Shadow Puppets

Everytime I think of Thursday I get that nervous feeling in my guts.

Howe has already said we’re aiming for 9 points, so let’s just fucking go for it. A draw against Brighton doesn’t really help us all that much… we’d likely still need two wins.

Well why don’t you think positively. If the fanbase walk into St James’ with an air of negativity on Thursday night, then we’ll suffer as a result.

Some spectacular negativity on this forum like… it’s depressing as fuck. You all need to get your confidence up. I pray the players and staff aren’t as defeatist as you. You’re acting as if we’ve had a major drop off in form. We gave Arsenal a good game and on another day would have come away with something, and Leeds was a very tough away game against an emboldened team trying to beat the drop…and we were still only a deflected goal away from winning it. We have it all in our own hands… we are more than capable of beating Brighton, Leicester and Chelsea. People writing off the Brighton game as if it’s maximum 1 point… it will be a hard game but we are absolutely capable of controlling a game like that. It will be one of the tougher games at SJP for sure, but it’s absolutely doable, especially with the atmosphere…under the lights. Leicester is absolutely winnable (if we don’t we don’t deserve it), and Chelsea is also a winnable game. Focus on positivity. We can do this in the next 7 days. We just need to stick together and make SJP an absolute fortress!

They can win all the games they want, providing Liverpool lose tonight and Brighton lose on Thursday.

But it pretty much is a must-win, no? (Unless Leicester get something tonight)

That last header may very well be in my Top 3 NUFC goals of all time. Absolutely love the air time he gets. Remember watching the highlights at my grandads house when I was about 12.

3 MIGHT be enough, but 4 would seal it.

One thing that everyone seems to forget... Brighton yesterday were playing at a very flat Arsenal... atmosphere dreadful on the back of them seeing City beat Everton 30 mins earlier etc. Thursday night will be a cauldron of noise and flags and scarves and backing from the crowd as we push for our best finish for 20 years. It's uncomfortable for even the best sides (City, Arsenal). We can absolutely help pull the players through ? Nobody should be going into Thursday with any fear or dissent... full backing... pride... vocal support... we can absolutely do this! Brighton, of course, are a good team... but we are better.

I'm a massive Leicester fan today like! Putting positive thoughts into the atmosphere in the hope of a shock result!

Pointing at the odd moment in a game isn’t really showing any trend though is it. There are always two teams in a game and depending on tactics, atmosphere, player form different things can happen. People seem to forget that.

It’s only been two games to be fair. Our downturn in form, if you want to call it a downturn has been TWO games. It feels worse than that because of the amount of games Liverpool have played and won in that timeframe. I don’t think our last two performances warrant the panic some people are displaying on this forum, but I was also ALWAYS adamant that we were in no way guaranteed top 4 a few weeks ago. There are no games in the PL that you can really guarantee anything in in the last few weeks. We might lose to Brighton, beat Leicester and then pull off a win at Chelsea for all we know. I’m still confident we can do it (about 80% certain we can), but I’ve never been in the camp that thought it was basically done weeks ago.

Murphy has a tight groin… Howe said so after the game.

I thought he was only actually starting after the seasons finished though?

Eddie said he had a tightness in his groin so didn’t want to use him unless absolutely necessary.

We, as much as anyone, should understand what a huge atmosphere / crowd backing can do to both the home team and away team. Look at how our atmosphere has affected Man City, Man Utd, Spurs etc this season, and raised us up even higher. It shouldn’t come as any surprise at all that Leeds away was far more difficult than some fans thought it would.

There are literally no easy games in the PL. Everton away wasn’t east either but we managed to overcome that early pressure. I’m surprised anyone thinks Leeds away would be easy.

After cooling down after the match, I actually feel a bit better about it. It’s all in our hands, we needed 7 points and we’ve got one of them in what was a very very tricky away game… one that had banana skin written all over it. Win 2 out of the last 3 and it’s 100% ours, and there’s still the possibility of Leicester or Villa springing a surprise. It’s crazy towards the end of the season and anything can happen. I’m weirdly feeling ok… think two massive nights at St James’ under the lights are what this team thrives in.

So many bottlers in the fan base. That performance today is EXACTLY what I expected going into a game with a team desperate for a result, in a hostile atmosphere, and with a new manager. Why do people seem to forget it isn’t always about the game we’re trying to play… so many factors go into a result and performance. Look at the positives. 1) We’re 1 point closer to where we need to be. 2) We have two home games in a row where we can confirm our destiny. 3) Liverpool have the potential to slip up twice this week, and if they do even once we can confirm it by Thursday night. Lastly, it helps absolutely no one for stupid fans (you know who you are) calling the players bottlers. They’ve got us into a position where they are two wins away from guaranteeing Champions League football. Today’s performance wasn’t the norm, it was a battling display against another team fighting for their lives. The players and manager have been phenomenal this season and stupid reactions don’t help anyone at all.

You guys are fucking hilarious. Anyone with an ounce of common sense could see that that was always going to be a horribly difficult game. Apart from an awful opening 25 mins, we were dogged, had plenty of positive play, but just couldn’t get the winner. Very unlucky with their equaliser. People seem to forget there are two teams playing… it’s not just about us… it’s also about a Leeds team absolutely fighting for their lives.

Yes he did. He trained one day, but couldn't get his boot on the following day.

Craig Hope in completely made-up shocker!

The most blatant NON penalty I’ve ever seen. How the hell do the commentators think that was a stonewaller.

No. (And I can say that from the horses mouth)

So come on then, is he injured or not?