ExiledGeordie

Leggy and misfiring, disappointing

I’d be amazed if we didn’t expand the Gallowgate with another tier as they’ve said they want to stay at St James and now own Strawberry place again. I know there’s clearly structural issues with the metro etc but with modern technology and architecture I’m sure it can be done. Wild guess but I imagine they’ve already got a pretty good idea what they’re able to do re expansion and will undoubtedly have spoken to architects. My personal opinion is the benefits outweighs the negatives of staying at St James re atmosphere and location. Another 10-12k seats gives plenty opportunity for more season tickets and plenty member/ballot options. Plus if the extension was similar to current set up you’ll have another two rows of boxes for corporate stuff. Match going traffick numbers wise doesn’t actually bring in that much revenue vs premier league tv money so I think 62-65k is sufficient for an expansion if it can be done.

Wilson has been class and Howe has a great relationship with him. I do feel that if we continue stuttering with draws/missing chances and as we go deeper into the season Isak is going to start getting more starts. I also feel at this point that in a one off game such as the cup final Isak could be more of a match winner for us.

I like the idea of that but I’d imagine including more boxes for corporate stuff brings in a fair bit of wonga.

Rashford is on fire but that midfield and defence (particularly that defence) wasn’t much tonight.

Contract running down too

Aside from the extra corporate boxes how many extra seats does an extra Gallowgate tier add? 8k?

I think Rice would be class but agree on the price. Neves is a much more achievable target and could run the midfield in the absence of Bruno (or in addition to). Hell of a shot outside the box too (and free kicks).

Im not sure there’s the space behind either corner to be able to go back enough to incorporate another tier. Could be wrong though. Some kind of second tier from the Gallowgate west corner round the Gallowgate seems the most obvious. Though I guess the road there and metro underneath don’t exactly make it straightforward.

Watch at home or local pub

If the evidence is all there then I think they might be looking at a points deduction this time. Just depends on how long it takes to go through what with legal challenges etc

Yes I also don’t think Miggy is very effective against that low block defensive set up. His complete lack of a right foot means teams have sussed him out so in and around the box he isn’t that effective. ASM, Gordon and Isak will be very important to breaking teams down from now on.

Yeah we have to beat Bournemouth really if we are going to finish in the top four.

I would think so yes. You’d think Howe and the current set up is ideal for him coaching wise. He’ll also work very well with Bruno and Isak with their movement.

I think Isak can have a big say in the match but I think Howe always starts with Wilson if he’s fit. Saint will come off the bench, no way he starts unless he suddenly shows serious form in the next couple games.

At a rough guess how much do you think we’ll spend in the summer? I mean I’d imagine we’ll be looking to bring in 4 potential starters at least. 180- 200m if you consider new sponsorship deals?

Exactly. Someone like Alvarez at Ajax is much more realistic

?? exactly. Rice is absolute quality, he’d be the ideal type of player to sit behind Bruno and protect the back four.

I noticed that but I think he’ll stay down south and go to Arsenal.

It’s fine margins in games like this. I’ve just watched the highlights and Wilson simply HAS to score that header for someone of his ability.

I think our quick acceleration has meant some fans unrealistically exporting too much now and getting greedy/slight sense of entitlement. Top four was never a given and the team is way ahead of schedule in the “project”. We’ll get Europe in some form and may even win the cup.

He overlaps better than Burn and gets into better forward positions and has a better delivery from the left. This is not saying Burn needs to be cast aside it’s just recognising that Targett offers something different. Fwiw I think the club brings in an attacking left back in the summer anyway.

Yeah great point. Second half of the season the team is going to start feeling leggy and that will translate into some difficult draws at home against well set up teams imo. After the next transfer window you’d hope 14/15 quality players will go up to 19/20 for example. Our second half of the season was always going to be about how we manage to break teams down at home. I think Isak, Gordon and possibly Targett being used a bit more at home will help a lot with this. Seen various comments on here recently and on Twitter saying Declan Rice overrated, yeah right ??

Burn has been class but I think Targett will offer more for our overall play against defensive set ups at home. He’s certainly a great option anyway.

Yeah I can see a Leeds, Bournemouth low block situation. ASM be handy for this