magvicar

The lad is just a bairn and also acclimatising to another country and a different culture. A daunting task for him but he'll come good and settle and then we can take him onboard properly and unleash his talent for the good of us. Fingers crossed.

You know, people go on about James Maddison and an injury record but the reality is it's not that bad at all. He'd be a great addition to Newcastle and if we could get him for a fair price given his contract being up in 2024. If we fail to land him then James Ward Prowse would be a great second. Having said that it'll be interesting to see what we actually do in the summer.

If Elliott Anderson keeps learning and sticking in then he'll get more game time as time goes on, but as for now, with what we have and the way we're trying to break into the top 4, we need ready made experience. He's shown glimpses of his talent when afforded the time and he may turn into a regular like Longstaff but as it stands it really has to be kid gloves when you consider the pressure pot we're in with trying to stay relevant at the right end of the table.

As long as he stays fit he'll get fully up to speed but we've all seen the quality in him. He seems to have it all and considering Isak's only played a handful of games it's remarkable how good he's actually come on in that short space of game time he's had.

I thought Eddie Howe got it fairly ok with the subs. A bit of experience in Ritchie coupled with a fired up Miggy and a misfiring Wilson getting a chance to go up against tiring players. Wilson wasn't anything to write home about for his time on the pitch but he had to replace Isak who was tiring after all the hard work he'd put in considering he's hardly had any real game time for a good while. It's too easy for us as fans to be over critical and expectant considering the team/squad have been over-performing and we can all turn into managers but we all know it takes a lot more than words from us to solve squad issues and rotations and so on. I'd give Eddie Howe a nice 8/10.

Pope may have said leave it but in the heat of the moment Trippier has a split second choice to make. Had he not slipped and actually cleared it we'd all be lauding him. It's a finicky old game and one fine line can be the difference between outstanding and frustration.

The good thing about this squad and the players who've been left out is, the fight for a chance to regain a place is a big fight and one where it has to be taken with all that the player has to ensure a run. It's brilliant for us because it not only offers the squad determination it also ups the games of all players scrapping and I think Eddie Howe plays on this to see the hunger. It's why some players (Fraser as an instance) fall by the wayside and others start to enhance their game. It's healthy and definitely sorts out the wheat from the chaff. You start to see a dedicated squad mentality rather than one that, before, we didn't have in terms of biting at the bit to train like hell and be a part of a set up.

As the quality builds the players who own the real potential start to shine. Willock being one among quite a few.

Looking at if from this angle suggests Pope commits the foul and a penalty but if you see if from another angle like behind the goal you can see that Although Pope goes for the ball, Jiminez angles towards Pope to clash not Pope to Jiminez. If you look form the other angle you can clearly see Pope angling back a bit so as not to initiate first contact.

I thought we played really well in the first half and Wolves were struggling to live with us. In the second half we got a little bit nervy and lost a lot of fluency and allowed Wolves a fair bit of impetus. But all in all when you consider the pressure was on to get 3 points, the team performed really well for most part of the game. The error for their goal was simply one of those things and any player can slip. Trippier had an otherwise solid game but then again credit to the entire team because nobody hid. I was impressed with Maxi yesterday and I thought Murphy did well. Willock is getting back to his best and Dan Burn did a decent job along with the entire back line. All in all it was a great effort to get back to winning ways and a nice pep up going into Fridays game against Forest. Well done Eddie and the lads.

I can see why it wasn't given but I can also see why they are given. Pope looked to have impeded the player but when you look at it closer you can see Jiminez ran into Pope and Pope did try to avoid. It can be taken both ways and any Wolves fan and maybe many fans would claim it and a stone wall penalty but I'm being a bit biased and also seeing it as 6 of one and half a dozen of the other in terms of what was or wasn't.

What we have to remember with the transfers we made, we had to gamble and had to gamble on a mix and match of foreign potential to come in and hit the ground running, aided by seasoned premier league players whose goal was to die for the cause for us. Luckily for us we did just that and it worked. In the position we were in and under many owners who would've panicked, we'd have likely brought in overpaid mercenaries for survival and ended up screwed, most likely. When you step back and take a good old look at the business we did back then to this very present, we've done remarkably well for the situation we were in and the situation we find ourselves in now, which is fantastic when you consider the short period of time. Imagine us as fans questioning whether we've lost the plot with 14 games left and in a position to still be looked at as fighting for a champions league place, never mind a Europa. The thing with that is, we've been on a fairly big blip but are still fighting for something on the right end. 3 losses in the league, all to top teams and neither of those losses were walk overs like we've been through for many years against them. What's not to like? And the good part of it is we've mainly got to this stage without 2 major signings in Isak and Gordon who are now closer to getting up to speed in fitness and in terms of being part of the tactical set up. We have to ensure we don't get too far ahead of ourselves in terms of our expectations because to expect too much and show it, it can reflect on the players and can have a negative effect. We have hope and plenty of it for this season and for the future. We can hope to gain a Europa spot or even (dare I say it) a champions league spot but in terms of what I think, my expectations are plain and simple. I'd be content enough if we can finish top 7 but my hopes and dreams are a tad higher, even for now.

