Ellis H

As if Louise Taylor wasn’t annoying enough that tapping when she asks a question is infuriating. It’s like she’s rapping her shit stirring questions.

If we’re in the Conference League I think he’ll stay as he’s perfect for the first half of that. We’ve got a lot of players/positions to upgrade this summer and I’d say he’s not near the top of the list.

The longer opposition players and managers think Murphy is crap and offers nothing the more we’ll benefit from him. I’d rather some of our own fans didn’t think that but that’ll clearly never change at this point.

Bill Shankley used to tell Keegan to "go out and drop hand grenades all over the place". That’s probably where Osula is, not trusted enough yet to start matches but can be a massive handful off the bench for defenders who don’t know his game.

I went for something a bit different in the aftermath of the final. It’s very good for £12. I noticed after purchase that the one on the site didn’t have a Nike tick so that’s a nice bonus. (I know he hasn’t been 39 for Brazil, accuracy isn’t the point)

Since THAT Brentford game in December… Played - 21 Won - 16 Lost - 5 Cups - 1

If we beat Leicester and Villa lose against Forest we’ll be 5 points clear with a very winnable game in hand. Also just noticed Villa’s goal difference is -1, which tells a story and might help us.

All the more reason to go for a proper striker in the summer. Losing Isak for at least a month would be far more catastrophic than any other player with the current squad.

Salah was as anonymous tonight as he was in the final. Reckon Tino might have broken him mentally and hopefully physically just before he signs a big, fat new contract with Liverpool.

This weekend Palace vs Brighton West Ham vs Bournemouth Villa vs Forest Brentford vs Chelsea Fulham vs Liverpool Leicester vs Newcastle I like the look of that. Could really pull away from a few teams here.

Hopefully Bournemouth and Brighton will now retire to their beaches for the next few months. We’re in such a great position with that game in hand.

I think we’ll need to re-evaluate the word “backup” if we’re going to regularly be in Europe. Accounting for injuries, end of game tiredness and rotation, someone like Delap could easily play in 40+ games next season and he’d probably start half of them. I’d rather we have someone good doing that than an Osula type who the jury is still very much out on.

Sheffield United player fully nicking Isak’s celebration. Another sign of how massive he is.

If we’re serious about it, it’ll be a full size statue of him getting in the helicopter right in the middle of the pitch. We’ll just have to play around it.

Mitchell would be ideal if he’s happy being a squad player. Assuming Trippier is off we’d have Targett, Krafth and Burn as backup full back options but their contracts expire next summer (according to nufc.com). He’d replace Targett and Krafth immediately, meaning we can try to sell them now.

Funny how he’s coming crawling back now we’ve won something. Pathetic. ONLY pulled his hamstring? Shows how little he cares. I’ve always respected that he’s kept his distance, not wanting to overshadow the manager the way Alex Ferguson often does. He might feel more comfortable now Howe’s fully embedded in our hearts and there’ll be no talk of him “coming for Howe’s job” just because he’s at a game.

“Former Magpies striker Michael Chopra said this week that some senior players have told him they do not know their jobs on the pitch. But he came out fighting on Friday, and took aim for Chopra in particular. “I'm not taking notice of someone who's played 20 games and scored one goal here,' said Bruce. 'Someone with a bit of credence, I can understand. When it's complete lies, that's when it’s disappointing. I would expect him to be ignored. Who is he? It's absolute lies and we all know why he's on the radio. Newcastle legend who played 20 times for the club… Jesus. If it's Alan Shearer ? Bring it on. 'I'm just surprised that people pay any attention to him.”

The article is in the comments.

This is a satisfying watch. Also shows his record vs the top 6 at the time was played 63 and won 2. (it’s not clear but Collymore says “Phil” Dummett said something wasn’t right)

I remember watching a few episodes of Big Brother when Ron Atkinson went in. He wasn’t there for long but he hated it and wanted to leave but knew if he voluntarily left he’d not get his fee. This is what he said to Les Battersby about it “I’d be very happy to pack my bags and go. I know this ain’t my scene. I'm having to keep a lid on a lot of things. In the immortal words of Steve Bruce, you've just got to grin and bank it.” We obviously already knew his eventual payoff is more important than things like pride or self respect but it’s nice to know he’s very open about it away from the cameras.

"One of the most gifted players I've ever played with," admitted Meyler, the Cork native remaining on good terms with the former French international despite their disappointing spell as teammates. "But when we had to report for training by 10:00 am, Hatem would turn up at 9:59:59 am. You had to be out on the pitch and ready to go by 10:25 am and Hatem would stroll out at 10:24:59 am. "He wouldn't tie his boots, he'd saunter around training but this boy was so gifted." "You had the likes of myself, [Paul] McShane, [Stephen] Quinn and we were there every day grafting and putting in as much effort as we could," he recalled, "and he would just toss sessions off completely. "But when we would walk out towards training he would be like, 'I'm going to nutmeg you, you and you today,' and he could take the ball and just go past five or six, take it around the 'keeper and have an empty net but take the ball back to go around a defender again. "I'm looking at myself then and it is frustrating, because I looked at it as if he was wasting his talent... If I had his ability and my mentality I'd be at Real Madrid." For manager Steve Bruce and Ben Arfa's teammates, it all came to a head when Hull took on Manchester United with the French midfielder starting in midfield. "The manager took Hatem off after about 35, 40 minutes," Meyler explained, "and at half-time he got the stats that Allan McGregor who was in goals for us had run more than Hatem Ben Arfa in the first-half. "I remember Steve Bruce blew a gasket and went off at him, but Hatem just sat there laughing at him." A season that would see Hull City relegated to the Championship, Meyler admitted that Ben Arfa's approach served to ultimately frustrate his teammates also. "On a Monday morning training session," he remembered, "[I was among] the lads who hadn't played and we were going through our paces getting a full workout. "Something just cracked between myself and Stephen Quinn and we lost it. The issue was raised and Hatem was eventually told he wasn't wanted anymore. "You can't let [problems like that] exist in a changing room." I try to defend him whenever possible but this probably sums it up and Pardew has said similar. He had a very unique time growing up which probably didn’t help his mental development. https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/newcastle-hatem-ben-arfa-says-3310117

“A few years ago now, a well known London-based scribe hosted a party. The guest list varied from friends and family to work colleagues and a few folk he knew from the world of football. It was a pretty big house and one room was cornered off to the bemusement of most of the revellers. It transpires that this was the VIP area. At a house party. Alan Pardew then manager of West Ham United, was the only person sitting in it.”

Any ex-footballer or manager with a brain should know that being complementary about your former team and fans is just about the most low effort/high reward thing you can do. You don’t even have to mean it, you just have to say a few bland platitudes and you’ll be forgiven for anything in some people’s eyes.

We desperately need to get the GK/CB right because that’s where we’re failing in the league. Scoring isn’t normally a problem but a better defence could turn some defeats into draws which would have us nearer Arsenal this season. They’ve only won 2 more games than we have (played 1 more) but we’ve lost 9 to their 3. We’ve also conceded more than Everton and Palace. In 22/23 we drew 14 and lost 5 and in 23/24 we drew 6 and lost 14. Currently it’s drawn 5 and lost 9.

The clubs that could afford him had the chance to sign him last summer but they didn’t and not much has changed since. He’ll still be here in September.