Palestoon

I questioned the managers decision making to play him until i saw who they brought on instead in the semi-final. that Hamdallah fella was somehow worse

Fantastic world cup, 1st chance I've had to go in my lifetime, and loved it. Being able to go to multiple games in the same day, organization was brilliant, everyone was so friendly. Brought the family and never felt uncomfortable or unsafe around the stadiums or in the city at night. Also loved that all the stadiums were within an hour, felt like a city hosted the tournament which was great for the atmosphere and mixing with fans from all over the world. Understand some people have issues with Qatar which is fair, but the hate for this host country is so over the top, cant help but feel there's some bigoted feelings involved... regardless, looking forward to 2026 here in the US!

Well this topic has gone off the deep end As an Arab American Muslim, figure i would give my perspective on this world cup and all of the discussions about morale dilemma that's come from it. First thing I will say, is the treatment of migrant workers in the Arabian gulf is a travesty and an abuse that should be highlighted and called out. My wife is from the asian sub-continent, and I've met many people from there who have described the racist and abusive behavior SOME of them have faced in those countries and its boiled my blood. I think one of the major reasons you are seeing, arabs, and other eastern cultures react very defensively to the accusations against this world cup not being boycotted is this feeling of double standards being bandied about by the west. There seems to be this desire to critically look at other cultures that are different, and scrutinize every aspect of their way of life and negative behavior as something that is irredeemable, whereas issues, and activities in the west are seen as an unfortunate aspect that doesn't require the same scrutiny. America for example is hosting the next world cup. If we objectively calculated the damage this government has done abroad over the last 50 years, and discuss some of the human rights issues internally this country has faced in its recent history, the list would dwarf anything we've seen in Qatar. I'm willing to bet though, that there will be no wide spread condemnation, or questioning of whether anyone should attend, or if world cup 2026 should be boycotted. I think that is the frustrating part for a lot of people. That's not to say I don't think people should hold all governments and entities of power to account for abuses they commit. That is commendable and something we should push in all cases. It just feels disingenuous and unfair when we're not holding everyone to the same standards.

Problem with Willock is hes ok at everything but doesn't do anything really well. We need to replace him either with a true #10 who can get on the ball and consistently create for himself or others. Or, get a dedicated DM that would allow Bruno to play further forward, and allow Joelinton the free license to get around the pitch and cause havoc with his pressing and physicality

Ideally, I would agree, but with the set up we had today it was never going to work, and that became clear very early on. their fullbacks had no respect for for fraser/almiron. they stayed tight on them all game knowing neither were capable of beating their man and getting into dangerous positions. That led to the ball being recycled, and lofted crosses into the box from poor positions that Isak was never going to win against 2 CBs. I think him coming deeper, picking up the ball and using his pace/dribbling would have helped break them down and pull some players out of position. For all of the possession we had, Bournemouth never looked uncomfortable all game

great pen, but his lack of physicality was really on show today. Hes got too much ability on the ball to have him sitting between the 3 CBs all game. that doesnt play to his strengths. Think Howe should have brought on Wood earlier to do the dirty work in the box, and let Isak play a withdrawn role to pick up the ball a bit deeper and let him run at defenders and create. think we'll see the best of him when wilson and ASM are back in the side

Probably his worst game in a calendar year. He's earned a bad day at the office, but games like today shows his lack of technical ability. If he wants to continue his role as an all action pressing beast, we need another CM who can pick a pass. Willock and Longstaff are not that. We really miss shelvey

When you play against a team that drop 10 behind the ball, you need wingers who can strech the line and give you width, and then actually beat a man. Almiron/Fraser/Murphy scare nobody one on one. Bournemouth just sat on their heels knowing they wouldnt be able to turn a defender or win a one on one and deliver a ball. Think Howe should have brought wood on earlier to occupy the CBs and let Isak play a more withdrawn role where his technical ability could have caused some problems. Instead we just passed the ball around the box expecting Isak who lacks a physical presence to battle 3 CBs... hopeless. On the bright side, we've had just about everything go against us (luck,injuries,VAR) and we're still sitting in 10th. get healthy, add some quality in January, and I still think we can push top 8

Love how brave and confident he is. Would have no idea he was a 19 year old making his second appearance in the prem. always calling for the ball, looking to play it forward or take on defenders. Has a really bright future

Amazing how he continues to be the best parody of himself.

Manu are disgraceful. this team is competing for a top 4 place

My favorite player in the squad. His attitude is infectious. We have to remember hes only been playing this position for a few months. Really interested to see how he looks after a full summer with the staff working with him on this new role. I think the bigger focus in the near future will be to replace Shelvey. Either find an athletic ball winner and let Bruno play a traditional box to box role, or go after a more dynamic attacking midfielder and have Bruno take on the holding role Shelvey's been playing.

Bruno, Big Joe and Merino....

