magvicar

We didn't strive to get into the champions league just to be fodder. A lot of players in our squad are top quality and have played at a high level for their clubs and countries. I'd rather have this group than a so called minnow group. Imagine going out to unfancied teams in a group. I get the old " if we get 3rd we can play in Europa." Fine but do you think Eddie and the players are thinking on those lines or rubbing their hands at pitting themselves against these teams? This is exciting and it gives us 6 solid games for starters and who knows what will happen. On paper we will be fodder for a lot of people but football isn't played on paper and games are not set in stone at any time, unless you have corrupt officials. This gives us a chance to up our game and also gives us fans a chance to get all excited. There's always hope and it's not always about the dog in the fight but the fight in the dog. Let's enjoy and see where it takes us.

Sometimes Miggy tries too hard but he's been very unlucky not to be on a few goals. Maybe some fans would like to see him benched but in the top gun mindset when Jester says he won't engage and just might not make it back, Viper will respond with "keep sending him out." Yeehar wor Miggy, let's go ballistic. Let's turn and burn.

Been told by my in the know street shoeshine man that Botman will almost certainly play again this season.

News just in. Sven said he's had to lose the foot but he's been assured by doctors that it will eventually grow back in a few weeks, In the mean time he's feeling a bit stumped. I think Dan Burn will step up and Lewis Hall may take the left back role.

Some people need to realise how dire this club was for long enough and how we all felt being dejected on a regular basis. what we're getting now is enjoyable feel good football in the main, with the odd blip which all teams get. We are not looked upon as cannon fodder by any of the top teams now. That tells anyone how far we've come in such a short space of time and that is down to 99.9% at the club going in the right direction. What's not to like?

Remember, Bruno came in and was the stand out midfielder and deservedly so. We now have Tonali and Joelinton in with him and that can take the edge of what people look for in Bruno and rather seeing all the good he does, one mistake can be picked out and amplified to the point of head scratching. Let's not do too much to make him feel like an outcast because these digs by some can escalate to a point where losing him may not be a favourable outcome. Take the good and the great when it's there and also take the bad when it happens because football is about hope not expectation.

Joelinton was a beast. It's a shame he had to be subbed.

Football is always about if's , but's, could've and would've. If we weren't as complacent we could've won the game. If Eddie didn't make any subs we could've won the game. If Eddie didn't make subs we could've had injuries to key players. If Miggy had scored we would've won. If Allison hadn't made a worldly save we would've won. If the ball hadn't hit the back of Botman and bounced perfectly for Nunez then we would've got a point. And so on and so on. The thing is, if Miggy has scored two goals he would be a hero and everyone would be bigging him up. If. He was unlucky and on another day he would be the hero. The game is about luck among many other things and Liverpool got it when it mattered and we didn't. Miggy can be frustrating at times but certainly wouldn't single him out for any major criticism in that game. If Bruno hadn't tried to play an outside of the right boot pass out wide from midfield then we wouldn't have conceded that goal. But if that pass had come off he would be lauded. Eddie Howe stated last season that the game was about moments. It really is. There's a fine line between good and bad and it takes moments.

Losing to Liverpool in the manner we did destroys you but it's pointless blaming Eddie Howe for bad substitutions. He made them for a reason and generally his reasoning comes to fruition. Gordon worked his socks off and was arguably our best player but remember he was up against Trent who is no slouch and Gordon roasted him for a fair mount of the game and then started to tire. You could see that when he was cutting inside instead of taking him outside. Tonali was also tiring and even though you can argue both players could easily make the 90 minutes, you have to look at two things. Tiredness causes injury and bad decisions, so I'm sure Eddie will have seen this potential and simply refreshed everything, knowing Liverpool were going to go into Kamikaze mode offensively to get an equaliser. We got done by a good goal and another that was simply down to a massive lucky break. We had no luck in that department. The biggest criticism I have for Howe is the way we actually sat back and allowed Liverpool to play. But as much as 10 men seems a tasty proposition, it actually ignited Liverpool and gave them a second wind, and we simply allowed them to use their pace against our much slower back line. This stuff happens and now and again even the best teams get done over. It's hard to take because it's Liverpool and Klopp and the fact we got robbed at their place and they simply robbed us at ours. I honestly thought Barnes looked tired when he came on. He actually didn't look like he had much in him and that shocked me. But let's think of this. How many times have fans slated Eddie Howe for leaving players on and they get injured or done when they're a bit fatigued in the game and the crying out's been why didn't you make some subs, you could see he was flagging/carrying a knock...etc. The good thing about this game is, it's another massive learning curve for Eddie and remember he is always learning, and by learning (which he will certainly do) it can only benefit us in the longer term. Sometimes a good old wake up call is needed and this one certainly is that. Just remember bad decisions will always be made and also good decisions in terms of line-up and subs. We are still massively in transition and only 3 games into a season having played 3 top teams. As it stands it's one great game (Villa) and one game of too much respect (away to Man City) and another game of too much complacency after a great first half against Liverpool. It's not the end of our season and sometimes a good old kick up the arse is just the tonic. The interesting bit will be in what Eddie puts out against Brighton and how we perform. I'm typing this in gutted mode but typing it after getting the frustration out of my head after the game, giving me better time to reflect. I'm in a better place this morning compared to last night. There's going to be a lot of hits and misses this season for just about all clubs, so our chinning is about us getting back up and ensuring we don't fall flat on the canvas and KO our season, which I don't think will be the case. Aye it's a long post but I thought I'd get it all in. Up the mags.

