HaydnNUFC

'Twas. https://www.nufc.com/html/2006-07html/2006-08-19wigan-h.html

This is the first time we're going to kick off a season without Ashley since 2006-07. I was a few months from turning 6 year old. Coincidentally that's also the last time our first game of the season was a home Saturday 3pm fixture. 2-1 win v Wigan.

First time in the PL for me since was as excited since 2012-13 due to the success of the previous year. Was too young to care then that we'd added fuck all to the squad in preparation for the extra Europa League games. Hence why I included that Spurs game in my post on the last page.

They try and claim pretty much anything outside of Newcastle city centre and the suburbs in the west end in the North East is sunlun territory™ and any Newcastle fans from those areas are plastics who switched allegiances in 1992 when King Kev went knocking on doors handing out Sky dishes house to house in collaboration with the North Sea and a mysterious cabal of Tyneside businessmen. On top of that they'll try and argue the toss over what is in Newcastle and what makes people Geordies; the bridges over the Tyne? Nah all of them are in Gateshead apparently. From Shields or anywhere else in South Tyneside but you call yourself a Geordie? Nah you're not, you'd have been a red and whiter if it wasn't for Sky. Whatever makes them comfortable I suppose. They're a fanbase with the biggest inferiority complex in English football.

Didn't happen.

Arsenal away another one.

Some opening day/early season stuff. Transfer stuff is boring atm so here yous gan, get the excitement bubbling.

Neither is Paqueta.

I can see Wolves struggling a bit this season. Not relegation battling but lower midtable; only signed Nathan Collins, Jiminez out for the first month of the season at least, Chiquinho has tore his ACL and they were dogshit in the last couple of months of last season. Brighton still will have goalscoring issues given their lack of a striker, lost Bissouma and Cucurella. Think they'll be upper midtable though still. Palace look a pretty exciting side going forward tbf. Eze has had a good pre season, only lost 12 games last season though they did draw a lot. Top 10 push for them imo. Villa are a bit unknown, no idea how good Carlos is, I wanted us to get Kamara but they got him and they have good options in attack. Though other managers like Howe will have the better of Gerrard imo. Can see them top half though. Leicester are being underrated by a few on social media I think. They had many injuries last season; no Fofana, lost Evans, Vardy and Justin for a while and were in European competition all the way up to May yet they still finished 8th. Most of those injured players are back fit. This could obviously change if Maddison ends up here but as it stands right now I'd say they'd finish above us.

Palace likely won't take the full away allocation either so there'll be even more going on sale.

I read that as in it was his opinion rather than concrete info. And more or less hoping that Wilson gets injured first game is absolutely lifting patter.

He'd likely operate in the right half space, with Trippier and right sided CM offering the width in attack. He'd fit in there in the 4-3-3. On the team sheet, it’d say he's playing RW, but he’d be operating more centrally in the transition.

Craig Dope-y.

If he said that we need to go for Paqueta rather than a striker, then I'd think so.

He actually said this? What a terrible take.

Thought everyone else said it was £45m-£50m?

Hope was the only one saying our first bird was £35m, then second was £40m after never mentioning Maddison once before in any other pieces. If we're bidding for Maddison then I doubt £40m is all we have left.

Maddison is 4 years older than Fofana and has 2 years left on his contract as opposed to Fofana's 5(?). If they had to sell one, surely they'd sell Maddison.

TBF, he's had 30 leagues games without Bruce here last season, 1 goal 0 assists in those. I would though admit he'd probably be useful if Maddison is signed.