Dr Jinx

I’m disgusted with Chelsea, haven’t seen it but the radio were saying they were poor. Giving Fwank a bit of a breather eh.

The last relegation spot will solely come down to who’s playing whom and what do they have to play for. Lot of mid table teams on the beach already.

Even before today I had a bad feeling Leeds would just end up slipping down.. they’ve had awful luck with injuries all season. 

Teams that can defend competently have figured out that if you get to ASM before he can get into full stride, he makes awful choices and will give the ball away repeatedly.

Its been this way for weeks and he’s made absolutely 0 adjustments to his game.

Trying the same thing again and again and expecting a different result is lunacy.

ASM very poor today. Midfield quiet. We just came out second best in almost every challenge, every loose ball there were red shirts there to collect.

Disappointing but that’s how far we are away from them. The difference between the top sides and everyone else is the pace they can play at. We were a good bit off them man for man.

It’s us who look like we played on Wednesday 

Lascelles looks leaner 

Aside from losing concentration when not given the foul and getting caught out, we’ve mostly contained them, but we’re clearly second best here. We’re losing many 50/50 challenges, they just look stronger.

Need to be smarter 

Stupid yellow 

Just now, xLiaaamx said:

Milner 36 but runs like he's in his mid 20's. Most obviously juiced player there is. 

Asthma innit, he has a doctors note 

Quite clearly offside but that’s what we need to be doing 

If Schär gets the ball first, that’s every much a red card as the one that was given against Everton when they played us.

Stupid to lose focus, we’re chasing the game now 

Good team selection, Wood, as good as he is in the air, he won’t get much change out of Van Dijk (who does), the more intelligent option is to try and get in behind them with pace.

I’d say Joelinton can drop back if needed.

Just hope we’re at them from the start.

Yeah I remember that.. it was when the judge simplified the example of how Ashley was out of pocket that you could see he was leaning that way.

The PL we’re about to be found liable so they had to back off and the new owners allowed them to draft some nonsense statement about legal assurances.. as if that happened, they could have had that in week 1.

Was a case of how do we get out of this situation while saving face.

6 minutes ago, 54 said:

 

So he’ll be back available for City, great news!

You have to admire the way Howe will always stick to the group he prepared all week, even if there’s a better option available, he gets a game plan together with what he has at the time and that’s better than throwing someone in who hasn’t prepared with the squad.

All gone a bit quiet on this front. He's nowhere to be seen in the training photos so i'd say he's still a few weeks away maybe. We essentially have 3 free ones coming up before Burnley. would it be mad to risk him when the job is done?

I can’t see how you can keep a player who is club captain but not play him. It’s probably not good for morale to keep him but give the armband to a new captain either.

You have to be cold when making the decisions Eddie Howe will have to make.. 

Can he keep Shelvey another year? Sure he can but let’s look at the situation, Bruno can do everything Shelvey can and then some..

Short passing ✅ 

Long passing ✅ 

Tackling ✅

Pressing ✅

Except he’s more progressive. And he has that sudden burst of pace to get in ahead of other players that Shelvey just never had to begin with. So that’s the dilemma, keep someone in the team when you have another player who can do all the same things, but better. Or drop him and bring someone in who can make an impact.

What about ASM, I think it’s been shown that Joelinton can be just as effective out wide.. he might not beat players in the same way as ASM but he’s capable of driving the ball forward and then plays a simple pass. ASM will rarely do this, (although he was better in 2nd half against Norwich)

Willock is probably worth a place in the side, but I sort of have a feeling of square pegs, round holes with all of our midfielders.. there’s no combination that looks totally balanced.

Longstaff is probably the worst of our options there but we also need players who aren’t going to kick up a fuss when not playing.. that’s definitely him. 

I think Targett is just fine for the role, but if this Lodi chap is that good and they don’t want anyone else getting in this summer they might make a move.. but I think if that was unlikely Howe would be more than happy with Targett.

You have to remember, someone else is also calling the shots transfer wise. Ashworth will be talking directly with the owners so he’ll have to try and match their aspirations too.

I have a feeling the sudden resurgence of the team has given them the confidence to make a go of it ahead of schedule?

Looked like Courtois ducked out of the way of it 

Lovely goal 

27 minutes ago, Dr.Spaceman said:

 

Just me that absolutely despises the last sentence of that tweet? How the fuck does Freddie Paxton know that 

He doesn't, all bullshit rumours with a pinch of salt.

When you think if who’ll be leaving, maybe could be a busier summer than first thought.

While I agree Rashford is a top lad, that’s just an opinion on his personality. You have to separate the football side of things and the facts are that he’s been part of this absolute debacle at Man Utd, not even just been part of it.. he’s one of the more senior players in that dressing room. Like almost every player in that squad, he’s damaged goods right now.

We’re not going to get some great deal from Man Utd either and his wages will be massive compared to even our top earners right now.

I think we’ll push the boat out on maybe 3 or 4 serious upgrades this summer from France/Italy/Spain and make Targett permanent, but EH won’t upset the squad too much.

Midfield will stay similar enough next season with Longstaff leaving perhaps, I think maybe one player to come in who will help us keep possession more? If rumours are true we’ll sign a keeper.. I think Lascelles will make way for someone better at CB.

ASM is going to need to make changes to his game or his place in the side will be someone else’s and we’ll need someone better to come in on the right. If Wilson plays every game (unlikely.. but..) he’ll get 20+ goals

I don't think we'll ever see Aramco on anything other than a stadium name where we're concerned. It makes sense that they would sponsor F1 but who's going to fly into Newcastle airport and see Aramco over the training ground and think.. "hmmm, i must go and buy a few barrels of oil"

Tourism makes most sense, especially on our jersey and that's the ultimate sportswashing.

Burnley doing their best to throw the game away early doors.. error after error 

9 minutes ago, HawK said:

I seem to be coming in with an unpopular opinion in every thread I enter at the moment, but I think he's the most effective right-sided attacker we have on our books - above Ritchie, Almiron and even Fraser. His direct involvement in both of Joelinton's goals aside yesterday, he's a player who can carry the ball and is a good outlet for us.

 

We've yet to see Willock have a run on the right, and if we do end up signing someone like Paqueta, I can certainly see him given a go there instead. Until then, happy for Murphy to continue there.

That’s the way I see it too. He gets into good positions, his pace is an asset here, especially with Bruno playing balls through like yesterday.

He’s not as good at pressing as Fraser but he’s far more incisive with his movement.. plus he’s also not really ever had a run in the side, I think he deserves more time.. whether he’ll get it or not is another thing.