Erikse

Just the idea that we would have the board sign a £55m player that Howe didn't want himself, and to then think that Howe would still start him nearly every game right after, even when he was from a different league, when he wasn't even a Howe signing. All of that while having a fully fit squad. Howe himself saying that we signed him because he himself loved the way he plays comes on top of all of that, but that doesn't mean anything either. That's some next level brain gymnastics, I'm kind of impressed.

Allright, stay ignorant then. I'll leave the quote a second time, just in case. “We pursued him for a long, long time, paid a big fee for him because I fell in love watching him play the game last year."

I also think he should start, so maybe you are misunderstanding me. I was saying that Howe wanted him badly enough for us to pay £55m for him. So therefore either he should start him, or in the case where he doesn't fit into our system etc, then that's also on him as he was the one who wanted him.

You don't even believe yourself that it wasn't a Howe signing at this point. You're arguing just for the sake of arguing now, so this is pointless.

Had the summer to bed in? Howe doesn't bed in players over the summer if they are not even a Howe signing.

Why did he start Tonali most games before the ban, if he was not a Howe signing? Not even Bruno started in the first 10 games when we had an Ashley team, and Howe said it was because he was from a different league. Howe had a lot of faith in Tonali, that's why he wanted him. You're clutching at straws trying to hold on to your narrative here.

Those quotes are from last year. Cmon man, you're suggesting that Howe made the weirdest lie ever for no reason right after signing him. Howe actually started Tonali several games last season when we had everyone fit, that's highly unusual of him. Even the first game after signing.

Well, why would he lie right after signing him about personally watching him play with AC Milan and signing him because of the way he played there?

When he signed: Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has revealed he signed £52million midfielder Sandro Tonali after he “fell in love” watching his play for AC Milan last season. “We pursued him for a long, long time, paid a big fee for him because I fell in love watching him play the game last year. “He’s an outstanding talent. He can do a little bit of everything. Very similar to our other midfielders, he’s got a combination of a lot of attributes that I think will suit the Premier League.

But he kept going on about how he watched him before we were in for him, and how he fell in love with the way he played?

From the start it felt like a signing that would be decent for what we used to be pre takeover, or for what Bournemouth used to be when Howe was there. One of those that we would've been hoping to move on a couple of years into the new ownership if he was here when we got taken over. He's a squad player, but I really hope the wages aren't as crazy as some of the reports say. Even Krafth at CB seems better so far, like..

And Howe wanted Tonali (55m), but would rather play Longstaff.

West Ham knew exactly what lineup we were going to play, and exactly how we were going to play it. It's not really a secret that we will go the exact same route for the next one when we win. It has worked before, mind, but feels like it's getting too predictable at this point.

Seems like it, but the whole Burn thing was every game regardless of result and performance. Will be interesting to see whether we make a change for the next one. Generally I'd like the lineups to be a little more proactive.

I don't understand why we never really rotate based on opposition, isn't that a quite normal thing to do when you have the players to do so? We've improved our squad depth last season, but we're not really taking full advantage of it imo. For example Burn automatically playing at LB every single game over Tino, even when he was bound to get bullied by a fast winger. We're playing Longstaff over Tonali in games where we're likely to have the ball quite a lot. What is the tactical reasoning behind that?

He has been available to play since august. It's rare that any player gets benched due to international games, let alone one that played in Europe. There's no reason to manage minutes anymore, it's purely going with the winning team, and going with who he trusts from the past.

He'll nick one in, and be off with a fractured forehead.

I do have all of those. Except I have Son instead of Saka. Unfortunately I have 0.0 in the bank, so I can't switch. Saka seems like the better option for sure, but I didn't consider this issue when I spent all my funds before the weekend. I realised it right after, before the gameweek even started. I'll probably roll and see if I still want to make the change after, then I can use 2 free subs for it. My defence is pretty cheap bar Raya and Gabriel, that's how I managed to afford it all.

And some more highlights if you can take it (wouldn't be shown as embedded for some reason) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwJ8kvM9TKA&ab_channel=BarcaGravity

Need Ray Hudson in the Premier League.

Not sure saying luck based game was the right term, that seemed like a contradiction, but I think everyone gets the point anyways haha. I really want Pedro myself, but I have Jackson, Isak and Cunha. Wondering if I should've just gone for Pedro over Jackson for the funds, but spending a transfer to get rid of an in form Jackson doesn't seem like a great idea. I suppose I'll just have to hope Pedro doesn't go crazy. If any of my strikers gets injured or I need the funds, I'll do the transfer later. Just sucks that his price will go up very fast.

Haven't watched Chelsea that much, but.. is Madueke really playing that well? He seems to be preferred over all the other great options, like he hasn't been rotated in the league yet (apart from not playing gameweek 1). Palmer, Jackson and Madueke seems to be the regulars, with Neto, Sancho, Nkunku, Felix and Mudryk fighting for the last spot.

Like with every game based on a lot of randomness (poker for example), the higher the sample size, the more telling it is. You're supposed to maximize the odds in your favour, and pure luck usually evens out quite a lot over time. Monthly winner is mostly luck. The season winner is way more skill. Ofcourse you're also dependant on a bit of luck if you're competing against other highly skilled players, but luck by itself won't get you that far. The biggest luck factor must be the first few gameweeks, as those are very important. But here the best players does a lot of research before the season.

Sometimes I consider focusing more on Serie A rather than PL. Might even follow a team there. The only top league where several teams can still win it, and where the winner changes regularly.