Lush Vlad

Without the use of smileys. It is hard to detect sarcasm on here.

Just watched the third ep. That was more like it. I had barely registered that we have a game tomorrow. But now I am pumped for it. The buzz is well and truly back. I suppose my main takeaway from that episode. Is that Callum Wilson is an incredibly good looking man.

Do you think they get away with such shit, unfunny content. Due to basically all of the NUFC podcasts being shite in one way or the other? GS has been unlistenable this season. Pure guff and going off on uninteresting tangents, again. TF disappeared up their own arses ages ago and got rid of any of the decent contributors they had. The Chronicle one? Does that idiot Wraith do one? Hardly spoilt for choice, are we?!

I’m sure we had that same jacket as our warm up top for Colts football circa 2005

https://x.com/mrmichaelspicer/status/1701930985682538606?s=46 I like Michael Spicer and this made me chuckle. Like a Talksport pundit without the 700 adverts between bits or one of the confused old guard on Soccer Saturday.

In no particular order other than me reading off the league tables: SJP White Hart Lane Tottenham Stadium Wembley (New) Upton Park London Stadium Emirates Sellhurst Park City Ground Villa Park Stamford Bridge Craven Cottage Goodison Park Portman Road King Power St Andrews Carrow Road Stadium of Light The Hawthorns Ewood Park Coventry/Ricoh Arena (whatever the new ground is called these days) Loftus Road Vicarage Road Liberty Stadium Hillsbrough Riverside Bolton/Reebok The Abbey Pride Park London Road The Valley Reading/Madejski Wigan/JJB Doncaster/Keepmoat A fair few non-league grounds, that are so low in the pyramid. I would need to look at and work out which ones I have been to watching mates play. Abroad, if we are talking watching football only. Then Camp Nou and Club Brugge.

I didn't even see the game. But I have no idea why Southgate keeps persisting with Maguire and then moaning about it afterwards. He barely plays for Man U and is then ridiculed when he does make the odd cameo, he has been crap for England for a while and his confidence is totally shot to bits. It is admirable that he is standing by him up to a point. But then I would also put some blame on Southgate himself. When he keeps picking him, when he has no business being in the team and just keeps making error and gives more ammo to the media and the boo boys.

Which ironically, judging by some people on here and on social media (yes, yes. I know, I know). Plenty of fans fit the bill here. A few sub-par performances, some players a bit out of form and some reverting back to their base level and they’re all worse than shite. People have quickly forgotten the dark days and want it all straight away, it seems.

Any update on this magnificent bastard? Milan away without him and with Burn at CB and Targett at LB is a slight concern, to say the least.

£100m is not going to get you two top level midfielders these days. As mental as that sounds typing it out. Would we not be better off keeping arguably our best and most sought after player and building the team and midfield around him?

Maybe he will be a lot more use starting. But when he has come on this season, he has looked miles off it and worse than whoever he has replaced. Not sure Longstaff is the answer to our current midfield worries.

Based on those 2-3 lines? Care to elaborate? It felt like a fluff piece for the Saudi owners for the first half of the episode. But from the people I have spoken to, it cools off a bit on that, as it did towards the end of the first ep. That not the case, then?

Finally got round to starting this. That first episode was a tough watch at times. Pure PR stuff for the owners and Staveley looked like a psychopath nodding along like a loon when Yasir was giving an awful speech to the squad. Certainly picked up towards the end, mind and looking forward to the rest of it. As I’ve heard it picks up and doesn’t feel so much like a propaganda piece.

Too kind. I am usually a knee jerk, reactionary wanker I am also a bit biased with Pope. As I know some of his family and quite a few lads who played with him at junior level and semi-pro.

