Stottie

Super nervy last 10 against turbo Orcball, but before that, quite a good second half that nearly got a second goal. The only scary movement was that amazing Barca-type one-touch move by them which resulted in Rodriguez offside. I wouldn't be surprised if it still makes their season highlight reel. A very rare moment of class in this match. Up to ten points, which is shit, but no shitter than two other teams and not much shitter than several others. We only have to finish above three others, and don't have to swim faster than the shark yada yada.

HT. Pretty shit, but kept at it and applied a bit of pressure that forced a mistake that Wilson pounced on. ASM looks up for it, is playing in his position, and gets to play on the counter second-half with us ahead, not with two blerks constantly tracking him as normal. Needless to say, I'd bite your arm off for 1-0 FT.

Ferk me, in acres there.

Delicious to score a total shithousery Burnley goal off a second phase against them.

GTFI!!

That's not an in-control tackle.

Shit so far. No real combinations. Burnley look stronger, more energetic, and more capable.

Based on our games against them, the evolving improved NUFC under Howe are better than at least Watford, Brentford, and now Norwich. Whether it will be enough to catch them is another issue, but I'd expect us to get more points than them in the rest of the season.

He finally gets in the stadium at home with a winnable fixture and an up-for-it crowd, and nine minutes in, we're playing a rearguard action with his game plan in tatters. What a waste. Staveley said the other day that the squad was capable of more, maybe a deserved dig at Bruce, but our best chance of survival lies in having the kind of transfer window no team in the bottom three has ever seen. One that blows all the "no team has ever...." data points out of the water. Clark today showed what the squad is capable of.

GTFI Isn't handball on a goalbound attempt normally a booking?

Just watching the analysis, but even if Clark lets him go through and he scores, there's a decent chance VAR calls it back for handball...FFS. (For anyone blaming Wilson the other day against Arsenal, Pukki went down very easily there and got the decision)

Well remembered. Click on the games and we were playing a back four of Carr, Cacapa, Taylor and N'Zogbia and Smith playing up front. It's lost somewhere in my own memory, but it won't have been pretty. https://www.transfermarkt.com/kevin-keegan/leistungsdatenDetail/trainer/453/verein_id/762/datum_zu/2008-01-16/datum_ab/2008-09-04 Under Bruce last season we gained 17 points from the first 11 games, then 11 points from 18 games, nigh on half the season, and finally 17 points from the last 9. I'm sure Eddie Howe could equal that 17 points from 11 games with some properly spent PIF money. A point a game the rest of the time, dour relegation-mixer form, will get us to 37. So in theory, not impossible with plenty of money on the table. One problem we have is the fixtures have set us up easy then hard, then easy starting before the window even closes, and finally hard right at the end. Bruce pissed away the early easy games this season, leaving Howe to play catchup in the hard ones with no chance to bring bodies in. The remaining easier fixtures are during or soon after the transfer window, meaning the new players must slot straight in and produce immediately. It's a tall order, but one I'm sure the club are already aware of. However, the point above about Bruce still stands. You can go half the season, nearly four full months, picking up 11 points from 18 games and it doesn't matter so long as you hit decent form some other time. I don't have high expectations of our squad, I'm not that stupid, but there is no fucking way those expectations are going to be lower under Eddie Howe and PIF than they were under the fat fucks we had as an owner and manager before.

I'm still on six. Dubs is back in and I think if you are offered 0-1 and Callum Wilson fouled from behind in the box after 70 minutes, you'd take that pre-game. The final result and media love-ins for Arsenal do not change that. A three game ban for violent conduct againt Lascelles would probably have helped, but we didn't get that break either. We're still bottom and desparate for points, but there is still time and opportunities to turn it around. It's going to take a lot of work, some of it by the consortium to get someone competent in to sign the players we definitely need. With the squad we have now, we are definitely going down.

Wilson is fine and Stuart Atwell is a c..t.

The expected result but a very disappointing performance, very disjointed. Defensively wasn't actually a shitshow, probably thanks to Dubs, and they had to score two worldies, but we had nothing in midfield. It was complete domination, from personnel and also worryingly from tactics. ASM back into running down blind alleys and Wilson feeding off scraps, so strong echoes of Bruceball. Two strong penalty shouts, but we can't rely on them, especially not with what some people think of our new owners. He must have known it already, but Eddie Howe and his team have a real job on their hands. The suspensions with force a change and I hope they can make it a positive one.

THATS A FUCKING PENALTY

Fletch and Macca twats now muted. 60 minutes is my bullshit limit.

Nice goal, but the CHs are playing him on. That's the key error.

We kept them mostly at arm's length, but were lucky to get away with the Auba miss. They were lucky in turn to not concede a penalty from the corner. I didn't expect us to have as little possession, or to see ASM running in blind alleys again as in Bruceball. Callum Wilson looks like he has them worried, but he's not getting the ball and the ref's giving him nowt when they foul him. There is definitely potential there though. Give it 10 or so and then see if Miggy can inject some energy.

Great work from Dubs, then Aubameyang misses with pretty much his first touch of the game.

I thought he got his hand outside it and pulled inward, almost dragging it down and in.

11 vs 14 here, them, the ref, and the two pricks on commentary willing the ball into our net.

I trust in Eddie! Come on!

Interesting game ahead. They won't know what to expect. There is only one reference point on our graph and that was after international duty with our manager in isolation in a hotel. On Understat, Arsenal are only twelfth on expected points. They are beating expected goals, as you'd expect great finishers like Aubameyang to do so, but are smashing expected goals against, second only to Mendy at Chelsea. Darlow is second only to the Palace keeper in letting in more than expected goals. Dubs usually lets in fewer, and did so massively in 19/20. In the more objective stats over on WhoScored, Arsenal have only averaged 46% possession, i.e., below Brentford, so you can forget about Wenger and ballhogging Arsenal teams of old passing rings round the opposition. They've only scored five times from open play, half as many as us (!!) who sit bottom of the only table that matters. They have scored six goals from set pieces, so that's the loudest alarm bell. Since we now have a management team who actually work and not some cabbage prick phoning it in until his big payday, we can at least know the lads will have worked on counteracting it. They have better players in what should be a settled system and should beat us, but I'm looking forward to seeing how things pan out and quietly optimistic. Praying that Dubs get the nod this time.

Every PL midfielder who played against Bruceball this season had all the time in the world to hit 70 yard wonderpasses to feet. Or even 30 yard ones, given the height of the Bruceball press. Anything down the sides only had to clear Matt Ritchie's heed.