Whitley mag

I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised, not expecting Haaland etc but certainly think we’ll see some very good players through the door.

City’s current sponsorship with Etihad is about 50 million. Realistically we’d be looking to at least match that when we replace fun88. There just seems so many intangibles we could argue in terms of market value. We could argue that due to our new profile in the Middle East our previous deals are no longer representative of our new status. Funny that they didn’t invent any rules when Ashley was blatantly ripping us off with Sports Direct. Realistically we could be looking at a stadium and new training ground sponsor early in the new year to test the waters on this.

All these rules brought in to stop one club growing and under the pretence of an independent company deciding it. Only one place this is heading and I suspect we’ll win again.

Always used to get spicy around Pink Lane after the match with this lot.

A lot of these big name directors of football sound great on paper, but I would also imagine they come with big egos aswell. They’ll want someone to fit with their ideas on how club should be run, the last thing we need is someone trigger happy fella who wants a new manager every 6 months because they disagree on signings etc. This bloke would seem an ideal fit with Howe, I’d be delighted with him.

This is my major concern with Howe and I’d hoped during his time out of the game he’d have looked at this. Early days though and it’s hard to argue that he’s working with a pile of shite presently. If we still look bad after investment though, his job will be on the line simple as that.

Yeah, the inability to play simple passes and keep the ball has plagued us for years. The lack of intelligence and ability to play a killer pass in the final third is also crippling us. A couple of central midfielders are as crucial as defenders at this point.

Would love us to get a real target man to play up front with Wilson. I even think in a 4-3-3 he could play as a wide forward. Get Vlahovic in with Wilson alongside him and we’d start to look a real threat in new year.

I like Howes philosophy and with the right players I think the football will be very good to watch. What does concern me is the lack of any improvement in the defence. This has been laid at his door before as a weakness, the evidence so far suggests it’s not definitely not a strength. Clearly the personnel has aged and regressed since Rafa had them drilled, however at times 3 centre half’s and protection in front of the back 4 have been required. He’s got a free pass at the moment, but I think the pressure will ramp up if we still look a disorganised shambles at the back after January signings.

We can’t just accept defeat before any game now, Villa nearly nicked a point against these the other week. Every game counts with better luck we could have got something last Thursday.

He’ll have the next 2 weeks to rest when fixtures are cancelled. I’d rather have a half fit Schar over Clark.

Still no excuse for Clark ahead of Schar though.

Be great to see St Jame’s free of the tat today, whatever the score.

Look forward to every game these days. Where once this would be a fixture which cements my disillusionment with NUFC, I’m now actually looking forward to it in the knowledge that we’ll soon be able to compete with this lot. A full house just before crimbo and you just never know. Regardless, probably be the last game for a couple of weeks and by that time the transfer window will be open. Exciting times ahead HTFL

Never seen Kelly play but the stats say he’s vitally important for Bournemouth.

Aye, give it a few years and they’ll reinvent history that we never had 50k crowds pre takeover.

Always chuckle at the 1992rs craic that they cling to. What they’re forgetting is we still had bigger crowds and Durham was infested with thousands of mags pre 92. They also fail to acknowledge the fact that pre SOL they struggled to get 20k for games at Roker, even when they we’re back in the PL under monkey heed.

Hope the PL are braced for more expensive legal bills.

Exactly, now is not the time to bring in an Emmanalo, the long term planning is for the summer. We’re in a fire fight right now, the best people to judge what we need at the moment are the people on the ground.

Aye, the full backs also have to be a priority if Howe is going to play 4 at the back. So much to do in so little time.

Whilst 2 centre backs are an obvious priority, we’ve got to inject something into central midfield. Nickson seemed to have some good targets lined up in this area last summer. I can see us going back in for Kamara and Cajuste, both would be unproven in PL but look the business in terms of being good footballers and athletic. We’ve also been linked with Fofana at Lille who looks a real powerhouse. They all look realistic, should improve our midfield massively and don’t put us up shit creek for FFP. Get 2 out of these 3 and I think that’s our midfield sorted for next couple of years. edit I also get the feeling that PIF though having a clear long term business plan, might just rip up that playbook for this Jan. I think we’ll see a massive bid for a striker, possibly Vlahovic or Nunez from Benfica. Both at clubs where money talks and might just be attainable if we strike at right time.

Just pissed off with some in the current team and the constant mistakes. Possibly harsh from me and ability is definitely the overriding problem.

Nice of the PL to give City 2 extras days rest aswell.

It’s an honest take and history tells us if we’re on 10 points come the 1st January we’ve got a mountain to climb. The transfer window gives us one last chance, but let’s be honest even with these owners it’s going to have to be some transfer window. We literally need a whole new back 4 and central midfield. Not to mention a top class striker if we want to insure against Wilson being injured. The lack of football intelligence in this squad is a major issue, highlighted by individual errors in every game.

Badges are massive disappointment on these kits. Compare them to stitched badges on adidas shirts, they look cheap and nasty.