I don't buy that his form has massively declined since the Liverpool red. I think he did look a bit nervy against Liverpool last week, mind. But I guess the opposition might have played a part in his mind or just been the continued shaky start to the season. This season, he has looked rusty to say the least. How much did he train and play in pre-season after the hand injury and operation? As I would say that is more relevant than the fuck up against Liverpool way back in February. I felt like he wasn't much different after a couple of games post-Liverpool, where he did noticeably seem a bit more hesitant to start with. He was still coming off his line for crosses or to sweep up the ball over the top. His limitations with his feet have always been there for all to see. I don't think that is ever going to improve at this stage of his career. But for me, where we are as a club and with FFP, the trade off would be for a keeper better on the ball, but nowhere near as good with shot stopping, sweeping, commanding the box etc. As I don't see how we are getting a keeper as good as him (poor start to the season aside) who is equally as good on the ball for any less than about £50-60m in today's market. I think in time, probably the next year or two, it will be an area we look to upgrade, of course. But I do also think as a fanbase, or football fans in general. We get really focused in on a few bad performances or a poor run of form and not look at the bigger picture. He's made what, 2 high profile mistakes that have cost us goals since joining? But also saved us countless points with his saves and sharpness off his line. £12m or whatever it was is an absolute steal and on the whole, pound for pound, he has been one of Howe's best signings and I'll die on that hill.

Only seen the brief highlights, as I was at wedding on Saturday. I somehow feel a bit more positive after watching them. I expected more of a bloodbath, to be honest. The first goal was a clusterfuck of errors, Pope really having a howler and Tonali lazy as fuck with the attempted clearance and then not closing the shot down. The second, the midfield and defence was non-existent and stuck in reverse. The third was awful from Schar, but also incredibly lucky for them. I know from reading bits and pieces and speaking with mates. We were off it again and the same midfield concerns were being flagged up. Of course 3 minutes of highlights doesn't tell the whole story. But we were extremely lucky to escape with a 0-0 there last season and were second best for 90 minutes then. Ironically it was only the heroics of Pope and their wastefulness that kept them out, from memory. They do dominate the game for large spells at home against most teams and just had a helping hand with our capitulation for all 3 of their goals. Yet again, though. We just didn't take our chances when it mattered. I suppose there are positives there in that we are still creating good openings. Just a worry that we are still wasteful when we do get decent chances, especially when the game is in the balance at the time. I think the run of games coming up will show whether we are going the wrong way as a team or if it is just a mini-wobble off the back of the Liverpool defeat.

Could have been worse. I think the Real Madrid group would have harder. As I don’t think we would have a chance home and away against them and Napoli. Still, could have been a lot easier

Oh fuck off. You just knew that was coming the longer it went on.

The universal “we are fucking class. Man City and Liverpool will fear us. We are mint. Isak will score 40 goals. Who is going. To. Stop. Us?!.” Followed by the match reaction pod when we inevitably lose. Full of bedwetting and knee jerk shite

Nah. I genuinely haven’t since towards the end of last season. I tried TF and GS this season and turned both off. They were painfully bad.

Nah. It’s dreadful. The host is a right plum. Caulkin is arguably worse (don’t meet/listen to your heroes). At least Waugh attempts to bring some tactical insight and stats to the table. Only to be shouted down and sneered at for loving meat or whatever it is the other two clowns are jipping him about that week. It also doesn’t help that he is a pure charisma vacuum.

Got a point on the Europod. They have what seem like some of the smuggest fuckers going on there. But they are actually insightful and interesting, at least. Stuck record. But the NUFC specific ones are horrendous. Choice between awful puns and sausage based gags. A pod that spends 75% of its time getting stuff wrong, arguing and massively going off topic. Or the unbearable ‘we are mint. Like, Isak is the best player in the world, ever’ pod.

This is it, for me. Used the exact same term about ‘foot on their throat’ to a few mates after the game. We were far too timid second half and played like we were scared to lose. If it was 2-0, I would have understood it. But with their manager, style of play and the attacking players they have at their disposal. Doing that at 1-0 seemed daft. I know we still should have scored a couple more. But it wasn’t like we had endless pressure, with world class save after save. We didn’t really stretch them or sustain pressure and attacks for long enough periods. Ah well. Live and learn.

Same. Real time I thought it was the standard piece of casual defending from VVD, where he nicks the ball away and they'd overturn it. He quite clearly smashes through Isak to get to the ball. I don't even think it's up for debate, as he was clean through on goal, if not. Shame he got sent off, in hindsight. They would have had plenty of chances, of course. But 11 v 11, we were getting a lot of space and looked dangerous.

Seems a bit harsh if we sell him off the back of that and not because we deem him surplus to requirements. It’s hardly Joey Barton wailing on a teenager over and over again. It genuinely looks like he is trying to diffuse it and help his mate and brother and gets cheap shotted a few times. Don’t know the full story, of course. But not his fault if he was targeted.