Newcastle United 1-0 Arsenal (02/11/24)

[Dr.Spaceman]

  On 04/11/2024 at 23:00, PopeandGlory said:

 

Him turning up to work with that bizarre grin on his face whilst his reign was very publicly coming to an end was another high point. 

 

Some dreadful memories from that season. The Norwich away game was a killer. Should’ve won it with a Cisse chance towards the end at 2-2 and then they scored with almost the last kick seconds later. 90 seconds of football that ultimately sealed our fate.

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"Come here, come here, come here...."

[The College Dropout]

Under Rafa we stay up if he’s hired 3 games earlier. It took him awhile to get in the groove but by then it was too late. 
 

Did we lose 1-0 to Man City by an Aguero goal where Aguero was offside the entire time?

 

I hated the SMC reign from early.  You can tell we did lots of silly passing in training but that was it.  That smile was a bluff. He never got a tune out of the players. Couldn’t motivate them. Bruce and Pardew were definitely worse coaches but as managers, their emphasis on morale, team work and just being affable with the players meant they never truly lost the dressing room (until the end for Bruce) and could get a tune out of them with a bit of confidence. SMC could never generate any team spirit and momentum into a run of results. Players never bought his bullshit. 

[HaydnNUFC]

  On 04/11/2024 at 23:17, madras said:

I really dont think so. The Sunderland and Norwich games were so poor and they were after loads of time to prepare.

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We only lost at Norwich due to a handball in the build up to their stoppage time winner tbf. Quite a few refereeing decisions went against us all season that year, the Aguero offside goal at SJP probably being the pick of the bunch.

 

That handball goal at Norwich doesn't get given and the Aguero goal given offside and we stay up with 4 points from those games rather than 1. I kna football doesn't work like that but y'kna.

 

 

Edited November 4, 2024 by HaydnNUFC

[madras]

  On 04/11/2024 at 23:51, HaydnNUFC said:

 

We only lost at Norwich due to a handball in the build up to their stoppage time winner tbf. Quite a few refereeing decisions went against us all season that year, the Aguero offside goal at SJP probably being the pick of the bunch.

 

That handball goal at Norwich doesn't get given and the Aguero goal given offside and we stay up with 4 points from those games rather than 1. I kna football doesn't work like that but y'kna.

 

 

 

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Yeah fine margins and all that......remember the performances? We were terrible at Norwich and Sunderland should've beat us.

[HaydnNUFC]

  On 04/11/2024 at 22:16, Yorkie said:

 

Absolutely yes.

 

The last time Ashley did anything vaguely progressive and/or built on momentum was January 2012 with the Cisse signing. The dreadful season that followed firmly put a fork in that ever happening again. 

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Probably, yeah.

 

But a big result of us going down was Benitez restructuring that squad with the Sissoko, Wijnaldum and Townsend money. His policy was affordable players or players with low release clauses that had played regular Championship football within the previous 3-4 years (as per Douglas' book). Hence many of those signings particularly the likes of Hayden, Hanley, Diame etc and the bids for Forestieri and Knockaert. 

 

But what it meant was we had a squad good for the Championship. And we've been lumbered with at least 3 players from that squad still in 25 man squads up until this season. We needed an overhaul which was obvious upon promotion which Ashley was never going to provide which was clear from the January 2017 window.

 

But the squad that went down was a decent side as shown in those last 6 or so games and in patches under McClaren. If Benitez was messed around in his first transfer window after that mess of 2015-16 season then the pro Benitez-anti Ashley malaise sets in earlier. Where would that have left us? As if Benitez even just kept those better players we wouldn't have been fighting relegation under him like we were due to the squad not being added to/upgraded. That's Ashley's doing ofc, not Benitez'.

 

Ah whey, the FCB is gone. Thank god.

[HaydnNUFC]

  On 04/11/2024 at 23:59, madras said:

Yeah fine margins and all that......remember the performances? We were terrible at Norwich and Sunderland should've beat us.

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I don't for once really, but I do remember that handball and Cisse missing a glorious chance at Norwich. The mackem game I've probably blocked out the performance due to the nerves. 

 

The worst performances in that run were Southampton and Villa rather than those two imo.

[madras]

  On 05/11/2024 at 00:05, HaydnNUFC said:

 

I don't for once really, but I do remember that handball and Cisse missing a glorious chance at Norwich. The mackem game I've probably blocked out the performance due to the nerves. 

 

The worst performances in that run were Southampton and Villa rather than those two imo.

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Thanks a fucking bunch......I'd blocked out Villa as well.......until now.

[Elma]

  On 04/11/2024 at 23:27, madras said:

Liverpool first half was as bad as I've seen us in the top flight. Then they took the foot off the gas due to a big game in Europe midweek. Spurs was after we'd been relegated and they'd imploded at Chelsea the week before. Sunderland, Norwich and Palace were the big games, we were poor in them all. 4 points, needed at least 7.

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That's kind of my point. We may have been better against Sunderland and Norwich (the early big, six-pointers) had we had more games and time on the training pitch under Rafa prior to those fixtures. I mean we still got those points against Liverpool and Spurs, and should have had two more against Man City, were it not for an horrendous offside call. We were getting better as the season went on.

 

I know Rafa thought two more games would have done it. 

