andyc35i Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 Not a fan of the Europa Conference and would actually prefer that we don’t ever enter it. The real progress to me this year is the fact that we won’t be losing the usual 15+ league games in a season. Our mentality totally changing to one that doesn’t just accept defeat is a great shift from 18 months ago Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 I think for a club where 7th-8th is the ceiling, it can have a bearing. If we're going where it seems where we're going though, I think the board would use Europe to dope our sponsorship deals, spend more and strengthen us so we can handle it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 5 hours ago, andyc35i said: Not a fan of the Europa Conference and would actually prefer that we don’t ever enter it. Why? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnNUFC Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 Used to be of the same opinion but get me on the fucking piss in Latvia and Moldova, man. Assuming I can get a ticket that is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanji Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Any European competition is good. The club will need to naturally progress into more competitions and if it’s Conferencd League, then it’s one that we could potentially win. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lush Vlad Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 (edited) I know we don’t go behind much these days. But this has been a problem right back to the Pardew days, hasn’t it? I suppose with better players and more squad depth. We’d be able to improve on this. Edited March 9, 2023 by Lush Vlad Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 (edited) Does the Liverpool away game count in that since we went behind in the 97th minute, or is it just when conceding first? Games we conceded first: Man City X2 Wolves Bournemouth x2 Liverpool Edited March 9, 2023 by Optimistic Nut Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Guess from that it's not really a metric that has a bearing either way for us. We got a result in 4 of the 7, Liverpool away was impossible to come back, Liverpool at home we had 10 men for the majority and City are City. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Games we've lead and dropped points would be a more interesting one I think. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lush Vlad Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 42 minutes ago, Optimistic Nut said: Games we've lead and dropped points would be a more interesting one I think. That is probably on there. It’s a decent page, The Other 14. But hopefully we won’t be included for much longer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lush Vlad Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 56 minutes ago, Optimistic Nut said: Does the Liverpool away game count in that since we went behind in the 97th minute, or is it just when conceding first? Games we conceded first: Man City X2 Wolves Bournemouth x2 Liverpool Yeah, that’s all fair. I just feel like we are not a team that is built from coming from behind. Not that many probably are. But we have been in plenty of tight games this season. But we often grab the lead. Maybe it is just under the microscope more. As we currently don’t score. So it feels even more like if we go a goal down. We aren’t winning. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyc35i Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 9 hours ago, Yorkie said: Why? For me I think the Europa Conference League is not worth messing up your schedule and rhythm in the season. It doesn’t really offer you elite competition and I assume the sponsorship / tv money is poor for the amount of strain it puts on the team. I’m a fan of the Europa League because it has a lot of top sides entering each year and also offers the avenue of Champions League qualification as a winner Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prophet Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 48 minutes ago, andyc35i said: For me I think the Europa Conference League is not worth messing up your schedule and rhythm in the season. It doesn’t really offer you elite competition and I assume the sponsorship / tv money is poor for the amount of strain it puts on the team. I’m a fan of the Europa League because it has a lot of top sides entering each year and also offers the avenue of Champions League qualification as a winner European football of any form would be a step forward. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Being in Europe is a tangible sign of progress to the wider football community. 8th is not. Not sure how much difference that makes but it is a difference. Leicester aside. Teams don't go from regularly not qualifying for Europe to then qualifying for the CL. Because you need a deep squad to even finish 4th and even 5th these days. The Conference League would be good for us to have a proper development squaad / players. I want us to sign highly rated teenagers and youngsters and Europe is a great way to get them first team experience. Those Europa games were great for the development of Saka, ESR, Martinelli.. even Rashford, Dalot & Garnacho. Kane. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
