Happinesstan

Thinking about this a bit further. I know when he comes on as a sub he seems less effective than when he starts, But if we're winning the game and don't need him to be the matchwinner, he can be very effective at keeping the ball from the opposition, dragging us up the pitch and winning free-kicks. Like an over-qualified Gutierrez.

I've been that disenfranchised with football, for so long, I was going to recommend Charlie Mulgrew.

Signed by the hand of god.

I'd love that to be true, but the description in the video makes a specific claim that it was worn when the goal was scored. Of course, the catalogue might say different.

He's one that could have probably gone to a big club, and hit the heights. Not sure we should be the ones to give him one last chance. We've got ASM, with an extra 5 years, or so, left on the clock. I think ASM has a lot more ambition than Zaha ever demonstrated. All I seem to remember about Zaha was the appetite for a bigger contract, but I might be off the mark.

6 months and Bruce is, thankfully, a distant memory.

Aye. I just realised this is the relegationometer thread. I was referring to how people viewed our chances in individual games. My bad. Edited to add: And what we need in the transfer window. Somebody just hinted we need 18 new players FFS.

Because we needed him yesterday. In the summer we will have time to say no to any unreasonable demands. That impression shouldn;t last long. Edit: Also, will our response to the Botman and Carlos deals leave no impression?

People revise their opinions on a week to week basis, as if their opinion ladt week never existed. Last week we were confident of going to Spurs and nicking something, now we're afraid of Wolves coming to St. James' on a Friday night?

If there was any justice we would have been bottom 3 before we won 17 points from our last nine.

Need to return to "We're shit and we know we are" mode.

Calm down. We're obviously signing DCL for the Women's team.

As a footballer he will always be a legend. As a pundit he can get tae fuck. Nobody dreams of being a pundit.

Meh. It's one of those moments, like Danny Simpson against Arsenal, where a defender sniffs out a chance to win the game but gets it wrong.

Bookies don't set the odds based upon the likely result, they set the odds based upon what makes them money. Safe to assume a lot of gamblers think we're going to bounce back in this.

I think if Son had been with us for over two years he wouldn't have bothered with that cross on Sunday.

I hope so. I do think a lot is down to how much Maxi wants it. Trouble is, I think, he has so much confidence in his ability to beat his man, and rightly so, that he will most often make that decision. Actually, I think I'm mistaken. We know how much he wants it. He wants it. He doesn't revert to his strongest attribute out of laziness or lack of teamwork he does it because he wants to succeed, so much. Get quality around him and he'll be confident in his other options. Maybe. We've seen how he plays when Wilson is in the team.

What's our xG say? I get what you are saying, I'm just saying that we could maybe sacrifice some of those successful dribbles for a more collective effort, sometimes. I know Murphy and Fraser don't pull up any trees when they're on the pitch with ASM but in the period that we relied upon them we were probably at our best, collectively.

He's invaluable in a set-up like Bruce's and it wouldn't be that crazy to say he alone was responsible for every point gained under that set-up. It would be incorrect, obviously, but it wouldn't be crazy.

The second most successful dribbler in the league [by some distance] plays for a team that has scored more goals than us. Dribbling is a useful tool in a complete toolbox. Maxi's dribbling keeps the ball away from the opposition, limiting their scoring opportunities. Unfortunately it also keeps the ball away from his teammates. And yeah, I get that it is a small sample, but it's the only sample available.

In our run of 3 consecutive wins he played a total of 29 mins, we scored 6 goals. An average of 2 per game. In the remaining 27 games, [in which he has more or less played 90 mins, we have scored 27 goals, an average of... I don't need to tell you. I'm not getting on the lads back but it would seem that his successful dribble rate doesn't do much for our effectiveness as an attacking unit. Leeds have scored two more goals than us, also. But here's the interestong statistic, they've conceded 14 more than us. Proving [barely] that ASM is more effective for a manager like Bruce, than Howe.

We've lost 3 away games, two of which were against the 3rd and 4th place teams, and the other against a team that we weren't confident of beating at home two months ago. out of the total 270 minutes we've been disappointing for 45 of them. Calm the fuck down.

Think we'd have seen an entirely different player if Trippier had stayed fit.

He started the game looking a lot more like the player we all want to see. And we matched them for the first 40 mins. The whole team went to shit after that and there is no reason to pin that on Maxi. I've not given up on him becoming a more rounded player.

I must be thinking about the 0-4 in 13-14.