Whitley mag

Think we’ll try to get one of Smit, Wharton or Bouaddi in the summer. Might need a couple of midfielders if Tonali goes. Would like another top class wide player to upgrade on Murphy as well, Ndiaye from Everton would be my pick from the PL, not sure how much the Scouse mackems would want for him though.

No two line sing along to Elvis at the end last night?

Where on the march with Eddie’s army, hopefully one of those classic Cup nights we remember for years.

From Levy trying to scupper our takeover, the signings of Judas/Gazza and regular aggro when walking back to Seven Sisters in the 80’s and 90’s, I do enjoy it when these cunts fall on bad times.

Howe needs a good recruitment team, hopefully Wilson and Suds prove to be that. I’d like to see some evolution in our style and a bit more flair in the team, I do find us a hard watch at times, but would only take a couple of good signings to change that. Ive never committed to a change of manager as unsure who we’d end up, but it’ll always be a results business and still maintain he needs a strong finish to show he’s the right man for next phase of the project. Of course PIF need to step us as well and convince us their ambitions are realistic.

Patience in short supply these days and he’s backing Eddie. Good enough for me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0OyOFQbpkg

Article from Jason Burt on Howe - Newcastle still go out like underdogs There first needs to be context. The fact is when Howe was appointed in November 2021, Newcastle were 18th, five points from safety, and staring at the prospect of relegation. They had the January transfer window – the first opportunity to spend money following the Saudi Arabian-led takeover – and used it well. In came Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimarães, Dan Burn and Chris Wood, with Matt Targett on loan. Wood did not work out, but his signing damaged Burnley, who went down instead as Newcastle hauled themselves up to 11th. The rest, as they say, is history: Champions League football, winning a first trophy since 1969 and consistently improving the squad. Good times. But one thing did not, really, change. And that was Howe’s approach to the way the team played. Psychologically, it can be argued, Newcastle still go out like underdogs. They press high, they run hard, they get in and amongst the opposition, they try to get the crowd going. They rely on out-of-possession intensity, man-for-man aggression and running. A lot of running. To execute this, a manager needs a big squad, to avoid running out of steam. To have two players for every position. Newcastle argue they have that, but whether they are all good enough is a moot point while they have had to navigate the difficulties of profitability and sustainability rules. Injuries have also hit hard in key areas such as defence. Opposition managers have identified it. In the Champions League last September, there was one of the most visible examples as Hansi Flick, Barcelona’s head coach, stood in his technical area and urged his players to just keep the ball so Newcastle would burn themselves out. They did and Barcelona won 2-1. It was no disgrace for Newcastle and one of those goals was an outstanding strike from Marcus Rashford (who scored both). But it was still a loss. ‘If you keep trying to play like that then you have to recruit properly’ In a sense, Howe turned Newcastle into a Geordie Atlético Madrid – even if he is a far different character than Diego Simeone, the ultimate big-dog underdog. At times it almost feels like a throwback style of play, although even Simeone would struggle with it in the Premier League, where the football is more physical and more athletic than La Liga. But even Simeone resorts to defending deeper at times while managers like Oliver Glasner and Antonio Conte sit back and counter-attack, which requires less energy and a lot less physical capacity. Howe? It is, as one manager put it, “all guns blazing and if you keep trying to play like that then you have to recruit properly and make sure you are ready for injuries”. No one doubts that Howe has done a brilliant job. But is it sustainable to play the way he has asked Newcastle to play if you are in charge of a team who want to compete on all fronts and have as many matches as they do? So maybe there has to be an adaptation. Newcastle’s first-choice midfield is Bruno, Sandro Tonali and, probably, Lewis Miley, moving on from the running power of Joelinton. That is a very good trio, among the best in the Premier League, who are all comfortable in possession and want to play the ball through the “thirds”, as the coaches say. They are capable of gaining that level of control through ball possession as well as running power. The test for Howe is can he adapt as a coach, having helped take Newcastle such a long way already? The level of determination he shows, and his work ethic, suggests so. And it will be fascinating to see if there are tactical differences in the way Newcastle play in the coming weeks – maybe even against Tottenham – and whether what has happened actually emboldens Howe. When, as a manager, a certain way of doing things has brought success, it is not easy to come away from that. But it is almost as if Howe needed this bad run to be braver and make changes, which it looks like he will do. It is hardly a crisis and the fan noise, although not ignored, is certainly not shrill. It does not help that the new players – Anthony Elanga, Jacob Ramsey and Yoane Wissa in particular – have struggled to find their feet. But, again, that is not unusual with Howe. It takes time to adapt working for him and Anthony Gordon, not enjoying his best season now but in the England squad, and Lewis Hall, who may follow him, are examples of that. If Newcastle had beaten Aston Villa in late January they would have gone fourth in the league, they were in the semi-finals of the League Cup, fourth round of the FA Cup and doing well in the Champions League. That was only two weeks ago. The big dip in form has come at the wrong time, but football can be fickle. It can quickly change. The question is: can Howe?

These were decent against City at home the other week it’s not going to be easy.

Under 15’s are apparently very good and they splashed big on that young kid from Barnsley. Undoubtedly infrastructure projects are a lasting legacy and it’s what we all want to see now. I keep hearing positive things from this end on both training ground and stadium, but until we see official announcements the doubt will not go away that PIF are dragging their feet on signing off. We need to see official announcements in coming months, there’s simply no excuse if we don’t.

