ExiledGeordie

He's also a legitimate threat from outside the box too with his striking of the ball.

He’s a goal scorer, you need them in one off cup finals.

CL qualification going into this summer is the chance for the squad to really become something impressive and rule out the likes of Isak going.

Totally agree. Whatever happens Sunday the players have got an international break after to reset things with a run of four games after that where we can really make a push. I think Howe will have them mentally ready for it too.

While im clearly of the opinion he needs moving on in the summer and replaced he’s barely kicked a ball this year. Have you heard of something call match fitness and sharpness? The bloke knows how to score a goal ffs

I think 1 on 1 defensively he’s excellent and can shut down the best but going forward he’s sloppy as anything a lot of the time. Headless chicken then just losing the ball.

Huge win

The scenes in London and the toon if this happens

I don’t think Howe would let us coast in that situation though admittedly it would take massive rallying and man management from Howe. I don’t think the importance of European qualification is lost on the players to be fair.

Howe seems to be able to manage a bit of a reset/harden minds and efforts for one last push which is why I think we still might have a chance of a run after the cup final. As you say there’s still plenty of points to fight for but we do need ti start showing some form and consistency again. A win tonight would be massive.

Feels like the whole club and fans need a result after that debacle last weekend and going into the cup final. It also feels like CL qualification is starting to disappear over the horizon if we don’t win matches like this. We have “winnable” remaining fixtures but our form doesn’t exactly suggest we’ll go on a run.

Exactly, talksport is hardly a barometer for any sets up fans 😂 I know some proper Pool fans, knowledgeable and gracious, have no issue with most of them (all clubs have knackers)

Is it just one team goes into the Europa league in 6th place?

Players need to step up and start performing, too many are out of form and that includes big names. After West Ham we have “on paper” winnable games against Brentford, Leicester, Man U and Palace. I feel like those 4 games before going to Villa will make or break us after the cup final and how we are mentally. If we knuckle down and get on a run in those games I’m actually confident of us getting 5th. Beating West Ham tomorrow would be massive for us getting Europe and for confidence before the final.

Yeah I think so partly because because we’ll need Joelinton in the middle against Liverpool vs their midfield. Bug chance for Barnes to shine too.