Lush Vlad

Totally different level and not sure if we’ll see it with the senior team. But the stuff he had the U21s playing was great. There was a really good analysis piece on Twitter breaking it down in like 3-4 minutes. Night and day to what we watched with Southgate. From interviews I’ve seen. He seems like a deep thinker. Very focused and driven. Clearly has a lot of self-confident without coming across arrogant. Never thought of him like this before he signed. Don’t judge a book by its cover and all that.

Inject it.

Just reads as a puff piece for that wanker, Parrish, TBH.

Not had a full chance to read the full article. So can’t really give an analysis one way or the other. But I found his comments about us over-paying, a bit, well, odd? Apart from Chris Wood. Which was a needs must signing and a release clause. I guess you can also include Tonali, where the jury is still out for obvious reasons. I thought our business by and large has either been shrewd, big money buys that have been hits or young English talent that have shown plenty of potential and where you almost accept the premium.

Ah yes. The old ‘Lloyd Kelly is on £150k a week’ line, again Don’t the salary sites, that seem like total guesswork. Also have Targett going from something like £30k a week at Villa to £100k a week with us? Why would we do that?! The same way as I can’t imagine we’ve tripled or quadrupled Kelly’s wages to come here.

“How’s the stick of rock did ya say?” Read that this morning and it made me chuckle

I wouldn't be quite as scathing as that. But building from the back has been a concern of mine on and off for quite a while. You'd like to think and hope that Schar coming back, perhaps Kelly at CB sometimes and of course Botman, in time. Hall at left back, Trippier getting games here and there, plus Tonali coming in. Meaning Bruno is not the only midfielder showing for the ball back to goal and/or whilst being pressured. Then we might start to see an improvement here. I do think the personnel we have had available for quite some time and the massive amount of injuries last season are fair enough as excuses/reasons.

It will have played a massive part, IMO. It is noticeable how much we keep going back to Pope. Despite him being so dreadful at kicking, due to not having the long diagonal from Schar or the pass between the lines along the deck that Trippier is so good at. I also think the right hand side of the pitch has been lacking real quality on the ball, to go with the issues at the back. I think I'm right in saying. That since Schar got sent off. It was Krafth, Tino, Longstaff and Murphy. Then the same again from the start against Bournemouth for 55-60 minutes or so. You're not building much in possession down that flank, that's for sure.

Not a massive fan of his. I think he takes an age on the ball to make a decision and his passing is often woeful or at times, he just plays safe for no reason. However. I thought he was a bit better with the ball on Sunday. The ping out to Barnes was something I’d love to see more of from him. Can’t really question his off the ball work. He always puts a shift in and it’s probably why Howe loves him so much. Some stats below to back up the eye test from this game. I know we didn’t have a lot of the ball. But the only NUFC player on there and he only played about an hour. So even more impressive.

Well yeah. I went on to say as much in my post?

Nah. I’m all for the good old take the man and the ball tackle. Yellows get dished out now for challenges that weren’t even fouls when I played regularly. However. I don’t agree that you can slide in from slightly behind a player, tripping them in the process and only get the ball because they’ve kicked it into you. I know it’s all about opinions. Which makes the game so great. Well, usually but I’m genuinely shocked it’s even a debate and it got glossed over.

Why would you be fuming? Plays the man first, there is clear contact despite plenty seeming to say otherwise and he only wins the ball because Isak kicks it into him. Another touch or just letting the ball run and he probably doesn't get anything at all on it. Been done to death and at a rough guess seemed about 70/30 saying pen on here. So probably should move on. We won, after all.

Just watched the MOTD2 highlights. Romero is such a clown show. Constantly drawn to the ball and/or the man like a moth to a flame. At fault for both our goals. I also just realised it was Maddison being weak as piss and naive for the first goal on Kelly, along with the second on Joelinton which we all saw straight away. Beautiful. Not sure what is more suicidal. The way they almost play with a back 2 a lot of the time or the fact that they went with a midfield 3 away from home with Maddison in it. It's easy to see why they spent a lot of time in our half when they commit so many bodies forward. But then there is no protection at all going the other way. Risk v reward, of course. But they are so wide open it is unreal. We should have really been 2-0 up after 50 minutes, due to this. Which was before they had any of their better chances, I think.

They looked around and couldn't find anyone better, apparently. Find that very hard to believe. That exchange with that journo where he gets totally rinsed. Then resorts to talking about trophies and not actually addressing any of the valid criticisms about how bad they look. That was a bad segment for him.

Wasn’t that Barnes for the tap in at the start of the second half? Or was there another one I’ve forgotten about?

Agreed. I think/hope we will see that back 4 at some point in the season. But I also can’t see it being in the next game against Wolves.

So I was half right then with it being more even. Not lopsided against us like the first and third games. I thought we were better in pacthes with control of the game. But still a lot of sloppy, misplaced passes in their half.

The five games we have after that means I think we need to win both to get a bit of a buffer. Albeit at a ridiculously early stage of the season. The three home games after Fulham are against City, Brighton and Arsenal. You’d do well to get 3 points out of that, IMO. Aways in between these three against Everton, where we always seem to fuck up no matter how shit they are. Plus Chelsea who could be brilliant or utter crap. So a hard one to be confident about with the 30 expensive players they have at their disposal.

First game we played with 10 for an hour. Bournemouth seemed a bit more even possession wise? But we were sloppy on the ball, still. Would we ever have decent passing against Spurs? When the gameplan is usually play on the counter and a lot of clearances into space? Krafth and Burn at CB. A GK that is terrible with the ball at feet. Kelly, who looks far more comfortable on the ball at CB regularly playing LB, no Trippier from the start. Who is arguably our best passer of the ball. Then Joelinton and Longstaff in midfield. Neither are particularly good or consistent with their passing. Concerning numbers. But I’m not surprised by them at all.

I do think he is a quality player. But in the same mould as Romero (better than him) in that he just goes barrelling into players for no reason. Cheap free kicks galore and I’m guessing plenty of cards. Kind of what makes him so good, his aggression. But he goes in for stuff he has no chance of winning. That and he just loves hacking people, I suppose

Not sure he enjoys anything other than moaning and being a contrarian.

No issue with the ref missing it. He was miles away and he would have seen the ball loop up like he got a touch, I guess. But what’s the point in VAR if it’s not giving that? I don’t like it and I hate it being used to re-referee games. But that is clear and obvious and you see it straight away on the first replay Sky showed. It’s a blatant foul.

More like Voldemort when he’s not got all his powers back. The daft egg.

Say Isak has another touch instead of trying to shoot. He gets none of the ball and that would somehow mean it is a penalty but this isn’t? However, he only gets the ball from Isak taking said shot and that’s after he’s gone through Isak to get anywhere near it. Make it make sense

Jesus christ, it gets worse. I didn’t realise the only reason Dragusin gets anything at all on the ball. Is because Isak kicks it into him, after Dragusin has already gone through him.