Village Idiot

Man, always wanted to have some Ex-NUFC playing for us, and I end up with Luuk de Jong Careful what you wish for, I guess...

Xavi was introduced today. He said all the right things and was ambitious without taking people for fools. At least the discourse is already miles better than Koeman's "it is what it is" attitude. We'll see when the rubber hits the road. We also have 11 players out at the moment, which is ridiculous. I felt a bit for him when he spoke at length about loving playing with wingers... the only real winger we have is Dembelé, who's perma-injuried. But god, I love so much having him back at the club

That probably gets you at least a draw these days.

Pass.

And Celta equalizes in the 96th minute. We have been dire in the second half. Even accounting for the injuries.

Aaaand Fati goes down. What a shit luck we have.

Nico having a blinder. Love our young midfield.

Even if we haven't had convincing wins yet, we look so much more positive since Koeman left. 0-2 up away at Vigo now, and this looks more like the team we should be.

His retirement was legendary. In the last three games he played for us, he won a trophy in each of them, earning a treble: Copa del Rey final, La Liga clincher, CL final.

Apparently Xavi is paying half of the release clause to get out of his contract with Al-Sadd (we couldn't pay it without breaking FFP). Bless him.

He plays for us like somebody ripped off his soul. Completely dispirited, can't get anything to work. Our attack is as threatening as a newborn puppy and yet he isn't able to nail down a spot in the starting lineup. And the fact is he doesn't deserve it. Probably there's a large mental component to this (also lots of injuries though), and maybe he can recapture *some* form after a change of environment. I mean, by all accounts he behaves very professionally so the player he was 5 years ago can't have vanished completely. But his form at Barça is truly abysmal.

Same for me if Barça appoints Xavi. Want a hug?

Coutinho would be a brilliant transfer!!!!

Ultimately, I think that's the reason why Emery turned you down. Villarreal are probably the best run club in Spain, and they are in the CL. Yes, with your new owners you have lots of potential, but right now you're still in the shit and there are lots of unknowns. Don't go with Robert Martínez though. That dude's a fraud, I was livid when people were linking it with us earlier in the season.

Marca seems to have independently confirmed that he's staying, along the same lines as other reports. They also add that Emery didn't appreciate the leaks from NUFC, which compromised his standing at Villarreal right before a CL game.

Yes. Now if we can sort out Dembelé too, even with all his issues we're not particularly flush with attacking talent right now.

Man, celebrating an agonizing away win at Kiev like it was a quarter-final at San Siro. We suck so much. Still, Fati is the man.

Villarreal's president claimed yesterday evening that NUFC still haven't made a formal approach to them.

Not at all. They are one of the richest clubs in Spain outside of the traditional big ones. They have a pretty rich owner (and they are very well run, too).

They have been quite horrible tbf. But I think it's just one of those patches of form, he did great with them last season. He's a very solid appointment, really.

I'm still here! Agüero spent the night at the hospital and it looks like he suffered an arrhytmia...

Oh, absolutely. Winning trophies in Qatar isn't real experience. But one can dream, which is more I could with Koeman.

There's also the whole chain of torch-passing from Cruyff to Guardiola and now to Xavi. As a football fan, I live for this shit. And yes, our squad is badly depleted but we're much better than what's been on display. Koeman was a terrible manager, with a terrible defeatist attitude and always making excuses. He lost games before the ball started rolling.

Brain says Ten Hag (I know little of Gallardo), heart says Xavi. And I'm gonna go all Disney movie and follow my heart. Dude was the living embodiment of our style. He was more Mr Barça than Messi himself. Hopefully we're not getting Catalan Solksjaer...

It's gonna be Xavi. I know I shouldn't (I mean, he's only managed in Qatar) but I'm all the fuck in right now.