Viana

I love Eddie but this team selection isn’t good enough for the game at hand with third place on the line.

Let’s be honest, Allan would be planning his exit route if the takeover hadn’t happened. The same is true of Almiron (who I love). They both had busy agents that hadn’t quite found the stepping stone they were sold. They’ve both changed their tune post takeover. The debate is whether it bothers you. The club is ambitious and now our goals align with their goals they want to stay. Personally, my only issue is Maxi’s injury record.

I think he either goes for a midfield duo of Bruno and Longstaff with Gordon ahead or he drops Anderson in to make it a three. I’d be happy for Milley to get 20 minutes at the end provided we’re not getting hammered.

I concede my experience is coloured by the Mackems I know personally that smelt a rabbit off when the big seat installation thing was kicking off. I don’t consider RTG as reflective of my Mackem experience.

Gyokores is playing in the Prem next year. A well rounded pest of a player. Has that quality Shearer did that he could make and score chances.

I’d say relative to his tenure yeah. No more time than it took us ti figure out Ashley.

Satori remains a mysterious figure though. Donald was sussed quite quickly by their fans, but it’s impossible to gauge Satori’s influence and intention.

I just think, if the big takeaway from this season is “people don’t like Newcastle anymore” I have to question your creativity. I mean, sure, it’s not wrong, but what are we learning from that piece? Op-Ed’s should at least challenge us to think. I’d prefer to read something about how supposed idiots have turned us around inside 18 months, or what the acceptance of PIF says of the league’s moral decline.

Good agent. Nepotism is rife with media booking. If you’re friends with the person in charge of talent or your agent is you’ll get gigs.

It’s why I don’t bother watching German football. 11 in a row is ridiculous, and the fact Bayern can have a “bad season” and still win it just sucks any optimism out of things and doesn’t suggest there’s genuine competition.

You’re not wrong. They could play good stuff on the counter, but they had a wafer thin squad and very little physicality.

Gallowgate Shots is decent, even if it doesn’t do tactics per se. I actually think the Athletic has been terrible for Caulkin’s career. The mystique around him enhanced his work. He’d dip in, bottle the emotion of the moment, and dip out again. His interviews were empathetic and well told. If he did podcasts it was similarly short and punchy. Now his articles are too wordy and feel like they were written for a fanzine. His podcast patter is no war crime, but it does disappoint me if only for its hubris. A Newcastle podcast has so much potential. You could review classic games, have experts on to discuss the evolving commercial deals. Dissect the Ashley era, discuss the multi club model we’re being linked to. Instead, Taylor and him bumble through bad jokes and give a “how class was that” analysis.

I mean, I’m open to hearing your case for him, but I’m happy to illustrate why I’m not interested in him. - he’s 26 years old, so I wouldn’t consider him a project player. You’ll improve his form but I debate if you’ll improve his quality. - we’re discussing a 31m bid to a direct rival for a player that right now would be Sean Longstaff’s backup. - he’s older than longstaff by a year. - I’m unconvinced he could be a versatile midfielder like Longstaff because his passing range and technical skills aren’t strong enough (I wouldn’t say Sean’s passing is great either fwiw). - if we’re discussing midfield we have greater priorities than him.

Because it’s like winning the lottery and buying a car off gumtree.

The thing is, this won’t be like Leeds away where they crowded the box. Chelsea will push up and they will leave space. They also made numerous bad decisions on the ball tonight and that potential is increased given we love to press. While I don’t see the score being the same as the West Ham game, I could see a repeat in terms of rhythm.

Do you have a link to that episode?

I’ve ditched both. The Guardian has the occasional decent episode on a specific topic, but week to week it offers very little insight I can’t gleam elsewhere and with more depth. Totally Football is better in terms of insight, but it’s littered with in jokes. I find both are guilty of the pundits thinking they’re the star and trying too hard to be funny. I could tolerate that if I felt I was learning, but more often than not you can smell James Richardson’s apathy and Glendennig’s lack of preparation unless the game was shown in the pub.

It likely depends on where they see Ashby at in his development.

That pod is the definition of an echo chamber.

Don’t get me wrong; there were positives about the deal that clearly lead Shola to strike it. At the same time, this is where Shola should be performing the due diligence and evaluating if there’s actually enough minutes to go around. Hearts were out of Europe by the time he joined so it’s not like he could have got minutes there either. Thankfully it’s one six month spell, but I’d be surprised if Shola is in the job much longer. If he does stay I think it’ll be with significantly more involvement from higher ups.

It all depends really. The challenge for Pochettino is figuring out how to play. It’s why I don’t think you can operate in the way Abramovich used to and win stuff anymore. You need some guiding principles as it relates to who you’re signing. If we assume Poch is going for a 3-4-3 you need to find the right partner for Enzo Fernandez and also figure out the CF position. Either way, there are several weak areas in that squad and he has to devise a tactic to make the most of those they’ve invested in on long deal and make up for those aforementioned squad weaknesses.

Don’t be afraid, it’s a normal thing to ask.

By sending him to a team that was stacked with options in his preferred position - including a Japanese international they signed two days before Kuol joined on loan. You’re placing serious expectations on a player to break into that and hold his role. That’s fine if we are sending Elliot Anderson, but Garang hadn’t played many full games in the A-League to start with. Throw in a new culture, a better level, and that’s a significant change for someone that needs consistency. Hearts owe us nothing so as soon as he didn’t show early on he was going to be a bench option.

Any word on the fee?

It’s almost like Shola can’t judge talent lol.