nbthree3

About a min in, says Saint's got a "free role" today - aka he's our only creative outlet and will rely on him as always (though surely the others who are starting are good, that attack is the one we've all wanted together!)

Knight Ryder's got a few words out of Bruce on Miggy: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/steve-bruce-offers-depth-explanation-19162504 When asked about his decision to leave Almiron on the sidelines, Bruce told ChronicleLive: "You don't know how hard it has been for me to leave out Miguel Almiron. "Seriously, you don't know how hard. I picked the team against West Ham and didn't start him and we win. "Arguably, it was our best performance. "I leave that team in place for the second game because I think that was only fair on those who played at West Ham. "I was tempted in the third game and didn't go for him (Almiron started on the bench). "Last week he'd been on international duty and didn't get back until Friday." The Toon manager said: "Of all the people here, Miguel Almiron is probably my favourite because he trains every day, comes in and works so hard and is a manager's delight. "To leave him out the team was a big call for me. "But I had to pick a team that I thought could win a match. "And obviously last week I didn't get it right."

Pure coincidence maybe, but let's go cans anyway!

I've wanted to defend him for so long, hoping that things could change. Said a few games ago that I'd give him until November to see how performances were, to see if I'm not thinking the same things as I was against Tottenham, against Brighton, against Newport. But here we are, nothing is changing. New manager is needed to get more out of these players, it isn't sustainable the way we are, most fans could see that a mile out. We're not a relegation threatened side yet, we can afford a manager with new ideas rather than hoping for a short-term fix. If we leave it until it's too late like in 15/16, it's a much greater risk than proactively swapping him out now - doesn't take a genius to say the things I think are obvious!

For those who don't have an adblock: Allan Saint-Maximin has revealed how his relationship with Steve Bruce played a huge role in him signing a new six-year deal at Newcastle United. The French winger, who has been Newcastle's talisman since joining from Nice in the summer of 2019, has extended his stay on Tyneside until 2026. Saint-Maximin has cemented himself as a firm favourite on the terraces for his direct style of play and he feels the relationship he has developed with Bruce has allowed him to flourish on Tyneside. And after penning a new deal at Newcastle, the 23-year-old revealed he hopes he can continue to work under Bruce's tutelage for a 'long time'. "I have had a lot of trainers but I have never had a trainer like Steve Bruce," Saint-Maximin told NUFC TV. "You have the professional and you have the human and the human side is really important for me. "He comes to me a lot of times to speak not only about football but to see how I feel here because I am French, I am not an English player. "He comes in and talks to me and he tries to do everything he can to make me feel better. "These things can make a big difference and I really like this coach. I hope we can stay a long time working together." Saint-Maximin now hopes Newcastle can establish themselves as a top 10 side and is confident the Magpies will continue to sign players of the ilk of Callum Wilson in order to improve. "I hope the club continues to buy better players so we can improve," he added. "To buy Callum Wilson was a very good signing. "He has scored four goals in four games and this can make a big difference. "The club has to keep going with this and me, I have to keep playing well, to give my best and if we do this I think Newcastle can be in the top 10 and maybe even more. "This is important for the fans because everybody doesn't like to just play to fight to not go down to the second league."

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/allan-saint-maximin-discusses-big-19105873

Thank Christ Darlow's looked sharp

Mentions that the club project (which he did speak about earlier, last week was mentioned) can be met, interestingly. Didn't know we had a project of any sorts in fairness

That Insta post is something else, wow. https://www.instagram.com/p/CGVS8HejIKd/ "I love Newcastle and everything it stands for on and off the pitch ! It feels like home to me now, I feel like im a part of this city… More than that, I now have the big dream of following in the footsteps of David Ginola, I want to leave my mark here like he did ! Knowing the Newcastle project, I now know that it is possible ! Thank you Newcastle to believe in me, thanks to the supporters for this amazing connection between us! I will do everything I can do to achieve great things with this Club! You guys deserve it and the best is coming! Thank you Steve Nickson, thank you for all the long discussions about football and life. Thank you for taking the time to understand me, thank you for explaining and convincing me why this Newcastle project is an incredible opportunity. I am very grateful for what you have done. New six-year contract 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣ All the glory belongs to God ✝️"

Confirmed!

Further on my above

The EFL love it, too - clear divide now. The supporters, mostly, rightly hate it whereas the boardroom love it

Aptly put

Most definitely, but it's 'consecutive' years that gets you influence now. Same reason why Villa isn't a special status shareholder under these rules. At least they've made it obvious they care about the top clubs only!

According to that we'd lose our say in PL affairs, they can block takeovers they don't approve of, and all of a sudden the magic number is 6. That top 9 'long-term shareholder status' is disgusting and football would be dead to me if that happened. What happened to fairness?

The league were hiding tweets that mentioned our 'independent investigation' petition, the irony that they come out to support one that benefits them. Extortionate price, the EFL lot pay £10 for their iFollow service too, but that's modern football. Cares about the money, not about the fan.

- His ambition is to play in Europe, the Europa maybe even the Champions League. And if we can't match those ambitions (he praises "the president" for investing in the team this summer to keep the 'development' going, Ashley) he'd have to consider leaving. If a takeover happens, and the club meets his aims, he's happy to be here for a very long time.

Charnley voted for it

Not sure if it's linked already https://podfollow.com/913153082/episode/6076e00e3dde24537c00d09c8930017458e4101a/view - Edwards' Chronicle podcast is out. Bruce and Mauriss discussed, wonder what he'll say

I wouldn't want him to risk his legacy by coming back to Newcastle, even if a takeover happened. I'm so conflicted on it though. On one side, he helped unify the fans against Ashley, sharing the ambitious spirit that we naturally have. The facilities, his signings, his cup wins all justified his project that he wanted to build. The other side, I wouldn't want things to turn sour and we're left with a bittersweet impression of him. I want him to be remembered as a hopeful figure who gave us what could have been, a glimpse of what a post-Saudi or whatever takeover could be. In China, he wants to leave a legacy too, the article mentions the £250m invested in the facilities to be a transformative man in Dalian's history. He's more than a manager in that sense. It's more than the pitch-side scene and I love that. He does care about the clubs he manages and wants them to improve meticulously in line with his vision, and that's rare of a manager in the modern era. You don't give managers a 5, 10-year project and stand by them. A string of poor results and your neck is on the line, and that project is over before it's begun. A manager like Rafa, but not necessarily him (though if he fancies a non-managerial role in the future, perhaps after he's stopped managing at 70, all for it).