Kid Icarus

...it's blue

Nice trip down memory lane seeing him kick the shit out of that flag like.

Eh, how are Chelsea wearing a different kit?

To cover for having both full backs bombing on. When Liverpool used to do it they had Henderson/Wijnaldum/Fabinho covering. Full strength we could maybe do it, but our stand in 3 are struggling defensively enough as it is without having to cover for another full back.

Does Tino have recovery pace? I've never seen him as particularly fast.

We don't have the midfield to be able to do that though.

It's hard to tell for sure, against Villa it looked like a 5 with Burn tucked in, and against Luton more like a 3 with Livramento pushed up, but in both cases Trippier stopped getting forward. We can both agree that's not what you want Trippier to be doing. Even if we had a midfield that could cover, with Joelinton and/or Willock, you could have them both getting forward, but that side of the game isn't a strength of the 3 were having to rely on. I don't envy Howe. For all the calling for Livramento, there'll be other problems that come up by playing him. Maybe at some point he'll think it's worth trying out regardless.

His drop off play is decent enough like, it's the positioning when it goes wide he needs to work on. I think he will with time as well, he's a clever player

Him not squaring it to Gordon especially was shocking like.

It will, it'll mean the player with the most assists in the league is the one who sits back.

It's brought up all the time, but when Rodri is injured Man City don't win. For some it's a tactical limitation with Howe that we struggle with half the squad out though.

Honestly thought he gave us nearly everything Only complaint is the lack of yellow cards, but every time one of ours went down it was still given.

That hybrid RW/AM is the priority for me

I know what you're saying and agree, but I still don't think that applies to even the better teams right now. Arsenal have two #1s, Ortega at Man City is good with his feet, but after that the #2s aren't a #1-lite. Unless I'm missing any?

We already know for sure it means Trippier (most assists in the league) stays back as part of a 3. You can guarantee plenty haven't considered that and the impact that has on the linkes of Miggy and Longstaff like.

What happens when he plays Livramento and it doesn’t magically solve our (much bigger) midfield problems? Who you gonna blame then?

It's more that the people who are like "why does this keep happening!?" while surrounded by Newcastle players who are lying around like a scene from the Battle of the Somme are either wilfully blind or completely mental at this point. "But he keeps playing Dan Burn!"

If it's a deficiency, then outside of the Newcastle bubble it's one that nigh on every other club has.

Watch us go and draw against Arsenal now. I mean we won't but it's our style at the moment

First was unlucky but you can't ignore it, the second went through him and I thought a lot of his saves we're needlessly dramatic. First half he made 2 very good saves tbf.

Would have been absolute robbery if we'd won that. We're ridiculously volatile and if we're going to play like that we can't afford to have Miggy failing to square it twice when the opportunity comes. Dubravka at fault for both goals, but saved what looked like certain goals. I'm yet to see us play well against Bournemouth under Eddie. Even last season when we were class they were a bogie team and I'm growing to really dislike playing them. Dubravka: 4 Trippier: 6 Schär: 6 Botman: 6 Burn: 5 Longstaff: 5 Bruno: 7 Miley: 6.5 Almiron: 4 Gordon: 6.5 Barnes: 6 Murphy: 6 Livramento: 6 Ritchie: 6.5

2 huge opportunities messed up by Miggy ffs, inexcusable that.

We got a dodgy pen at home to Bournemouth last season as well

Thought that was offside tbqh

I always fall into the trap of thinking "how much different can it possibly be!?" ahead of us playing a non-striker up front. The answer, as always, is very different.