gjohnson

So Willock then. Player of the season doesn't get dropped barring a massive loss in form

RTG is no representation of them in real life. Most are sound football fans who appreciate a rivaly but don't make it their be all and end all, and just want their team to do well. Yes there is a bit of "banter" but it's mostly good humoured considering our relative positions. RTG represents the extreme who who would rather us do badly than them do well

This the Nufc crest is barely visible

Well for something that will never be worn it's not bad. Badge not being in normal colours is the worst thing about it as it's barely visible

The media are useless with our transfers. Only Botman leaked in any way shape or form really. We got Isak, Bruno, Burn, and Tonali pretty much done and dusted before the media and itks came crawling out. Our "public" chases have not usually ended up with us signing the player in question, but are then followed up with an out of the blue link no one had heard even mentioned. Would bet good money our next signing has not been mentioned by anyone. Won't be an elite level superstar, but probably 22-23, who has been secretly watched for ages

Well balls to him. He's gone to Spurs. Good for him. We've got Tonali instead who could end up better or worse, but we are probably better off without an walking ego who is a good player but not as good as he thinks he is

Always had a soft spot for them due to an ex. Always remember freezing cold afternoons watching them at Forfar and Montrose with only a 2000 degree Bridie to keep warm

No manager was ever going to succeed under Ashley without being a huge arse licker. He achieved something getting 5th. Deservedly or not it is still an achievement, but was never sustainable and I still consider it the flukiest result since Leicester took the title. A decent manager would have had those player consistently in the top 6

At the price floating around it doesn't sound like we were too bothered about him, and went for Tonali instead. If correct and Spurs got him for 40m as opposed to the 55 we were supposedly told then it looks and sounds like he's more bothered about living in London as a millionaire than living in Newcastle as both a superstar and a millionaire. Suggests he doesn't have the confidence he has the ability to be a big team influence. There could be a million personal reasons, and yes I do think us missing out is a bit of a reality check, but if a player isn't keen on coming here it rarely works out

Yeah...transfermarkt also said we paid £40m more than Isak was worth, so wouldn't pay much attention to them

Krafth and Manquillo are not the quality we need, Trippier is getting on in years, and Ashby seems nowhere near ready for the U21s let alone first team. Looks like sensible planning to me....Trippier first choice till his legs completely go with Livramenko second choice, and Ashby to be more prominent in a season or two

We have one with genuine quality, who is only going to decline as age catches up. One who is solid enough but doesn't offer a lot going forward, and another who is like the second but slightly worse. We do need a long term replacement for Trippier ability wise at least. Replacing his leadership will be more difficult

Our defence has not been the problem this year, it has been turning draws into wins. Yes we need a forward plan as Schaar is not getting any younger, and neither is Trippier. It is difficult to argue for dropping either presently but they can't go on forever and there is no guarantee that any replacement will do as well as they have. Saying that, if they can carry it on for a season or two we could well be established enough to be looking at genuine upgrades. In terms of turning draws into wins, who gets dropped and replaced? With Tonali coming in Willock seems most likely to be dropped in the medium term at least

I would say Eddie knows and sees a whole load more than us, which is why Burn has been a mainstay of a side expected to be upper mid-table but is now in Europe's top competion

It's easy to forget Gillespie, as he was pretty much a one trick pony. Worked at the time but he'd be easily neutralised now. HBA could do everything Ginola could do and more, but Robert had that cannon of a left that even Hatem didn't come close to. There's not many south paws in premier league time that have come close to the power and accuracy he was capable of

Better player by far but Robert was far more effective and transformative to a team. Ginola was a much better footballer by far but in terms of a team Ginola inched a good team to being great, Robert (and Bellamy) took an average team to almost great. I saw both and would take Robert over Ginola in a heartbeat in today's game. Both moody and lazy, one could dazzle with tricks and dribbles every game and produce nothing but entertainment, the other would do the square route of sod all for a game, then win the next three by himself.

It was better than Bergkamps Vs Dabizas purely because I'm still convinced today that it was not deliberate. The ball fell in a good place and he took the best advantage. However Roberts invertved overhead backwards karate goal was for Man U or Arsenal at the time it would be considered one of the all time great goals

Robert with Bellamy was the biggest transformation of a team that we've not seen since Eddie came along. Their pace took us from lower midfield to title challengers in a year. Both hugely effective, but Robert was far more memorable due to being terrible or spectacular. Bellamy probably had an overall better contribution but barring a game or two it wasn't as obvious

That the backwards overhead karate kick? Still never understood how he did it. It's as good as Bergkamps Vs Dabizas in my head

To be fair Shearer destroyed Terry when he could barely walk let alone run. Receive the pass, quick turn and boom. No pace required

If Solano had played for Man Utd he'd be considered one of the PL greats

I remember a lot of Roberts goals....I only remember one of Bellamys

Burn has done really well for us, and probably could next season too. The fear is that if he's replaced by someone in theory better the team dynamic is disrupted and makes us worse

Means nothing. Football is not like regular employment where you get an offer of take it or leave it. There will be details and clauses to sort, and anyone who has ever dealt with an agent or solicitor will know it doesn't happen in a few hours

Exactly this...he wouldn't raise a peep if it was Man U shifting their deadwood for millions. He'd be saying it's great to see the middle East building a decent league offering more competition. As good as he is as a commentator and insightful in many ways he does have an inbuilt Man U bias which is completely understandable