Nucasol

Miles better than the recent run of games and decent variety too.

AI generated but looks sensible:

Decrepit cunts couldn’t blow out the candles on their 80th birthday cakes.

Think we’re through lads.

You’ve got it in one. More standing, preferably large swathes of the Gallowgate. Move the older generation out to accommodate this. The Corner had a great atmosphere every time I’ve been in it - this is what needs replicating across more areas of the ground. The NIMBY cunts might moan but it’s for the better of the team.

It needs to prompt a good look at the 35,000 season ticket holders who are the majority and the root cause of the deteriorating atmosphere. Sitting there in silence or moaning for 25-30 games a season over 40 years doesn’t make you a hardcore supporter, it makes you an arsehole expectant spectator. Go watch it in the fucking house or the pub and let a new enthusiastic generation with some energy come through.

Plugged in a few sets of results for various teams into the UCL predictor on the app, positive and negative. Even after two losses the lowest we slipped to was 20th so pretty sure we’re in the play offs in reality. Highest we got was 6th after two 1-0 wins. Draw and a 3-0 loss got us either 16th or 17th depending on other results.

Plenty of extra time for drinking now.

Flat track bully Fraudiola getting a lesson here.

https://archive.ph/LCzw3 When Anthony Gordon had a haircut last week, there was great excitement among Newcastle’s online support. The hope was that, given his last Premier League goal from open play - and, most likely, his last trim - were both a year ago, the new look would shake something loose. A cutting edge. At Wolves on Sunday, however, he was far less incisive than the scissors had been a few days earlier. A 31st consecutive top-flight game passed without a non-penalty goal. He was substituted in the 67th minute after no shots and no touches in the penalty area. There are times when Gordon has played well this season and not reaped the rewards, but this was not one of them. Newcastle needed inspiration and he, nor any of his attacking team-mates, could provide it. They drew 0-0 against the worst team in the division. ‘Nowadays, stats are all that matters it seems, and that’s ruined football a little bit,’ said Gordon earlier this month, in protest at criticism. ‘You can play well, do so much for your team, but if you don’t score or assist, you haven’t played well.’ In the isolation of one game, or even a slightly longer run of matches, he is right, verdicts returned can be done so through the prism of results and ‘goal contributions’ alone. It is reactionary and short-sighted. However, a year is too big a body of evidence not to warrant inspection, especially when a player has shown himself capable of much more. In 2023/24, Gordon recorded 11 goals and 10 assists in the Premier League. He was Newcastle’s player of the season. That is the frustration for supporters - at a time when their team needs goals, their England winger with the form in the book has stopped turning pages. Of late, his selection has been called into question by fans, who champion the cause of Harvey Barnes to start from his preferred left. Barnes has 11 goals this campaign but is currently operating from the right, and his return has masked a broader paucity from Eddie Howe’s widemen - Jacob Murphy has two goals from 25 appearances and Anthony Elanga none from 27. Yet, I understand why Howe continues to start Gordon, and to do so where the player is most comfortable. If Newcastle are to be the team the head coach wants them to be, they need Gordon in it. His ceiling for tone-setting energy and front-foot aggression is higher than any of his wide peers, and he compensates more than the others for the stylistic shift between Nick Woltemade and Alexander Isak. Howe sees his players every day and there is a reason his best XI has Gordon in it, just like England boss Thomas Tuchel. Those close to the 24-year-old insist there is no concern over where his head is at, either, unlike last season in the wake of a move to Liverpool that collapsed amid Newcastle’s PSR peril. Sources insist that irritation - the club had floated his sale - has long since been soothed. There is also no substance to recent reports of January interest from Arsenal and Liverpool. Gordon is focused on Newcastle and, this is no bad thing for his club, a World Cup in five months’ time. ‘He wants to play well and score goals, he’s determined to do that every time he plays,’ said one source. ‘There is no issue over happiness or attitude or application. Maybe his confidence is lacking a little bit, but that can change with one game or one goal.’ This has been the message on Gordon all season. He has scored eight times, six of them penalties including both of his league goals. The penalties are still big moments, I was reminded this week. That is fair, and Gordon has dedicated hours to a technique that boasts a 100 per cent record. It is also fair to point to his availability during a relentless schedule - only three team-mates have started more games this season. But consistency of availability has not translated to consistency of performance. In short, there has been some good, some not so good. For a player who wants to be considered elite, ‘some’ is not near enough. Toon boss Eddie Howe sees his players every day and there is a reason his best XI has Gordon in it, just like England boss Thomas Tuchel At his best, Gordon inspires his own team-mates and unsettles the opposition, a nuisance who can set the standard for the collective with an early dribble or tackle. Newcastle’s biggest and best nights under Howe have often been defined by Gordon’s intensity. Recently, though, there has been too much meandering infield, too much caution and too little invention. He is better than he has shown, even though there have been halves or periods of high impact. During the first half of December’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea, he was a menace. It is why Howe starts him, the belief that at his best he is better than the rest. But there is also a reason why Gordon has been brought off in 13 of his 15 league starts. Look at his 23/24 involvement, and there were 26 full games. This season, he has faded in too many after purposeful openings. It does, though, prove the point - the intent is there, the execution less so. The new hairdo Gordon sees in the mirror he might like, but if he’s being honest, the player beneath it does not, right now, reflect his sharpest cut.

Great post @timeEd32. Supplementing with a good article that’s just been published on BBC Sport about the rise of the 0-0 and set pieces. Needless to say we feature prominently: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/clymd1lgp44o Stat from Sunday: The Magpies' pass completion rate in the first half (94%) was the highest by any team in a half of Premier League football without recording a shot on target since such records began in 2003-04, prompting head coach Eddie Howe to bemoan their lack of cutting edge.

Up there with Turkey for the trash rumours rating.

One step away from an escape room bonding exercise. LinkedIn Liam pushing the meat through the sausage maker.

Eating cheese and watching Ruel Fox YouTube videos before bed. Ease off marra.

Into the Steampunk loving, Bram Stoker-Reading, Goth weekend festival-staging. Abbey-frequenting Yorkshire pudding nonces.

K-Pop football.

Magnifico

Fabrizio Fusilli Felcher himself.

Hopefully Onana and McGinn are out until at least after the cup game.

Nice.

West Ham 1-1 Sunderland Burnley 1-2 Spurs Fulham 1-1 Brighton Man City 3-0 Wolves Bournemouth 1-2 Liverpool Brentford 2-1 Forest Palace 1-1 Chelsea Newcastle 1-1 Villa Arsenal 2-1 Man United Everton 1-1 Leeds

One of those that was “all agreed” before Palace got him. See similar with Rayan, a case of the Brazilian press using NUFC to force Bournemouth’s hand.

Matheus Franca springs to mind.

Brian Pinas must have been torture for you.

Says they’d be looking for a loan. Also wouldn’t he not be able to play as this would be his third different club in a 12 month period? Silly season has begun.