sushimonster85

Got a funny feeling he may make the bench for the City and Arsenal games, then Burnley he may get the start. Seems pointless risking him, but I also think it would be good for him to get him at least some action before he goes off for another long break at the end of the season.

So many of the players have improved so much under Howe that I even look at @Johnny 11's and find myself thinking 'bet they would actually do alright.'

Keep going, I'm close!

The sheer amount of time off and lack of preparation in general seemed absolutely scandalous.

That Athletic piece is fantastic. We really did luck out getting knocked back by Emery. No offence to him, seems like him turning us down was one of those decisions that's worked out for everyone. But Howe just seems perfect, both for what we needed at the time, and going forward.

In the Championship this will absolutely be the case, especially given the length of time they have been down in League One. I don't think survival, or even comfortable mid-table, is out of the question, but they won't be back in the PL in a couple of seasons.

I'd say they're 11th - 9th quality. They're over-performing now, but lets not kid ourselves that this was the worst squad of players in the league before the takeover. Bruce had them chronically under-performing/wasn't picking the best players. Even without any Summer investment, a Howe coached 11 of: Dub Trippier Schar Burn Targett (ok, let me have him for this purpose) Joelinton Bruno Willock Max Wilson Fraser would have a good shout at top ten.

Think the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle. The club are always going to try and play down the speed of the rebuild, or else transfer fees (and fan expectations) get more inflated than they already are for us. But to players we want to attract we are likely presenting what we hope to be the best case scenario. I imagine the likes of Shelvey, Fraser, Schar, Wilson, Wood etc to all be in the squad next season, and potentially the season after. The goal will be getting to the stage where they're the squad players, rather than starting every week.

Potentially. Though according to an Athletic podcast from a couple months back he is one of those players who has an obsession with playing in Spain.

Anyone else utterly overjoyed that, unlike any other time we have somehow ended up with a superstar on our hands, we can feel pretty safe worshiping Bruno like the god he is. Now we're one of the richest teams in the world its nice to know that we can: A) Promise to do everything we can to match even his loftiest ambition. B) Not have to worry about Ashley selling him as soon as he gets a bid that gives him a little profit on the initial transfer. Was always wary fully committing to a player when they started doing really well for us, as it usually meant it was only a matter of time till he was off. I can honestly see Bruno being Newcastle captain one day.

I know it's mainly due to the delay in getting Ashworth (and subsequently his team) in place, but I do like that it looks like Howe will have a similar role in identifying transfer targets to the one he had in Jan. At least for this next window. I don't think we'll see any real big names, more well scouted and vetted players from across Europe in the style of Bruno. Think the only 'big name' type player could be a LIngard. Maybe a DCL if Everton go down.

Can we not go back to talking about when Frank Lampard is going to get sacked?

Gutted for him if that's his season pretty much over. You could tell he was loving his football again after the arrival of Howe then Trippier. The few games they played together they already looked to be developing a good partnership down that right hand side. I think he's probably more gutted as he knows this run in was really his chance to put himself forward as the first choice in that position for next season. I always thought it likely we will add another winger/wide forward in the Summer, and it would be Fraser who's place in the starting 11 would be most under threat if/when we do.

Pretty sure Krafth will have a short-term future at the club for at least next season. Under Howe I think Krafth has now pulled level with Manquillo in terms of being Trippier's understudy. And his ability to cover CB gives him an edge over Manquillo. Feel like the owners & Howe have both been pushing the "evolution not revolution" line. Can't see a back-up RB being part of the plans this Summer. Summer 2023 is when they make a move a for a top quality young RB to come in and gradually take over from Trippier over the span of a couple seasons.

Think this would be one of the few advantages we'd be able to push. Teams like us, West Ham, Villa would be able to promise him starts. But we're now the only ones of that bunch who could realistically promise a sustained push towards CL. Just may not be as immediately close as West Ham. Assuming Chelsea do get shot of Lukaku he would likely start there. I actually think he'd get in at City, but that assuming they ever do decide to go back to playing with a 9, rather than just eventually playing a GK, De Bryune, then 9 tricky wide-players.

