Palestoon

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

just found this in the latest athletic article about Fraser. Knew i hadn't imagined this

Bit of an exaggeration but Bruce mentioned in an interview that Fraser was working on being a number 8 to fit into the formation if he wanted to get minutes

He's from the same school of thought as that other brainless dunce Pardew. want to improve the defense? throw another CB on the pitch. Front foot attacking football? more strikers on the pitch for fret. No actual thought to tactics, positioning, transitions, patterns of the play etc.

Of all of the Shit Bruce came out with in his time here, this was the most unforgivable for me. Going on holiday after a horrible, winless start start to the season... and giving his reason as "what am I supposed to do? we had six of them away" unbelievable, how about coach the fucking squad you fat prick. Its not even like our big hitters were away. Jamal Lewis- glued to the bench Schar- was benched for Clark.... Fraser- told he couldnt get into the side unless he learned to play a box to box midfielder role Hendrick- never used Almiron and Krafth were the only ones in and around the first team. he tried to make it seem like it was just a few under 23 lads hanging around the training ground. God i hate that stupid cunt with a passion. still boils my blood.

Overseas fan, so not sure how much my opinion counts but one of the reasons I fell in love with Newcastle, and English football in general is how much tradition, culture and community blend into the club and the football itself. Even though i haven't had the pleasure to visit, St James park in the city center on the hill is a glorious sight, and one that i associate closely with the soul of our club. everything about the area and the stadium itself creates such a special and unique atmosphere and I would be terrified to lose it. I just hope that all of the potential future success doesn't rip the heart out of the club, although that seems almost inevitable to a degree when big money gets involved. I don't know anything about architecture or the geography of Tyneside, but I just hope the plan is to extend where possible, or worse case scenario, build a new venue nearby. And if we must build a new venue from scratch, they need to maintain some of the traditional aspects of the ground. Please none of these soulless modern bowls with the fans miles away from the pitch. West Ham is a great example of the damage that can be done to a club behind the guise of "progress". The Boleyn ground in Upton park had a great atmosphere along with Green street and all of the other local aspects that made it famous. Pay attention this weekend to what a new stadium can do to a fan base. they're close to becoming another plastic London Football club, and any West Ham fan i've seen speak about it regrets the day they left. I just don't want us to make an irreversible mistake amongst all of the euphoria and pounds of cash swirling about.

To be fair to him, everytime i've heard him speak, he seems genuine, honest and self-aware. I think his biggest issue is that he doesnt seem much of a self-starter and gets way too comfortable. I dont think its a coincidence that his best spells at the club have been under managers who have demanded more from (Benitez and Howe). Regardless, he will probably still play some part in the clubs future in the short term, lets hope he can continue putting in solid performances

brillant save from de gea there

New interview on the official website. good read. https://www.nufc.co.uk/news/features/i-dont-want-it-to-end-jonjo-shelvey-interview/

Bruce on the touchline hoying it up to big Andy. Great memories I know their were rumors of us being in for Brereton-Diaz for 30 mil. I'll be disappointed if we passed on him for Wood due to "Premiership experience. I've been really impressed with him.

for sure, even better is the pressing higher up the field while not looking completely exposed at the back. after years of pulling my hair out during the bruce and pardew eras where one or two players press with no plan while the rest of the team dropped off leaving loads of space in between... they really were a pair of charlatans. no plan or team cohesion, got away with it for so long. so much better now, and Howe deserves a lot of credit

was the biggest thing for me. hard to believe he's 6'7. looked easily our most athletic CB, can understand now why hes been used as an auxiliary LB at times in his career.

50th senior goal for craig dawson?? is that right? very impressive for a CB

cant fault him from an attacking stand point today, whenever he touches the ball, there are 3 opposition players surrounding him. Cant expect him to beat all three every time. We really need another attacking threat to take the attention off him. defensively i usally give him a pass. I Dont think a lot of people realize how much those explosive runs take out of him, but today his work rate off the ball was especially bad. Seems to be a problem late in games when we're ahead when teams push their fullbacks forward. their were a couple of situations today in the second half where cash ghosted into the final third completely umarked, with ASM standing at the halfway line with no interest in getting back. their have been situations where i hoped howe would take him off for miggy/murphy to see out games but it seems like Howe prefers to keep him on as a counter threat when the game gets stretched which is understandable. If we want to maintain that threat, i think a better alternative would be to take wood off, move ASM up front and bring on a wide player to maintain our shape down the left

yup, especially when you have all that adrenaline coursing through you

agreed. as I mentioned in my post, i think playing as a forward, you kind of switch on and off during the game as the action comes and goes. In midfield, you need 100% concentration. But just watch him closely, he shows glimpses of every top attribute you want in a box to box midfielder. He really has a natural understanding and feel for the game in the middle. Howe even mentioned it when he first came to the club that he was one of the most intelligent players on the pitch in the entire squad. I think he just needs to continue gaining experience and getting comfortable in his new role.

completely disagree. Tactically hes one of the best players in the squad... you cant lead the league in tackles won and interceptions every week and not know where to be tactically. And some of the forward passes hes played this year have been fantastic. using his strength and patience and waiting to slip players in. technically he can be a bit loose at times, but i think that comes from playing as a forward most of his career. he'll adjust to that with experience. think hes the first name on the team sheet after trips and maxi personally

Credit to the 3 in the middle today, i questioned if the result on tuesday was down to facing a weak Everton midfield, but they dominated villa especially in the first half. If you needed any confirmation, that our full backs were a major part of how terrible we looked earlier in the year, just watch the difference in the 1st and 2nd half after trips and manky went off. night and day. lets hope they're both not out long, and we get Targett back as well. Today also outlined our weakness in creativity up front. When Maxi is not on his game, its hard to see where the goals and chances are going to come from. Only worry for the rest of the year. Otherwise great result to win that in an ugly manner. Credit to Howe again for his preparation, you can tell he actually plans for the opposition, and tries to nullify their strengths and pick at their weaknesses. What a fucking breath of fresh air after Bruce ball. Dubravka-7- not much to do, but handled everything that came into the box comfortably today. Schar-8- really good today again. looked like he'd been in a warzone at the full time whistle. Burn-9- MOTM. so calm and composed in all aspects. moves so elegantly for a man his size. Trippier-8- another day at the office for trips. best player in our squad. shame he got injured, hope hes back in the side soon. Manquillo-7- great squad player, shame he had to go off. did well going both directions Dummett-6- still looks off the pace. did his job, but should be targett straight back in next week. Krafth-6- worked hard, but seems so panicky when he places, charging all over the place. seems to unsettle our backline. Shelvey- 8- was excellent especially in the first hour of the game. tracked runners well, and played the ball simply and quickly. Joelinton- 8- absolute monster, getting better and better every week. cant believe this guy was a 40 million pound waste of a forward. Willock- 7- never stopped running, finally seems to be picking up some consistent form. ASM-6- Not at it today. really need another creative threat to give him some breathing space Fraser-7- works tirelessly and put a few good crosses into the box Wood- 6- effort is there but thats about it... won some headers today that found our players which was an improvement on Tuesday. But he is terrible technically, and the sooner Wilson is back the better.

fuck... hoped id seen the last Krafth appearance