Thumbheed

He's such a good player it seems a shame to limit him to one side of the pitch, especially with not having an overlapping full back who could open up space for him.

Switch to 4231, put Isak in behind Wilson and bring ASM on to mix things up. 

Joe and Bruno tighter together in the centre to stop Arsenal carving through us.

Absolutely no doubt he'll be a very good player for us.

There's only about 5-6 players in our entire squad who have come into the team hit the ground running and I see no reason why Gordon should be the exception to the other 20 odd players. 

I'm only gonna judge him on his qualities at the moment and he has a lot of exciting ingredients.

Honestly think having an orthodox winger in the team makes such a massive difference to how we play.

Goes without saying but it's his place to lose

Was absolutely convinced I wanted to see him in the number 8 role so he got in and around the box more, but seeing him play the number 6 role and dictate the game like he did today just makes me think that I might have it completely wrong.

Immaculate first touch btw

Based purely on YT I think I want Chukwueze more than Diaby, the guys looks electric. 

How have I not heard of him before

Still don't think he starts against Spurs. 

Burn's been pretty good for most the season and whilst he does have games where he'll be poor by the teams high standards, he's still not been consistently poor enough to warrant dropping. 

Great response.

42 minutes ago, Manxst said:

Don’t want to sound pedantic but he’s going to be 21 this June. Still young and learning though, yes.

 

*was 19 

This business about him being a cunt is a bit weird like. 

Gets the opportunity to play for the most prestigious club in his country and one of the biggest in the world and fans of Newcastle United get put out because he doesn't pick them? 

IIRC PSG came late to the party and were in the middle of a manager change so of course you'd hang around to see what they had to say. 

Totally agree his agent sounds like a cunt but the lads 19 years old ffs.

I'd still take him - just has the feel of every other players who's left PSG only to turn out class elsewhere. 

Furthermore, anyone Luis Campos has cast his eye on deserves a second look

Have we been linked with anyone new I can YouTube and become and experts on over the next 10 minutes?

9 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

Lee Clark kicked a bucket and John Beresford called the manager a cunt (lip read easily by the viewing public) when Keegan subbed them.  Players reacting badly to being subbed tactically is almost as old as tactical substitutions.  Gordon overreacted but the readings into his character - or Howe’s thinking - are stretching 

And did Keegan react the way you and others are doing; playing it down and attributing it to youth, passion and character or did he recognise it was a cuntish thing to do and acted as such? 

You don't disrespect the manager like that.

22 minutes ago, Kanji said:

There’s been nothing to suggest Gallagher could play as a 6; he had one class season at Palace and hasn’t done fuck all for Chelsea. 

Don't think anyone is suggesting he play number 6? 

But to the other point, I wouldn't pay attention to how he's performing in an underperforming side. We more than anyone else should know not to write off players based on their performances in a shite team

13 minutes ago, Oregon_Geordie said:

 

I'd rather Longstaff over Gallagher personally. Maybe I'm the mad one here. We're Top 3 he's as close to an ever present in that achievement... What I'm I missing?  If Longstaff adds Goals, which I think he will, theres not much more he can do. He's bossing midfield and sometimes the combination of players and how they play in unity is more important than just playing 'names'.  I'm not sure what more some of these lads can do, to stop being suggested as cannon fodder! 

Nah, he defo deserves his place in this team but I keep thinking about how he played when he was a number 6 and how one of the biggest things we missed when Bruno was out was how he could evade presses and open up the games and disrupt opposition shaoe with just a couple of touches, whereas Longstaff would usually play the way he faced meaning the opposition could keep their defensive shape. I think that ability is absolutely priceless as a midfielder and someone like Gallgher possess that quality as well as all the others Longstaff has in his armoury too. 

Tl;Dr: Gallagher can finish and evade press, Longstaff can't at the moment. 

1 minute ago, Dr.Spaceman said:

 

Gallagher's mint like.

 

I just think Longsgaff is perfect for Howe and his current tactical direction.

Aye, don't disagree. Much like Willock if he had that little bit more composure in front of goal there'd never be any talk of replacing him or selling him but should it happen I do think Gallagher would be a great option. 

38 minutes ago, Dr.Spaceman said:

Selling Longstaff makes zero sense. We'll never replace him with a like for like at any reasonable cost. He's actually good and a lot of people need to take a step back and realise his impact this season.

 

/Sean Lonstaff Fan Club

I've always been a fan of Longstaff but if we were to sell him and it wasn't to be Bruno to pick up his role, then I think someone like Gallagher would be a really good option in that number 8 role.

Probably the most accurate breakdown of our playing style I've seen from a neutral commentator. 

Yeh, he was definitely involved in some nice bits of play (although I felt that was partly down to West Ham downing tools by that point imo), but thought he turned back a fair bit when Id have exoected him to push forward and just wasn't as intense as I'd expect him to be considering he's not played much. Compare that to say Isak who came on as chased down everything as well as being positive with the ball anytime he had it, I just thought it was a good, but subdued performance from him.

Thought he had a really strange cameo appearance tonight- didn't do anything wrong per se, and was involved in a couple of good moves but he just doesn't seem as intense or as positive as I'd expect/hoped he'd be. 

Take back anything I've ever said about this lad, didn't think he'd have it in him to adapt but he's proving me wrong. 

Clearly learning to make better decisions and coupling that with a really good work rate too - just needs a goal or 2 to boost his confidence. 

Really pleased for him.

Still have to pinch myself that we've managed to sign a player of his calibre and reputation at this point in our journey when there's only about 10 players of his ilk out there. 

If he works on his composure in front of goal then he's a 10 goal a season midfielder.