Infinitely Content

My Sunday evening is immeasurably enhanced due to you sharing that fascinating information mate.

"if that doesn't hit her leg, that's a save with her leg"... what am I listening to?

If we changed our national anthem to Blake's Jerusalem all of England's woes and turmoil would vanish in an instant. It's perfect, and would surpass Russia's into top spot of the esteemed national anthem leaderboard.

Each to their own I suppose, I like how invested they are.

I'm enjoying how passionate and invested into the game the Singaporean crowd are like, even if heavily Arsenal-leaning. They're arguably better than your average Premier League crowd.

If to be believed, £30+5m is a fair offer like, but if we're not willing to pay £10-15m over the odds, we no longer have the luxury of time to be dealing with Premier League clubs who aren't willing sellers. And I don't blame them for not wanting to sell either tbf, they've every right to ask for £50m and stick to it. We currently have no striker to start with against Villa, so we can't wait for Brentford to blink late in the window, we need to go and put the money on the table for someone like Sesko if he's open to the move. We would likely be more willing to overpay slightly on him due to his age.

He's also spent his entire professional career in the Red Bull system meaning he's a high pressing machine and scores most of his goals from quick transitions.

Actually, I've just remembered how annoying it is that his name gets constantly mispronounced as Paque-tar, when it's actually Paque-tah. So it's a pass from me.

I think Paqueta is absolutely class like. If he's available for a reasonable fee and is cleared of the betting charges, I'd be disappointed if we didn't try to sign him. Would offer us a lot, genuine central midfield cover fitting our current system, whilst also being a genuine option in a 4231.

23 year old 6'4 Brazilian striker, product of the Athletico Paranaense academy, dad probably drives a taxi with number 9 on the side. Sign the fucker up.

I'm not seeing it with Elliot like. Where would he play in our team? Does he at all fit our team, he's a small, slow technical player. Not for me, and especially not in a part exchange deal with fucking Liverpool. Worst case scenario by far.

So are the club just sitting about meekly waiting for Liverpool to sell a few players to allow them to actually put in a bid? I truly hope we're not going to allow ourselves to be walked all over in that way. We have to be firm, set our price of £150-£160m, tell Isak he's categorically not leaving for less than it even if it means he has to train on his own for the coming season before being sold. It sounds spiteful, and I'd have slight concerns about how it makes the club appear to potential future signings, but we can't be that meek here. He's essentially downed-tools and shown a lack of respect, yet we remain in a position of strength and we can't be seen to have been taken advantage of. Not by any player, and especially not by Liverpool.

It's fucked Mike, we have to be close to perfect over a campaign and half kill our manager just to be in the conversation, only to then be knee-capped at a time when our achievements should unlock doors. Whilst the big six face no penalty at all for being absolutely shit at football. I don't think people outside of the Newcastle fanbase recognise the feat Eddie Howe has been achieving since he joined. Fuck Slot and the likes, they can't hold a candle to Eddie.

I just think us, Villa, Forest (and whoever else wakes up to the stark reality of the Premier League and recognises that the dream they have of one day being taken over by a wealthy owner and setting out to win the league is done) need to get motivated, mobilise and challenge. We might as well, nothing to lose.

I think the difference between Newcastle and Fulham, Bournemouth etc is that Newcastle have a better manager, better centre backs, better full backs, a better central midfield and better wingers, and, presently, a better striker. Better.

Obnoxious and in my opinion indulgent to the point of it being nauseous. Of course there's likely some semblance of contradiction present here as not many fans wouldn't be gleeful with their club signing 5 of the world's best players in a month or so, but the way they're using their embarrassment of riches as a vehicle to look down upon other clubs and attempt to gaude other fans is repellent. Something like the landed gentry riding through a council estate mocking it's inhabitants - which is ironic given it's Liverpool and the image they like to portray of themselves.

I'm not sure who does what to be honest, whether it's the same people still here or different, but an approach which was invariably bearing fruits has been departed from too soon imo. We ought to take a step back and readjust.

I think we do need to change our approach from what it's been this summer, however I don't think the only two options are the Brighton model or the most sought after names on the market. There's a space between those two which is occupied by the likes of Bruno, Isak, Botman, Elanga, Livramento etc. Our aim should be establishing and proving ourselves as the most attractive club in that market. Which we were doing before the departure this summer.

Is Ortega an upgrade on Pope? I'm not sure, I'd argue no. I think we wanted Trafford specifically, but not necessarily a goalkeeper this window as odd as that reads. Pope for the coming season is perfectly fine imo.

I think it's just wages, and I also believe it's up to us to make that an issue or a non-issue. Prestige, location and Howe aren't as big a deal as what we think, although it's made to appear so by our approach this window.

Is there genuine reason to believe Staveley may come back to the club in some capacity, or is it just theorising at this point? I think it's exactly what we need tbh, I get the impression even a highly competent director of some sort wouldn't have the advantage of being able to bridge the current gap between ownership and pitch. At least not as seamlessly as Amanda would.

Indeed, whilst I admire the boldness of our ambition to rival the top clubs for their targets such as the names you mentioned, ultimately it's failed and we would be far better off pursuing targets such as Sesko, talented, fairly high reputation players which others are hesitating on. We signed Botman, Isak and Bruno under those exact conditions.

Sounds like the ideal time for a club like us to sign him tbh, with interest from bigger clubs tempering due to slight underperformance. However, for now Isak remains a Newcastle player and still no bid has been made for him. Surely it can't be the case that we're waiting for Liverpool to sell 2-3 players to fund him. If they want him, they ought to bid, otherwise I'd begin to get the feeling Isak goes nowhere, whether he likes it or not. With knowledge that Isak will leave either now or in a year's time, we have to look after ourselves and if we view Sesko as having the potential take us forward, we ought to act now.

Sell on our terms if possible. Unless of course Isak has a change of heart and his mind settles over coming weeks, then I'd be delighted to see him play for us for another year. However, it feels unlikely now with him being away and separated from his team mates for the coming week or so at least. That will only lead to furthering the feeling of departure.