Geordie_once_removed

If this signing comes off I wonder if Howe would try and convert Willock into a RW/RWF.  He's got the pace and a eye for goal so I can see it being possible.

I'm not 100% convinced of this being the best use of our money. As good a player as he is, I feel based on the players we have and the system we seem to be playing there would be a bit of square peg and round holing going on to get all our best players on the pitch.

However, it would be an amazing statement though. Signing the best player of a direct rival, who has consistently and comprehensively outperformed us for the last 5 seasons so. It would really say that players believe in the clubs ambition to compete for the league in relatively short period of time, otherwise why would he move here? Yes he'll clearly be getting a pay rise, but if you look at the salaries at Man U and Chelsea for example and remember that we've been consistent about not wanting to smash our wage structure, you can feel confident that some outrageous salary isn't the sole reason he'd come here.  Because a) if money is his motivation we're not the sole big (or even the biggest) pay check in town and b) based on everything we've heard we wouldn't offer that salary in the first place.

Another promising performance and result.

Positives:

Solid at the back despite a whole other back 5 being played.  Botman in particular looks really classy, there is a Terminator cool about him. The midfield in the first half played well and had some good movement that stretched the opposition in ways we could only have dreamt of under Bruce. ASM, albeit sporadically, was challenging back, if he can be convinced of the value in doing this consistently and in in line with the systematic approach Howe has for this team pressing he could go to the next level.

Concerns:

Right wing.  Sometimes Bruno and other midfielders were taking one too many touches, against sharper opposition this could cost us.

4 minutes ago, Chris_R said:

 

 

Whilst I don't doubt Ritchie a) looks shit and b) is past it, judging him as a right winner seems ridiculous. It's not his position and never has been.

For me it more that he's even played there shows a lack of quality and depth in that position.

If not him then who? Fraser is solid but not really a top 8 starter. Murphy is a jigsaw when it comes to the final pass or shot. Almiron tends to tuck in more and has been inconsistentent to say the least.

Just now, Jinky said:

First half ratings:

 

Dubravka 7

Kraft 8

Lascelles 7

Botman 8

Dummett 6

Bruno 9

Willock 6

Joelinton 7

Ritchie 5

Saint-Maximin 9

Wilson 8

 

I largely agree but numbers aside bar Richie I don't see how you rate Willock the second worst player. He's been a couple of cms off producing some amazing passes

4 minutes ago, KaKa said:

 

We'll get players in those positions. Just a matter of time.

I think we will too. One of the biggest things that has changed since the Ashley and even the Shepherd years is that our decisions have been smart. So often in the past we had clear weakness that were spoken about on here and in the terraces yet the club never addressed them. Fans aren't dumb they know their club.

So far it has been the exact opposite, with signings on and off the pitch strategically addressing key issues. It's so refreshing.

Richie playing RW and being so clearly two steps below in quality the rest of the midfield and forwards underlines RW as the key area to strengthen.  Remembering that if Wilson is injured we only have Wood to rely on underlines why a striker is the next most important.

I also like him, he never hides and clearly works hard on the ditch.  It's just a shame that he's always possessed by the spirit of Obertan just before that final pass/shot.

1 hour ago, Foxedup said:

The issue is a bloated squad and wages. Next summer we have loads of dross out of contract and it frees up huge amounts of cash. It’s a short term issue. 

Based on your name I'm guessing you'll be able to clue me up on this. Do Leicester have money issues and if so why?

I've not been aware of any Evertonesq money spunking on shite or over the hill players. In fact Leicester have in my eyes been a very smartly run club.

Positives:

Solid defensive display, Trippier's creativity, Anderson looked up to the standard, Longstaff's second half - I quite fancy him in that defensive midfielder role, he has the engine for it.

Concerns:

Sloppy in the final 3rd, several players (e.g. Murphy) just clearly lack the quality needed to help us push on, no matter what the coaching is.

19 minutes ago, JonBez comesock said:

He’s on 240k a week 

 

no chance 

I just don't understand that wage (not doubting/questioning accuracy of the figure).

Why would you need to offer him that? He'll have been on max 100,000 Euros living in Leipzig, which while a fun little city is like a candle to the sun when compared to London.

Surely the draw of coming and playing in the #bestleagueintheworld, living in London and genuinely competing to the Premier League and the Champions League would be enough to get him to sign on for a paltry £100,000 a week or so. 

4 minutes ago, astraguy said:

selling Federico Fernández seems a massive mistake like Lejeune

Not sure how you come to this conclusion.  He barely played under Howe and we have signed two good centre halfs since.  We also have Watts coming back off an impressive loan spell. As back up I'd rather give him a chance.

I think you'd really start to see his age this season and him just not being able to physically cope with the league.

1 minute ago, The College Dropout said:

Yes it's not just black players obviously. It's literally a racial or ethnic thing - as you say we can easily think of others for a French winger, non-descript English CM etc.  That Atsu comparison was especially lazy. And jarring because it was used with another (semi lazy at the least - and i've made the same comparison based on football ability at the same age) comparison that painted the white English player in a positive light.That's all.

