Barnes23

Everton 1-2 Spurs Brighton 3-1 Palace Burnley 1-1 Fulham Newcastle 2-0 Luton Sheff United 2-2 Villa Bournemouth 2-1 Forest Chelsea 2-2 Wolves Man United 2-2 West Ham Arsenal 1-2 Liverpool Brentford 1-3 Man City

Gameweek 22 Forest 1-3 Arsenal Fulham 2-1 Everton Luton 1-3 Brighton Palace 1-1 Sheff United Villa 2-1 Newcastle Man City 3-0 Burnley Spurs 2-1 Brentford Liverpool 3-1 Chelsea West Ham 1-1 Bournemouth Wolves 2-2 Man United

I think his period of poor form is already over most likely, I think it was mostly fatigue due to sheer volume of games as with most of the others Unless there really is something going on away from the field

Bruno is as close to irreplaceable as you'll find in our current squad. Would rather sell anybody else.

Chelsea 2-1 Fulham Newcastle 1-2 Man City Everton 1-2 Villa Man United 1-2 Spurs Burnley 2-1 Luton Arsenal 3-1 Palace Brentford 1-2 Forest Sheff United 1-2 West Ham Bournemouth 1-2 Liverpool Brighton 2-1 Wolves

Aye, the incredibly fatigued state of pretty much our entire team is the perfect time to make lasting and final judgements on all of their NUFC careers. Another know-nothing cunt weighing in uninvited from the sidelines

To find someone with Isak's specific profile and level of potential wouldn't be easy either, but I think we would at least be able to find a goalscorer to tide us over until such a player was available to sign. Replacing Wilson before replacing Isak could be one way of looking at it, although how much longer Wilson will be kept around is also up for debate for some. I think Bruno in the next couple of years will cement his status as one of the best midfielders in the world - if he leaves us, my expectation would have to be that it would be for a Barcelona or a Madrid (don't want to consider the idea he could end up at City). You only have to look at our performances and results when he isn't playing to see how he functions as the lynchpin of the whole side - there simply aren't many players around who can bring everything that he offers. Identifying and signing them would be incredibly difficult.

We shouldn't be selling any of them, but Bruno would be the hardest to replace by quite a distance.

Luton 1-2 Chelsea Villa 3-0 Burnley Palace 1-1 Brentford Man City 2-0 Sheff United Wolves 1-1 Everton Forest 1-2 Man United Fulham 0-2 Arsenal Spurs 2-1 Bournemouth Liverpool 2-0 Newcastle West Ham 2-0 Brighton

I think our best players and the calibre of players we want to sign are going to be concerned about CL, ultimately, dropping a couple of extra places outside of that simply won't register in the same way at all. Don't think a season out of Europe altogether will be a major issue at this point on our trajectory unless there is some massive financial benefit to EL/ECL that I'm unaware of

Why?

Yet both they both look so poor for the same fundamental underlying reason - fatigue. I don't see the point in being overly critical given that context, even for out worst performing players like Miggy and Trippier. He is also very much a system player who will inevitably look poorer when the entire team around him is as dysfunctional as it seems to be at present (again, imo, largely due to fatigue)

Newcastle 2-0 Forest Bournemouth 2-1 Fulham Sheff United 1-1 Luton Burnley 0-3 Liverpool Man United 1-1 Villa Brentford 2-1 Wolves Chelsea 2-1 Palace Everton 1-3 Man City Brighton 1-2 Spurs Arsenal 2-1 West Ham

Is the money from the Europa League / Conference League so great that it would literally be a case of sell-to-buy if we don't make them? I doubt it tbh, but open to being corrected. I think those players would care far less about missing out on those competitions than they would about missing out on the CL. So a great deal rests on the momentum and trajectory of the club as they see it in terms of their commitment going forward, which hinges on a multitude of factors really.

I think the extremity of the current situation with fatigue/injuries is playing on my mind quite a bit in saying that, would hate for it to be repeated next year and yet I could easily see it happening with our style of play and another pinch of bad luck. That kind of scenario most likely rules us out of the reckoning for winning a trophy or reaching our objectives in the league, as we're currently witnessing. I think too playing on a mostly weekly schedule does confer an enormous benefit in terms of conditioning/preparation. The pull of winning a trophy is strong though of course, and can't be underestimated in terms of what it would mean for the club and the city.

If we aren't getting top four, I'd kind of prefer we drop out of Europe altogether for next year to allow us to focus on the league/cups with (hopefully) a fully fit and focused squad.

That's true, but what would the breakdown be, 60-40, 65-35? Would be curious to know. Fair to say for the 6 months under Rafa he played a pretty transformative role in the attacking impetus of the team irrespective of G/A stats, too. But I ultimately agree, I would like to see another player brought in for RW, with Miggy used as a rotational option. Similar to how Gordon and Barnes on the left was probably intended for this season. I think the difficult task for the recruitment team will be identifying the right player for the role - Almiron is a player with very specific characteristics, for better and for worse. He clearly possesses traits that very much tie in to the approach that Howe has for the team in general, and I think finding a player with those same traits who also possesses invention and guile on the kind of level we all hope to see (CL quality) won't be as easy a task as some expect. I'd personally love to see a Maddison or Szoboszlai type brought in for AM/RW, but I'm not sure if it's something that Howe will favour.

The Bruce years hardly count re: that assist stat. Was playing as an auxiliary fullback the majority of the time. We all know his limitations, but there's no particular reason to single him out today. His game is very much emblematic of our playing style overall - centred around energy and intensity. Take both of those away through fatigue and it's little wonder he looks poor, as with the rest of the team to somewhat varying degrees.

You can, but in this case (and the majority of others) it would have no bearing on the passage of play as it unfolds. It makes more sense in my opinion to disallow the goal after the fact if the shoulder being ahead has been in some way consequential to anything.

Having the shoulder be part of an offside consideration there is ridiculous.

I think at least 80% of just how bad we are looking at the moment is due to unavoidable fatigue, honestly. Just looking back over our fixture schedule with zero to little rotation confirms that beyond any doubt, really. Thankfully the fixture congestion will be over soon, at least

Palace 1-1 Brighton Villa 2-0 Sheff Utd West Ham 1-1 Man Utd Fulham 2-1 Burnley Luton 1-1 Newcastle Forest 1-2 Bournemouth Spurs 2-1 Everton Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal Wolves 1-2 Chelsea

Forest 1-2 Spurs Bournemouth 2-0 Luton Chelsea 2-0 Sheff Utd Man City 3-0 Palace Newcastle 1-1 Fulham Burnley 1-2 Everton Arsenal 3–2 Brighton Brentford 1-2 Villa West Ham 1-1 Wolves Liverpool 3-0 Man Utd

Honestly think it may be better for our season if we miss out on the EL in any case if we aren't able to progress to the last 16 of the CL. Probably an unpopular opinion, though.