Barnes23

Debuchy the best I've seen here at RB prior to Trippier, added further steel and a touch of class to a chronically mismanaged team. Trippier is on another level though - one of very few players who can genuinely be called transformative in the fullest sense of the word.

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

https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/bruno-guimaraes-new-contract-newcastle-policy-release-clause-2648260

Paqueta was phenomenal for West Ham today apparently

Main reason to watch MOTD is the extra length of the highlights vs those on youtube, really. Maybe a bit of nostalgia and the rapport/affability of Lineker/Shearer/Wright as presenters helps a little too. I usually watch it back on iPlayer and fast forward through the analysis, it's superficial at least 75% of the time.

Disappointed to see there is a release clause. I don't think it will have been our suggestion and I don't think it will benefit us should we ever decide to sell.

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

Daily mail recycling spurious shite from Fichajes, an entirely unreliable source. As with the Paqueta story earlier today

I think the overwhelming feeling after the result today was more relief than anything else, and I think that's understandable given the start we've had. A lot of fans with an eye on the CL fixture too no doubt

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

He's just interested in generating clicks

Too early to say, but if I had to evaluate right now it would probably be an 8. Main concerns for me are lack of depth at CB + the question of whether a specialist 6 or a more creative attacking player represent missed opportunities. Impossible to cover everything though and very happy with the business we've done.

Gameweek 4 Luton 1-2 West Ham Sheff United 1-1 Everton Brentford 2-1 Bournemouth Burnley 0-2 Spurs Chelsea 2-1 Forest Man City 3-0 Fulham Brighton 2-2 Newcastle Palace 1-0 Wolves Liverpool 2-2 Villa Arsenal 2-2 Man United

Bayern Munich linked with McTominay, Dier and Gallagher so far today

Endless industry and athleticism, but I do still feel that Joelinton's skillset may be most effectively utilised out wide, at least for certain games (when we're facing a low block, potentially?). He's a very viable runner, probably even a little underrated technically too but a lack of creativity in the middle is a concern, especially with Bruno playing deeper. Which is awkward, considering LW seems to be the preferred position for both Gordon and Barnes. You'd imagine Willock will be competing for his position when he returns but last season they dovetailed together really well on many occasions on the left.

There's very little purpose pointing to his output over the entire span of his time here when nearly 50% of that is under Steve Bruce. Amazed it gets brought up so much. Unless your point is to demonstrate that he isn't a world class player who will flourish under literally any conditions and requires systems which suit his strengths, which everyone already knows.

Howe has everything to prove in terms of reaching the same level as Pep and Klopp, but so does every other manager in the top 8, honestly. Maybe to varying extents, but none would fall in the truly elite bracket at this moment in time in my opinion, in terms of what they have demonstrated in the game. Also worth keeping in mind that there is a lot of scepticism surrounding Klopp's current Liverpool side and their potential to emulate previous successes. What that means for Howe is that increased attention and scrutiny will come his way as we look to progress. That's inevitable, even if we as a fanbase are able maintain a united front in terms of support, appreciation and fervour for everything we are experiencing as a club since the takeover and Howe was appointed. I don't think those discussions should be verboten on a forum like this, but it does seem very premature so early in the season. What we can say for sure is that we couldn't have wished for a better manager from October 21 onwards, and that there really remains every reason for optimism.

Honestly think Burn is better as a LB than a CB, in our side at least, despite his limitations. If Botman is out for any period of time I think we'll experience a painful underscoring of just how good he is and how critical he has been.

It's a losing mentality, progression and momentum is the name of the game in elite sports. There may well be circumstances where a lower finish is acceptable but it certainly shouldn't be the target. "Once we're in the CL, the point is to stay there" - anonymised quote from one of our higher-ups from an Athletic article this summer

Nobody at the club will be targeting a top 8 finish, and rightly so.

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

Less than a minute in and Hall is already having to repeat himself, fucking hell Not sure I can watch the whole thing

I think Pep has built a team which is very much hand-selected and purpose-built, so it's not straightforward to judge. But Schar, Botman, Trippier, Bruno and Isak wouldn't look out of place in the City squad IMO. Too early to call on Tonali and the other new arrivals. It's true that the rest wouldn't make the grade technically. I do agree with your general point, that our personnel isn't at the level where we can truly compete with City yet, it's very difficult not to. But the hope would be that we will find ways to hurt them, and that we can impose ourselves on the game in an attacking sense more than we did last night. I think that's going to require an evolution of both tactics and personnel. It's a quandary that's going to be on the lips of every coach in Europe looking to go to the very top.