I don't know the origin or the original comparison (yes I know I could scroll back and find it, but I can't be arsed) but could it be because they both have occasionally turned out at left back?

However, separating this instance from your more general point, I also think that there are a lot of lazy comparisons drawn and race, ethnicity and nationality often play a big role in these.

26 minutes ago, kingxlnc said:

I think for Murphy, Almiron, Shelvey and Manquillo you could probably get there or thereabouts. The rest probably would be free transfers or on loan until the contracts run out. 
 

Almiron in particular is probably worth 20m in todays climate.

I have to salute the optimism.  First for saying that getting the top 6 with three, albeit very good signings, would be easy.  Then for thinking that collection of players would bring in anywhere near 30 million.  As others have pointed out I'd be surprised if we got over 10 million for Almiron.

I think people need to appreciate how hard the top 6 will be to crack.  It's like anything, to improve to a point, e.g. going from 14-8, can be relatively easy. However, to get those final improvements that change you from good to great you need to put in so much more to achieve seemingly minimal measurable improvements.

Anyone know how to get tickets to the Mainz game in the Newcastle section. There is no information on the club's website yet. I live in Germany and I'm planning on taking advantage of the 9€ travel card to get there from Düsseldorf where I live.

When he turned us down in January I thought that he had his head screwed on and was being very well advised as he was 19 years old, playing well in a league he knew and we were only 3 months on from the Ashley years and who knew what could have happened. We could have done a QPR or an Everton. 

Now I look at what Howe and his team have achieved and the signings we've made as well as the other footballing decisions, which have been so un-Newcastle in the best possible way, and I think he'd be very poorly advised to not sign. We're the perfect platform for him to go to the next level footballing wise and to set himself up financially for life (if he's not a total tool with money). 

3 hours ago, Nine said:

I think it was mainly down to our horrific injury record during that time that Nobby played RB as a needs must situation at first.

 

https://www.nufc.com/html/2006-07html/2007-03-18charlton-a.html The state of that team man, Duff at LB to

 

Edit: Against Pardews Charlton as well 

 

 

 

 

I saw that abomination of a game after braving London transport on a Sunday with a crippling hangover. Moore is Craig Moore no, a shite Aussie defender who we signed on the cheap. Had Parker started discoing in the centre of midfield by then? On paper him and Emre (racist little oik that he was) is a good pairing.

Just how left sided is he? Personally I'd prefer someone to replace Schar over replacing Burn. Burn and Targett struck up a really good understanding and Schar is quite injury prone. So I'd rather we spent big on a right sided centerback this window and a left sided next window.

John Beresford. I was always drawn to the less dramatic option and coming of football age in the early to mid 90s those flowing locks were hard to resist! I met him briefly at a corporate thing on a match day my dad was attending and scored me a free ticket too, in the early noughties at St James' Park (Chris Mort was chairman at the time and I met him too). We lost to Blackburn, but I'll never forget how star struck I felt seeing one of my 'Match' poster heros in real life. 

Have the links to that Monaco player, Benoît Badiashile all dried up?  Based on Denis Wise scouting he looked a much more impressive player.

This has got a wiff of Boumsong about it. I think we should walk away.  We really need someone with pace and that doesn't seem to be him.

Very pleased with this.  It's not just his price (which is a bargin) or his character but that we're not going to disrupt what was generally a very solid defensive unit. If we'd signed a new LB, a CB and had Trippier, that's essentially 3 out 4 'new' players in a back 4 and could have been disruptive.  Welcome back Sherminator.

I'm excited by this.  Particularly as he had the maturity and sense to turn us down in January.  It suggests he might have the head on his shoulders needed to succeed.

3 hours ago, The Prophet said:

 

Now this is one that I'd like us to look at.

Richarlson is in a similar bracket to ASM as in his value to his current club, both in terms of his on pitch performance and the symbolism wrapped up in him, means he would cost far more than he's worth. He'd definitely improve our team but we'd pay way over the odds to get him.

I'm all for this. I thought he look pretty good of late. The mini chipped through ball for Wilson that led to the second goal was very nice indeed. I seem to remember a statistic that also showed he's a very active presser of the ball (top 10% in the Premier League I think).

I'm going to pretend it's my head not my heart saying we'll win this.  

I do think playing at home will give us a huge lift and not of the feral sort that we had against Tottenham when we were first taken over. Our style at the moment suits this game with Arsenal needing to win and us being solid.  I can see the fans cheering every tackle like a goal and us hitting them at pace on the break when they are stretched.

Key to this is ASM, but he's obviously a liability due to his lack of tracking. So I'd be tempted to switch him and Alimiron so it's Almiron helping out Targett against Saka.

I really hope Trippier and Wilson are fit enough to start. A front three of ASM, Wilson and Almiron would cause most defences trouble and Arsenal have a few injuries.