It's great to see him on the road to recovery and, as has been said, hopefully he gets back to the form he was in just before that injury.

Tottenham are in danger of becoming a poisoned chalice but just like Man Utd did, it will take someone special to create a regular winning mentality and a basic togetherness throughout the club. I think the problem with Tottenham may be with Levy. You can have all the best managers but they need to be allowed to do exactly that. If you put your trust in a manager than ensure the manager has the full backing to the best of the ability of what the club can offer. I just feel there's too much input from the top and Levy as a big part of it. The best fit was allowed to go for whatever reasons. Pocchettino. No manager has touched what he's done for the club for one hell of a long time. It may be well worth a return for him.

Ben Arfa is a flawed genius of a footballer. He's one of those talents that comes along every so often who require careful man management to ensure his skills benefit the team but also his mental well being is not disrupted by overworking him to training methods employed for the less genius members of the squad, if you get my meaning. Basically Ben Arfa was a crowd pleaser and could've been up there with the best of the best if injuries and attitude and man management were more on point. I suppose you could say catering to his whim at times to ensure you got that genius from him. I loved his skills at Newcastle. At times he could frustrate but then again his genius more than made up for it. It's just a shame injury robbed us of more of his game. Imagine having a fired up Ben Arfa of that time as a part of this set up, assuming he could work under Eddie Howe's training standards, because as some players once said of his time, he looked like he trained at 50% against their 100% because he made it look so easy. Definitely well up there as one of the most exciting players I've seen for Newcastle. Unfortunately his time has passed at the top but great memories.

We are the new kids on the block as far as FFP is concerned. We have to create our own sustainable revenue and this will only happen when the players we buy get identified as some other big clubs' piece of a jigsaw and they decide to offer massive money. It's about us being shrewd in the early days to gain the readies to eventually compete at the higher end. Unfortunately the Botman's and the Bruno's are always going to be the jewels for collection by the major hitters who have already bypassed the FFP to some degree, early doors. Assuming our owners are allowed to actually carry on owning us then we will always find ways around all the attempts to sabotage our push into the elite positions currently enjoyed by the usual suspects. For every loyal die hard club player of quality there will always be those who have their heads turned for the Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG type clubs....for now, until we gain better traction with an influx of overall quality that propels us into regular league and cup challenges and then we will become a catch for the bigger players. As it stands we are in transition and it's a transition onto bigger things, not a flash in the pan attempt to play with the big boys for 5 minutes and then fall to pieces as we have done before. As long as Newcastle United are allowed to play in the same playground as the accepted elites then we will progress very strongly. It's exciting as hell and a breath of fresh air when you consider we've been run as a bit part premier league club to cater for the elite clubs' round of games as basic general cannon fodder along with another 13 or so clubs.

The thing is we can't live on stats, we have to live or die by each game and how we perform in those.

Aye there's always a chance. How many would've thought we'd be still in with a shout of champions league with 14 games to go? We've come a long way in a short time but the key is to now go back on a decent run after a massive blip. Fingers crossed.

The chances of us finishing top 4 are slim but slim equals a chance. I think Man City Arsenal Man Utd and possibly Liverpool with the rest of us scrapping for 5th. I dearly hope I'm wrong but I've got to let my head rule this one and not my heart.

The season really hinges on the Durham match. It's a must win and then it's a case of winning their 2 games in hand to go above then making sure they equal or better Durham with the remaining games. It's doable and hopefully they sign off with a game at St James' Park and promotion. Fingers crossed for the lasses.

Aye, it'll take a bit of time to get him up to speed but I think he's smartened up a lot under Eddie and co, so it's just a case of him getting a bit of premier game time again and see where it takes him and us.

Gordon's been at Newcastle for only a short period and in that time he's mostly been bit part. He's shown some good play when he's been called into action and you can see the quality is there. He needs time to get fully up to speed with Howe's training methods and also the blend into the match day system. Patience is the key here and I think he'll start showing why he was bought in these remaining 14 games.

It is a massive turnaround. He looks fit and well.

This is the part of the season where certain players do need a bit of a physical and mental rest. Dan Burn is certainly one of those. Matt Targett is an easy replacement for Burn and has had long enough recovery time to ease his way back in. Lascelles should also come in against Wolves because he nullified Haaland and looked decent all game considering his lack of game time..

Wilson looks way off the pace for me. I'm not sure what's going on with him but, rest him and use him as an impact sub and start Isak. I know it's easy for me to say as an outside trying to look in kind of thing but Wilson is clearly struggling with something. I trust in what Eddie Howe's doing but even Eddie must be struggling to find reasons to start him.