Stottie

They won 2-1 in the third and fourth rounds, but have lost five straight league games. League form is P7 W0 D1 L6.

Between WBA (h) and Boro (a) for them, two six-pointers if they are to stay up. The Boro game isn't until the Monday though.

Good draw!

Next round is week beginning Nov 28, so between Blackburn (h) and Forest (a) for us. The teams in Europe will play in it the preceding midweek. Man City play Chelsea in the Prem on Dec 3, so a good chance that one or both will field a rotated team next round if they get through tonight. It's nice and congested at the top of the Prem, which raises the question of priorities for the teams up there. Easy draw at home, if possible!

We've been more solid away from home so far this season, so this could be a bit tricky, esp. if they beat Bournemouth away last round. I hope it's a high priority for Rafa and he picks the team accordingly.

7 out of our 10 wins have been by two goals or more. That's more than Brighton (3 out of 8), Norwich (3 out of 8), and Huddersfield (0 out of 9) put together.

The three teams they have beaten this season are all in the bottom five. They are yet to play anyone in the top four.

Unless Mourinho's mission is to get early success, you have to question the logic of signing Zlatan. If his job is to build a team that will compete again, the easiest way would be to build on the (limited) successes of the Van Gaal era. That would be Rashford and Martial. Zlatan puts them out of position or out of the team, and is only a short-term option, just as RVP was.

Villa won their first game last year, so even they had 4 points after 9 games. In their record-breaking 11 point season, Derby had 5 after 9 games, thanks to beating us, of course.

Only four points above the bottom three. Their three wins have all been against clubs who were in the bottom four the last time I looked.

Yes! Ayoze!!

Ayoze get in!

I doubt anyone has forgotten, but league record under McLaren in 15/16 Newcastle United P28 W6 D6 L16 F28 A53 Pts 24 When Rafa took over, our recent form was P6 W1 D0 L5.

In case no-one has noticed, Dwight Gayle, the striker Pards wouldn't play, has now scored as many goals (11) in 16/17 as the entire Crystal Palace team.

Possibly Giggs, but I never realized he is 183 to 185cm. Must be the hunched shoulders.

That's also nearly as many as they've scored all season. Things still looking rosy all across the board. Scoring loads, conceding few, and outpassing and outshooting opponents both home and away. A little dependent on Gayle for goals perhaps, but we've got the best manager in the league if we need a workaround there. Buying in January is also an option if something serious were to happen.

The highlights made it look all Barnsley with us scoring a couple of goals against the run of play !! Yeah, that's the impression I got. I then looked at WhoScored who say it was 17-8 shots in our favour, 6-2 for shots on target.

Regarding Shelvey and his fitness, back when he was with Swansea, he copped a lot of flak for putting up an ad for a cook for him and his family on tasty wages. The press reported it as another sign of footballers being hopeless and over-privileged, but as a fan, I think you'd want the players in your team eating properly. If they are prepared to use their own money to do it, well good on them. It's much better than them being on the lash or eating pizzas because they can't cook. Lots of people of higher class social backgrounds on less money than a professional footballer use cooks, cleaners, nannies, personal assistants etc. without anyone accusing them of being hopeless, so it was probably just barely veiled snobbery.

I wasn't expecting the worst when we got McClaren. I thought individual errors doomed him in that Wally with the Brolly game, and Derby were unlucky to lose the playoff final in his first season there. My main concern was that their promotion push in his second season was doomed by their defence going AWOL. We were shite all round, but defence was still our biggest problem under Carver and the most logical place to start to put things right. From what he did with us though, all the naysayers about McClaren were proved right. I thought we might have turned a corner as late as the West Ham game, but he changed the formation and it was back to dross the following week.

Good goals. Relatively calm celebrations too, considering what he does to his team-mates when they score for us!

Yes, our situation looks more sustainable than Huddersfield who've won 8 out of 11 despite only scoring 14 in those 11. Whoscored says they are third bottom in the league on shots taken per game. Teams generally don't go an entire season winning 2-1 (five times for them so far) or 1-0 (twice).

Brilliant break stopped by top drawer save.

Pretty poor for half an hour, but the game opened up after that and I felt like we'd score because we have the better players. Great goal from Atsu, who's done very well. Gouff unlucky too with his earlier on. We could do with another, just in case.

How many times has Wijnaldum touched the ball? Or even sprinted in the general direction of it?

So Allardyce is getting a 1M payoff? Presumably to protect the glass house that is the FA. Inept to the end. :dowiespin: