HaydnNUFC

A better metric to look at for creative players especially in teams like ours for stat nerds is shot creating actions per 90, rather than assists.

We tried before Arsenal away too as trains were fucked by a storm then and that game was also on BT and we were told to fuck off.

Could say that about every single player we've had since then until the takeover though tbf. He's a useful, likeable player when utilised correctly but the system we play doesn't allow that which is fine, we move on.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/11182061/west-ham-2-3-newcastle-magpies-end-nine-game-winless-run-to-move-out-of-relegation-zone

Disagree with this, like. He had his best games for us in terms of output in 2019-20 under Bruce. He was probably second fiddle to ASM in terms of our most effective attacking threat once he scored his first goal against Palace. 2020-21 is where it started getting bizarre, formational change after formational change, had his best game at home to Southampton after Jones had come in but we have never played him in a #10 since that game. He scored twice and covered a ridiculous amounts of ground. He doesn't fit into Howe's 4-3-3 and that's no fault of his. I do still have a soft spot for him and think he's useful when played as a #10, but he needs to either play in that 10 or not at all. So I'd cash in in the summer as much as it pains me to say.

That's an international break weekend. No chance of it being moved for TV given that the TV picks for March were announced a few weeks ago. It'll either be on the 19th should they lose at home to Stoke in the FA Cup or a midweek date in April or May.

"Pardhowe"

Dortmund are so average without Haaland.

Arsenal moved to the Emirates to "compete with Bayern Munich". They can't fill it. Man City, with the team, manager and recent years they've had still can't fill their 54,000 stadium and that's with ADUG having the same aims as PIF. The atmospheres at both are shit. I'd rather we stay at SJP if expansion is possible and hold tickets back for general sale as is legally required but also for schools/kids. A soulless library like bowl stadium is not something I'd like to mull purely to have a few thousand extra seats which we're not even guaranteed to sell for every game. SJP with an expanded Gallowgate would be fine.

I love SJP. The club has played there since its inception and countless generations of supporters have watched us play at that same patch of grass for years. I don't want us to move. If you asked an Arsenal fan, Man City fan, Spurs fan or maybe even a Brentford fan if they preferred Highbury, Maine Road, White Hart Lane or Griffin Park respectively I think we all know what they would choose. Still, Arsenal can't fill the Emirates despite what their attendances claim. Same with Man City and recently Spurs. Is moving away and demolishing part of the original fibres this club was built on worth it for an extra few thousand seats and a diluted atmosphere? I don't think it is. Would we even fill a 70k stadium? Maybe for when the big 6 sides visit but not when we play Norwich or Burnley at home on a Tuesday night. We didn't sell out those exact fixtures this season and both were post takeover. I'd possibly entertain the idea of the 1997 Castle Leazes plans but if its far out of the city centre then fuck it off. I'd rather we look for ways to expand SJP whether that's expanding the Gallowgate or other means and modernise it. Get the concourses proper modern a la Spurs but bring in local food and stuff like Wylam or Tyne Bank beer. Give the Platinum Club a proper modern sports bar like appearance and added benefits of sitting there. Stuff like that.

Take it this chant won't take off now, then.

Can existing ST holders buy another one under their name? Probably not. If it is just a general sale scramble, what would increase your chances, going online or camping outside the box office?

In regards to Howe being the right guy in the future, I think a reason to be excited (or more anxious if that's your mindset) is that this is a first for him. No disrespect meant to Bournemouth or Burnley but we are the biggest club he's managed and he's never had this kind of money to work with before. At Bournemouth there was always a ceiling given the size of that club and they were never going to be PL mainstays as a result, so his achievements there is even more elevated in my view. It's going to be down to his team building and his coaching ability to take us into what he wants us to be which coincides with a rise in the table which is a brilliant challenge for us as fans and for him as a manager. I've already been impressed with the business he's done in January. I know Wood will have an asterisk for many but all signings improve us and I never thought we'd get a player like Bruno when we were sat in 18th or whatever it was. What also bodes well is after the signing of Bruno, Howe said that he's improved his knowledge of European markets, football and players as he's gotten further in his career which should also be a good sign. In his last season at Bournemouth he brought in Danjuma and Diego Rico, the former of whom is playing Champions League football rn. Jefferson Lerma before that. Ties in with his coaching trips to Spain before getting the job here and also I think the chases of Diego Carlos and Botman were partly Howe too. All good signings that bode well for the future. He has my full backing and I can't wait to see what he can do with us once/should we stay up.

It's £8 a pint as well.

Probably, but I think we'll win more than 3 games from now to the end of the season. Teams will not want to come to SJP now and we're yet to see how effective or sound we are away from home post-January.

Nah, fuck them. Hope they rot. Only time I hope we play them from now is when we draw them in a cup when we have an unreal side and pummel them into oblivion.

PSG v Real is dreadful. As are Man Utd.

When would new season tickets go on sale? Also do existing season ticket holders/members get the chance to buy another one before everyone else similarly to normal home tickets? Desperate to get my seat back next to me fatha, didn't renew for 2019-20 due to both uni and Rafa leaving. No one has bought it up to now as I've been paying for my old seat for almost each game individually. Saved up and held back money from my 21st for it, it was around 800 quid at the start of this season.

Aye, canny that. Under Howe he's been putting in consistent solid performances and doing the donkey work game after game which he only ever seemed to do once every 10 games or so under previous managers. Covering ground, getting stuck in defensively and everyone knows he has an eye for a pass that splits opposition lines. Glad he's now looking for those kinds of passes rather than the 70 yard diagonals once he picks the ball up in front of the CBs before they split. No coincidence that all of these improvements; Shelvey, Willock, Joelinton, some of our CBs and our general play have all improved under Howe.

Probably be back after the next international break so for Spurs away on the 2nd April.

He is completely ineffective in the middle and it hurts the team when he plays there too; when he's out wide he drags players out to him, the opposition full back plus one go to close him down as teams double up on him or even at times triple up on him. In the middle he has fewer time and space to receive the ball and it's more difficult to beat players through the middle unless it's a counterattack. He played there under Bruce and Jones and has largely ghosted as a result.

He was really good on Sunday, arguably his best performance under Howe. Was great at Leeds too. Good to see. I'd be happy to see him given another 2 years. Also love that interview just before Howe's first game. He hated Bruce. Not just his expression when the question was asked but when he says "I was at times surprised not to be in the first 11, I've over 70 caps for my country". Fucking Bruce man. Odious cunt.

But he doesn't track back!

Howe has planned to ease him in and that decision has been a good one. We've won both games in which he's been on the bench. He'll come into the side eventually, can see it being at West Ham tbh, we've yet to have an away fixture with him available. Will help us look after the ball a lot more.