Armchair Pundit

In fact...

I think they've scored 5+ in each of their last couple of league games haven't they?

Any chance we can blame the shit this season on Ashworth being an earworm to a few players in his build up to leaving? Maybe sewing some discontent and trying to turn heads?

What the hell? Why is Tino and Botman suddenly playing pants?

The fact we would only be 1-0 if it hadn't been for an unlucky deflection sounds tremendously flattering after how we played in that first half, we need to be more bruising with the noncey London wanks.

Results and performances like this, especially after last season, make me worry for Howe. It makes me wonder if Eddie struggles with alternate tactics and was more of a one-trick pony last year with the possession, pressing setup we had and it maybe having been been found out. I know we've had probably mitigating reasons for being poor earlier in the season, but is there an excuse now? We should really have started this match going in strong on Arsenal and not giving them the space/time on the ball, but we seem to have lost the motivation to play for each other and get at them.

Fucking hell, the Talkshite commentary are bumming this, cunts

Nothing more than bad luck there, shit happens

Anyone else having problems connecting to the commentary via the club website?

Would be hilarious if there was an actual controversial goal by us that got us something from the match, blubbing Arteta wouldn't be able to hold in his "It's a dissssgrace" whining ... sure the cheating fuckers will dive to glory though.

Interesting about toes previously being stepped on since Ashworth had come in and Howe/Nickson preferring to have more control over the recruitment side of things - could explain some of the issues around the more recent transfer windows.

Sure there was some mention of a continental candidate who's had lots of CL club experience, can't remember who it was though.

Anyone that chooses to jump ship from us is dead to me, I'll not thank them for work done or wish them well, they can fuck off and I hope their lives all fall down around them. ... bit harsh?

Not really seeing the draw of Man Utd these days to be honest. They're not the club the were years ago, their only benefit over us is the established revenue, other than that Radcliffe looks like a pauper next to our owners. Man Utd is rotten to the core, the players, the management, the co-owners and the fans, so it's going to take a lot more to get them built up again. I just can't see free reign or time being given to improve them or them being as exciting and interesting a prospect as us. Behind the scenes our non-playing staff and infrastructure is brand spanking new, like a newly assembled race car that needs tuning and improving on, whereas Man Utd is just a clapped out old banger that has a big name. ... of course, I could be a little biased... but I don't think so.

I get the feeling that some of those player's values are based more on what we paid for them and less on their actual ability. Then again, I've never been keen on 'market valuation' of players, because a lot of the time it should be down to whatever they're worth to the buying team - if a club is desperate enough and sees that player as a particular piece of their team jigsaw (and they have the money to spend), there's no reason 'market value' should be applied. Of the names listed there, I'd argue that Longstaff, Gordon and possibly Miley should all be priced higher.

That fucking ref man, blatantly trying his hardest to give Forest as much extra time as possible to get an equaliser, what a whopper!

Great, as if the rules aren't already too complicated and difficult for officials to apply!

I just don't see that any of it's truly fair, unless every team starts from the same point. Whether it's the current FFP model or the UEFA version, both fail us. https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-premier-league-ffp-rules-28577612

Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. The cynic in me could see a future where it would encourage the rest of the teams in the leagues to want to see the back of the protectionist elite so that they could do their own thing.

I mean c'mon, look how shit the last transfer window was across the board, how is that helping sell the product? I don't see how it's sustainable in creating 'The best, most watched league in the world', if anything it's going to push neutrals to watch leagues in other countries where FFP isn't a thing or certainly not as damaging.

I really, really hope that happens... I won't hold my breath though. The more I look at it, the more it seems the revenue guys behind all this protectionism are looking at concentrating on what money they can make from neutrals and fans of the established arsehole clubs. Fuck anyone else, it's a win for the Americans, just a short step to player drafts and their wanky NFL setup.

Hahaha, 'Spitting' Jamie Carragher whinging abut the Arsenal captain taking photos of the crowd after beating Liverpool, sounds like sour grapes to me

I agree with the sentiment in terms of price, but I think it's less of a 'class' thing and far more how society has changed. People of all classes are far more likely to be introverts these days, thanks largely to social media, the internet and recently (relatively speaking) lockdowns. I see it in recruiting all the time, the youngsters in particular have their faces glued to their phones or just don't have a clue how to socially interact in large groups.

At this point I'm thinking we need to cut the loan short of either Kuol or Minteh, we desperately need striking backup, there's no way Wilson will make it through three more full games and not come down with yet another long term injury. (Even a free agent might do a job, a 35yr old Diego Costa or 30yr old Conner Wickham... yeah, I've got my Football Manager head on )

Got to play Tino from the start next match, we're crying out for a more attack minded left back.