Stottie

This video says Big Joe was dropping in to make a back five. I was on the motorway for this one and only got to experience the match on Radio Newcastle via the app. Big Joe's heat map for the game does bear out the analysis here.

Another game where we've been losing at HT but came back to get something. We didn't do it very often last season.

Over to our friends at Opta Analyst https://theanalyst.com/eu/2024/09/newcastle-vs-man-city-stats-premier-league-live

Blatent trip by Calafiori already on a yellow in the Arsenal match, no second yellow.

Awful news. Good luck to him and his family. I hope the treatment goes well.

Yeah, probably a big factor in the press not being what it was. With Trippier and Schar's ages and their unique profiles, it was always likely we'd have to transition to something without plug and play replacements for what they give us, but maybe its the case for Miggy too.

A bit soft, but they got a free foul on the keeper for the goal.

Bruno's been fouled now 22 times. He's runaway leader in the league. Second is Gordon with 17. Half as many as Bruno, fouled 11 times, gets you joint sixth in the league. These are exceptionally high numbers. So it's clear both these players are either being targeted or are playing for fouls. If they are being targeted, we need to get in the ref's face. We need a better captain. As a team we've been fouled more than anyone and twice as many times as Liverpool, but our opponents have received one more yellow card (19 vs. 18). One more card for 40 more fouls against us.

Bruno is not a DM and away from home or under the kosh, we need one. Bruno plus two eights is too weak. Joelinton lost Smith Rowe, who's good, twice, which did cost us one and nearly cost us two. To play without a DM, you need high intensity, which long term may be asking too much of the players. We had 61% possession yesterday in the first half, so the problem was not losing the ball, even though we didn't create much. The problem was being easily cut open and gifting them opportunities they were skilled enough to take.

A simple square ball and he scores. Yes, it would still have been papering over the cracks.

Ah well, we've been better second half this season, so lets see what happens. It can't get much worse.

One thing we can do without. We've had a great start with impressive results despite some unimpressive play. However, I'm withholding judgement because lots of game time was without Schar and without Tonali. Trippier and Gordon didn't have a proper offseason either. There was plenty of evidence last season of how the quality drops when the team gets depleted and/or fatigued.

With Man U and Chelsea already into creative accounting to get past PSR, I cannot see a severe punishment. They will keep their titles. They will likely keep all their UEFA points too, meaning they automatically get more revenue from the CL than Villa or us if we qualify again.

It's like the classic Mrs. Merton "so what attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?"

1 win and 1 draw in two away games, both of which had us behind at half time. That has to be a positive sign after our struggles in the dec-jan part of last season. Going behind then led to falling further behind. Last half season form isn't bad either. 27 goals in our last 10 home games for those of you who can get in. That's lots of limbs! Most of that Chelsea form is with Poch and Gallagher.

Here's the Harvey Barnes for NUFC Prem League shot map. Green is goals, blue is saves, red is missed, purple is blocked. Circle size is xG. Six yard box one is the header against Brentford. Easiest thing to forget is that he's only played 891 total minutes for us in the Prem, less than 10 complete games. I'm sure he leads the league in goals as a sub in that period.

Barnes needs one more to match big Dunc and Matt Ritchie, the corner flag killer. Schar is now level on Prem goals for us with Andy Carroll. Thanks to Schar, Steven Taylor is no longer our best goalscoring defender (Prem era). https://www.11v11.com/teams/newcastle-united/tab/stats/option/scorers/

I thought we started well, should have led, but conceded a bad goal and went to pieces after it. Our subs changed the momentum, but we remained vulnerable and needed their lack of quality to not go further behind. Ultimately, the space they afforded our very good players, and a bit of luck with Schar goal let us score one and then another to win the game. Bruno was pretty much anonymous today and we only got 45 out of Isak, so full marks to the others for stepping up and getting the job done.

He gave the ball away once trying a throughball on the edge of their box and a litany of errors turned that situation into a goal conceded. In itself, it wasn't a huge mistake, and he shouldn't be hung out to dry for it. For context, their keeper got half-tackled by Gordon twice within the second half starting.

You can still find "Bendy Bullys" on Ebay should you ever want one. They'll be old so the sponge they are made of might be a bit crumbly. My brother got me one once for my birthday.

12 months ago Gordon was U21 player of the tournament as a false 9. There is no need to rip Osula for his role or non-role in this match. His time will come. We should protect him from pressure situations like today.

Search for his name and shot map on Understat. I'm pretty sure that website will do it for you without you having to pay.

TCD's favourite player does it again. He's now scored more Premier League goals for us than Ginola. In about one quarter of the time on the pitch. He's now done it in the same coloured strip!

Keeper doesn't get within six feet of that.

Form is temporary, class is permanent! "just" Harvey Barnes