Dr Jinx

It’s quite simple, we get top 4, we skip a few years of financial development. Revenues certainly increase significantly but are we ready for that extra workload in terms of club infrastructure? I’m not so sure. Can just as easily see Dan Ashworth with a message of stick to the plan, regardless of how well it’s going on the pitch. Are we in danger of falling off a cliff? Absolutely not. Is top 4 guaranteed? Nope, but that was probably never in the plan for this year anyway. I don’t think adding in a couple of players is going to suddenly make us title contenders. I don’t think that was our strategy in any case, the plan has always been to build the infrastructure for sustained success through youth development and top notch facilities. We have neither in place yet.

Ian Cathro was there for a spell

Almost as entertaining watching the post match meltdowns from several sets of fans.. they are so triggered right now ☺️ Only one thing comes to mind..

We played well and I suppose it’s a mark of how far we’ve come that I’m disappointed we didn’t assert ourselves more in the game. We were a little lightweight in midfield. I was constantly frustrated that we just stood off Partey, we didn’t have anyone in the middle who could mix it there. Other slight (and I mean almost minuscule) concerns are Almiron possibly coming off the boil, only 2 games but he was fairly ineffective in both. Isak coming back might be well timed.. but also Wilson not looking great either. A top class defensive midfielder would add so much to us.

Think both club and player expected him to feature more. I don’t think there’s anything in this other than the club protecting him from being wasted like that. I’d expect him to be given an opportunity somewhere else this month. The last few pages of this thread have been aids to be honest. This man was part of the team we were massively proud of last season, he saved us on many occasions. Sure we seem to have upgraded, but that’s no licence to start being snidey cunts about. He would have gone there thinking if De Gea had a blip that he’d have gotten in there. I have no issue with that. It didn’t work out for him, it’s zero to gloat about.

If it goes our way, in certain positions man for man we’ll get stuck into them for sure and have success. It’ll trigger memories of last season when they effectively blew champions league football and they’ll start looking at one another in that sort of frustrated “you’re letting us down” type thing. A quiet dressing room at half time and then disharmony within the squad for the first time all season. A bad jolt. If they beat us I think they have a great chance to go on but this game will be a turning point in one way or another.

I don’t think our game plan was to go end to end with a fit Leeds side who press effectively. We got suckered into it from the start pretty much and although we were dominant in the second half, we were naive. We can blame the ref all we want for the stoppage time but of the 4 minutes added, 1 was wasted by Murphy with some spat and then the other 3 because of Wilson shoving their keeper. Dumb. We shouldn’t need the stoppage time though and in this game we could easily have been up if we took chances. Massively frustrating.

Honestly I think we could get by with what we have for rest of season. It’s gonna be a catch 22, don’t strengthen and we miss out on top 4 it’ll be woulda shoulda coulda.. invest and then people will say we’ve diminished our summer plans or that we probably would have done it either way. I think the fastest route to beat the FFP thing is to get CL money in as soon as we can, and for that reason I think we spend. But where? It’s hard to even nail down an area that we’re weak in because we haven’t been able to play our “strongest side” all season.

Viana did start well but he dislocated his shoulder and had to have it pinned and then again a 2nd time. He came back a shadow of what he had been and he basically just didn’t show the heart to succeed. Silky player though who easily could have been better here had his mindset been different.

Not taking anything for granted but we have every chance to reach the semis. Its mad, like we didn’t even have to go crazy with spending but just everything seems to be going our way. Whats that line from Withnail, “free to those who can afford it, very expensive to those who can’t”

It rarely looks like we’re going to concede a goal when he’s playing. I know it’s a wider team effort but he just gives us that strength and always extra time on the ball. Whatever we paid for him was cheap.

He’s frustrating alright but he’ll dig us out of a hole time and time again with something outrageous.

Man City have only really settled down now in terms of massive spending, PSG are a ticking time bomb now. Our sensible approach in not buying overpaid superstars is why we’ll do it quicker. Team spirit and hunger/motivation are everything.

2 things, I’d say Isak has been working on strengthening big time and also from an injury point of view, they may have discovered something else which led to the initial injury. They are giving nothing away when if he was just injured again they’d say, but that amount of time off he won’t be anywhere near the level of cardio fitness to fit into the press game we play.

You don’t play Tripps because he’s the fastest right back in the game, he’s obviously got that chink in his armour, you have him in for every other attribute that 90% of that squad do not have. Leadership, footballing intelligence, ability to read and snuff out situations before they happen, creates chances and of course once of the best free kick takers in the world. How do you leave that out?

Not sure about that thought process. I’d be worried he’d be thinking.. “if I was at a bigger club like Real or Barca I’d be starting these matches.”

Most sensible thing would be to ground share with the smoggies while SJP was levelled, and a new state of the art one built. Turn the pitch the other way and have a solution not dissimilar to the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, but just bigger overall if that makes sense, would solve the problem with Leazes Terrace.

Can’t wait to see him play for us!

His catchphrase indicated that he didn’t take it.. “get information, I would” ? He was just trying to make those with a case of floppy dolly to think.. “sure if Pele would..” ? In any case, sad news.. a larger than life character and the football world will be worse off for his loss.

He totally changed the game for them, but snatched at chances and really should have done better there but it’s clear he’s a league above Fred.

Yep draw a line under it. He shouldn’t have said it but he’s a good lad generally.

If that’s a pen then we should have been given one against <Chelsea?>

Our club is mint at the moment. Getting the care it deserves at every level. There’ll always be a bit of controversy about the ownership and that’s fine, but on pure footballing terms they haven’t put a foot wrong.