AJ9

Hopefully some of the critics on here will shut up now like. Some ridiculous takes even this week. He’s class. I didn’t like the signing at the time (because I didn’t like his personality to be honest) but he’s always shown bags of talent.

Get in Eddie lad. Bossed a tough week.

Well fuck me. Serving the kids dinner at half time 3-0. Did the bath routine and it’s bloody 8. Where can I watch the full thing? Need to see the second half in full.

If he goes for that kind of coin, well it’ll be sad but I’m sure we will have profiled players like him. If he proves he’s worth that to someone then he will have done something right for us anyway. Would obviously be gutted if he went like, he’s been my favourite player of the new regime. Having said that, it also protects us from some lowballing cunts throwing in £60 mill next season if we don’t quite make the CL. Pay the release clause or fuck off.

I think we will focus on keeping it tight again. Can’t imagine we will go there and play particularly good football, but we should have enough to keep them out. Feels a bit weird saying that because that hasn’t been Howe’s style, but we built last season on a mean defence and I think we will try to go back to that.

Hernandez roamed quite a bit into central areas last night.

Played well vs Villa and set up Tonali for the goal, won us a pen vs Brentford and had a decent game off the top of my head. Nobody has particularly set the world on fire in an attacking sense, but the only other player that’s in the conversation is Barnes for his brief cameos.

100%

General consensus from people seems to be that so far: - Our press is less intense than last year - Trippier appears to be less advanced - Tonali doesn’t quite understand his position / tactical role - Bruno has been a bit off the boil - We lack an attacking threat from LB - Strikers are pretty isolated without a great deal of support from central areas - Pope has been out of form - We’ve played 5 out of six games against pretty high quality opposition and yet we’re still banging on about Maxi doing a dribble. I get it, he was exciting to watch and at times he could open up a defence in a counter, but I can’t see which of the issues above having him would really address. Edit - and even with all that above Gordon has looked our most threatening player.

Not the Maxi argument again…

Poor again? He’s been our best player so far this season! Edit - from an attacking perspective I mean

I think for this group of players it’s a bloody great experience to bank and to call back upon in future. Gone to an absolute cauldron and came out unscathed. It’s a big step in terms of mentality. Think we will fancy ourselves at home against them.

Agree, he put in another great performance tonight.

I know they're collectively not particularly great, but it does make me smile thinking of Burn, Longstaff and Anderson playing in the San Siro. Local lads taking on AC Milan, living out all our dreams. Makes me very proud!

Absolutely fantastic performance from him again. I feel like I massively undersell him because he's just so consistent. What a player he has been for us.

Carried us tonight. Just an all round great leader on the pitch.

The result is big, and to go to the San Siro and come away with a point is bloody great regardless of whether or not they're a vintage team. Again, humility is probably needed from us. They're an established European side, and we're lining up with lads that would never ever have dreamed of playing against Milan in the Champions League. A little disappointing that we didn't showcase anything attacking-wise and that our passing was very poor at times, but hey ho.

Still in this. Longy been working his arse off. Need Murphy and Burn to step it up.

I know it’s been said before but I love the way his first touch is always positive, moving it away from the defender rather than just getting under control. Quite often takes a player out instantly then he’s passing or on the move

Yep didn’t allow himself to get bullied.

The extended highlights showed a few things he was involved in. A through ball, recycling possession and moving around edge of the box, offering support to Burn and also tracking back well. Can’t see anything wrong with that performance at all. Needs more games.

For the tactics perverts on here who can watch us and see patterns as opposed to my 90 minute emotional rollercoaster watch…are we doing anything noticeably different this year to last? It kind of feels like we’re less intense in the press. Is this a fair assessment and are we now pressing in a different way (maybe to manage energy/or for another tactical reason?). Feels like the right hand side still carries the team attacking wise and we lack some of the under lapping runs on the left. So yeah…what are we seeing so far?

When a goalkeeper commits like that he has to get the ball. I don’t care where it is in the box, plenty of pens are given for fouls in the box that wouldn’t necessarily have led to a goal. See all the ones given for tussling, or handballs. I don’t see why we’re debating this to be honest.

Some common sense!