedy and will demand they still take the pen.

Don't mean it in a horrible way. Just that on the evidence of this season his finishing has been really poor. So it felt more like the misses were his normal finishing and the open play goals were the outlier. So whilst positive the way he finished the two non penalty goals, I want to see him burying those other fairly easy chances to show the goals aren't flukes and his improved his finishing. Time will show but signs are promising since that Liverpool finish which was also very well taken. Barnes should have had a hattrick really if he was at his best but it was an off night for him Infront of goal. But that's the thing, he has the evidence to back up that the misses the other night were the outliers, because normally you expect him to bury chances like that. I haven't had that same confidence in Gordon this season. He can change that with consistent goals now hopefully.

As improved as we have been the last few games I still think we look incredibly vulnerable defensively. It's been minimised by the fact we have looked good going forward and generally been the better team in all of the last 3. However every time a team has attacked us, even spurs and Qarabag, we have looked like conceding and have. So no doubts city will score goals. But I also love how fast and fluid we have been going forward so you know we can have a few chances but we need to take them this time, unlike the cup games.

On the longer highlights you see that chance he had when through on goal again, loads of time and then tamely shoots straight at the keeper with his left. There was another aswell not longer after that I think with his right foot where he should have lifted it over the keeper. Need him to iron out those sort of weak finishes before I am convinced he can be a true goal threat. Will need to be more clinical as won't get as many chances like that in the harder games. The first goal was the most impressive to me because it was great movement, speed and finishing. The type of goal he could score against a Man City aswell as a Qarabag. The other goals came from great pressing, but errors by them that won't be as common in the premier league. Let's see how he gets on against better opposition and faster defenders at the weekend. Because City have shown they give us loads of chances and grass to run into so he will get chances but will need to be clinical.

Crikey some folks on here will bicker about anything and also embellish stories to fit their narrative. At most Nick might have asked to take the pen (as he should as a striker) and Gordon said no. Fine no problem. The only issue really was Trippier getting in hump about it. Didn't see any antics from Nick. The way people are going on it's as if it was like the Palmer, Madueke Jackson squabble at Chelsea a little while back. Now if Nick had done something like that and thrown a hissy and tried to snatch the ball like a child etc. I would understand the criticism. But he didn't. He has played well a number of times now in a withdrawn role and is doing what Howe asks of him for the betterment of the team, rather than sulking and demanding he only be played as number 9. If you wana lay into the lad because he's struggled to fit into a system he's rarely played before, in a new league and against better opposition than he would have previously faced, then that says more about you in my opinion. These aren't excuses they are just context.

He's conceded a few goals recently when it seems his preference is to try to let the ball hit him rather than trying to get his arms out to it. Great when it comes off sometimes when he comes out and makes himself big, but when it doesn't it looks sort of comical like last night.

Didn't see any evidence of Nick kicking up a fuss at all. Trippier and Willock approached Gordon but TV camera didn't capture any drama from Nick at all.

If they set up like they did second half they they would have given themselves a far better chance. Any team that does their research on us l, it should be plain to see that if you defend in a low block and make us have to break you down we have proven incapable time and again. We are also vulnerable to counter attack pace of you get at our back 4. But they played exactly into our hands and just allowed our front 4, even 5 with Willock regularly crashing the box aswell, to exploit their lack of pace and we could have been up 9-10 nil at halftime easily if we finished all our chances. Credit to Howe aswell. Would have been easy to go somewhat cautious away from home in a banana skin situation, you know for a fact the likes of Bruce or Pardew would have set up far more defensive and worrying about the opponents. But Howe just threw as many forward players on and left Tonali as the only one sitting because Willock was bombing forward as much as anyone else.

Bit premature people assuming City will overtake them now aswell. Arsenal have left the door ajar plenty of times already this season and the chasing teams still found a way to fumble and gift them back the points cushion. So based on this season I wouldn't be shocked to see City drop points to us at the weekend and then Arsenal are back to 5-6 point gap. However with our history at the Etihad, that just isn't gonna happen is it

I mean the more he plays well then at the bare minimum he is atleast putting extra value back to what was a diminishing transfer fee. How many were quoted in here as saying they would sell him earlier in the season for what we paid for him? Now off the back of there champions league goals, if he carried on performing like last night you could easily slap £100m fee on him and some teams would still be interested. I hope we don't, I hope this is him turning a corner and that he continues to develop with us and get better. Be interesting if his form returned to shit if he goes back to the wing however.

