GideonShandy

From BBC Sport today What a feeling two years on. "On this day two years ago, Newcastle needed a saviour. The Saudi-backed takeover had happened a month earlier, but under Steve Bruce the performances had nosedived and the Magpies were making up the numbers in the Premier League. Check out the standings on 8 November 2021. With no wins from their opening 11 games, even at this early stage, relegation was starting to look like it might be a formality. Enter 43-year-old Eddie Howe, fresh from a year away from management after some outstanding work at Bournemouth. Could he replicate what he had achieved on the south coast at a much bigger club with a far more intense level of scrutiny? In short, yes. The current Premier League table, again after 11 games, underlines the level of progress masterminded by Howe in such a short time. Sure, they are not currently in the Champions League places as per last season, but Liverpool and Tottenham have bounced back this time around and Howe’s players have been placed under much greater stress with European games against heavyweights such as Borussia Dortmund, Paris St-Germain and AC Milan to contend with. To be in the top six – after beating Arsenal last weekend no less - is and will remain a remarkable achievement. They are also the second highest scorers in the division so far this season with that goal difference of +16, far more palatable than the grotty days of shipping goals and struggling to create that Bruce oversaw. Two years on, Howe has been an unimaginable success in the Newcastle hotseat. His next challenge is to finally break that devastatingly long wait for silverware on Tyneside." Joe Bradshaw, BBC Sport

Might be the coolest person in the world. A lot of people are saying that, anyway.

It's a very good sensible article, tbh.

This is verbatim from the FA rule book. "A player is in an offside position if: any part of the head, body or feet is in the opponents’ half (excluding the halfway line) and any part of the head, body or feet is nearer to the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent The hands and arms of all players, including the goalkeepers, are not considered. For the purposes of determining offside, the upper boundary of the arm is in line with the bottom of the armpit. A player is not in an offside position if level with the: second-last opponent or last two opponents" So if you are behind the ball, you can't be offside (see above). If you're behind the ball and it is played towards you, the ball has necessarily gone backwards. So you can't be offside if the ball goes backwards.

It's "deserts," man. As in, what they deserve. Desserts is like peach cobbler or tiramisu. Or, er, stottie cakes.

Not very promising, but everyone was saying that about Joelinton two years ago.

Hope so. At the moment i fear it's just as likely that a year from now he puts in a transfer request to make a sentimental return to his boyhood club because he's homesick and can't settle in the region etc.

Lot better than his teeth.

Have a hard time seeing this as much of a silver lining. Maybe we should encourage a few other players to have a flutter and next season the squad's strength speed and technical ability will be off the charts.

It seems perverse that he would be entitled to be paid in full while being banned from playing due to his own illegal conduct. Assuming that he is legally entitled to collect his full wage, if he has any moral compass he would nonetheless volunteer to give up a big chunk of it -- not less than half -- to the club. and also devote some of his remaining pay and time to appropriate charity or community work. And the club should look hard at pursuing a lawsuit or arbitration claim against Milan, as I'm sure they're already doing.

Joins a club that includes Hughie Gallagher, Joe Harvey, Bob Stokoe. Bobby Moncur, Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer. Good on you, Kidda.

Absolutely love the guy. Tactical genius. Extraordinary work ethic. Superb man-management. Handles press conferences with class, modesty, intelligence and a nice sense of humour. Inspires confidence all round. A perfect match for the club. We're lucky to have him (and he's lucky to have us.) Hope he has a tenure comparable to Wenger and Ferguson.

But also desperate as fuck. Their alternatives (if they even have any) are likely worse. Can hardly blame them for trying to look on the brighter side despite the overwhelming evidence of impending misery.

Idiots

Not quite the simile I was expecting.

Still miss him. I know I shouldn't but I do.

Not as a defensive midfielder.

Coloccinious.

Scoring only 5 goals against Sheffield United is absolutely pathetic tbh. Lego Head out.

Wasn't it? i thought his point was that, despite 50 million quid being at stake, Tonali had no moral obligation to disclose that he was a gambling addict and liable to be banned, because "employers don't care about any employee" so why should he care about us. I think that's much too generous to Tonali, and that comparing a 50 million transfer with a regular working stiff's employment situation is a false analogy.

Not convinced that Mr. Tonali has been "royally shafted" by either AC Milan or Newcastle United. Or that his current employer (us) doesn't care about him.

Don't know if this has been posted before, but it made me laugh.

Or stupidity. Or misplaced confidence that no one would ever find out.

No doubt the Italian FA and Italian football in general are pretty corrupt, but I think it's a routine matter that a national ban for betting on games is applied worldwide. Ivan Toney was the same.

Even if you knew that the prospective new employer was paying a non-refundable £50 million to your old employer for your services? And you knew that you had created circumstances that might very soon render you unable to provide those services? And are you saying you "would" have kept it to yourself (even though it was wrong) or that it was actually morally OK not to let on? If you or I change jobs and don't tell the new employer about, say, an addiction issue, then when it comes to light and the new employer finds out, the employer can just sack us and hire a replacement. He's not all that much worse off. But here you've got the issue of the £50 million, which changes the whole moral calculus.