Stottie

Willock, someone Arsenal played as DM, went on a run we've not seen since Cisse's first dozen games against teams on the beach. Maybe a new manager bounce from Jones as well. Empty stadiums were also a factor, since Bruce and the team were saved from what would have been lots of deserved pitchside grief. We were arguably worse in Bruce's first season, but Dubs had a great full season and goals from defenders papered over the gaping cracks.

In that old video from Bournemouth with Eddie Howe and Callum Wilson walking round having a bit craic, Howe says his heros are A-ha and he most wants to meet Morten Harket. Some high notes here, but everyone knows the tune and the riff makes a great chant. Toon Arr Mee (Toon! Ar! Me!) Eeh Dee Howe (Toon! Ar! Me!) Win the league! In a year or two! DA-DA-DA-DA-DA DA DA DA-DA-DA-DA-DA DA-DA-DA-DA-DA DA DA DA-DA-DA-DA-DA NB. The win the league bit is not remotely serious and merely mirrors the original lyrics. It can all be changed. "Stay Verr Lee" would fit too.

I'd try this with Almiron and ASM switched and Fede not Lascelles. Murphy is a weak link, but gets the shout for dead ball ability. Murphy and ASM wide are not going to track back, so #10 has to drop very deep when the CMs get dragged into fighting fires. Flat back four and pressing #10 are essential. With a five and sitting off, we are far too pedestrian.

On the subject of Diame, I think the team is crying out for a front pressing #10. Under Rafa we had a fantastic combination of Ayoze against weaker teams and Diame against the strong ones. Ayoze led the league by miles in pressing stats for a forward when we sold him, and I would even be tempted to buy him back if possible. Leicester have a brilliant door-opener in Madison and maybe no need for a front pressing forward (the "Dirk Kuyt" role), but teams in the bottom half do. We have sat back with no press under Bruce, but if we could defend from the front with Almiron or Willock at #10, that would really toughen up the spine. fwiw, Joe Willock is slightly taller than DIame and only 5kg lighter. He's a big lad and that's partly why he headed in those corners. I think Hayden is a usable DM. For all his diving in, he rarely gets sent off, and just needs team mates available to receive the ball when he's on it.

My impression of Monaco was that everything went tits up when the owner Rybolovlev got divorced and taken to the cleaners, forcing the club into the fire sale that cost Mbappe, Mendy, Bernardo Silva etc. There'll be more to it, but that's the simple narrative that's out there. All these candidates sound great, and it's good that Emenalo etc. rate Howe and buy into his system. We need results quickly, not expensive square pegs going into round holes.

About 6 for me. Who we buy in January is huge.

Farke was sacked with 5 points from 11 games, which is more than Bruce 3 from 8 but less than Jones 2 from 3. Bruce is the worst.

More points per game than the plastic Geordie cabbage. In harder fixtures as well. Dour backs to the wall stuff though, even if the defending has been slightly less inept.

Improvement at least, and something for Eddie to work with and build on. But why the set penis with a center half in goal? FFS. If Brighton are that high up the league, Howe's got this. We'll need to buy, but all is not lost.

C'mon, just one chance for Callum Wilson.

Nice goal. Utterly deserved, not by us, but by Brighton for not pressing on and putting this to bed. Game on!

Make a change FFS.

Still only 0-1!

Get WIllock and Schar on!

Only six shots from Brighton, so they've not "battered" us. They've just effortlessly retained possession and half-heartedly tried to create opportunities that really haven't come. If PIF spend the cash and we do end up in a buying a good team, I hope we'll batter the opposition with more than 6 shots a half of that quality..

As shit as any of our poor performances in recent memory, but still only 0-1 and that was due to an individual error. Take your pick as to which center half to take off, put Willock on, or even Schar in midfield, and give it a go. Brighton don't look very good, and that's kind of reassuring for us as a team that needs to improve and get points.

Pen for me. Lascelles getting booked for nothing was braindead too.

If he nearly went to Celtic, him leaving home and going up north is not going to be a problem! I dunno about DoFs, but you can only have sympathy with someone who expected Rafa but ended up having to give a massive payoff to Cabbageheed. It would put you off giving a shedload of money to an incompetent manager and his cronies (sorry, staff) again if you thought you could pre-empt it. It's Ashley hurting us from beyond the grave, so to speak.

Thanks for writing that out cherryred. Despite the collapse in your relegation season, you were still robbed by the goalline technology eff up that VAR couldn't correct. It gave Villa two free points and they stayed up by one. GIven that he's banging them in now, do you regard Solanke as a "terrible buy" as the press seem to?

That tactics video is fantastic, but the win in that game came against Chelsea with Hazard as a false 9. He really cannot play that position and I think Chelsea putting him there put him in the downward spiral he is still in.

It looks like they are going to have to dislike and wish ill fortune on one of the most geniunely likeable managers in football. The difference between "likeable" and "genuinely likeable" is that genuinely likeable ones would never suggest reporters deserve a slap for doing their jobs. For a transfer "failure", it looks like Solanke has been banging them in, which leaves only Jordan Ibe.

Howe has a great record of overachieving with lesser players, which is exactly what we need right now from whoever we appointed. Ashley and Cabbageheed left the club staring at relegation. Howe will also know other Premier teams, and have ideas on any weaknesses that can be exploited. Howe will not have experience juggling big name players with big egos, but we won't need that for some time to come. Bournemouth had a dreadful run before relegation, but it still took a goaline technology failure in Villa's favour to send them down. VAR wasn't even allowed to review it. As bad luck goes, that's as extreme as it gets. Swap their keeper that season with Dubravka on 19/20 fitness and form and they would have stayed up easily. He saved us 10 points on his own. It's almost a tongue twister, but Howay Howe!

Just saying to anyone hitting on Howe's numbers with Bournemouth, but in 2018/19, Unai Emery's Arsenal conceded more goals than newly promoted Rafa's shoestring NUFC with Joselu up front. From this episode, it looks like Emery is high needs, and he may not be suited to the pressure cooker we have now become. We as fans will be much more patient than the media are going to be, who will be sniping at every chance they get. We're going to need a manager with thick skin. However, even if missing out on Emery proves to be a blessing, doing it in this way is amateurish and should be a wakeup call to the consortium. They need to find out who is responsible both for the leaks and for failing to nail someone down already, and shut them up/bomb them out pronto.

Just saying, but whoever we get is going to need thick skin. This leak was unprofessional, but we may have much bigger issues down the line for our next manager to deal with.

I doubt it'll be Howe but if it is, its all the all the fault of the Cabbageheed for putting us in this any-port-in-a-storm situation. We cannot allow Jones to remain in charge for any remotely winnable game because we have already pissed away lots of chances for points. We need to make changes pronto to ensure we stay in the league. If they get any flak, the new owners just have to blame Bruce for being 19th after spending 100M plus.