Just to add on. It reminds me a little bit of Kieron Dyer. There were times he played upfront just off Shearer and with his pace he looked frightening at times. Anyone remember Southampton away in the cup in like 2003? But he never truely belonged there and would often eventually get shifted back to his normal midfield role. Hopefully that isn't the case and Gordon can keep developing his finishing and morph into a really effective striker.

Was gonna say, when everything is moving fast in real action and not penalties, he has been rushing and scuffing shots all season. However that Liverpool away game was hopefully the turning point because he scored a really nice goal and he's starting to flourish. I don't disagree with what he said there in the clip above. As a team we were playing alright at the start of the season but he couldn't finish anything to save his life. Now he is starting to score goals and all the extra stuff that gives (his pace, his closing down, his running the channels) all has more weight. However he needs to keep it going now until the end of the season and prove he belongs there permanently. Because even tonight there were a few chances he had at 1 or 2 nil that he really should be burying and you might only get those chances in games against the better teams. For example, if he had buried his chance instead of missing the ball entirely in that Barca home game, I think there is a good chance we would have gone on to win that game. So small margins but no doubting he looked electric tonight and the signs are promising.

Yeah it's clearer but incredible harsh on the defending team. That lad threw his body in to block with his feet and his arm underneath him got hit impossible to avoid without not having arms. Always think most of the CL handballs are bullshit but that's probably because we have been on the wrong end of two shockers away at PSG now.

Yeah and Thiaw is badly in need of a game rest for a change. Atleast Burn had a break when injured Joelinton probably will play next week as might need a tune up game post injury to get sharpness before he's ready to start again. Although current form he doesn't get back in first 11 for me.

Glad the majority stick by him despite "noise". There's a minority that want to stick the boot in but as I was saying after Brentford, he always turns bad runs around. He hasn't failed us yet so no one had any right to doubt him based on his performance for us so far. Have faith in the man and support him and the players even when we have dips that are completely explainable with some context. Sure we were struggling for form but he's just helped us deliver three fantastic away performances in a row.

Needed a booking so he misses second leg so it doesn't carry to the next round apparently. Seems obvious as hell now with that context.

Yeah kinda glad it was Gabriel involved in the mistake. Find him really dislikeable the way he acts.

I guess its bit like when it was City or Liverpool, yeah it sucks that City get to cheat and win so much but I almost nothing them a little bit as they feel like such an empty club so it always feels a lesser of two evils when it's them or Liverpool/Arsenal/Chelsea/Man U etc. Used to find Arsenal by far the least offensive in the past, especially under Wenger when they played some great football. But something about this era's Arteta team and the likes of Gabriel etc and the way there fans carry on (I know our social media fans are a bag of shite aswell). Will make it more palatable to get our usual humping away at City if it puts the pressure in them. Although also means we could go get a result and doesn't hand them the title.

Means we can go get a result at City now and it not gift Arsenal the title. Kinda weird feeling but I don't know why I just can't stomach this Arsenal team winning the league, I think the dislike is entirely Arteta related aswell. That looked like a possible red for Jesus aswell.

Forgetting the level of opponent for a moment but Gordon looked electric tonight and has looked really improved as a striker compared to earlier in he season. Finished his chances fantastically, however still could have done better with one or two but so could others. Barnes should have had 3 himself if he'd been abit sharper tonight. Loved his first goal in particular as that was exactly what you would want from him as a forward. Use his pace to run in behind and then bury his shot low and hard into the corner. Pace is such an asset when used well. I was his biggest critic when he was contributing little from the left and seemed like he was half arseing at times and stopping Barnes from playing on he left. But I'll be the first to say that he's been really good for awhile now and in particular the CL games he seems to excel. Totally back him taking that 2nd pen aswell. He's our designated taker, he won the pen himself and is more than entitled to demand it.