magvicar

A subjective opinion. I think there should never be a sending off in any football game. Red and yellow cards, yes but no sending off with them. I think all football games should be played with 11 players each on the field. The punishments should come via match bans. For instance, let's take the Man Utd v Fulham game as an instance. We know the red cards were warranted for all but to send off Willian and then Mitro basically handed the tie to Man Utd. Now I know some will argue..so what...it's punishment for Fulham players...but is it really needed that badly because the Fulham players get punished with a penalty and also match bans and fines. How would it work? Willian concedes the penalty and also gets a red card....but.... the red card for deliberate handball can be two games ban. Obviously Mitro shoving the ref in the manner he did and acting sort of intimidating also gets a red but maybe a 5 game ban and a FA fine plus a club fine of his club deem it necessary. Now then, what if a player goes on to get another yellow? Then it adds to the yellows that accumulate. Two yellows in a game equals one red and immediate one game ban. What if a player on red gets another red. Add in the appropriate ban and fine. Obviously this is massively open to criticism but I just think a football game should be contested equally in terms of player numbers. What does everyone think?

What you have to remember is, Eddie Howe will turn an average player into a good player and a good player into a very good player and a very good player into a potential great player. Whoever we do bring in I'm fairly confident it will go through Howe and co for the final nod and if that's the case then Howe will know what he can get from any player on the list. You also have to look at the youngsters who are coming through and under Howe and his team I can see a steady stream of that talent coming into the fold. Look at Anderson and how he's starting to get a look in and actually does look a quality young player. Let's not forget the up and coming as part of the squad set up. Ashby is another that may be closer to starts. We might not need too many new signings but the one's we do get will be quality without a doubt, I think.

Yeah, it's a funny one because Shelvey was one game away from activating a year extension and I think Howe wanted him for this season as simply back up but I have a feeling the hierarchy have took the opportunity to take what Forest offered, maybe against Howe's wishes, but if so I could see both sides to this. I think Shelvey would've liked an extra year and likely we may have triggered his extension if Forest hadn't come knocking for Wood and Him. It's clearly worked in our favour as it stands.

And we also have a game in hand over them.

Eddie Howe's not daft. He knew Shelvey's time was up and no way was he going to sustain the energy levels required by this squad. Shelvey was decent enough at times but his out of the box shots and goals plus the odd few Hollywood passes can paper over the massive cracks in his overall game over a season. Good luck to him and he goes with no ill will from me. The game on Friday was just Shelvey trying to impress the forest fans and also trying to make a statement to us that he's still got what it takes to be a part for us in a look what you're missing out on kind of thing. It made him look a bit butcherish (is that a word?) and he was basically nullified but as I say, good luck, he's forests asset/problem now.

Eddie Howe can make his own name with us to be known as one of the great managers and be known worldwide as a thorough manager/coach and man-manager. It's a very tough industry is football and you can go from hero to zero very quickly if you get found out or are not backed to go farther. I hope Eddie Howe goes on to become a name mentioned among the biggest names because that means we are motoring on through him and his team, backed by those at the top. What's not to like...eh? What's not to bloody well like?

What appears to have happened is, VAR has came in and the rules of the game have altered to bring in some kind of complicated addition to the set up of the basic rules, turning what was once a simple game into almost a scientific mish mash. Basic common sense and logic can cut out a lot of this garbage decision making we currently see but seeing that come to fruition is likely never going to happen because to be fair would mean being fair and that could impact the elite clubs in a dramatic way and I highly doubt they would be having that.

Against Wolves Maxi did very well and he was half decent against Forest to be fair. Maxi is one of those players that can look outstanding in a team that allow him to be the main man. Unfortunately for Maxi the training and match reliance is on entire team effort all game with all players to be relevant all game and not go missing for some part of it. I don't want to knock Maxi because he's clearly one hell of a player when his mind is right and his fitness is in check. Against Wolves Maxi showed what a team player he can be so there's work in motion for him. It'll come down to where we finish this season as to how much Maxi wants to continue to fit this set up. If we gain Europa or even (dare I say it) champions league then where could Maxi go to better it? The answer is very few teams on that level who would be willing to take him and his price tag plus wages. I'd like to see him carry on with us for at least another season, obviously with mind right and his ability integrated more into Eddie's set up. Having said all this, if he does go, whether he's surplus or wants out then I'd be sad to see him go but also buoyed by the fact we will be replacing with players that are as good or better in his position.