midds Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 Quick scan at the other top Leagues on the continent and it's apparent that we're rubbing shoulders with the elite in some areas. Our defensive unit is outstanding. Of the top 5 leagues (98 teams) only 3 have lost fewer games than we (3) have, these teams are Barcelona, Napoli and Bayern (all on 2 losses). Looking at goals conceded then only Barcelona (8!) and Napoli (16) have shipped fewer than we (18) have. I know we've been tight at the back and that all starts from defending as a unit from the CF back but that's incredible given when Howe inherited and the way we were playing 14 months ago. Also fully aware that our stats for goals scored and games won won't be as rosy either but it's a hell of a platform to build on from here. Adding 4 or 5 players in midfield and attack could catapult us forward as a club, we all know that but the foundations are there. Turning draws into wins next season has to be the priority and that means adding goals to the system. It won't be cheap either Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prophet Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanji Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 Look at Wilson's positioning, man Man, having Isak pushed up 15 yards further his huge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 Bruno really helps with our progression. You can see 2 clear banks of 3 there. Schar's forward balls going to Wolves I see. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lush Vlad Posted March 16, 2023 Share Posted March 16, 2023 Depending on the result and performance tomorrow. The international break might be coming at a bad time for us, momentum wise. However, I think it is obvious the likes of Bruno and Joelinton have been playing through niggles. Howe keeps referencing that we are nursing injuries week to week. Wilson looks absolutely fucked, certain players a bit jaded, Gordon is out for a bit, Willock just back from a minor injury, Targett working his way back after a long time out etc etc. I did say something similar for the World Cup break and I was totally wrong. But considering we won't lose a whole heap of players. I feel like it might be exactly what we need to get players refreshed for the run in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanji Posted March 16, 2023 Share Posted March 16, 2023 Hopefully a quick warm weather camp will do us wonders in terms of building the mentality and fitness to finish strong. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
magvicar Posted March 16, 2023 Share Posted March 16, 2023 1 hour ago, Lush Vlad said: Depending on the result and performance tomorrow. The international break might be coming at a bad time for us, momentum wise. However, I think it is obvious the likes of Bruno and Joelinton have been playing through niggles. Howe keeps referencing that we are nursing injuries week to week. Wilson looks absolutely fucked, certain players a bit jaded, Gordon is out for a bit, Willock just back from a minor injury, Targett working his way back after a long time out etc etc. I did say something similar for the World Cup break and I was totally wrong. But considering we won't lose a whole heap of players. I feel like it might be exactly what we need to get players refreshed for the run in. To be honest I think the international break will be ok for us. We still have to negotiate Forest yet to class anything as momentum but assuming we do (hopefully) then I think the chill out will be good because it'll be a chill out and training with a positive mentality and a chance (as you mention) to cater for a few niggles and injuries. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papavasiliou Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 Bloody hell, Jeff Hendrick is still a Newcastle player Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut Posted April 6, 2023 Share Posted April 6, 2023 (edited) Think we're in a position now where we've got 15-16 players who you're comfortable seeing in the starting XI now as long as Bruno and Trippier are both starting (the likes of Murphy and Longstaff). As long as we have those two, I'm happy with any of... Pope, Dubravka, Burn, Targett, Botman, Schar, Joelinton, Willock, Longstaff, Murphy, Gordon, Almiron, St-Maximin, Isak & Wilson ...making up the other 9, and being confident we'd be the better team in most games. We'd still have a few like Lascelles and Anderson around that who if they play to the best of their ability can do a job also. We'll inevitably get at least 3 more players who are upgrades in the summer, which should mean that we can replace Bruno with quality if he's out, and have more quality elsewhere so that even if we downgrade from Trippier to Manquillo/Krafth/Ashby, we've got so much quality in other areas that we can still be the favourites in most games. Exciting times. Edited April 6, 2023 by Optimistic Nut Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prophet Posted April 18, 2023 Share Posted April 18, 2023 (edited) Some interesting stuff from the Tifo podcast: Our high press brings a lot of upside, but teams are now discovering ways to bypass that. Teams are starting to work out how to shut us down in our build-up phases. It happened in the first half at Brentford, but as soon as we changed it up they had no answer. Villa and Brighton are the best teams in the league at baiting teams in and playing through or over them. You'd imagine with the more quality we'll add the more flexible and unpredictable we'll become. The only thing we have in our locker at the moment is the 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1. Edited April 18, 2023 by The Prophet Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Spaceman Posted April 18, 2023 Share Posted April 18, 2023 (edited) 19 minutes ago, The Prophet said: Some interesting stuff from the Tifo podcast: Our high press brings a lot of upside, but teams are now discovering ways to bypass that. Teams are starting to work out how to shut us down in our build-up phases. It happened in the first half at Brentford, but as soon as we changed it up they had no answer. Villa and Brighton are the best teams in the league at baiting teams in and playing through or over them. You'd imagine with the more quality we'll add the more flexible we'll become more unpredictable. The only thing we have in our locker at the moment is the 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1. Yep, we should never lose sight of the fact that we've still got several players in the team who were considered dispensable 2 years ago. We need a few more at Bruno's & Isak's level before we're going to regularly steamroller the mid tier of the PL. Edited April 18, 2023 by Dr.Spaceman Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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