Jack14Bojangles

Elanga is so weak again.

A good game against a weak Spurs side. With such dominance, however, we need to score more goals. Our problem is efficiency.

If Bruno has the ball, a young striker who has only been in the team for a few months will not refuse it. Perhaps, that's certainly possible.

It looked to me like Nick wanted to take the penalty. I can't imagine he didn't. Goals are the only way out of a slump. And I don't get the impression that Nick is afraid to take responsibility. Think about his penalty goal. You need guts to take one like that.

Did he give up the ball voluntarily, or did Bruno make it happen? On TV, it looked like Nick was going to shoot, didn't it? I must have missed something...

Especially since Nick's form subsequently declined rapidly. He's playing very poorly at the moment and has lost all his confidence. I was hoping he'd take the penalty today. A goal would be good for his self-confidence.

Exactly. In the national team, and also previously at Stuttgart, this short passing game is cultivated, including surprising vertical passes. Nick likes that. And Toon has completely lacked that so far. I'm starting to doubt whether the midfielders are good enough to master this intelligent short and one-two passing game. I'm excluding Bruno and Miley from that. They can do it.

I was really excited about Wissa. Many people on the forum said he was a fully-fledged striker who had scored lots of goals. So far, I haven't seen any of that. Woltemade played very well for the first few months. Since Wissa joined the squad and is now usually in the starting eleven, Nick's form has plummeted. It could be a coincidence, I don't know.

Trippier's time is up. As long as he's playing right-back, we'll concede one or two goals in every game. The passivity on the cross that led to the equalizer today was truly awful. No pressure was applied to the opposing winger, allowing him to deliver the perfect cross with complete ease. The 1-2 goal also came from his side because he had advanced too far and was running back too slowly.

I thought today he'd take the penalty to boost his confidence. But then Bruno took the ball away from him.

From Kicker, Germany's most important sports magazine: Crystal Palace Breaks Transfer Record for One-Goal Striker Strand Larsen According to multiple English media outlets, Palace have reached an agreement with struggling Premier League strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers for the transfer of Jörgen Strand Larsen. The 25-year-old Norwegian international will reportedly cost a base fee of €52 million, with potential add-ons of nearly €6 million. This isn't simply because money flows more freely in England's top flight than in other countries. Last summer, Wolves received a substantial offer for Strand Larsen, with Newcastle United unsuccessfully bidding over €60 million before Nick Woltemade arrived for an even higher sum of €75 million. Now, Wolves, represented by star agent Jorge Mendes, have apparently seized their last opportunity to secure a transfer fee in this range. With relegation looming, given their current 17-point deficit to safety, Strand Larsen's value would certainly have decreased.

The UEFA coefficient ranking 2025/26 (as of 28.1., 23.59) 1 England 20,069 2 Germany 15,285 3 Portugal 14,700 4 Spain 14,375 5 Italy 14,250 6 Poland 13,625 7 France 12,714 8 Cyprus 11,906 9 Greece 11,400 10 Denmark 10,500

I think you're suffering from forgetfulness; Nick played a lot of good passes in the first few months. A murmur went through St. James Park.

Both opponents are beatable and Toon should reach the round of 16.

Sorry, but that's really nonsense. I don't know why you dislike him so much; maybe because he's vegan, because he dresses strangely, or simply because he's German. To deny him any competence in shooting and passing is absurd.

In Germany, Nick was not known for his heading skills. I was therefore surprised that he scored such beautiful headed goals in the first few weeks.

The record of the English clubs is impressive. Five teams directly through to the round of 16 and Toon through the play-offs. The Bundesliga, La Liga, and Serie A each have three clubs represented. The Premier League couldn't demonstrate more clearly that it is the strongest league in the world.

Small steps in the right direction. I like to hear that. I'm feeling a bit depressed at the moment. Nick is being criticized very harshly here by some people. To some extent, I can understand that, as he hasn't performed that well in the last two months, with the exception of the Chelsea game. But the way some people here deny him any quality at all is really harsh. I don't have any good counterarguments at the moment. They were already planning to move Nick to another club if I would just go with him.

I didn't watch the game yesterday.

Article from KICKER, Germany's leading sports magazine: Benchmarked despite kind words: When will Woltemade's slump end? After his sensational start at Newcastle, Nick Woltemade has experienced a slump. Manager Eddie Howe defends his striker, but is nevertheless increasingly leaving him out of the squad. Nick Woltemade didn't have much time to acclimatize. Nor did he seem to need it, at least not immediately after his move from VfB Stuttgart to Newcastle. "I was only here for four days, so everything was new to me. The manager made me feel comfortable," he said after the 1-0 win against Wolverhampton, his first game for the Magpies in mid-September. "I felt good on the pitch and knew what I had to do." Namely, scoring goals – Woltemade netted the only one of the match. The English tabloids immediately dubbed the 1.98-meter-tall striker a "Rudi Völler on stilts." Thanks to further solid performances, including a stunning backheel goal in mid-October against Brighton (1-2), the hype lasted for quite some time; he even got his own fan song. Five goals in the first eight competitive matches was certainly more than respectable, especially for a Premier League newcomer with a €75 million transfer fee. He responded to his unfortunate own goal in the derby against Sunderland (0-1) with a brace in the 2-2 draw against Chelsea just before Christmas. And, as a bonus, he showered the fans with kisses after their support following the previous week's mishap. But a sense of disillusionment has now settled over St. James' Park. The 23-year-old hasn't scored since then, and Woltemade has now gone nine games without finding the net. The former Stuttgart player is increasingly relegated to the role of substitute, as was the case last Sunday when he came on in the 62nd minute of the 2-0 defeat against Aston Villa and made little impact. As a result, critical voices regarding the striker are gradually growing louder. "He has posed no threat whatsoever during his time on the pitch," wrote The Northern Echo, while the BBC finds his poor record "increasingly worrying." Not so for Eddie Howe, or so he claims. "Nick is playing well, there are no issues with his overall performance. He's impressed me in recent weeks," said the Newcastle manager, who nevertheless only started him twice in the last seven competitive matches and has now left Woltemade out of the starting eleven for the second consecutive game. Just last week, Howe had praised his protégé's versatility: "He can play as a number nine, he can play as a number ten, he can play anywhere and in any attacking position. He's very flexible." Woltemade is the "exact opposite" of Yoane Wissa, who prefers to play further forward. The center forward, also signed in the summer for €57.5 million from Brentford, was not much of a competitor for the German for a long time; due to a knee injury, Wissa only made his Newcastle debut on December 6. He contributed a goal and an assist to last week's Champions League victory against PSV Eindhoven (3-0) and was also given the nod against Villa. The question remains whether Howe will find a place for Woltemade on Wednesday when Newcastle face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League group stage, vying for direct qualification to the round of 16. The coach also called on the team to help Woltemade get back into form. He wants his striker to "get more chances," meaning "more assists from the team for him." Should Woltemade fail to score against PSG, he can at least catch up with an old acquaintance a few days later who has already overcome his goal drought. Next Saturday, Newcastle will visit Liverpool, home to Woltemade's German national teammate Florian Wirtz. The former Leverkusen player needed a whopping 23 competitive appearances before finally scoring for the Reds.

I agree with you there. His performance was at a low level, but it was still his best game so far.

For me, that was his best performance since he joined Toon.

Mountain, you're speaking my mind.

That's exactly how it is.

For me, Miley is one of the greatest talents in English football. Toon should definitely keep this gem from their own academy and build a team around him. He's a really great lad.