Guest neesy111 Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Christ, the bedwetting. "Rafa's got this." "RAFA OUT!" They got lucky is all. Off to the Trump, EU and politics threads to see if there's anything sensible in there. They weren't lucky, we were absolutely dire first half, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
newsted Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Christ, the bedwetting. "Rafa's got this." "RAFA OUT!" They got lucky is all. Off to the Trump, EU and politics threads to see if there's anything sensible in there. They weren't lucky, we were absolutely dire first half, Watched it, mate. Early goal, took our foot off the pedal, should have gone for the kill. Second half could have had a few, their keeper was MOTM and the last minute og from a concussed CB got them a point. Their first was either ludicrously skillful control or lucky. I'm going lucky. He was like "Wait, the ball's right here?" Reacted quickly like, I'll give him that. Opinion Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiotes Witch Doctor Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 To be fair we were coasting to the full time whistle at 2-1 up and had it not been for an unlucky moment we would have won the game, its the fact that we had plenty of chances to be more comfortable and failed, and the general performance made us lucky to even be 2-1 up at any point in the game, something isn't right, and it just doesn't look like anyone in the side including the manager know how to fix it. We play dire football every week and have hung on loads this season in a lot of our wins, in truth Rafa should be doing better with the squad he has with or without new signings, but a CM was desperately needed especially if Shelvey gets another ban or injury which from tonight looks likely. We're fucking this right up at the minute and we need to go on another run like earlier in the season. On the plus side we're still on more points now than we were at this stage of the 09/10 season if that makes anyone feel better. I fear none of this will ultimately matter though as I feel its only a matter of time until Rafa is pissed off enough to walk away, and if that happens I wont give a flying fuck what division we are in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
madras Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 To be fair we were coasting to the full time whistle at 2-1 up and had it not been for an unlucky moment we would have won the game, its the fact that we had plenty of chances to be more comfortable and failed, and the general performance made us lucky to even be 2-1 up at any point in the game, something isn't right, and it just doesn't look like anyone in the side including the manager know how to fix it. We play dire football every week and have hung on loads this season in a lot of our wins, in truth Rafa should be doing better with the squad he has with or without new signings, but a CM was desperately needed especially if Shelvey gets another ban or injury which from tonight looks likely. We're f***ing this right up at the minute and we need to go on another run like earlier in the season. On the plus side we're still on more points now than we were at this stage of the 09/10 season if that makes anyone feel better. I fear none of this will ultimately matter though as I feel its only a matter of time until Rafa is p*ssed off enough to walk away, and if that happens I wont give a flying f*** what division we are in. Do you not think Rafa could be part of the problem with the rigidity of formation ? If he used the squad better this pressure wouldn't be on, fwiw I've said all season he's not getting the best performance wise. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiotes Witch Doctor Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 To be fair we were coasting to the full time whistle at 2-1 up and had it not been for an unlucky moment we would have won the game, its the fact that we had plenty of chances to be more comfortable and failed, and the general performance made us lucky to even be 2-1 up at any point in the game, something isn't right, and it just doesn't look like anyone in the side including the manager know how to fix it. We play dire football every week and have hung on loads this season in a lot of our wins, in truth Rafa should be doing better with the squad he has with or without new signings, but a CM was desperately needed especially if Shelvey gets another ban or injury which from tonight looks likely. We're f***ing this right up at the minute and we need to go on another run like earlier in the season. On the plus side we're still on more points now than we were at this stage of the 09/10 season if that makes anyone feel better. I fear none of this will ultimately matter though as I feel its only a matter of time until Rafa is p*ssed off enough to walk away, and if that happens I wont give a flying f*** what division we are in. Do you not think Rafa could be part of the problem with the rigidity of formation ? If he used the squad better this pressure wouldn't be on, fwiw I've said all season he's not getting the best performance wise. 100% Not only that but our gameplan never seems to change no matter what is happening in the game, whether we're drawing winning or losing it never adapts to change things, and perhaps the most frustrating thing of all is the substitutions, far too late, not positive enough and almost always reactive rather than pro-active, we go 1-0 down and then normally about 70-80 minutes the change is made, I was led to believe Rafa is the sort of tactically astute manager who could see this sort of thing coming. Still though we have a game in hand on 3rd and still 4 points ahead, but we cant afford many more mistakes or we'll end up in the play offs, and we all know another season in the championship will beckon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
manorpark Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Rafa's comments about transfers, after the QPR match is very worrying. I cannot see him being able to stay with us, if this is how he now feels. COMMENTS . . . In the interview Benitez signalled his frustration at a failure to add to his squad during the January transfer window, indicating he was hoping to strengthen but wasn't given the backing by the club to do so. "My decision was very clear, [but] it was not my decision," he said. "I said what I wanted and needed, and what the team needed, and that was it." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
