HaydnNUFC

4-2-3-1?

Quite literally shitting it: have had 2 nervous shits already. Fucking HOWAY THE LADS

We had 4 games like that. 6-2 and 3-2 in the PL, 4-3 and 2-2 in the Championship. The games weren't just mental because of the scorelines but they were all played at a ridiculous speed.

Fair enough. It's just the pace of the two, love rapid players.

Traore and ASM in the same team btw. Fucking hell. End product would be frustrating as fuck mind. But it'd be fun to watch.

I agree but I think at home under Howe we'll be strong as the ground has been waiting for this new era for years. Brentford was one of the best atmospheres for a 3pm kick off that I can remember, and we were only in front for like 70 seconds of the game. Since we came back up in 2017 we have won every trip away to Leicester aside from that abysmal 5-0 in 2019-20 where Hayden was sent off just before half time at 1-0. They leak almost as many goals as us. It's certainly a game we shouldn't fear. The only fear I have for the Burnley game is Howe's record against them. It's awful.

Need to just win. We'd have deservedly beaten Brentford had Darlow not been, well, Darlow. Dubravka back, same approach, we have to beat them. Simply just have to. We win this, the confidence will carry through to Burnley for another 3 points, then again to Leicester. Any less than 3 points and that confidence is nonexistent.

Personally can't make it tonight, gutted. Back for Burnley though. Absolutely shitting it already, we simply have to win.

Well he has played there and been largely fucking useless. Is it? I've tried to find some stats to back that up but can't. FWIW all 4 of Wilson's goals this season have come from 3 crosses from wide and 1 corner. The manager he's played 95%+ of his games for the club, yeah, I'm mentioning the time under him as when he played in the middle then he was shit. Just as shit, if not worse than the 3 games under Jones. Erm, I never said right/full backs didn't? The main reason I said that is because in games such as Chelsea this season, I would rather he was up against Ben Chilwell that game than having to try and get past Rudiger, Silva and/or Christensen in the middle. Yeah they might've doubled up but that would have made space in the centre for runners to carry us up the pitch which is why he needs to be out wide. Same with Southampton at home, Salisu was dealing with him easily in the middle. You'd rather he was up against Valery. He provides an out ball when wide. Starting him through the middle nullifies what he's good at, taking on full backs and carrying us up the pitch. In the middle he'll have the ball played to feet with his back to goal or have it hoofed up to his neck as on the ball barring Schar and Shelvey we don't have the quality on the ball in the rear 6 or 7.

That's from the following season. 2017-18 was where we lost 0-1 and were lambasted for it on Sky. That game is from 2018-19 where we beat them, on BT.

Think that's completely unfounded. He's been playing in the centre all season when Bruce was here and was largely ineffective. A lot of centre halves nowadays have the pace as well as the strength and positioning to compete with quick players, and ASM was useless in the middle against Brighton, Chelsea, Palace, Spurs, Wolves and Villa. Against Brentford he had his best game for quite a while because shock, he was played on the left. He got a hattrick of assists v Bournemouth in 19-20 on the left. He scored v Brentford coming in from the left. He drew defenders towards him out wide and out of the middle for a few of Willock's 8 in a row last season. He may well like playing in the middle but he is best utilised out wide, he done nothing under Bruce when in the middle to warrant being played in the middle. You play ASM, you take that risk with tracking the full back, just like you did when you play HBA, Robert, Ginola. The space he creates in the middle when pulling players out wide is what this side needs.

ASM is not effective in the centre, Bruce has been playing him there for a while now and has been largely ghosting. He's a winger, a very bloody good one. He draws 2, sometimes even 3 defenders towards him which creates space in the middle for Wilson and/or a late runner like Almiron in the #10 or Willock when he's on it.

True, but he has had a run of games there. And had his best output there too. Then Bruce changed it again for no fucking reason. We went to 4-4-1-1 v Burnley at home in 19/20 (the last home game before COVID hit) having spent all season playing 5-4-1. Then he had a run of scoring. In the spoiler are highlights of games where he's played in the #10. And what a shock, he scored in almost all of them. That last one v Southampton is the last time he played there.

If we win this we'll beat Burnley. Honestly, the relief of getting the first win coupled with the momentum and confidence it would bring to the players and fans will be enormous to the point where we'll go into that Burnley game full of confidence of getting another 3 points. That'll carry on to a game we should not fear at all away at Leicester. Fail to win and we won't have that, at all. We simply have to win this. Absolutely bricking it.

Think that might be because people don't really want to go down.

It largely went for us in 2019-20 when it first came in; 0-1 at Spurs where Harry Kane went down and didn't get a pen, Schar goal at home to Watford, Shelvey at Sheffield Utd away, never did we have afaik a marginal offside go against us in 19/20. Last season we got a few pens and in spite of the Liverpool away fiasco this season I do agree it seems to be going against us. West Ham pen, no pen and/or red card for Martinez at Villa, no pens at Arsenal on Saturday. Only thing we've got in our way was Leeds not getting a pen at SJP.

Had a stinker at home to Spurs in the same season, 3 of their goals were parried from Krul into the path of a Spurs player. What a grim fucking night that was

Depressingly Saudi bots already there in full force but still good to see.

Same tbh. Feel the only reason he's getting in the side is because he's the only fit left footed centre half we have. We need Dummett back like, as saddening as it is to say.

Him and Lejeune. Another stinking legacy of Lardarse.

I'd play him as the most advanced midfielder in a 3 tbh. Don't see him as a number 10 at all. Especially when we have one who has barely been played there in Almiron.

Aye. Posted about it before but pundits and fans alike have taken that game and have applied it to the entirety of Benitez' tenure here. It's bullshit. We had won 1 game in 10, not won at home since October, were a newly promoted side with a bulk of Championship quality players and were facing a side who had won 18 out of 19 games, drawing the other, and slapping sides left, right and centre. We stayed in the game and might've gotten something had; Aarons not had a chip cleared off the line by Otamendi in the first half, Gayle's header just being saved by Ederson or Gayle diving in the box instead of pulling the trigger late on. Same with the away game against them tbh: Murphy pulls it back to 2-1 with a while left, Diame then bulldozes into their box and has a powerful shot saved. It was hard to watch but it bore results, especially in 17-18. But because pundits on TV, the main ones, are only on for our games that involve the big 6 teams they only see us against the big 6 teams. They don't watch us play Southampton, Huddersfield, Burnley; sides that we saw the best football against. They take those game-plans against the top sides and think it was like that for the whole of Benitez' time here. Fuck off.

If he sticks with the 3-4-3 that worked v Brentford I'd go; Dubravka, Schar, Fernandez, Clark ( ), Fraser, Shelvey, Hayden, Lewis, Joelinton, Wilson, Maxi Could swap out Fraser for Manquillo tbh but that might be a tad too defensive. We're at home to Norwich City at the end of they day, we have to win. Murphy is an option too but he was one of the poorest overall v Brentford in what was a good team performance. Lewis needs to grasp this chance should he get it. I really like Joe Willock and think he will come good eventually but he may need to take a back seat for these games. We simply have to pick up 6 points in these 2 games and we can't afford any passengers or anyone that looks like being a passenger.

Bruce aside games against these used to be canny mental. 6-2, 3-2, 4-3, 2-2. Not just the scores but the games themselves were played at an outrageous speed.