Lush Vlad

I would think the opposite, personally. He is very rarely injured and he is pretty unique in the way that he plays. He doesn't mind the physical side and getting stuck in. He will demand the ball whilst being tightly marked by a player or two and almost always comes out with us retaining possession. He is skillful, good with the short and longer stuff, chips in with the odd goal. There isn't any other midfielder in the squad with anything like his skillset. As has been proven time and again when we've tried someone else in his position or he isn't playing. It would also cost a lot to get a replacement for him and who's to say they'd just fit straight in the way he did or be anywhere near as good? His lack of athleticism is his only real weakness. But he is still as fit as a flea and covers a lot of ground. I think he is regularly high up on the list of players in the league for distance covered per game.

Nah. Could still make plenty of changes. If it were another lower league team, I think we would see the likes of Krafth, Dummett, Lascelles and Hall all start. Possibly even Karius. Obviously not going to happen against these and nor should it.

A clip popped up the other day of the Roy Carroll blunder. The most famous non-goal I can think of in recent times in club football. Bar that Atwell ghost goal, where he said it was a goal kick Anyway, it cut to Schmeichel and Hansen talking about video technology. Saying it's fine for this situation. But do we really want it looking at marginal offsides to the nth degree, or going back to look at penalties and 'grey' area decisions?! Oh how right they were. Sadly, I think it is only going to encroach further. I'm guessing we will soon adopt that 3D offside that UEFA/FIFA use and we will be sticking with half your knee or shoulder ahead of the defender resulting in offside. Plus after the Arsenal complaints, no doubt we will have it for is the ball out, is it a corner or a goal kick. Even using it for yellow cards was mooted It also feels like we have gone too far with re-refereeing the game via VAR. For us to now suddenly tone down the involvement. It feels like dodgy handballs with the 'unnatural position' and 'there is contact' shite are just accepted these days for reasons to give penalties. There are a lot of reasons why I have become less interested and passionate about football in the last few years. I think the way VAR is used is certainly right up there as one of the main ones.

Not sure they will be. Willock has been fucked all season and had no pre-season. Barnes’ return just keeps getting pushed back. Not even trained with the squad yet since the injury, has he? Wilson is made of porcelain. Anderson we have heard sod all about. But some murmurings that the injury is taking longer to heal than first thought. Throw in the lads that have come back recently have all looked miles off the pace and perhaps rushed back due to our current plight. Then I’m not sure relying on these four is the answer.

That feels like it’s 2-3 years old Unrecognisable to the way we’re playing now, the team we have out and how jaded the players look in comparison to back then.

I haven't read back through and it may have been heat of the moment stuff. But there were a few, I think. No more than that, mind.

Must have been on FM, then. As he never played for them it was Stoke he played for.

What's the context here then?

Right you are. Just checked and it was a Ba own goal late on.

I was jetlagged to fuck and I was there, so my memory is hazy. But I think we wore the hi-viz kit when Cabaye scored and Tiote got sent off in a 1-1 there. They scored late off Gyan/Bent's arse. Lucky as fuck deflection. Colo red card we wore our blue away kit, I think?

Sorry to derail this thread further. But I’m not denying people have different accents and will find it hard to understand what people are saying in certain situations. Like a large group of people chatting back and forward, or in a pub, or maybe even over the phone. Just not having the absolute nonsense that only people from London can understand each other and that they don’t speak English properly. Whatever that means There are a whole host of counties that have a very non-descript, generic southern accent. Then plenty along the midlands and further north that I don’t think have really strong or hard to understand accents, as well. Most people with a really strong accent tend to slow it down a bit or go a bit softer. Which is just common courtesy. The same as when you go abroad or when talking to a non-English speaker. You do get some right old fen boys round these parts that I struggle to understand, mind. Like they have their own language

Absolute nonsense, though. The same way certain southerners go on about people in the north. And how they can’t speak English and they can’t understand them. That is also bollocks.

Then annoyingly. We showed a bit of character at the end and defiance. Then made some noise in the pubs after. When plenty of the Man U fans had fucked off home. Too little too late, sadly.

The Mail reporting on an article in Marca. As reliable as it gets

If you’re on about cockney rhyming slang or people using local colloquialisms. Then fair enough. If not, then what on earth are you on about?! Despite being born down south. Hard A’s do make more sense to me than soft A’s, so I get that part. But I’m not having that only people from London understand each other

For Botman's goal? Trippier isn't hitting inswingers from that side on his right foot, either. Would be quite the skill if he's whacking in trivelas from corners on that side every week Not watched anything back. As I'm not that much of a masochist. But from memory, it was just a driven corner off his laces and Botman was miles more aggressive than Jota or any of their players that seemed to be marking zonally/standing still and doing fuck all. Don't remember it being much different to anything we usually do in that regard. Just wasn't straight on Alisson and was about 6 yards out. Trippier put in 3-4 absolute peaches from the corner against Forest. But we didn't capatlise. Would be nice if we started being good from set pieces, again. As we certainly seem keen to continue hitting the box if we have a free kick anywhere near the halfway line and closer. Plus we do seem to get a lot of corners compared to NUFC teams of recent times.

I know goals win games and are a rare commodity. But the trade off for someone not as clinical, but that can actually sprint and more importantly, stay fit. Might end up being worthwhile overall.

For fuck sake. When will it end

I’d imagine he’d be on a decent whack. Personally don’t see the point in keeping him. When he is always injured, now looks as if his pace has fully deserted him and he seemingly can’t play two games close together without breaking down. Considering Isak has struggled to stay fit since joining. It doesn’t make sense to have someone as cover/to rotate with him. Who is even more injury prone. Loved him since he joined and he has been a shining light during some dark times. But I feel we need to be looking to replace him now.

I think he is world class when he plays. Problem is, he only plays about 10-20 games a season.

Seb Bassong I think our defence and the team in general were so bad that season. That he stood out as being much better than he actually was, despite a few mistakes.

Excluding our home game last season, for obvious reasons. In 3 games against Liverpool and the usually unflappable VVD. He has scored and had another ruled out for a ridiculously tight offside call in the first game. Got him sent off in one game and then scored last night after running off him. Pretty rare for a striker to have much joy against VVD. Isak's movement on and off the ball is usually spot on. He had acres of space playing againat Liverpool's high back line last night. But we rarely got it to him.

The Hall one is fair enough and I do think we should have got another forward type in. But how can you judge Tonali and Barnes and legislate for them missing all these games? Bit early to call them the ‘wrong’ signings IMO. We tried for Maddison and Szobslai by all accounts. Either would have been perfect. Maddison would have fitted in well in the treatment room. Not really many options to replace out of form/half fit players and based on the last 3-4 games. There are too many to replace, anyway

Why? He’s been crap for the most part since coming back. Then brilliant tonight. Single handedly stopped it being a Rugby League score and deserves all the praise coming his way tonight. Shame the rest of them let him down. Defence have been woeful and placid, again.

This thread will be fun over the next few days Might break the internet if we lose to sunderland.