WilliamPS

I am not a fan of the Trippier to LB stuff but it would be slightly more credible against Arsenal as they are not the biggest team. People tend to ignore Burns ability in the air esp at set pieces, if Burn is out you’ve only got the two CBs and Wilson (if he’s playing) as players really strong in the air. Joelinton and slightly surprisingly Willock are decent beyond that there’s not much. Against any side that plays 3 CBs or just has a bit of height in midfield you want 4 players who have the height to defend corners (to mark the 1 big striker and 3 CBs / 2 CBs and whoever else is big)

Assume there’s pain or discomfort and they were hoping it was just swelling rather than damage and it would be solved with rest. Frustrating!

Both are rotten but Schar in midfield has a another level of terrible take. I don’t agree with it, but Trippier at LB is a legit position he has played. Whereas Schar in midfield is nuts

I must be the only one that winces at the knee slides - your cruciates lads your cruciates! Man United have an easy run of games now where (hopefully) they’ll do well enough that this circus limps on. The last thing you want to see is them acting to fix their problems

Has Tonali not learned his lesson?!

My guess is if he has bet on Milan games he will get a big two year ban, but this will then be reduced to one year for admitting guilt and cooperating. Probably can’t train until June next year or so. Fagiolis is a one year ban reduced to 7 months for pleading guilty, so I’d take that as the precedent. It is a proper kick in the balls as Tonalis ceiling is a lot higher than Longstaffs or Joelintons. Tonali was supposed to be like Botman, Bruno and Isak and lift the quality level. The club will just have to suck it up. The hierarchy will be livid as this basically costs £18m (wages plus the share of the transfer fee given it’s about a quarter of the contract length)

What’s wrong with having a load of English players (or any nationality really!), makes no difference if they are good enough

Daft comments from Keagan, and before people go on about wanting men on men’s games, remember it’s the same root cause as all those ex pros who tell fans “you’ve never played the game at a top level so you can’t comment” it’s a way of busted old knackers protecting what they see as their patch from outsiders or defending themselves when their opinions are nonsense

If this was the plan I think we’d have seen it by now i can see it being used when chasing a game but don’t think we’ll have a formation change this season

Athletic’s problem is they have to stretch out every story as they have so many podcasts and pages to fill. Gets so tedious. The written bits are the same, a two line update becomes 500 words

Sheffield are a big side at set pieces, so risk taking Burn out of the side for that.

Am not sure it’s always wise to get too deep into team selections. Howe may make some changes not on form or fatigue but based on what he considers the best way to beat them. E.g. This might suit Wilson more than isak, the wide players might reflect their full backs abilities etc For me this is a more important game than Wednesday. Going out first round of the league cup is fine given the CL commitment and beating Sheffield and Burnley is important for a good league season.

Man Utd fans complain constantly about what they have became - some fans even made a whole new club! First time I’ve ever heard anyone claim Liverpool fans don’t complain either. They have whole fan groups to pressure the owners about the soul of the club (groups like spirit of shankly) (see also the protests about the super league)

They’ve certainly managed to get you defending them.

A free press challenging what a dictator says is a bad thing? Should they be like the Saudi press and have their hands chopped off for asking awkward questions? If the Saudis want to play with western toys like the PGA golf and PL football then they get the press scrutiny

The claims of “we’ve got our club back” were always going to ring hollow. NUFC will now become a football mega brand, like Man City or Man Utd, we’re fans are customers and TV deals in Asia more important than local supporters. That is the price of a good team on the pitch. City are unrecognisable from the club they used to be - as is a lot of their fan base. The only way to have success in the PL without being a brand with a football club attached is if you are taken over by a super rich fan - the Brighton /Leicester model - and that has a ceiling based on the owners wealth. Just wait until the existing fan base are referred to as ‘legacy fans’! People can decide for themselves whether that’s a price worth paying, the alternative is a midtable PL existence at best. For some the CL and competing for trophies will be worth it, for other it won’t.

A £100m+ release clause is fairly meaningless as if a club came in for Bruno at that price it would come down to player power anyway - if he wanted to go he’d go and it would be seen as fair to all parties. Its only when a release clause is stupidly low does it cause problems

He’s a very out there knobhead though, which I respect. Like Bellamy and Cisse

I guess he has seen the club are looking to buy a RCB in the next 12 months and knows that will be his time over, so a move away now might be attractive. I hope he stays as I like the guy and it’s very short turnaround to buy a replacement. However a lot of the poor opinions of Lascelles are based on the Bruce side where being a CB at Newcastle was the worst job in the PL…chaos at both fullbacks (Lewis is the worst fullback defensively I’ve ever seen) and a collection of central midfielders in front who are no longer playing PL - maybe not even championship- football 18 months later (Hayden, Shelvey, Hendrick). If CBs have to make a load of tackles, interceptions and interventions every games, under constant pressure then inevitably the number of mistakes per game goes up. Maldini would have struggled in that set up and Lascelles got a lot of the blame. One area Lascelles genuinely does have a weakness is with the ball at his feet, and that unfortunately means he doesn’t quite fit with how the team want to play, which makes his replacement inevitable if not an immediate need, but he could have a good career in the PL still.

If anything it will be south Asia and parts of Africa that the Saudi league is flogged to: fans already watching foreign leagues and Saudi offers a slightly better time zone South American, US and European fans have their own leagues and interests already. But South Asia and Africa is a big big market! It’s all the Saudis need,

Everyone knows Almiron’s limits, as well as the FFP constraints, not worth raging over. City are the best team in the league, with top defenders, you can’t expect miracles. Almiron will have a good season, in line with his ability

100% A potential team of Ederson, Walker, Akanji, Gvardial, Ake, Rhodri, Foden, Kovacic, Alvarez, Haaland, Grealish, That is not weak

The 30m population of Saudi is peanuts compared to the Asian markets, the relationship with the country of Saudi is not about earning more money it’s for the Saudis

If he has family he could set his kids up for life, or he could play some championship football. Not a hard decision. And he’s being paid by the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, it’s not like the owners will miss the money. If it wasn’t for FFP no Newcastle fans would give a stuff either.

The club will be approaching both Arsenal and Chelsea and sounding out the best option There is probably a preference but this is a good bit of opportunism - both clubs could probably do with making a sale, both clubs have too many players. If they know the club is flexible and pursuing multiple targets it’ll make them a bit more realistic in valuations