Barnes23

Will be interesting to see what kind of profile we target at CB if that's true. Would prefer a Botman style signing to someone like Andersen

There's a case to be made either way tbh, a left-back of Livramento's quality would be more of an immediate upgrade to the first XI. Really pleased with this signing regardless

Does feel targeted at NUFC, like Are there any other managers with assistants who are so prominent on the touchline in the PL right now? Can't think of any

The club will be aiming for progress, that can be measured in different ways but they certainly won't be happy to drop out of the CL now that we're in. There was a direct (unattributed) quote in an Athletic article several months from one of the higher-ups along the lines of "once we get into the champions league the point Is to stay there". With that in mind, I'm not sure why we as a fanbase should be entering the season thinking differently. There are a lot of variables and factors at play which could mean that a lower finish is acceptable, many of them outside of our control, it's true that this season will be more difficult. But I don't see the need to downplay our quality before a ball has been kicked, the kind of tempering of expectations that feels ingrained as a Newcastle fan because of our history of underachievement and especially our recent history under Ashley. It's a mindset that we can do without imo

I remember being kind of devastated over Jose Enrique, which is funny looking back He was class for us though, in my defence. Ben Arfa was a painful one as well, but not exactly unexpected in the end of course.

No reason to hate Targett or Dan Burn for that matter, both are good players who most of us will be happy enough to see stay. LB is the most obvious area of our first XI which could be upgraded though, I would say.

Tend to agree. Could make a case for signing a RB, CB and LB in the remainder of the window but not sure whether we will.

We aren't paying 50m so there's nothing to worry about on that front. Hopefully 35m + some add-ons will see the deal done.

I'm not so arsed about timings personally, that stuff is probably inherently more difficult to call. Accuracy with outcomes is good enough for me If Livramento doesn't sign now it's a bit of a black mark against him no doubt

He's earned the benefit of the doubt for now, the noises from Southampton could be an exercise in reputation management

It wasn't the most nuanced set of opening posts, but there's no need to pile on @Ottoman IMO. Pretty sure as soon as the season kicks off and the team is in action, those kinds of transfer thoughts will fade into the background for everyone. I'm already mostly over Szoboszlai and I was pretty set on the idea of him signing, you have to let these things play themselves out

Would want it to have a built-in option to purchase clause, like.

I think so, I know it leaves me with more of a bittersweet feeling than it would have otherwise done and I wasn't as attached to Maxi as some others are. I can't see how anyone can really argue, taken alone, that it is anything other than a good signing, a positive addition to the squad, as a minimum. It is valid to discuss whether there may be drawbacks to Barnes as a player, or opportunity cost in terms of other positions. But that's a long way from being angry about it, which strikes me as a little bizarre. The again, I've seen more disproportionate devaluing of ASM's abilities as he approaches an exit than I have anger towards Barnes, at least in some quarters. Which seems bizarre to me too

It almost feels overdone and yet I don't ever really get bored of it Some social media teams (thinking of Burnley especially) would 100% be utilising this in the pre-announcement tweet or something

Aye, I didn't mean so much the individual attributes he has in front of goal (he clearly is an excellent finisher who can pick up goalscoring positions well) but moreso what his weaknesses as a player (1v1, vision to unlock a deep defence etc) could mean for our patterns of play when attacking as a team. It's an open question, because his strengths and weaknesses both have to be looked at in the context of the players around him and our style of play as a collective, but it's a debate worth having, even though Howe and the recruitment team have earned our trust.

Think that's a part of what people are debating really, the limitations of the player in relation to concerns about predictability in terms of attacking play.

Good news if true imo

That's why a realistic medium would be 40m like I mentioned the other day. Will be disappointed if we don't at least raise that figure.

The all-important Adam P authentication