I feel like a chunk of the fanbase live in some alternate reality, or 2/3 seasons in the future, where maybe we have the squad depth to actually entertain the idea of not playing our best attacking threat. I get that he can be very hit or miss, and a defensive liability at times, but the fact of the matter is we win more games when he plays. That isn't a coincidence. Even when he is having a poor game he can either generate something out of absolutely nothing and turn a draw into a win, or defeat to draw. Or the other team has to commit at least two men towards him when he is dribbling with the ball, generating space for others.

Totally. The closer we get to kick off the more convinced I am that we should just play 3 cb's like we did against Chelsea and just embrace the dour 0-0 draw. I think they'd take that if you offered it to them.

Can confirm Grand Old Team has been a hilarious way to waste a quiet afternoon at work for a good few weeks now. Perpetual state of multiple meltdowns. Team's shite. Russian funding. Stadium development potentially stalled. FFP breaches. It really does have it all.

4-3-3?

Neither of these points are accurate. Go and watch us pre-Wood then post-Wood (giggidy), specifically time spent in the opposing teams half. The improvement there has been drastic. The pressing point, just go watch Everton for an example of how poor pressing can totally fuck everything up. It has to be done intelligently, and it has to be done as a team. It may sound easy in concept, but it really isn't. Anyway, I actually think we'll play something that looks like a 4-2-3-1 tomorrow. Very similar to what we adjusted to when we played Southampton. Dubravka Krafth Burn Schar Targett Joe Shelvey Bruno Fraser Wood Murphy Doesn't sound like Willock is going to make it, and could probably do with coming out of the team anyway. Long term think Bruno is going to be that deeper CM, but in the short term I think freeing him of the heavy duty defensive burden could be good.

Honestly believe all we need is 4 more points. I think even being as pessimistic with predicting results as possible, it's hard to see us not getting at least 4 points between now and the end of the season. Actually think 6/7 points is more realistic. Just had a look back to see if there was precedent for an identical drop off to a one that would see us relegated. Only recent-ish one I came across was Swansea in 17/18. On 31 points with 8 games left, 15th in the league. Preceded to only get 2 points from their remaining fixtures and went down. Worth pointing out the team in 18th at the time (Southampton) were actually on 28 points, rather than Burnley's 24. Even if Burnley win their game in hand they're still a point worse off than Southampton were that season. Main takeaway - we're not definitely safe, but relegation is extremely unlikely.

Pre-Wood any sort of long ball forward was effectively giving the ball back to the opposition. Wood is so strong with those headed duels that the team can play the ball forward and be pretty confident that they can commit the likes of Max, Fraser, Willock and Joe forward to contest second balls 100% of the time, rather than preparing for the ball coming immediately back at them. He is also very committed presser, he never shirks pressing duties, and generally presses in a very intelligent way. Know when he is best to press the man vs when its more advantageous to close off a passing lane. If you look at players average positions when attacking during our hot streak Willock spent a lot of time super close to Wood, almost like a number 10. This isn't possible with Max or even Wilson up front. Yes, his goal threat is less than ideal, but it isn't a coincidence that we have looked so much better since he has settled into the team.

I still don't get the sentiment a lot of people seem to have re Wood. You see it mostly on Twitter but it's start to creep in here as well. There is no way he will (or should) come out of the 11. He isn't scoring goals, but in terms of how we're currently playing he is one of the most important players in the team. Like suggesting dropping Wood and playing Max upfront just boggles my mind when I see it.

I honestly don't think Joe is a 10. If we do get a top class box-to-box destroyer of a midfielder I honestly think he could go back to being a wide forward. He could own that area of the pitch, and provide a lot of support to the full back on whichever side he is on.

if we can get 3 points against Wolves I honestly think he won't play again this season. Or at least not till the final couple games. If we're pretty much safe after this coming weekend there is no need to risk anything, may as well hold him back for next season.