HaydnNUFC

Had exactly the same mentality at Bournemouth when keeping them up from going down from League 2.

You could argue it's the only place that we didn't strengthen in January. We just desperately needed a body to be ready for what was a huge game against Watford to play up front and went for Wood. He'll talk him up in the press as a manager would but you'd think he knows we have to be getting better for next season.

We have Palace, Wolves and Leicester all to play at home still. Wolves have lost 3 of their last 5, Leicester are having a poor season by their standards and Palace aren't great shakes. I can see us being more or less safe by full time away at Norwich tbh. Would be 12 points left to play for by then and can see us being around that margin clear of 18th by then. Burnley can be a break glass in case of emergency fixture.

Forgot about that one.

Hopefully the break clears the players' minds and we're able to get a couple back too. Would take a point but would have to graft our bollocks off to get it. https://youtu.be/2jhncL-h_f8?t=519 https://www.premierleague.com/video/single/651663?TAG=On this Day

Gayle lost a big chunk of his pace after his muscle injuries in early 2017. He's now 5 years older and has proven throughout his career he's not a PL level goalscorer. Wood is incredibly poor and if he's near any PL matchday squads next season then something will have gone very wrong in the summer. Stay up, sell him. And sell Gayle too.

We'll get the points we need from one of or both of Wolves and Leicester, Norwich and Burnley. Maybe Arsenal as well, depending on what the top 4 is looking like.

It was an off day/night tonight. All teams have those games where both sides aren't clicking and one moment pinches 3 points: we did it against Villa at home and away at Leeds. Everton did it against us tonight. Nowt to do with tactical setups, it's just the players don't click. But aye questions on ASM for me. We've brought him on 2 games running at 0-0; one where we looked solid and the other in control without really creating much and in both we've gotten worse as a result. Why is that? And in both nothing he tries came off. Can't even count drawing a red card as it wasn't a red.

As naff as that performance from the team was in the 2nd half, he just oozes quality. Where he is in the midfield 3 is fine, he does need another progressive passer next to him though. A lot of our transitional passes and attempts to break the Everton lines all went through him and no player will get every single pass right. Even still, the players he's passing to aren't often going to do the business such was the lack of quality tonight.

Yep. Is not a winger and never has been, should play as a 10 or not at all. Showing up our lack of strength in depth.

Only him and Bruno have the vision to progress the ball efficiently with passes. Both need to start, especially in games where we have most of the ball.

Massively missing the likes of Wilson and Trippier. Probably Shelvey too tbh, Bruno was the only one in that midfield 3 with an eye for a pass. And I'm one who loves Joelinton and Willock. It's also signs of fatigue, 3 away games in a week. Its also signs that our squad depth and options beyond our first XI when all fully fit are really poor and plenty need upgrading on and moved on in the summer. Krafth, Almiron, Murphy etc. Questions being posed on ASM's role in the team too now. Either start him or don't play him for me.

2 games on the bounce where we've brought him on at 0-0 and we look worse as a team.

Dreadful 2nd half. Created nothing against a wank defence. Should've taken advantage in the 1st half. Not taking advantage of a man advantage with that many minutes left is fucking awful.

Should be ahead, need to take advantage of the fact Everton are fucking wank.

If we get an early goal and be as tight as we have in the last 10 games, we'll win this. If we go 2 up I can see their crowd turning, lots of bewwws. Refreshing going into this kind of expecting a result, a night game away at Everton was where we used to serve up our worst performance of the season before our promotion in 2017.

Aye. The sentiment seems to have been in our fanbase for years. Reminds of some outrageous Pardew (iirc) quote on HBA after scoring a ridiculous goal, paraphrasing a bit but "he can do that every week, if he doesn't track back he doesn't get in my team". A lot of the yer das in our fanbase still have that view of players like ASM. Was probably the same in the 90s with Ginola and early 00s with Robert. Was with HBA too.

You take the rough with the smooth with players like ASM, HBA, Robert and Ginola. You take the risk of them 'looking lazy' because of their individual brilliance they can conjure or they can terrify the opposition when they're on it. Newcastle fans seem to have this quasi fantasy of a player who has ASM, Robert et al's ability but constantly sprint back and forth and do defensive work, have 110% work rate et cetera. Weird.

Given that everyone's reminiscing about their first games etc, prepare to feel old. My first game was Mansfield Town at home, FA Cup 3rd Round 2006. Shearer scored the winner, 1-0 with 10 minutes to go. Barely remember much of the game, but my dad's old seat was in the Milburn in line with the Gallowgate 18 yard line, but do remember the goal. Incredibly scrappy iirc. That goal equalled Shearer with Milburn I think also. Next game I went to which I do remember more about was the UEFA Cup game against AZ Alkmaar. Little did I know though then as a newly turned 6 year old how shit conceding away goals in European ties is. Then got my first season ticket for 2007-08. Probably for the best but I don't remember many of the games aside from Keegan's first one back because of the furore in the run up to the game. I didn't get as obsessive about football and NUFC like I am now though until around 2010ish. Loved Chris Hughton, remember being absolutely devastated when he was sacked. Brought home early from school due to the snow from that mad winter in late 2010 and seeing on SSN that he'd been sacked, me dad spitting feathers about Pardew replacing. "Alan Pardew, really?" Started doing aways and insisted on never missing games around 2013ish and have been a completely staunch obsessed Newcastle fan since, though the window between Benitez leaving and the end of lockdown, behind closed doors football seriously tested my resolve. Now, I've chosen to do my master's at Newcastle University. Why? To follow and support Newcastle United, of course. The MA is important too, mind.

Man Utd were poor but fuck me, absolutely dreadful refereeing tonight.

Was Guardiola asked about Man City's owners tonight? Or was it all about the NAIL BITING TITLE RACE, ALL LIVE EXCLUSIVELY ON SKY SPORTS. SUBSCRIBE NOW.

Don't know how they can be forced to sell unless government sanctions are placed on NUFC a la Chelsea. The UAE and KSA are in a military coalition also, so if they place sanctions due to Yemen that gives them another problem in Manchester City. Even still, all I wanted was Ashley out. If PIF have sanctions placed upon them and they are forced to sell then fair enough but until then, who knows.

Probably be just a fine if anything. Should investigate PGMOL's officials tbh. Wankers.

By the finest of margins, after we were told all summer that 'level' was coming back. But that's evened out for me given Watkins' offside against us at SJP. The penalties though, haven't. They just aren't being checked. West Ham's pen v us at SJP, Schar getting nothing at Arsenal, Leicester's pen against us, Fraser getting nothing against Man City, ASM getting nothing at Leeds and now that bollocks yesterday. We've had 1 penalty all season for the most blatant handball that was checked for over 2 minutes.

I see that Lampard went to a back 3 yesterday v Wolves, dunno if Kenny getting sent off will change that against us.