You're always going to get people who want to stir up issues over the club or players. The more they get the more they want and anything less will never appease them. The saddest part is in Bruno actually taking the time to answer back. He should't bite because I'm certain the players will have told him you always get a minority of whingers. I'm sure the fans will let Bruno know just how much he's loved at home to Liverpool.

Aye, I know what you're saying and the proof will be in the pudding but I think Elliot Anderson's matured to a high degree in such a short time and has always done well when called upon and showed a basic fearlessness for the first team. But, yeah, you do have a point.

Anderson has cemented his place among the first team squad now. He's come of age and certainly lived up to expectation and more.

A decent move for Darlow. Good luck to him.

A loan makes perfect sense for Ashby. It gets him decent game time at a high level. It did Elliot Anderson the world of good.

Aye I get that but this player isn't exactly a best price scenario for me and also it's a risk factor when you consider the injury he's had.

I'm still trying to understand why we're in for Livramento. Out injured for a season and only just got back to make a few small appearances and now we're supposedly desperate for his signature and Southampton think he's worth 40 million even though they're battering from a championship setup now. Something just doesn't seem right about this. We have enough right back cover and if anything it's a top quality left back we need. I haven't read much of this thread so maybe I'm just saying something that's been said time and again.

Elliotttttt..... Ander... Elli Elli Ander...... Elli Elli aye oh aye.

Anthony Gordon looks in top shape and a little pre-season extra from Eddie and he will be flying this season, I think.

Tonali's going to be quality for us. You can see what he'll bring in that short spell against Rangers and bearing in mind he's only just starting to integrate and hasn't had much team blending, never mind bonding.

Our youngsters are actually progressing and not stagnating at this club, now. The better quality additions Eddie Howe's brought in, coupled with the ones already here, has went up a notch and that can only offer more progress and more hunger by the younguns to show what they are capable of. I think this club is simply buying smart for the future with youngsters and also buying careful and smart in terms of bringing in seasoned players that does not saturate the squad to the extent of having the younger up and coming players being held back. It appears like it's a bit of unleash the potential as much as is possible while we fight on the front foot in the prem and the champions league as well as the other cup competitions. The future looks brighter than the sun at mid day.

I think Harvey Barnes will be an excellent signing. It'll be sad to see Maxi go but we are a club that is moving forwards and we have to be realistic with Maxi in terms of not seeing his full potential in any regularity and that's no good for a club that has aspirations of being around the top tier of competitions. I wish Maxi well and he will always have a good place in my thoughts. To sum Maxi up, he's a luxury bit part player we simply can't afford to cater to. Half a dozen games a season at the top of his game is not going to enhance what the club is trying to achieve. Harvey Barnes is a piece of a jigsaw that actually fits into Eddie Howe's puzzle without needing to hammer it home.

Maddison wanted London, clearly. It's also clear he's not interested in champions league unless it's with a London club of which no London club in the champions league was offering him that opportunity. So Tottenham it is. I have nothing against Maddison for this. He simply doesn't want to come to Newcastle and likely sees the north east as the back of beyond. Some players seem to appear to think this when London calls. There's a reason why some top players end up at Crystal Palace or Fulham and such, or even Brentford. If it skirts around London as a premier league club then it becomes attractive to some players .

If that happens then we'll need to replace but up to now nothing's happened.

To be fair our back line has been excellent and especially Schar and Botman. There's a reason why we had the joint best defensive stats along with Man City. The fact that Pope isn't in the top half of the most saves made says a lot about how good our defence really is. Obviously the defence will struggle at times...all defences do when up against certain top players or battering ram type players with a bit of extra pace. Both Schar and Botman are ball playing centre back's.

Someone has to be a number 2 and a number 3 or even 4. Not all are going to be on high end wages and not all are going to be part of the homegrown requirement, so it makes sense to keep Mark Gillespie and his wages will be pennies but his love for the club will be priceless.