madras Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Rafa's comments about transfers, after the QPR match is very worrying. I cannot see him being able to stay with us, if this is how he now feels. COMMENTS . . . In the interview Benitez signalled his frustration at a failure to add to his squad during the January transfer window, indicating he was hoping to strengthen but wasn't given the backing by the club to do so. "My decision was very clear, [but] it was not my decision," he said. "I said what I wanted and needed, and what the team needed, and that was it." My personal reply would be "If you used your squad less dogmatically we would only be using this window for next season"..........even saying that I'd rather Rafa than a "Pardew, MaClaren, Carver" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gottlob Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 There's no questioning Benitez's diligence, experience, ambition, or integrity but there are plenty of things to criticise him for so far this season. Our summer transfer window was impressive for the extent of our business rather than for its quality, and though some have argued he successfully purchased a strong squad of players, for the most part he has been reluctant to use those on the fringe either to give key players a rest or to shake things up. As it stands we recycle the ball a lot around the defence, but tonight for instance only ever utilised three players, with the ball always ending up at Yedlin's feet because either as a strategy or through force of habit we rarely want to involve Dummett. Ritchie is too busy preempting a long diagonal from Shelvey to offer support, and Shelvey and Hayden aren't mobile enough in the centre of the midfield. When the ball does reach Shelvey he serves as our only method of attack. He either hits one of the wide players, who preferably have already reached the byline, or he places a pinpoint pass onto the foot of the striker. Otherwise we offer very little: we don't retain possession well in the final third, we lack pace and dribbling, the movement off the ball is poor, our crosses tend to be overhit or swing in to the keeper. So in short we are too reliant on Shelvey even when he is playing, and in that sense it sometimes feels like he's as much of a curse as a blessing, especially given his temper. Ritchie too is always in a radge about something, and as two of our most experienced and high profile players, I don't think they're always bringing out the best in those around them. I don't know whether the solution is a change of formation. Personally I think the 4-2-3-1 does suit our personnel, but there's no reason why we can't be more flexible. We looked better tonight when Ameobi came on for Murphy. Gouffran and Perez stretched the opposition defence, while Ameobi added width, dribbling, and a bit of composure: his languid style earns him plenty of criticism, but he is patient on the ball and can find a pass. I think he has to be a real option for the rest of the season. I'd also question who plays at left back, and whether the likes of Anita and Mbemba are worth a go in the middle. That focuses on the attacking side, ignoring the fact that even up against some abject forwards, we are conceding goals and far too many chances. And whatever happened over the transfer window, our failure to spend hasn't just left a flawed squad and robbed us of the chance to bed players in before next season - it has cast a pallor over an already tense campaign. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
quayside Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Some good posts on here. Totally get the idea that, in this last transfer window, we could and should have got a player or players in who can compete at the next level. But Benitez + our squad of players should piss promotion tbh. And we may weĺl do that. But if we don't he has f*cked up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiotes Witch Doctor Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 There's no questioning Benitez's diligence, experience, ambition, or integrity but there are plenty of things to criticise him for so far this season. Our summer transfer window was impressive for the extent of our business rather than for its quality, and though some have argued he successfully purchased a strong squad of players, for the most part he has been reluctant to use those on the fringe either to give key players a rest or to shake things up. As it stands we recycle the ball a lot around the defence, but tonight for instance only ever utilised three players, with the ball always ending up at Yedlin's feet because either as a strategy or through force of habit we rarely want to involve Dummett. Ritchie is too busy preempting a long diagonal from Shelvey to offer support, and Shelvey and Hayden aren't mobile enough in the centre of the midfield. When the ball does reach Shelvey he serves as our only method of attack. He either hits one of the wide players, who preferably have already reached the byline, or he places a pinpoint pass onto the foot of the striker. Otherwise we offer very little: we don't retain possession well in the final third, we lack pace and dribbling, the movement off the ball is poor, our crosses tend to be overhit or swing in to the keeper. So in short we are too reliant on Shelvey even when he is playing, and in that sense it sometimes feels like he's as much of a curse as a blessing, especially given his temper. Ritchie too is always in a radge about something, and as two of our most experienced and high profile players, I don't think they're always bringing out the best in those around them. I don't know whether the solution is a change of formation. Personally I think the 4-2-3-1 does suit our personnel, but there's no reason why we can't be more flexible. We looked better tonight when Ameobi came on for Murphy. Gouffran and Perez stretched the opposition defence, while Ameobi added width, dribbling, and a bit of composure: his languid style earns him plenty of criticism, but he is patient on the ball and can find a pass. I think he has to be a real option for the rest of the season. I'd also question who plays at left back, and whether the likes of Anita and Mbemba are worth a go in the middle. That focuses on the attacking side, ignoring the fact that even up against some abject forwards, we are conceding goals and far too many chances. And whatever happened over the transfer window, our failure to spend hasn't just left a flawed squad and robbed us of the chance to bed players in before next season - it has cast a pallor over an already tense campaign. Great post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LV Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 His answer in the last bit of this video has actually got me worried. He is clearly not happy and watching it is far more powerful than someone's tweet. I was trying to be philosophical about the whole transfer thing (maybe CP pulled out etc)...but he is p*ssed. He normally mentions "Lee Charnley" in a friendly way but he blatantly distances himself from being friendly. The club had better sort this s*** out and fix any potential rift...and do it quickly http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11678/10752737/rafa-benitez-rues-missed-chances-after-newcastle-were-held-by-qpr Yeah, that is very worrying. He told the club what he needed and he was not backed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyn davies Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 not be long before he's off. