Pilko

Nah, I'm inclined to think that getting a league win even if it involves "winning ugly" then provides the platform and the confidence to then start playing well and getting back to the pre-WC form we saw. I hate myself for even saying this but I remember a game in the 5th placed Pardew season which was similar - Norwich at home and we played some mad formation with Gutierrez at fullback and Cabaye wide left, it was ugly and minging and shit but we shuffled a 1-0 win out of it and then went on that class run of form where Cisse was banging them in and we were winning games for fun. Kinda has that feel about it except without a dickhead in the dugout and a row of cunts in the directors seats.

One of those games tomorrow where all that matters is the result, the performance can go hang as long as we get the three points on the board. To quote a certain N Warnock "it might be a nob end in the 90th minute" but we just need to win.

Spurs goal chalked off by VAR, get in.

Get the fuck in. Amazing result for us but also always an absolute joy seeing Klopp lose.

Hahahahaha fuck off Salah and you Scouse cunts

Unnatural position says Walton Aye, jump with your arms by your side. Fucking ludicrous.

I remember one year they wouldn't screen The Apprentice during election season because Sugar was affiliated with Labour in some sort of Business Enterprise advisory capacity, ended up delaying it almost a year til it was all said and done.

I think that'd be a really sensible signing if we end up in Europe, like what I've seen from him so far.

If all the boats were headed for Sunderland there'd be a right moral dilemma... they hate forrins and asylum seeykahs, but they might be able to count them as extra supporters due to that pesky North Sea catchment area limiting the number of massive lads fans.

Sounds unsurprisingly like the old, know-it-all "I've been here since 197x" brigade who sit silently and hate any kind of change will put the dampeners on this to me.

This is quite funny/sad written by .com after that match I posted above in 2005. If only they/we knew what the years ahead would bring And there was extra glee in seeing the miserable mug of Steve Bruce glowering across the field and later into the TV camera lenses. How awful for him that he wasn't able to return to his "beloved" Tyneside and bless us all with the smug expressions that dominated the pre-match press footage - along with those oh-so-familiar conspiratorial quotes about how he could have been at the head of this black and white flock, if only he'd taken up Freddy's offer. Quite simply there was a time to put up - and now there's a time to shut up. When Sir Bobby carried his putter out of the training ground for the final time, Bruce had the chance to live his dream and be among his own folk (or some other cliche-ridden claptrap) but he didn't take it did he? No, he preferred to stay where he was, in a grubby part of Birmingham, working for some grubby publishers. Just like "Big Sam", who preferred life in his handy-for-the motorway retail park, with drummers, daft mascots and all the big match atmosphere of an episode of "It's A Knockout." Just like Mike Baldwin preferring to remain in the shadow of the Transporter Bridge, with his 13,000 mad-for-it fans rattling round his tinshed of a ground on European nights.

https://www.nufc.com/html/2005-06html/2005-11-05birmingham-h.html This was shit, I was sat in L7, I have memories of the people around me shouting "play fucking football man" quite a lot. Seem to remember there were fuck all chances other than a long ranger from them that hit the bar, and our goal which was thrown in by the keeper.

I was away at uni that year so didn't go to masses of games, but was in the Leazes End with a class view of Ben Arfa's two ridiculous goals v Blackburn in the cup and Bolton in the league. Still feel privileged and the Blackburn one is definitely the best goal I've ever seen live.

6 goals in 248 league appearances from Coloccini which is probably what we'll get from CW if he starts every game he's fit for from now til he's 45.

Ah, Forest fans getting the full Shelvey experience. A package of highlights from his debut featuring his unbelievable passing range followed by weeks of fuck all other than long balls and free kicks wafted into the stands and petulance, either by refusing to track back or doing it really poorly leading to a pen, red card or goal against. Someone'll bump this again in August when he has his next good game for them.

Questioning Howe and some of his selection decisions doesn't necessarily mean wishing him gone. Reading most of the comments I'm pretty certain everyone is saying what they're saying with the context of what Howe has done in the last year or so firmly in mind, even if they didn't explicitly mention it in their posts. I think most in this thread have highlighted similar issues around selection and are hoping he makes a few changes to freshen things up after a difficult few months. It looks and feels like a few of them could do with a rest and given we've got a £62m striker and a fit-again Targett on the bench as well as today being much more suited to Maxi than next week probably will be, I think questions over why he won't sit Wilson, Almiron or Burn down for a period are very valid.

I notice "best player in the division" Amad Diallo now the subject of derision and wants dropping according to many on Ready to Groom.

I was indeed super critical of Howe in the early days and without trawling through I've definitely gone on record more than once to say I had it completely wrong and that he's far and away better than I had him down as. That doesn't mean he's immune from criticism though and since the turn of the year, it's been underwhelming. Bad results and bad performances will happen regardless of your manager, club and overall spend but it does feel a bit like he's sticking to tried and tested for too long now. 3 league goals in 2023 as we go into March is massively concerning and yet he sticks with our 1 in last 15 striker, £60m striker sat on the bench. It's blatantly wrong.

fuck off yourself, if you've got an axe to grind with me personally send me a PM.

I think there's plenty scrutinising him and making suggestions where he seems to be falling down but I don't think there are (m)any people wanting him gone or anything like that.

Trippier's given goals away for fun this calendar year.

Feel like we had a chance to get something today and his shit selection of Wilson and inertia with the subs has cost us it.

Isak doing more in 63 seconds than Wilson mustered in 63 minutes.

But we've looked "ok" in most league games since after Boxing Day and only won one of them. I wasn't suggesting wholesale changes but Targett for Burn would give us more of an attacking option on the left and also some variety to Trippier's set pieces. Isak for Wilson might see some of these chances we keep creating and he keeps missing converted.

Continuity and loyalty are both all good and well but there's got to be a line in the sand where you admit it's not working at the moment and make a change to either personnel or shape. Going too far the other way and "knee jerking" is bad but we're way beyond that stage now IMO. Feels like he's had the inbox message in Football Manager saying "Howe unwilling to experiment despite poor form" that you get when you haven't won in a while but stick with the same side & formation and he's chosen to ignore it. The "too nice" stuff is obviously bullshit but "too loyal" or "too stubborn" are fair assessments at the moment. All that said I've faith he'll turn it around and get us firing again, I just hope it's sooner rather than later.