Dr Jinx

We won there last season, with Steve Bruce in charge. Any team can lose on a given day. If they are at their best we will lose, if they are not, we have a chance to win the match.

What a bunch of ungrateful bastards, the time they've had over recent seasons.

I think it all depends on the type of person they are. Too many egos will never end well, we need someone to come in who buys into Eddie Howe's philosophy and will be there to only support him in achieving what he wants. Bringing someone in who thinks he knows better and will work against those interests will cause tension and ultimately, failure. It's why I think that Edwards guy from Liverpool could be a real option, they are good mates so there would be no issue about egos there.

Well Spurs game is under review so if they are being consistent.. also we had a game called off for less, against Villa iirc?

Money talks though and we have lots of it. I'd be doing everything we could to be getting a few key performers in the league currently. Mings is one of them, Rice another. Both players offering something we have absolutely none of at the back or in midfield, athleticism and physicality. We've been a soft touch in midfield ever since Tiote to be honest, maybe make an argument for Diame but he didn't play all that much in that position for us, maybe half a season. Then if you manage to get that into the squad, you pair it up with intelligence and creativity. It's not rocket science. Also 100% the reason West Ham are doing so well. Soucek is the perfect foil for Rice, you can really pick holes in a lot of their squad but the middle where it matters is as solid as anything.

Tyrone Mings would be great. He’d probably move too if Villa accepted an offer.

Only genius if they think we're going to sign them and then don't. To be honest, focussing on crippling the fodder around us is small time thinking, we should be looking further up the table to turn players heads. And then ultimately, signing none of them because we've got something better lined up.

I’m not bashing Shearer, he’s still a club legend but I really wish he’d just kept his gob shut about Steve Bruce. Guilt by association as far as I’m concerned, if his love for the club was all that he claims, he’d have had no issue stating facts about his mates but he chose to be an apologist. Keegan has his flaws but a lack of integrity has and never will be one of them.

I really hope they manage to get Keegan back in some capacity. Imagine him sitting in the stands beside Amanda watching over a team he can be proud of.

I sometimes stop and wonder if this is all just a dream. Imagine it was just a daydream and you snap out of it and Steve Bruce is about to give a pre match press conference.

I’ll say one thing about Mike Ashley, we didn’t have to read so much nonsense about linked players #TheGoodOldDays ?

Imagine being so shit at your job that 23+ professional athletes were totally devoid of confidence in themselves and each other. The funny thing is, last season it was bad at times but at least they had enough to get out of the situation they were in. The more I think about it, the more certain I am that he did this intentionally this season. Payback for the nasty comments and designed so he’d get sacked at the earliest convenience. The biggest cunt in football, ever. He even finished his career in a huff with his beloved Manchester United, dropped for the cup because he’d been injured and saw Cantona and Keane chomping at the bit for his armband so he fucked off to Birmingham to finish his playing career.

Each week that goes by exposes Bruce even more. What we could have had the last two years..

Struggled for the first 20 mins. Then they changed things up a bit and he seemed to grow into it. You’re just never confident that he’s capable of shutting up shop when we need to see out a narrow win though.

It’s not about scapegoats, there’s no denying what sort of player he can be for us. He just looks off the pace at the moment, for whatever reason (Bruce..) Also he’s a young kid, he’s probably wondering about his future now with all the speculation about players coming in. He should be given time, on form he’s better than Hayden.

Called it a month ago ?

At least Shelvey doesn’t give the ball away much, Willock isn’t doing enough to deserve a starting place. Hayden has to come on for him. Or drop Joe back to midfield with Shelvey and bring on Murphy or Fraser who would offer much more going forward.

Ok, went through all the fixtures between now and Jan 1st At the most optimistic while still being realistic, I can see us picking up no more than 10 points between now and then while also best guessing the fixtures all the other teams have. Burnley and Norwich have tough fixtures, they won’t add much to what they have. So where does that leave us? 1. Man City 50 points 2 Liverpool 49 points 3. Chelsea 47 points 4. West Ham 36 points 5. Spurs 35 points 6. Man Utd 33 points 7. Arsenal 32 points 8. Wolves 26 points 9. Palace 26 points 10. Everton 26 points 11. Leicester 24 points 12. Villa 23 points 13. Brighton 22 points 14. Brentford 21 points 15. Southampton 20 points 16. Leeds 18 points 17. Newcastle 17 points 18. Watford 15 points 19. Burnley 12 points 20. Norwich 10 points Remember, this is a realistic best case scenario for us but if it turns out to be what happens I think we have a great chance with some improvements in squad from January.

The delusion over on the Everton board is staggering. They think David Moyes would leave West Ham to come back and have no money to spend. I feel sorry for Rafa, I think he was sold a pup when choosing that job. It’s wearing him down. The timing was against him. I’m all in on Eddie now but I wonder If he was unattached to a club in the near future would he come back in a consultant type role to work on a defensive shape while Eddie then had more time to get his ideas embedded in our midfield and forwards?

It’s not just last night, he’s made several absolute howlers this season. Kept getting picked inexplicably. I’m still fuming about it, same as I still am about Shelvey against Spurs. Just pure stupidity. I think back to when Rafa was picking players who we knew were less talented then some who were being left out, but I get it now. It’s all about trust. It would be a small squad if we only named the ones we could count on.

The list of players who’s contracts are about to run out would be a good place to start looking. Expensive loans could be the sensible play. Mercenaries who will play well to earn a contract here or elsewhere.

He looks like he’s carrying extra weight. As I said in the match thread, when he came in after a pre season with Arsenal he was our best player. Had one with Bruce and he looks a shell of what he was last year.

Two draws and a loss to Arsenal isn’t the worst considering the dumb individual errors which were made in all three games. Think of what he’s learned about certain players. Darlow - errors which literally cost goals. Lascelles - Zero leadership, statue like, watches the disaster unfold around him like a spectator. Clark - ugh.. enough said. Schar - needs to be kept in check, if he does the basics and gets to pass the ball when he’s in space he’s our best option at the back. Fernandez - better than Lascelles and the real captain imho. Lewis - deserves a chance Joelinton - transformative. Best player on the pitch tonight and against Brentford. Almiron - dependable. Think he’ll find a place in the side, until January at least. When everyone is available this should guide team selection.

Arsenal pre season ?

Bruce pre season