Kid Icarus

I agree that it's teamwork like, I just think it's a lot easier to play that way than it is to get on the ball and attack.

A couple that I really like.

It's much easier to defend than attack in my experience like. Teams like Stoke, Wigan, Bolton, Burnley etc weren't relatively successful with a team largely full of cloggers who got everyone behind the ball for nothing.

I don't go along at all with the idea that the hatred stems from them winning things mind. In fact that mindset, usually from their fans, is a big part of why I can't stand their stereotypical fans. If I hated teams that won I would have hated Arsenal in the late '90s and early '00s, but I thought they were absolutely class and I loved Wenger. Likewise I loved Barca from 08-14, but have never liked Real Madrid regardless of whether they're winning or losing. I've never liked Man United, Chelsea, Spurs likewise. Why? Because the running theme with all of those clubs is that their stereotypical fans - including all of the pundits who cover them - are unbearably arrogant. The insistence that no one likes them because they're big and successful just feeds into that even more

'scoring is the hardest thing to do in football' was one of my recent football pet hates. I really don't think it is, for me it's dribbling past defenders that know what they're doing when you can't just rely on pace.

madras is definitely right there like, it's not a scalp. It's enjoyable because no one who grew up in the '90s likes Man United and their fans, but our 3-3 home draw with Man City felt like a scalp even though we'd been 3-1 up, our 0-0 draw at Old Trafford was a good result, but nothing more.

Ironically it's exactly that sort of arrogance that makes it a self-fulfilling prophecy and means in the end, you're actually absolutely right.

Now put that 2 and 2 together...

You're basically saying what I'm saying - like for like and it's a different conversation to the one that we're having - about who is the most talented player in the Newcastle squad. Trippier is up there because there's no one on the same level as him or higher in our squad imo. If we were having the same conversation where he's still in a team with Suarez, Kane, Son, Modric, Dembele etc then the conversation would be totally different, but because we don't have players like that, Trippier is our elite.

Dunno if it's just a case of me getting older, or learning more, but as I've got older, the stuff beyond how good a player someone is beyond physical attributes takes on much more importance. The whole leadership, setting an example, being a positive role model stuff. Supporting Newcastle, it's usually been the case that players who have those qualities almost have them as a cover for not being a particularly good player. Smith, Butt, Ryan Taylor etc. Having someone like Trippier who's like that but also a really good footballer shines more of a light on how important those things actually are imo.

Yeah, you can easily disprove that concept by comparing Dani Alves with Marlon Harewood. Everyone has their own strengths and it's about the level you play at. It just so happens that at Newcastle rather than Athletico Madrid or Spurs, he's right up there.

Even if he's not the most talented footballer over say Bruno, he's near enough and his leadership and example setting put him at the top for me.

Think it's the exact opposite tbh. Now that he has to work in a system under Howe and he's working on being that type of player, he's gone too far with it, thrown the baby out with the bath water and he isn't using the main strength he's known for as much as he could and probably should be.

Each to their own like, but it's hard to present an argument to any of those things without it just being me saying that I think everything you've said is very, very wrong, really.

Not for me Jeff. Total waste of time and just another layer of confusion and arbitrary opinion on what is and isn't extreme that would end up in every decision being listened to.

His passing goes pretty unnoticed imo. He often picks it up on the left and plays a perfect through ball to Willock, Joelinton, and most recently against Wolves, Isak. Pretty weird to discount someone's best talent as well like. You may as well say that beyond goalscoring Haaland isn't particularly talented, it's meaningless.

We get that anyway, usually through the commentators, or eventually. Seems like a total waste of time and effort for what's barely a benefit.

I don't really get all of these calls for refs to be mic'd up tbh. I don't really have any interest in hearing them fuck up on top of watching them fuck up. Transparency and explanation doesn't correct a wrong decision, it changes nothing.

To me this is all the more reason not to make any rash decisions. I'm not sure what they're expecting Hodgson to do that they weren't already doing. Their run of games since January has been extremely unforgiving: Spurs, Chelsea, Man United, Us, Man United, Brighton, Brentford, Liverpool, Villa, Man City, Brighton, Arsenal. There's not a single match there where I'd expect them to pick up points, yet they drew with Man United, Us, Brighton, Brentford, and Liverpool and even through those matches are sitting top of that 12th to 20th clusterfuck.

A huge part of Grealish's game is carrying the ball, getting fouled and winning free kicks, something that was also a huge part of Jonas's game.

I don't think Vieira is incredible or anything, but the manager doesn't seem like the problem with Palace to me, with their squad I wouldn't expect them to be much higher than where they are with the way this season's panned out. It's not like they were in a terrible position either, every team below Villa's in exactly the same situation and really it's only West Ham, Leicester, and possibly Wolves where you can say they should definitely be doing better with the players they have.

Jesus Christ madras

He's a £100m player I don't think he's underrated like, you'd expect more than a better version of Jonas Guttierez for that money.

Keegan couldn't have possibly been vindicated more than with how Modric turned out like. That absolute chancer Jiminez telling one of the best midfielders of all time that he wasn't good enough.