I think he’ll get a reaction from the players against Spurs, hopefully this Brentford result can act as a catalyst. You can’t knock him for the way he’s fronted up after Saturday’s result, but only so many times a manager can talk like that if a reaction doesn’t follow. It’s a results business and it absolutely does count what happens between now and the end of season though. If we crash out of the cup on Saturday and the free fall in the league continues, I think he’d walk in the summer, we wouldn’t need to sack him. He’ll still be backing himself to absolutely turn this around and think he’ll be questioning himself more than anyone if he can’t.

Someone in this thread said we were all a bit misty eyed about Keegan’s time here and the rest of the country just see him as trophy-less at Newcastle. It’s not beyond the realms we’re all currently a bit misty eyed due to having one of the longest runs in sport without a trophy. Eddie has his place assured in the clubs history, but it’s also worth remembering he’s had more money to spend than any manager in our history. It’s also worth noting in regard to the Keegan point and how the rest of the country might assess Eddie’s time here, that a lot of average managers have won the league cup over the years. To name just a few Steve McClaren, Souness, Alex McLeish, Michael Laudrup, Juande Ramos and Ten Hag. He could go on to better things after leaving here but there’s also a chance he joins the club above.

It would be good to see what he would do with some young talents like Kees Smit, Methalie and see we’ve also been linked with Bouaddi the 18yo midfielder from Lille. These are the type of signings that are risky but probably represent our best chance of moving forward next summer. A young exciting team feels like the re-boot we need, it’s all looking a bit flat and tired at the moment. I really don’t see what he’s got to lose by trying this approach and it’s very different to the Brighton model. We can supplement it with experienced pro’s and are big enough to keep the team together. It’s to be hoped he can come back refreshed after the summer with new ideas. I think there’s some hurdles he needs to overcome in the run in to get there though, it might seem small time but there’s some home games coming up against the Mancs, Everton and that lot down the road, where he needs results to avoid a complete free fall.

The cartel clubs will be sniffing already, it’s to be hoped we can get them signed up.

I’m all for the corner taking pops at the rest of the stadium for no noise. Proper flash back to the 80’s and think they should ramp this up in all honesty. Will go way over the head of the new middle class fans we seem to have attracted but might liven the place up a bit.

Original comment was in relation to lack of enthusiasm for draw and kick off time. I’d be fucking buzzing back in my younger days for an FA Cup 4th round tie away at 5.30 with 6.5k going down. Day on the drink with pals and cracking atmosphere. All away games sell out, so that’s an indicator of nowt these days.

Not at the minute haven’t got a ticket but travelled all over the country on cold dark midweeks for years if you’re trying to be a clever cunt?

I don’t think anyone wants him to get the sack and unlike some managers, he took full accountability yesterday which sums the bloke up. He basically built Bournemouth and brought them through the divisions, think even their fans admit he’s a control freak. So it’s no surprise he’d want final say on transfers and that’s what he had under PCP until Amanda left. His spat with Mitchell I’d guess has a bit of blame at both doors, but it was rumoured Ashworth was also unhappy with his remit and the job wasn’t as advertised. Be careful what you wish for. He ended up with full control this summer and I think PIF trusted him entirely. It’s backfired and his signings of Wissa, Elanga and Ramsey, for the fees paid has left him and the club in a very difficult PSR position. I don’t see any evolution like some, apart from he occasionally goes to 3 at the back when we’re facing difficult opposition. Trippier is finished why didn’t he move Thiaw to right back last night? The patterns of play haven’t changed and we’re overly reliant on limited wingers to create chances, or Bruno through his sheer will to win forcing something. Our squad on paper looks the strongest it’s ever been in his time here, yes where short in areas but this is the 2nd time he’s failed to rotate successfully. Hopefully he turns it around, or if worst happens it ends amicably. His place in our history is assured, but after last summer would I trust him with a war chest this summer, or that we’ll evolve next season, not sure myself and the club should be discreetly looking at other options to take the project forward in my opinion.

Not really work and socialise with loads of lads who go regularly. The consensus is the footballs shite, signings are shite, atmospheres shite and football in general is shite these days. Apart from all that it’s great.

This game and Villa away in the Cup feel big to the whole feel around the club. It’s one thing constantly performing shite away from home, but it puts a lot of pressure on the home games.

I think we’ll get the official training ground announcement by end of April at very latest. Very confident it’s a new stadium on Leazes Park but it does overlap current footprint so not sure how that will work in practice during build. Hope is basically confirming it’s a new stadium by desired capacity, SJP can’t be redeveloped to much over 60k, not to mention huge increase in corporate/sponsorship revenues with new stadium. I get the feeling it’s just financials delaying the go-ahead now.

I’m approaching the stage I’m willing to find out. He needs a strong end to the season and some evidence things are moving in the right direction.

I think PL wages might have something to do with that.

Eddie for England, claw back some of the money he wasted in the summer through the compo. Get Fabregas from Como, top players will want to play for him and the football might become watchable again. The club needs a reboot and I’m afraid if where going to be top dogs by 2030 it’s not happening with Eddie.

The bloke on the left for me.

The bar has lowered this season considerably, we’ll be lucky to finish above them at the minute.