Injuries will always happen and it's no different for any club. Miggy has been pretty resilient with injuries when you consider his pace and overall never say die work rate. I'd call this more of a much needed rest and replenishment rather than any negative, only because we have more than adequate cover for him. Considering how high intense we are as a unit and the high press in most games, I'd say we do pretty well on the injury front and that has to be down to how me manage it under Howe as opposed to how we did manage it under other regimes.

VAR technology in itself is fantastic. It's the inept/incompetent/cheating people who oversee it that's the real problem.

Basically cheating.

Overall we controlled 70% of that game and if this had been at St James' Park Forest would've likely been blasted out of sight. The game was only as close as the officials made it.

All in all we nearly got done by a ref who bottled a lot, or a ref that simply did not want to offer us much of any spoils if he could get away with it, which he did. If the handball hadn't been so blatant then I'm fairly sure the ref would've found a way to wipe that off as well. Well put it this way, the way the game went and what Forest were getting away with it certainly wouldn't have surprised me. The offside for Anderson's goal was laughable but they found a reason to disallow it so it is what it is, as silly as the decision it was. We deserved that win but it goes to show how a game can be snatched away from you by ref's mistakes or a players mistake. I thought Botman had his worst game for us since signing but that doesn't mean he was totally out of it it just means the decisions he made were highlighted more. Isak was obviously man of the match but Willock deserves a special mention also. I was very Impressed with Anderson when he came on and I was also impressed with Murphy for the time he was on. Danny boy Burn stood up to his task well and was rarely bothered except for one time when Johnson got the better of him but that's going to happen in any game when you're up against players like that. 3 well deserved away points and a nice warm weather break for most of the lads. What's not to like for them and us as this time? Fantastic.

I think it's because we are so tightly marked at times.

To look at Isak you'd never believe he has the skill that he has. He's absolutely fantastic and we're now starting to see why we paid over 60 million for him. To think he's had little time in the premier league due to injury but to think he's basically hit the ground running from the start and still came on stronger as of now. The scary part (for opposition) is, he's only just getting back up to speed.

It's possible many managers could keep Palace up because it's the coin toss with what's around them.

Well that's true but Crystal Palace aren't exactly a great pull for great managers. Any manager they take on will likely be one that has to try to redeem himself....or a bigger past their sell by date manager that's looking to have a final big pay day and not care what happens.

It's hard to imagine the Netherlands squad without our Sven. He's taken to the premier league like a duck to water. Like a goldfish to a big fish tank. Like an Elephant to a safari park. He bosses many games like a Lion bullying a mouse with a twisted ankle. He towers like a skyscraper looking down on a bungalow with two old dears sitting outside of in age old deckchairs, sort of thing. Our Sven. He's not potty, he's Botty.

He's been sacked from Brugge hasn't he?

Scott Parker will walk into that job, as my guess.

To be honest I think the international break will be ok for us. We still have to negotiate Forest yet to class anything as momentum but assuming we do (hopefully) then I think the chill out will be good because it'll be a chill out and training with a positive mentality and a chance (as you mention) to cater for a few niggles and injuries.

To be winners and to gain the spoils of trophies you have to fight fire with fire when needed and always be ready to adapt as you progress up that ladder because you become almost irrelevant when you're down, then to some teams cup final when you're on your way up. You don't get anywhere unless you can play all what's thrown at you.

I won't worry too much on who we miss out on. I'll be concentrating on who we manage to get in and that's the only thing that will count. I won't waste any energy on being gutted on missing out on any target because what we don't get we don't generally expend much, if any energy on what might have been but plenty on what is and what is is any player that puts on that Newcastle United shirt. It's nice to speculate though and even nicer if a target chooses another club and it all goes tits up.

To think we only paid around 3 million for Schar. Deal of the century.

Maxi's class half the time and a loose cannon the other half. I think Eddie Howe's adding more to his armoury and making him more of a hardworking team player. It shows at times when he's on his game like against Wolves but there's still a few things to iron out and I think it's been difficult for Maxi to take earlier on. I think he's starting to understand the full meaning of team player first and luxury skill when the time's right. I think Howe's system has been a shock to a good few but most have taken to it after gaining the spoils from the hard work and seeing them come to fruition on the pitch. I think Maxi is getting near full benefit from it now. I think Anthony Gordon's likely got a bit of a shock as to how long it takes to get up to speed, the Howe way. Remember before Howe came Maxi was the main man, basically running his show. Now we have much more than that.