Stottie

This being a possibility means we should still give it a go despite our injuries and fixture congestion.

Ashby's started Swansea's last two games at RB, not RM. It sounds like he put in a couple of strong performances. Fingers crossed he can kick on.

10 games in and we're ahead of Brighton, Man U and Chelsea. Finishing top five means staying ahead of them and overtaking one of Liverpool, Villa, Spurs, and Arsenal, included because they're not on City's level. We've only played two of them, both at home, but outplayed both of them and should have taken all the points. Just on Tottenham, but they'd won something like 11 in a row at home when we played there on Oct 24 last year. Schar overhits one over the top, Lloris chests it, and a year later its us in the CL.

Just a silly language question, but on Wilson, what is the difference between being a "goalscorer" and an "out and out striker"? Does the latter mean putting himself in goalscoring positions, like near post runs? Or in Saturday's example, just in the right spot when their keeper dropped the ball? If so, I agree that he excels at it. I fully concur with not rating Wilson as a "forward" since he is rarely involved in build up.

We've gone from "look at the depth of that bench!" to "6 full backs and two keepers" in one month. This is the team that faced Sheff Utd on Sept. 24. It's almost laughable.

Sa is a fine keeper but gifted us a goal by dropping a catch. I wouldn't be too harsh on Pope for that punch, which happened later in the same game.

We looked knackered. No energy or intensity at all.

That's a fine use of VAR to me. Probably not a pen, but not conclusive enough to overturn the decision. Like umpire's call in cricket. I thought we shaded the play but conceded a very poor goal. They conceded two. Big Cal can't stop scoring.

My vote for post of the season!

Fingers crossed for Isak, because CF is where we are most vulnerable. In the recent past, our squad players have stepped up when we needed them. Sven Botman is one of the first names on the teamsheet, but Lascelles has been doing great in his place. Krafth played well when Trippier wasn't available. Keep the faith!

The Pope double save chance and their goal are almost identical. I don't think anyone could argue Dortmund didn't deserve to go in 1-0 up. What I would question is their decision to sit on a single-goal lead, given that it allowed us the Wilson chance and two chances that hit the woodwork. They did not shut it down well enough to confidently state that their win was fully deserved. If we ever decide to sit on a one-goal lead for a half a game, I hope we defend it better than they did here.

According to Fbref, 99 strikers out of 100 attempt more passes per 90 minutes than Callum Wilson. Being below average is one thing, but in the bottom 1% is something else, almost a thing of beauty. Ollie Watkins and Haarland are similar, so it is not a fatal flaw. It just means cliches about "bringing others into play" are not applicable. If you want to see that, watch Ivan Toney.

Dunno if it was a "test him with the wet ball", but a lot of deliveries went closer to their keeper than normal. It looked like it was a deliberate tactic. Lascelles is a biggest threat from corners, so it seemed like a waste to not get him involved. I thought the team as a whole struggled with the conditions. Balls out wide skimming off and out of play. Bruno did his magic scoop thing to get Almiron in behind but we got nothing from it.

Opta's "kneejerk" (=just for fun) stats article says we are currently on course for 101 goals in a season. The record is 106, and since we've had hard fixtures so far and are leading all those metrics shown on MOTD, there is potential we'll break the record. https://theanalyst.com/eu/2023/10/five-knee-jerk-reactions-to-the-premier-league-weekend/

Them fielding a weakened team at St. James' would just about confirm us progressing in the CL.

Sandro for the next few months.

If its 10 months and training okay, that's not too bad. The early signs have been Tonali struggling with the physical demands of playing for us, just as Gordon did, so this season mightn't be such a big loss if we get a much fitter and Howe NUFC-wise version of him when he comes back. Gordon's actual on-field prep for this season was as a false nine in U21 competition, so not exactly elite level or tactically relevant to what we are asking of him.

We're doing great in all three competitions. 16 points from 9 games may only get us sixth, but its a solid start and there's still a long way to go. Based on performances, it could easily have been twenty plus points. Us doing well in CL also makes it more likely that England will get another CL place. Early signs are that top 5 will be a much easier ask than top 4. If they can keep it up, good luck to Villa and Brighton. A little luck to Ange, who's a good un. Fuck everyone else.

In fairness, Schar looks awful on the Ferguson hat-trick goal at Brighton. Even good players can bad moments, and they will be more likely when the team is already multiple goals behind.

Trippier needs four more to match Gary Neville. Five more to be joint fifth all time for a defender in the PL. https://www.squawka.com/en/outright-markets/defenders-most-assists-premier-league-history/ Given the two and half seasons in La Liga (10 assists that don't count), that's not too shabby. 17 in 64 games for us, all comps.

It's easy to forget looking at the result, but Palace had conceded only 7 goals in 8 games going into this. Fourth or fifth fewest in the league when today's game kicked off. The keeper we put four past started for England last week.

I think he's been fine. He's clearly not Howe midfielder-level fit yet. Howe likes em very dynamic. Tonali wasn't a metronomic ball-recycler in Italy, he's more a creator, so it shouldn't be a surprise for him to be hitting loose passes in a faster league. As with the fitness, it will take time for him to get up to speed. I thought it clear at the end of last season that we leaned too much on Bruno to make things happen, so I was happy we went in for a creator and not a #6.

https://x.com/xGPhilosophy/status/1711033231372374263?s=20 My own calculation of "didn't deserve to win" is based on our first goal being somewhat lucky. I wouldn't be against a rule change making that count as offside.

Down, up!, and then a bit down game, but a decent point. We didn't do enough relative to them to "deserve" a win. Lots of big games recently, so its good we're getting a break.

Wow! 2-1. W Ham defence completely static.