Eveready

Quick look at last years league stats, average points per game with Schar starting: Schar starting: 1.9 points per game Schar not starting: 1.0 points per game Other factors like Woltemade's form dropping and Bruno's injury mean it doesn't tell the whole truth in isolation, but the defensive fragility once going ahead (by far our biggest weakness last season) didn't seem to be a problem in the games he played.

Was probably still our best CB before his injury this last season and not like his pace can get much worse. Great news.

I'm sure he is more mobile, but doesn't seem to be the type of striker to be on the last defender ready to run in behind. Larsen and Woltemade (however good either is) are far more similar in profile to each other than they are to Isak or Ekitike. It would indicate there was a plan, however it has played out.

Not watched an awful lot of him so happy to be corrected but isn't Strand Larsen, who we spent weeks chasing with ridiculously inflated bids, a similar profile to Woltemade? Kind of dispels the idea that we had no idea how we expected to use Woltemade and that he was a complete panic buy.

That's mental

So we need a new GK and RW. In the media: Hall is being linked with a whole host of clubs Livramento is going to Man City Tonali is going to another PL team Bruno is going to Man Utd We're cashing in on Joelinton as he's getting on in age Gordon is going to Bayern Munich Woltemade is going back to Germany On top of that Schar is going to need replacing and Botman was going to Liverpool until he signed a new contract. If you listened to the media and believed half their shite we'd be needing a completely new starting 11 next season.

Was one of those where the refs decision on the field was always going to stand with the 'clear and obvious' threshold on both decisions. I've never been comfortable with VAR only intervening in 'clear and obvious' errors as it gives so much room for interpretation by the referees and will always end up favouring the bigger club. Just on this one occasion it looks like the bigger club drew the short straw and are throwing their toys out of the pram. As much as I hate taking anything from American sports, a challenge system seems like it would be so much better.

I'm not sure 'biggest' in terms of historical significance from when Ferguson retired almost 15 years ago is that relevant though. If we're looking at the calibre of players that Arsenal and Man City have brought in over the past few years then they look like a significantly more attractive destination than Man Utd in the current landscape. A potential move for either Bruno would be more down to the potential to win top tier trophies (Premier League or Champions League) in the latter years of his career, where Arsenal or Man City are far better placed to do so in the near future than Man Utd. Bearing in mind Bruno G will be pushing 29 by the time next season starts I'm not sure that timeframe is a sure enough bet. The Man City rivalry is a much more recent development, which is why I didn't include Liverpool in the list. Although I understand it's much more of a one-way street, a lot of Newcastle fans would consider Man Utd their least liked club in the league after Sunderland due to the rivalry in the 90s, similar to how I'd imagine Man Utd fans would consider Man City their 2nd most hated club after Liverpool. Bruno has spoken many times about how he wants to be seen as a club legend at Newcastle and a move to Man Utd would significantly damage that relationship with our fans, similar to how you would see Fernandes moving to Man City as quite a betrayal. I don't think many Newcastle fans would begrudge Bruno moving to another European club, even say a club the size of Atletico. It's more around how he's spoken about the club, the fans, the area, his legacy and how important they are to him - moving to Man Utd would be a pretty tone-deaf move after all that.

What about if Arsenal or Man City were interested in Fernandes? If we're doing our best to compare apples with apples then the comparison should be a transfer to another PL team.

Multiple owners doesn't help the situation. As far as I remember, RB have always contributed to every cash injection to maintain their 15%. If the entire stadium would be funded by cash at a cost of £1.2bn, then RB would have to put up £180m to maintain their 15%. RB may not be willing to dilute and PIF may not be willing to cause any conflict at board level after the whole debacle with Staveley leaving.

He's improving. Think it's worth giving him the benefit of the doubt in his first season here. The signings in the first year of PIF ownership hit the ground running, but they were replacing players like Darlow, Clark, Ritchie & Shelvey. I'm struggling to think of many players who didn't require a settling in period after that. Off the top of my head Tino & Thiaw are the only players who really made an immediate impact.

I think Fred Warner played most of last season with a fractured ankle, though he did break it bad enough this season that he needed surgery so maybe not the best idea in hindsight, especially considering the niners were never really in touching distance of the play-offs. I also always wonder about PEDs in injury recovery. With the amount of money in football I just don't buy the low amount of positive tests but either way I think they're allowed therapeutic use exemptions for injuries. Would be amazed in Isak isn't straight onto a high dose cocktail of GH, BPC-157 and TB-500. All those compounds can significantly improve recovery time compared to your average Joe getting NHS treatment.

Schar one was a pretty clear penalty, as was the one today. Think that would be a pretty clear consensus with football fans.

Criticism, yes. Saying he should be subbed at half time after showing 4 days ago he can turn it around and take the game by the scruff of the neck? No.

Gordon was shite in the first half mid week but played a blinder in the second half. Some short memories here for the ones who want him subbed.