YNGLEGIONNAIRE

Since it's inception, the GF movement has been a slow burner in terms of inspiring the return of the SJP atmosphere, but , along with the efforts of the Wor Hyem , their dogged persistence is showing real signs of working . The atmosphere during the Liverpool game would have struggled due to Liverpool's dominance of possession and the fallout from the disappointing Brighton performance. Full credit to the GF movement for sticking with this !

Early days , but the Rafa evolution is making sense in this league , vindicating his dogged insistence on perseverance with it in the Championship . Personally , I always thought we would see the necessity for Rafa's drilled methods once we stepped up to the big league . Exciting times to have such a respected and respectful man actually caring for this club.

NUFC need to find out from Serbia how they stop him from doing needless Red card offenses. They're a bit less lenient than us.... They shoot him

The end of season under this guy holds more interest than the actual competitive seasons have for such a long time under previous fraudsters

I reckon Pickford looked pretty average yesterday

Played better than we have for quite some time & should have won comfortably. Some desperate last ditch defending by Leeds denied us. We shouldn't be bitching about our team performance tonight mind

Agree 100%. This is the most enjoyable season we've had for so many years because even when it hasn't been great on the pitch we know we at last have a man in charge who sees the bigger picture and is sticking to a long term proven method .So even when we are a bit frustrated there's no traditional swell of unrest , he has our trust . I think the performance against Brighton was a great example of the players delivering on Rafa's game plan

The jocks will love his sh1t spouting accent

Sadly there's an audience where the crowd used to be

Even with Rafa in charge , should we go up , the Premier league is way beyond the capabilities of so much of this squad . It's sobering how we have continually huffed and puffed this season against some very mediocre opposition . So much change and investment is needed it's frightening .

Hope this is not the third manifestation... Embarrassed in the cup , p1ssed off in the transfer window ...... tonight??

Agreed..... But we're not at the top, just trying to get there , and this is a delicate balancing act , no point making signings at this stage that are not relevant to where we want to be. Townsend would be good in my eyes , but only if the deal being struck is sensible .

The summer was majorly about this season though , the Championship . From here on in it's about much more than that , so much more complicated .

Rafa has a plan . He needs certain types , certain qualities in players to make that plan work , especially if we make the Premier league. This season has shown how lacking we are in the right players so very careful investment is crucial. Rafa won't just accept any random token fingers crossed & hope for the best transfers , so it's probably harder to make things happen than it was with Alan , John & Stevie , who didn't have plans , so no " right fit " needed .

Is it not Rafa KNOWS what is required for his plan ..... as opposed to a Pardewesque hope that "x" can pull it off for me purchase

Periods like we've endured without Shelvey are painful , and tbh avoidable with a more radical shift in setting up our team , and losing like we did yesterday is probably the result of selecting too many fringe and "struggling to make it " players. But Rafa needs to learn about the merits of his charges and it'll be much more painful to do so if he waits until /if we go up . He has an unquestionable history of success with his methods . He's learning all the time about how gargantuan the task is here , and the shortcomings that exist here make it painful for us all at times..... and frustrating .

The size of his task to turn this club into anything like a reflection of his ideals is huge . Whether he is given the financial backing to do so is obviously debatable , but it's also obvious that the fans will need to be patient . Rafa's mantra is winning by control , and uniformity throughout his playing staff so as not to disrupt his blueprint . Alarming when recently we cannot adapt to losing one key player in the Championship . Worrying that we lost so heavily to a team from a lower league . Given time and the right support Rafa can reinvent this club , but we must be patient , there's a long way to go.

The Defoe factor is their only hope ...... But surely he must be totally demotivated now .

It has to be accepted that the modern day footballers' loyalties lie only with their bank balances . When he was with us during THAT season some of his displays were the only positives amongst the soup of dross we endured , and when Rafa was his motivator we saw his true potential unleashed . However ,throughout his whole period here it was his commitment on the pitch which was so different to so many around him.... He always seemed to give 110% whilst those around him just tossed it off . No brainer to me , if it's on bring him back .

I can't be the only one who sees it... Klopp / Vernon L Pinkley are one & the same in mind & body

Maybe the gamble that this squad can take us up absolutely must be taken , because Rafa knows that it is THEN that a drastic change of personnel , and thus major investment , is needed to enable his game plan to survive without looking utterly ineffective amongst the big boys . Realistically we know Rafa won't be working without some restrictions and he maybe realises he needs every last penny for the big upgrade needed if and when. Could be loanees if anything at all this window .

Especially when it's been so blatantly obviously recently how much the difference between us and the crap of the division is predicated on a few standout players. Hold on, are we serious now? That we wouldn't be near the top two positions without Gayle and Shelvey? Yes, I am. You'd have to be a mong of epic proportions not to see how reliant we are on those two to win football matches. Before you start with your guff, I'm well aware most sides wouldn't be the same without their best two players, but in this divison they probably didn't make a £32m profit in the last transfer window. We need to be getting stuff done and soon. I hope that this is way off the mark , but if this goes on much longer it smacks of an Ashley- type gamble of the gap between us & third being enough

Yeah , I think 99% of us realise what we have now is way beyond what we could ever have wished for in probably the most miserable period in this club's history as we experienced under the 3 previous incumbents . We all feel frustration at debatable decisions made by Rafa affecting results , but there can't be many amongst us who don't have total commitment and belief in his long term planning.

Game stats are showing that we are controlling and dominating games , but at the moment we are not turning this domination into wins , and this is against pretty impotent opposition. We are too ponderous , which does not allow us to always get the best out of a fairly potent striker . I do think Rafa is being a little too stubborn , choosing to drill his blueprint into the team relentlessly instead of tweaking here and there when the situation demands . Another worrying factor is momentum . We've certainly let a few teams around us gain this psychological advantage recently .