Stottie

Interesting to see they've got a P8 W4 D2 L2 record off 40% average possession and three goals from Townsend. Classic Rafaball!

We probably deserved to be relegated that season. A combination of lingering Rafa organization in defence, Dubravka heroics, and major goal output from defenders kept us up. Shelvey top scored for us on six. Wilson made the team much better last year, but we still needed that miracle from Willock. I dunno about Howe. We really need to stop conceding goals. The new owners got to see it themselves, with three in one half against a team who'd scored six in seven. Maxi is just about the best player outside the top 8 or so teams, and Callum Wilson will be in the top fifteen. I'm sure we'll buy cover, but there are enough goals in the team for a simply competent manager to keep us up. What we need instead is a working defence and midfield and a better goalkeeper on the pitch. I don't think any team is going to collect many points with Darlow in goal, the fullbacks we've been playing, and tactics that give the opposition 65%+ possession. In fairness to him, Howe's teams at least try to keep the ball, and that alone is a huge improvement over the thick plastic Geordie we have now.

Just saying, but Tottenham had scored 6 goals in 7 games before today.

Strong contender for the most undeserved goal in the history of football.

C'mon crowd, you can at least manage a "we're so shit it's unbelievable".

The medical stoppage means the lads have had the equivalent of two Steve Bruce halftime team talks. No wonder we've created ferk all since.

He's lucky its not the Sad Mackem Bastard version of Daydream Believer.

I might head off into General Chat to see if anyone has bought some nice trainers.

Under Rafa we conceded three nine times in 86 PL games, once every ten games. Bruce has done in three out of eight games already this season, two goals in six (!) out of the eight games. That is nailed-on relegation defending.

Spurs have scored three and hit the bar off eight attempts. They've not had to work for it. It's like a charity game.

More Bruce defending. They just waltzed straight through. 19 conceded in 7.5 games. Easily the worst in the league. That's all on Bruce. The free organisation and drilling he got off Rafa is long gone.

RVI's nice and close at least. Fingers crossed for the person.

More great work from defensive coach Steve Bruce.

Nice strike but no pressure on him. Bruce out!

It's mostly okay. The "14th" comment is really thick, because it will turn Newcastle fans off when there is no need to score cheap points. Him, and the Guardian if they actually cared, should be trying to engage us. This will just push people away and encourage them to develop a siege mentality. Just for the frame with the fan upside down, but so many sports and organizations are taking KSA money that somewhere sometime you do indeed jump a whataboutery shark where accepting KSA money is ultimately normalized. Just as government ministers seem to have jumped an accountability shark where you can be corrupt and/or super incompetent and still not have to resign.

Mike Ashley sold the club to them, the fans had no say in the matter. Just as the fans had no say in Sports Direct Arena, Wonga, and Dennis Wise. If the UK Government and the Royal Family are happy to deal with Saudi Arabia, I don't see why a football club should be singled out for doing so. Ideally the club would be run by local people, but that would make us the extreme exception, not the rule. No other remotely competitive club has local owners. The UK Government was elected by the British people, so any appeasement from it toward any foreign power could potentially be stopped by the electorate, people currently claiming the high ground and attacking NUFC fans in spite of delivering Johnson, Truss etc. to power. For all the talk of sportswashing, is that what happens with the other stuff PIF owns, racehorses, the McClaren F1 team etc.? Do they operate as blatant representatives and not as sporting entities? Have F1 fans, horseracing fans, etc. been asked to boycott too?

I would sack him 90 minutes before the Spurs game and announce to the public with the team news for the game as "manager - TBD". Whatever happens, fatty is getting a payout, so we might as well have some fun with it. Let the players pick the team etc. if Jones won't play caretaker. It's only one match. Jones would be mental to not accept caretaker if a "do well and we'll keep you" (potentially fake) offer was dangled out there.

It says a lot that a good chuck of the current joy, for me a third, will be seeing the back of this plastic Geordie cunt. Ashley was bad enough, but he didn't stand there in front of cameras stoking every negative trope about the city and the fans. Expectations like players being coached or playing in their normal positions. The sooner it happens, the better.

Aye fuck off. Thank fuck for Hughton and Rafa for stopping the two big slides. It could have been much worse.

HT. Possession is back to 50:50 so the blip is over. All set up for them to adjust and Bruce to mess it up.

Cleverly should be booked for that. 30 min in and 60% possession and 7 shots.

Crisp packet hands

12 conceded in four games, one every 30 minutes with 9 men behind the ball playing hit and hope at ASM. Expect all the PFMs to line up and defend Bruce.

He's losing a match and he doesn't even bring on the striker we have on the bench. He's just standing there and admiring them. He'll have a good laugh with OGS after.

Bearing gifts.