Stottie

It looks like Kenedy can fill in anywhere on left side. I'm not against buying into youth like Murphy, just hoping we can make the crumbs go around as best we can when there are pressing needs at other positions. Chicharito will be the extreme end in terms of wages for a 14M striker. This low fee for his pedigree will probably reflect his high wage demands. It might be better to think of him as a 25M class striker, like Benteke etc. A more typical 14M striker won't automatically be on over 100k a week. I don't think Tottenham pay any (many?) that much.

I think the window has been disappointing, but not terrible like some of the examples people have given where only one or two players were brought in and then with more regard to their prices than what was needed on the pitch. Since Murphy was brought in for 10M, I think there must be other money for a striker. Otherwise that purchase smacks of mistaken priorities. I think we'll see a keeper come in too. They both may be well down Benitez' lists however. With a better keeper, Yedlin or better backup RB, better backup LB, better/more competition at CB, better than Colback CM, better LM options, and Gayle + better backup strikers, we should do mid-table type okay so long as Rafa is around.

Big wedge for someone who mightn't get in the team ahead of Henri Lansbury.

I saw a list of Everton players recently and it said McCarthy was on 70k a week. That will be a stretch for many potential buyers, not just the fee.

Even with the injuries, I doubt our defence will be as generous as Palace were on Saturday. I'd play the same team that finished the Spurs game, with Merino in for Shelvey. Maybe De Jong in if Merino plays through #10 more.

Yep, looks like he knows how to put his foot through it. 1.92m tall and has almost always played as CF by the looks. The "Murphy replacement" tag seems appropriate.

It's getting to the stage where a bird in the hand is worth two "we did try but excuse excuse excuse". So bring on the Joselu. Good that the fans there rate him.

I suspect the "red mist" is an incurable problem for some players, some of the legends. How many times was Zidane sent off? See also Roy Keane, Gerrard, etc. The problem with Shelvey is that he is unproven as a "the red mist is worth it" player in the Premiership. He was easily better than so many Championship midfielders that his disciplinary problems weren't a problem in that league. He was offering enough in the games he did play. He's now playing at a much higher standard though, and either has to perform at a level that still makes him worth it or cut it out so it is not an issue.

Before kickoff, Pards said Matic was the best DM from the last "six or seven seasons". So it isn't the one who's just won the league with two different clubs, who just won Footballer of the Year, and was kept went Matic was sold. (not a pure DM, but near enough)

I'm not a doctor, but based on what I think the human body is capable of, sandwiching and twisting someone's leg under them could be more likely to cause serious injury as hitting them in a straight line with or without exposed studs. It's definitely "dangerous play". My son got a spiral fracture of the tibia skiing and that was all from twisting, in spite of having kid's ligaments to help him, not from impact.

No probs, it looks Perez is a good deal. 12-13M ish. That fee for Wilshere is crazy. He was class, but is a gamble now after all the injuries and the meh impact at Bournemouth. Re Cairney, I reckon every Championship player has a price if you're a PL club with Rafa Benitez. Cairney's 27 in January, so the clock is ticking for chances to step up. (again parallel universe where we spend money)

If Wilshere is 20M (with a year to go on his contract!!), we should go back for Cairney. I'd take Perez though. NB. This may be in a parallel universe where Mike Ashley doesn't promise one thing and do another.

For the incident the only thing you can say is that Alli should be booked for obstructing the free kick. Other than that, its as clear a red card as they come.

What a waste. I guess Spurs would have stepped it up and beaten us 11 vs. 11, but we (he) gave them no need to. It could have been 9 vs. 11 due to his underperforming radgie mate as well. If Rafa had had subs in the bank, I think he'd have been hooked straight away. The rest of them mostly did okay with what was asked of them. Atsu played well. Hope the injured lads are all right. But what a waste. Of all that preparation, all that energy invested in the match, and of course the potential points we might have had. All gone in a mad moment.

Should have been on 25 minutes ago. That would leave him out of subs with 40 mins to go.

Shelvey - what a prick. We were in the ferking game!

I think we need more Rafa flags.

I'm a fan of expected goals but it's value depends on the nature of the game. Like other stats, it does not show game state, and many teams will not bother getting the ball forward and creating chances when already ahead. An expected goals of "0.1" is fine if you score early on with that chance and defend well enough for the remainder of the game. It doesn't mean that the other team defended well either to give up just "0.1". In other situations though, it can be useful. If you remember the Bayern vs. Atleti CL semi, Bayern absolutely hammered them but simply didn't score. It was not a "defensive masterclass" or any of the other Atleti cliches available to pundits. Pep got a lot of flak from them for losing the tie and not winning the CL at Bayern, but the manager can only set the team up to open up the opposition. It's then on the players and the run of the ball. Another advantage of xG is that it lets you know which strikers are on a simple hot streak where everything goes in and which ones are likely to continue scoring, i.e., by taking many shots from good positions, like Vardy during that scoring run of his. The latest candidate for "he's just on a hot streak" is Josh King. xG in the days of Pardew would have strongly suggested that our fifth place was a fluke and was unlikely to be repeat the following season. Of course, good pundits would have noticed this without stats, but we don't get good pundits these days, we get media-friendly bland ones chosen because they say nothing controversial, especially nothing non-PC, and look good in open shirts. You would never get one that looks like Jimmy Hill or Brian Moore. I've got much more faith in xG than the shallow knee-jerk punditry on MOTD.

Carra struggling to calm down calm down there at HT.

Yeah, I'm sure you're right. There's nothing stopping someone in the studio from giving a counter view though.

Yeah, it's feeling like the beginning of the end. The club can only try his patience for so long. The project he talks of is as a builder, not as a fire fighter.

Ashley is a cunt but so is the interviewer letting him off with the straw man comparison to Man City. Any journalist who gave a toss would press Ashley why we are spending less than Bournemouth or Huddersfield. Why we have the lowest net spend of any club with tens of thousands of match going fans. Ashley only gets away with it (from a national perspective) because the established media narrative is that we are deluded (read: thick) Geordies who don't know their place. See the comments from Jenas too, someone who has a job on MOTD because his face and general image fit, not because of his insight into or fantastic career in football. According to pundits, there is a parallel universe where a club with top ten revenue and fans who turn up in spite of repeated disappointment carries a millstone of overexpections. Our failure to win silverware for decades is mocked, yet conveniently forgotten when discussing the fans and their loyalty. We are supposed to pity the poor billionaire instead.

Remember when he was supposedly notoriously secretive and never said anything in public? For someone supposed to be "good mates" with the people at Tottenham, he has learnt ferk all about running a football club from them.

Those comments aren't far off a Ratner tbh. The team has no money or ambition so just sit in your little seat and don't expect too much. That's not what following a football team is about. Huge amounts of money in the game did not stop Leicester winning the title a year ago. As a Championship team, we were a Selz error, or penalties if you prefer, from the league cup semis last season. In Rafa we have hit the jackpot and it is almost criminal to cripple him for the sake of saving a few bob.

Lee Ryder back in with the gloom after missing another one with Kenedy.