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy Chibas Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 He was likely lied to, like Keegan, in other words. Don't be daft. Ian W said that it wasn't clear he'd been let down a few hours ago. Some f***ing short memories here in respect of our shithouse of an owner. Aye..... ten years of Ashley ownership, and heads are still buried in the sand. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallowgate Toon Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Really sad how quickly it feels this has descended into 'us and them' shite again. I think if the last year has shown anything, making the issue more about 'sides' is a really terrible way of actually working towards compromise and a common goal. It's also just shite craic. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiotes Witch Doctor Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Really sad how quickly it feels this has descended into 'us and them' shite again. I think if the last year has shown anything, making the issue more about 'sides' is a really terrible way of actually working towards compromise and a common goal. It's also just shite craic. Compromise :lol: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallowgate Toon Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 The tactics talk almost always seems to be solely focused on our attacking play with little thought for our defensive frailties. Whenever a game gets stretched, our lack of legs in the spine of the midfield and defence is massively evident. We're not good enough individually to cover for it. So the gameplan is largely around being compact and keeping possession - that makes sense. Until very, very recently, and it may still be the case, we had scored the most goals and had the second-highest win %age in the country. The job he's done with this squad is underrated, in my eyes. We've picked up a lot of points, we just have better competition than last time. The usual response to this line of thinking 'the more you attack, the less defending you need to do', but a lot of our losses this season have come from teams countering us when we try and open games up. It's about balance, especially when you don't have a standout side in several departments. There needs to be some acceptance that we're just not that good. Then there's the inevitable performance stuff. I think we've shown a real depth to our play this season - we can win well and we can win scrappy. Some of the football has been a joy compared to what's come before in the last 10 years. It's just, as we already knew, it won't come every week. Taking some pressure for parts of the game is fairly normal, we're not Barca of 6/7 years ago. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallowgate Toon Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Really sad how quickly it feels this has descended into 'us and them' s**** again. I think if the last year has shown anything, making the issue more about 'sides' is a really terrible way of actually working towards compromise and a common goal. It's also just s**** craic. Compromise :lol: I'm not actually sure where I was going with that second bit now I've had a few drinks. Just something about not being c***s to one another. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conjo Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 On one hand, unless proven otherwise, I hate the fact that Rafa possibly has been screwed over on any potential transfers they have lined up. Would still like more information than a vague sentence in a post match interview after a disappointing draw. On the other, if he really is a manager worth keeping he should promote us easily with this squad. Personally I think any transfer funds available should be saved up to boost the squad next season in the PL, and that´s what I would be telling my manager if I was an owner in this situation, but ultimately let the decision be up to the manager. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
r0cafella Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 His answer in the last bit of this video has actually got me worried. He is clearly not happy and watching it is far more powerful than someone's tweet. I was trying to be philosophical about the whole transfer thing (maybe CP pulled out etc)...but he is p*ssed. He normally mentions "Lee Charnley" in a friendly way but he blatantly distances himself from being friendly. The club had better sort this s*** out and fix any potential rift...and do it quickly http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11678/10752737/rafa-benitez-rues-missed-chances-after-newcastle-were-held-by-qpr Yeah, that is very worrying. He told the club what he needed and he was not backed. It is indeed; he's totally deflated and as poot called out all his positivity has disappeared. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 We need a winger, a full-back and a better supporting forward/centre-mid to stay up. 7 is ridiculous. And at least one centre half. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
matta Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Got a deju vu feeling yesterday from when Keegan was here last time. Hope im wrong. But Ashley back to his usual won't make a manager like Rafa happy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peder Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nYQLAFQj38 The last 30 secs about the transfers. This have to be an contract breach if he had in the contract that he had controll over transfers? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wallsendmag Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Ok I'll take back what I've been saying over the last few days now that there's actually some evidence. The end of that Sky interview is harrowing! Not a go at you personally here but I still find it staggering that after 10 years of Mike Ashley's lies and deceit, and a few years of Charnley the tea boys incompetence, people were still prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt. It was clear from Rafa's interview on deadline day that not only did he want new signings, but he expected to get them, and it was clear last night, as it has been for a while, that they were needed. Could well turn out to be another one of Ashley's failed gambles. The biggest failure of the lot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NG32 Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Just watched the interview. Ashley never learns. Never. Bearly 10 years on and hes still crippling the club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STM Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Jesus. Watching that, he's not a happy bunny like. Blatant pop at Charnley and Co. Rafa goes and I'm done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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