Killing 81 "terrorists" on a "just trust us these guys are bad" basis? Told you guys they were adopting western morality

Hate to agree because I love ASM, but feel the same. unlike some, im not really too critical about some of his decision making. When you have a player like that, you have to allow them to make mistakes and lose the ball, if you want them to also do the fantastic as we've seen he's capable of often. Cant have it both ways. But the off the ball stuff... It stands out so much more when he comes off the bench. Shape of the team falls apart, and his pressing is almost a zero. He seems to try and get into the right positions, but there's no actual effort to close down and tackle anyone. And then there's the staying down after every tackle, sometimes its understandable but it seems too common an occurrence lately. Its frustrating because he is capable of really being a world beater, but he needs to work out these aspects of his game that are all effort. Still love to watch him, hopefully Eddie cant get him drilled to play a better team game along with his usual attacking flair.

get our starters back into the side, and play like we did today, and this lot will crumble. I'll accept this Chelsea robbery if it means we take it out on these cunts

Exactly. that's what makes it even more mind boggling. The excuse of "not a clear an obvious error" goes out the window as the ref gave a corner away. So either VAR looked at it and thought, he got the ball (impossible as he was nowhere near) or he played the man, and its a clear error and the ref should be called to look at it. that doesn't even take into account the shirt pull which was a clear penalty on its own. fucking despicable.

Man what a player he is going to be! he lost the ball at times yesterday, but i have to say, how refreshing was it to have a player in midfield who has the courage and belief in himself to take the extra touch and invite pressure in order to keep possession and play a ball that actually causes the opposition problems... loved it after years of watching midfielders for us playing it safe and shirking responsibility. Says a lot about his character and determination. Think hes going to absolutely boss games for us once he gets up to speed.

Directly, no I agree. Nor was my post meant to Diminish the views held by those who are uncomfortable with a state such as Saudi Arabia owning their football club. I think thats a valid and honorable position. My broarder point was that Newcastle are a small ripple in a wave of change coming to Saudi Arabia, that will inevitably, even if not intentionally force them to modernize in order to maintain their standing in the world. And the alternative to that, which is isolating them, talking down to them, or even potentially attacking them will probably just entrench them deeper in their current mindset. I'm not saying this is the morally correct answer, and we should all be celebrating our Saudi overlords, but again, I doubt they're thinking if Newcastle win the champions league, the rest of the world will no longer care if a homosexual is thrown off a roof.

Not sure how familiar people are with the politics of Saudi Arabia, but I dont think most realize that buying NUFC and the other major PIF investments are not solely for the purpose of "Sportswashing" and covering for their atrocities. Most of the gulf arab states are coming to the realization that the Oil money will run out, and they need to find a more sustainable way to hold up their economy. This is where the major investments you are seeing are coming from. On top of the foreign investment, huge amounts are being poured into the countries infrastructure to try and create a tourism economy. They know that in order to do that, they need to scale back some of their more regressive policies in order to make the country more palatable to western visitors. You can see the result of that with changes in women driving laws, relaxing their visa requirements, and hosting major sports/entertainment events. Last year they held the biggest rave in history, something that was unimaginable 10 years ago. This opening to the west will also introduce the Saudi population towards "western progressive values" which will inevitably lead to internal pressure for change. Obviously, none of this excuses the countless human rights abuses. I can tell you as a practicing Muslim, 95 percent of the Muslim community find the Saudi Monarchy detestable. My point basically, is that the idea that Saudi Arabia bought NUFC so they could commit abuses under the shadow of a Newcastle cup run to be a bit ridiculous. From a western perspective, more interaction in business/culture/politics with the Saudi state can only be viewed in a positive light long term. I'm sure we would all like the Saudi's to wake up tomorrow, see the ills of their ways and adopt a better way forward. Unfortunately, the world doesn't work that way, and these things take time. Compare that to the other option of ostracizing and punishing them for not seeing the "light" of western values. That usually creates the opposite effect. You only have to see what a hermit nation like North Korea looks like when they are isolated and not exposed to the rest of the world.

Wasn't in the training photos released on the official site yesterday. Hope he's at least back on the bench come Saturday.

Agreed. Long ball does not equal "no tactics". You watch Burnley, and like them or not, you can see a clear plan and set up to how they play. You know the patterns, and what the team is trying to do. Compare that to our years under Pardew and Bruce. I genuinely think Bruce doesn't realize he's a terrible manager. And its because in his time, management was less nuanced. He hasn't moved at all with the times. So when he complains about injuries, "one or 2 chances go against us", or "rolling up wuh sleeves" he doesnt think any of those things are actually controllable. He thinks as long as you pick the right 11, choose a formation, give them some good words of motivation, you've done all you can do. Thats why he was so bitter towards us, he actually believed he was doing the most with what he had at his disposal.

yea, league is shit this year beyond the top 3

Krafth is a liability