Nine

Enjoying this game

Can’t wait to see Yedlin with space and time to get a cross in only to see it go out for a throw in

Gotta say the refs have been tosh so far

24?

Still the fact he gave testimony at all would suggests they are aware the evidence is in Mendys favour, no chance Pep just makes a blind statement because if he’s convicted it’s awful pr.

Well, the key word there I suppose is alleged. Until he’s convicted of something he’s innocent, Id suggest the evidence is in his favour if Pep went public over it.

Perfect

What an idiot

From Hendrick to Endrick

It often makes you the opposite

Someone needs to work out the last time our GD was this high

We paid that before Miggy got Howe’d. There were noises about including both Wilson and Isak in a starting 11 iirc? I’d assumed he was signed to start on the right when Wilson’s fit. Also with Wilson’s fitness record back up is the wrong word, he’d be expected to play as many games as Wilson does at ST.

Indeed this is true and I absolutely agree it’s the way forward. Just not convinced that Maddison has the attributes to adapt with in terms of the CM role, however he is clearly fancied by Howe so there’s obviously an idea there. Also the possibility we could be using a different formation against certain teams as we move forward, a 4/2/3/1 might be likely and would alleviate some of the stress on our fitness against opposition at the lower end of the table as the press wouldn’t have to be as intense from the midfield 3. Maddison would be perfect behind the striker in this case.

I don’t think he’ll start until Wilson needs rest or is injured, cup games he probably will. I would have said there’s a chance he starts on the right but he won’t with Miggy in this kind of form.

When we were linked to Maddison in the summer I expect he was identified as a player who could play in place of Miggy on the right and cover one of the front 2 CM roles if need be, he would need to adapt to fit into our CM role without playing a quality DM behind him. The same doubts I had with Paqueta basically.

I'd prefer you could guarantee me that our current key players stay fit which gives me far more confidence than a new signing

Howe: Came from a place called Bournemouth Bruce: Has a big waist cos he chucks anything in his mouth

Where would you say it is? I think now more than ever a natural level doesn’t exist, obviously a club being ‘bigger’ in having bigger gates and merch sales will count in making it easier for ownership to build upon and progress but many ‘smaller’ clubs have done well on the pitch recently. Clubs these days are where they are on merit, not because they have more fans or turnover more money (although that obviously helps).

His ego can’t take not being the main man let alone not starting, the World Cup coming up would have just made the situation worse as it’s his last chance there and he will now go into it rusty. Absolutely toxic player when things are going for him id bet.

Howe: Top 6 spot might be taken Bruce: Wheres my bacon?

Qualifying for Europe this season could definitely be a double edged sword. I don’t expect us to change transfer plans to drastically for Jan, but finishing top 6 has got to have implications for the summer window. I’d think the identified targets might be changed rather than just adding more bodies because that’s just not how Howe would go about building on this squad. With that being said we might see an extra player on top of what was already planned if we are to get an extra run of games, nothing drastic like 7/8 or coming in though. A Europa league run would be better off imo as the style of play can be adapted and we can be more flexible on starting 11s against the lower level teams we would encounter in the group, would take the stress off of fitness levels more so than a CL group would allowing us to retain more league form. Also gives us an extra 2 windows to build again before we think about the challenge of the CL. The current squad would struggle with extended cup run at the moment let alone Europe, the depth just isn’t there to handle the extra stress on fitness with another 5 or 6 games thrown into a busy PL run. The way we play week in week out in the league just isn’t sustainable with extra games, it’s a simple fact. After the summer we could be talking differently though, if we add 2 in Jan and 4/5 in the summer it’s absolutely a game changer. We have to remember the balance that has to be kept though, FFP is always looming over our heads.. people expecting stars signed for 70/80m because we qualified for Europe are in fantasy land. On the case of if the WC will help or hinder us, I’m swayed to thinking it benefits given our current league position. The top 6 sides will have far more internationals going deeper into that tournament than us and its a fucking World Cup, they will be playing out of their skin. We get a chance to keep the vast chunk of our squad at home, but of course sides like Brighton have the same. The biggest question for me is how well we get back into form post WC.. we have a decent run of games to pick up where we left off. Fingers crossed everyone comes back fit and stays fit, Bruno, Botman and Wilson are absolutely the key 3 for me with the likes of Trips, Schar, Miggy, Joe and Willock not far behind. If we get lucky with injuries and pick up again quickly who knows where we could end up.

English Atleti is a pretty good description of us under Howe

Love it, whatever it takes to win

Sad and broken

Take at look at our fixtures post WC, we get a very favourable run early on. Could be exactly the thing we need to pick up right where we left off.