Stottie

Their goal was a bit jammy, but after that we're lucky to be level after letting the CH go at that free kick. Our attacking play has lacked the Willock/Beg Joe understanding on the left, with slack balls into and more forgivably from ASM. ASM has the beating of his man, but it's all looking uncoordinated and rusty on that side. Trippier and Miggy quiet down the right, so we need a bit of inspiration from somewhere. Maybe Gordon can do it. Great ball from Longstaff, btw. fwiw, the Mitoma pullback for Japan looked out from some camera angles, so I don't think you can say that is definitely out based on an inclined camera angle. The Japan one was only in when viewed from directly above.

My my hey hey Anthony is here to stay They chased his car, and he won't go back So he's out of the blue and into the black ... 'n' white, Black'n'white! Black'n'white! Black'n'white!

Bruno won't get to play against his mate Paqueta. It might have been interesting.

Fantastic result and great to be in a final! We beat three Prem teams, one who knocked out the favourites, so it's a great achievement. What a year! Great first half, with two fantastic goals, but also the most viciously punished loose pass of the season. The second half was quite nervy, in spite of us being two up at home with our great defensive record. It felt like the old feelings of disbelief creeping back in. If we do become more established, such nerves and collective bad memories will surely dissipate and we'll be in a better mental space that does not get red cards with 15 minutes to go. Along with Isak concussion, Bruno's suspension probably means we'll see more of Gordon and/or Maxi than would have happened, so I hope they can take the opportunity presented to them. It would normally be "Can't wait for the final!" but we're also competing at the top of the league, so in this case, there are three games to look forward to before it. HWL!

WOW!!!

If we signed Gallagher for less than Everton's reported bid, this becomes a 15 out of 10 window.

Since European football looks nailed on for next season, it would be good to start bedding in a CM now. If FFP is what it is though, maybe it can't be helped for the standard of player they want to bring in. Before the season started, there was still suspicion that Joelinton was not disciplined enough, with the ball or fouls, to play in a double pivot, but I think he's proved that wrong. If he can, that would give us three CMs who can play in a two with various options at #10, or the four who can play in our current three. Gordon left, Miggy right would let us play both strikers and still be defensively strong.

You didn't have to be Mystic Meg to see this one coming. Especially with all the Bernardo Silva to PSG links.

I expect us to have a nibble at getting someone's CM, but that it may well fail due to overcharging based on Jan window, us being Saudi backed NUFC, and us being Top 4 rival NUFC (for Chelsea in particular). Our lot keep stressing that we won't overpay. I see Gordon as a two-footed version of Miggy, and he eases the route to 4-2-3-1. If two of the front four can press that hard, then you don't need 3 in midfield. Not against every opposition anyway.

I would imagine the physical and tactical demands of becoming a professional footballer these days are so great than all of the genuine arseholes are filtered out long before anyone reaches the first team. This was still possible a generation or so ago, when players would have five pints on the night before. Back then, there was still enough scope to make it with talent and not so much application. Even the poster child for modern arsehole footballers, the now-aged Christiano Ronaldo, keeps himself in incredible physical condition. On the flipside, players are paid so highly these days that it is reasonable to expect far more of them. Football is one of the few places left for working class people to shine. Former opportunities in pop music and acting/entertainment are increasingly drying up, so we should not be too harsh on the few working class people left on our tvs. Not to the extent that it can affect them mentally anyway.

Sorry to big up myself, but this occurred to me when Eddie Howe came. I am pleased to say that winning the league now now looks a much bigger possibility now in Jan 2023 than it did in November 2021. If the high notes are a non-starter, even a DA-DA-DA chant would be a great salute to EH.

I agree with the concern and want to see someone come in. Tielemans or maybe someone cheaper if its just as a #6. If down to two CMs though, I think we'd go to 4-2-3-1. Howe used it against Fulham, and I doubt he'd do that if they weren't training in it already. Having Gordon and his pressing makes that formation more likely, not less.

Jan 30 now, so you'd have to think its now Tieleman's o'clock. He's been in the shop window for 29 days, but is now heading onto the "reduced to clear" shelf. Every few hours, another lower price sticker will be added over the old one.

Maybe the ideal result, better than a draw even. It cranks up more pressure on Liverpool and Klopp. They're not handling it well.

Yeah Yeah It's not fair

Given how much everyone is paying Brighton for their players, NUFC did well to get BDB for the little we paid. Our record as the best defence in the league suggests he's been doing as well as any of them.

After what happened at Everton, he's probably still traumatized about folk shouting at his car, even well meaning ones.

With the season he's been having, Maddison may now have other suitors. Us bidding for him twice suggests he must have been up for it, but we may not be his first choice now. He might have played himself a move to Man City, for example.

We're going to need homegrown players where we're going though. Agewise, a number of the ones we have, Trippier, Dan Burn, Wilson, will need replacing in a year or two. Another couple of years and possibly Pope too. Ideally, we get a number of transfers in young like Kuol so they qualify regardless of where they are from. Since Gordon is right footed, I wonder if he's seen as a potential right wingback we'd play post Trippier. Dropping a winger back in there is the trendy thing to do.

Statsbomb Kev has posted a few times about how few passes Wilson averages in a game. Haaland is the same, and he is the best in the business.

Lose him and Gordon, who despite struggling is still joint top scorer, and relegation beckons.

He hasn't looked quite himself recently, but he strikes me as someone who has "waves" of form. He came back and ended last season strongly (Arsenal home etc.), was miserable in preseason (Miggy was hot), and was then on it as soon as the season started. Since coming back from the WC, he's looked a bit miserable again, possibly a virus type thing. fwiw, I don't think Wilson should be viewed as a traditional striker with all the usual cliches about "holding it up", "leading the line", or "bringing others into play". Compared to elite (Harry Kane), Wilson doesn't really bring others into play and therefore has no assists to show for it. What Wilson does is darting runs that create space, he reacts well to situations, and is a good little poacher. I wouldn't judge his performances on "number of touches" because his will usually be lower than Chris Wood, who was far less effective.

Further to Rich's stats, we have touched the ball nearly 1000 times more than Everton in the opposition's third of the field. Passes into opposition box: NUFC 210 (3rd best) Everton 112 (3rd worst)

I follow TheOther14 so this popped up on my Twitter. Just regarding shot accuracy, but I'm sure we're all a bit sick of seeing shots flying over the bar. Gordon also has 0.27 xG per 90 this season, higher than Willock, Joelinton and Maxi in a far worse team. As a bonus stat. 2022-23 Everton with Gordon on the pitch 1095 minutes Goals for 10 Goals against 13 2022-23 Everton without Gordon on the pitch 705 minutes Goals for 5 Goals against 15 I would normally expect fans to be the best judge of their own players, but those numbers suggest the Everton boo boys have the wrong target.

Since we lowballed and had two bids rejected for Maddison, my assumption here is that we are not going to go in all guns blazing and pay over the odds for Gordon. I don't see that as a remote possibility. We have highly rated staff now, not a bunch of numpties with money to burn. Jamie Carragher just called Everton the worst run club in the country and many agreed with him. They are unlikely to have the wherewithal to extract a large fee, even if we were prepared to pay one. Yes, we may have paid big for Wood and Isak, but both were high-pressure buys. Wood was to get him in immediately for the Watford and Leeds games. Isak was after another Wilson injury. We are not desperate for a wide player, not when Maxi is not even starting. Gordon is mostly likely squad player and one for the future.