Kid Icarus

Thinking Burnley would have a stormer and Wolves would go down aside, some spot on, including my gut feeling on Tonali. others not too bad.

Us being where we are, 4 points off Spurs in 5th at this point is the achievement imo. 1 point if we beat Brighton, even better. If we won every game and they somehow managed to fuck up beating Burnley and Sheff United I think that would top anything I've seen from either of the North London bottlers. It would be unprecedented and I just can't see it. It's been an incredibly difficult, frustrating season but a remarkably successful one in the circumstances and one where we've still played some cracking football.

Spurs aren't getting the Champions League now.

A number 8 in a Howe-type set up.

I was 11 so my memory's hazy but I'd put money on it being because of his consistency. Our better players had highs and lows throughout the season. Funny how Ferdinand won PFA POTY but didn't win our own award though.

Feel like these lauded buy low sell high models always end badly eventually. Southampton, Leicester, Swansea come to mind and I could well see Brighton (and possibly Brentford) following the pattern.

No one else think it was another pen when Isak was disco hip bumped off the ball after his miss? I thought that's what VAR was checking for tbh, seemed obvious to me there was no encroachment.

I enjoy ripping on Man United and will always take every opportunity to do so on the forum of the club I support. He's a perfect fit for that club like. Arrogant and entitled, with the recent adage of having a public humiliation kink.

I think depending on the match he plays RW or where Longstaff plays. He's already really close to the player Howe would want him to be imo

MGW just seems too obvious and perfect in the way Maddison, Paqueta and others did.

Hold on, it was 17/18 I'm thinking of and it was 3 goals 6 assists, 2 and 8 (3 and 9 in all comps) was the season after.

Neither of them pens. Half his games were at left back as well. As reductive as ever, never change.

I really like him from what I see of him as a person and would love nothing more than for him to do well, so I'm not saying this to be an arse or owt, but I remember earlier in the season talking on here about stats not meaning everything in the context of how Ginola changed everything in 95/96 and for a few months was the best I've ever seen. I don't know how my brain made this connection, but think about how people think of Ginola's season in 95/96 and Longstaff's season this season and then look at this. Ginola 95/96: 5 goals Longstaff 23/24: 7 goals

He was instrumental in 18/19, 2 goals and 8 assists for a relegation battling team. This rewriting of his peak era with us is just daft.

Loads of them are, arguably all of them are, and some more than others. Yet for some reason Ritchie is singled out, then on the other side of the argument with the likes of Mark Gillespie it's 'best job in the world' or they're just not even brought up at all, it makes no sense.

Have you ever known him to come on when 1. There have been better players available and/or 2. The game hasn't already been wrapped up? That's why it's a 'who cares?' - if we were 1-0 down and he's coming on with better players on the bench, my reaction is nearer to yours, but because that's never happened it isn't. Ritchie coming on at all reflects our injury situation, same with Dummett. You're taking it too seriously and going hyperbolic imo, if I may say so something that's not uncommon with you once you've made your mind up and started spinning yourself a yarn about a player. I haven't made that switch from him being the personification of the triumph over adversity Rafa-era player (if you ever did) to the personification of the lowest form of ambition under Ashley, post Rafa. Admittedly I tuned out in the Bruce-era, but if life's taught me anything it's that success and ambition really are a personally motivated thing and we have no idea how he measures it, some it'll be money, others game time, others a settled family etc. We have no idea what Ritchie's is, but it's never once been obvious to me that his effort for the club has waned for whatever his motivation is. And again, I think we've gone through this before, but we really don't know just how much of an impact he has behind the scenes. I'm not advocating paying tens of thousands a week under FFP for a cheerleader long-term, we apparently had that with Alan Smith in 09-10 and I absolutely hated him, but I had to admit that if the players kept saying it (as they do with Ritchie) that it was probably a net positive not really worth kicking up a fuss over in the short term. Whatever you think of him, it seems that within the group he's seen as someone who is professional and keeps the standards high, even if it's only with his personality and not his own performances. He's over the hill, that's obvious, but I fucking loved him for a good few seasons and I don't think I'm alone on that one.

Me with the content after a satisfying win

Aye, I always get the feeling that he wants games put to bed as soon as we get the first.

Yes, excellent, again relative to our ceiling at the time, as were the likes of Rondon, Perez, Diame who weren't excellent in the grand scheme of things but were relative to our ceiling under the restrictions Ashley put on Rafa's side. For the second part, yes, but you could say that for loads of players in our squad, so not sure why Ritchie needs to be singled out when he contributed far more than most in that era, effectively putting in the performances that clinched our promotion and then clinched our survival.

Bollocks. He was excellent (relative to our ceiling) under Rafa in the PL. I don't believe in the 'servant' thing for any player tbh, but I wouldn't single him out for exclusion from it, they all should be when they're earning an annual wage every week.

Don't clap too loud lads, a funeral might break out.

Longstaff being on 7 goals makes me understand the links with McTominay a bit more now.

Even RTG would probably understand the reference

Get your hog out Eddie, you've earned it.