HaydnNUFC

I think he'll improve and he is unlucky not to have 2 assists against West Ham and Liverpool at home. Also don't blame him for today any more than any else in the side as they were all as shit as each other. But I didn't understand why we spent £40m on him and still don't.

Was arguably MOTM when moved back into midfield from the front 3 in the second half at Brentford. He was poor today but so were the other 10 players of ours. Almirón is far too easy to defend against especially against a team that sits off like Spurs probably will do though I may bring him back in for Gordon. I'd stick with Murphy on the other side assuming ASM is out though.

Even as an option off the bench he'd be incredibly useful. Almirón is predictable and Joelinton is best utilised in the midfield 3 instead of the front 3, we've looked disjointed or blunt in attack when he's in the front 3 not that it's directly his fault.

As daft as it sounds as he's the top scorer, Almirón and Joelinton for that matter as the wide men in the attacking 3 just looks blunt af. Praying that ASM is okay for this personally.

Besides the fact that his changes and tweaking of the formation away at Brentford won us the game. Aye, not flexible imo.

Don't think it's a case of fitness. He was just as shite as the other 10 on the pitch.

Howe and this squad deserve more than the benefit of the doubt for today but that was vile. Outplayed in every single department.

We deserve absolutely nothing from this. Been utterly lifting all afternoon.

Well that was abysmal.

Awful start.

HTL, 3 points please.

Him and Bruno have got their hair bleached again. It's over for Villa.

I've watched 2 Feyenoord Europa League games now, v Lazio and Roma, and the atmosphere at that ground is phenomenal. If we get them in a European game either next season or in future I'll be absolutely desperate to go. But the quality of both games has been fairly lifting. Almost Championship standard.

El Shaarawy's crossing is pitiful. Set piece and open play. No quality in this, like.

No away fans there? Shan.

I can't see us signing a full on attacking LB akin to Trippier. Don't get me wrong, Burn needs to be upgraded in the summer, but in our 4-3-3 the LB drops alongside the CBs into a 3 to aid in build up whilst the RB (Trippier) bombs forward. I can't see that changing in the short-medium term. Especially next season. Be a more defensively sound LB I think that's brought in, if we bring one in. Know absolutely nowt about that Grimaldo, if he's along those lines then fair. A Burn upgrade, a CM, a RW who can play up front if needed and a young right sided CB is what we need most of all in the summer. I've seen many in the media make comparisons to how we play and how are as a team atm to earlyish Klopp Liverpool, circa 2016-17. They weren't in any European football in 2016-17 and were 2nd at the end of December, but when Mane went to the AFCON in January they won 1 in 7 as he was of similar importance to them as Bruno is to us hence our dip in form in February when he was suspended. He came back and they replicated their early season form and finished 4th. With CL football the following season, they made 4 summer signings; Salah, Robertson, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Solanke. Van Dijk came in in January. An overhaul or padding out of the squad won't happen in the summer but smart business like Liverpool did back then is what'll be required and what I think will happen.

Don't want him sold at all but he's already missed 9 games this season, if he's out for 4-6 weeks that could see him not being available for a total of 17(!) games this season. That's just a joke.

Maybe but that's down to the 'look at the top line/results, fuck the context' method of analysis and punditry that plagues this country. Bruce took over Benitez' team that was playing nice stuff at the back end of 2018-19 and despite losing Rondon and Perez had added £65m worth of talent to it in ASM, Joelinton, Krafth and Willems on loan. Those first 7 games were embarrassing from a tactical perspective and he reverted to using a 5-4-1 after we got annihilated at Leicester which was a lot less nicer on the eye than the 3-4-3 we were using at the back end of 2018-19. That 5-4-1 was reeling from the benefits of Benitez' coaching and from October-December we were picking up results. Then injuries, rushing players back etc saw us bring in 3 loans: Bentaleb, Rose, Lazaro. Bentaleb was atrocious, Rose meh and Lazaro the best of the trio who also got played the least. We limp past two League One teams via replays in the FA Cup before West Brom away which for the first 50 minutes was probably the best we played under Bruce pre COVID. He then intervened with his wank substitutions, conceded twice late on and end up hanging on at the end before having a fucking giggle about it, "this job should come with a health warning", so you fat gormless globule, its your shite game management that sees us hanging on you fucking clueless bastard. The last game pre COVID was the win away at Southampton which practically saw us safe. Post lockdown we were a total shambles, two wins against Sheffield United and Bournemouth aside the rest of that season and the whole of 2020-21 was the most miserable I've been as a Newcastle fan since the second half of 2013-14. Bruce consistently patronised the fans, talked down, embarrassed the club and got away with it due to the lack of crowds. ASM and Willock saved him post March.

Which he will get. He's 4 away as it is.

McFaul had 34.9% win rate from 149 games, Bruce has a 28.9% win rate in 97 games. McFaul also had his best players, Beardsley and then Gascoigne, sold by the board to either build stands or service club debt. With the exception of that being the tragic summer window of 1988-89 which resulted in us finishing bottom. Me fatha thinks that McFaul maybe could've turned that season around had we not sacked him and been flapping for a manager for months as we were traditionally slow starters under him. Suggett was the caretaker during that manager search before we ended up with Jim Smith.