[Teasy]

Apparently according to TeamTalk we're going to sell Isak to Arsenal and replace him with Gabriel Jesus 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2024 by Teasy

[Hovagod]

  On 04/11/2024 at 23:27, madras said:

Liverpool first half was as bad as I've seen us in the top flight. Then they took the foot off the gas due to a big game in Europe midweek. Spurs was after we'd been relegated and they'd imploded at Chelsea the week before. Sunderland, Norwich and Palace were the big games, we were poor in them all. 4 points, needed at least 7.

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Villa away too 

[Geogaddi]

Villa away was absolutely shocking and pretty much sealed our fate , they were rock bottom with about 10 points and the crowd protesting against the club, we played awful and drew 0-0. We deserved to go down for that performance alone and Benitez had been in charge for a while by that point .

[Sibierski]

  On 05/11/2024 at 00:03, HaydnNUFC said:

But a big result of us going down was Benitez restructuring that squad with the Sissoko, Wijnaldum and Townsend money. His policy was affordable players or players with low release clauses that had played regular Championship football within the previous 3-4 years (as per Douglas' book). Hence many of those signings particularly the likes of Hayden, Hanley, Diame etc and the bids for Forestieri and Knockaert. 

 

But what it meant was we had a squad good for the Championship. And we've been lumbered with at least 3 players from that squad still in 25 man squads up until this season. We needed an overhaul which was obvious upon promotion which Ashley was never going to provide which was clear from the January 2017 window.

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The only thing I was disappointed with Rafa at the time, and is a big what if for me, is not trusting Adam Armstrong to be the main striker that season. Guy was 18 and just scored 20 goals in L1, smashing them in youth football for club and country. Should’ve been made the starting striker for what was going to be a dominant team in Championship, and he could’ve really grown. 
 

But sent packing on loan for two season where he was plugged outwide and it stunted him. 

[Newcastle Fan]

  On 05/11/2024 at 07:41, Sibierski said:

The only thing I was disappointed with Rafa at the time, and is a big what if for me, is not trusting Adam Armstrong to be the main striker that season. Guy was 18 and just scored 20 goals in L1, smashing them in youth football for club and country. Should’ve been made the starting striker for what was going to be a dominant team in Championship, and he could’ve really grown. 
 

But sent packing on loan for two season where he was plugged outwide and it stunted him. 

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if i'm not mistaken Rafa didn't also trust Mitrovic or a young Ivan Toney who was in our reserves.

[Pixelphish]

Ivan Toney is a massive dickhead tbf so fine by me,

[Elliottman]

  On 05/11/2024 at 01:36, Teasy said:

Apparently according to TeamTalk we're going to sell Isak to Arsenal and replace him with Gabriel Jesus 

 

 

 

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[The College Dropout]

If Arsenal aren’t going to play it through the lines all the time, they should’ve got a Toney type to hold it up and bounce off. Havertz offered none of that.  

[Kanj]

  On 05/11/2024 at 12:19, Pixelphish said:

Ivan Toney is a massive dickhead tbf so fine by me,

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Hate when people bring up Toney. He had to leave, actually work hard, develop, and play football week in and out in a lower league. It was never happening for him here. Our only best bet would be a constant loaning of him like Chelsea or City. 

[Rod]

  On 05/11/2024 at 15:37, Kanji said:

 

Hate when people bring up Toney. He had to leave, actually work hard, develop, and play football week in and out in a lower league. It was never happening for him here. Our only best bet would be a constant loaning of him like Chelsea or City. 

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When my mates used to ask "why did we get rid of Ivan Toney"?  I always responded with "because he was crap".  And he so was.  Another mate of mine swears he was great every time he played for us.  I had to remind him that we never had him in the team.  A couple of substitute appearances perhaps?  I can't be bothered to check.

[Dr.Spaceman]

  On 05/11/2024 at 07:41, Sibierski said:

The only thing I was disappointed with Rafa at the time, and is a big what if for me, is not trusting Adam Armstrong to be the main striker that season. Guy was 18 and just scored 20 goals in L1, smashing them in youth football for club and country. Should’ve been made the starting striker for what was going to be a dominant team in Championship, and he could’ve really grown. 
 

But sent packing on loan for two season where he was plugged outwide and it stunted him. 

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Yeah, I was gutted when we ended up winning the league.

[Superior Acuña]

  On 05/11/2024 at 07:41, Sibierski said:

The only thing I was disappointed with Rafa at the time, and is a big what if for me, is not trusting Adam Armstrong to be the main striker that season. Guy was 18 and just scored 20 goals in L1, smashing them in youth football for club and country. Should’ve been made the starting striker for what was going to be a dominant team in Championship, and he could’ve really grown. 
 

But sent packing on loan for two season where he was plugged outwide and it stunted him. 

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wat. Exactly, he was 18 and playing in League One. That’d have been a huge gamble which the evidence suggests wouldn’t have paid off.  Instead you could have Dwight Gayle. 

[54]

 

[Holloway]

  On 06/11/2024 at 07:43, 54 said:

 

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Excellent insight into Longstaff's off the ball contribution here that isn't too apparent in real time

[Groundhog63]

  On 06/11/2024 at 07:43, 54 said:

 

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Just watched that. Really good video and insight. 

 

[PauloGeordio]

Classic piss boiling 11 

[Erikse]

  On 06/11/2024 at 07:43, 54 said:

 

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Guess you can't judge Longstaff too much without paying close attention to what he does off the ball. I suppose these are the things that Howe easily catches up on, either during the game, or when he's rewatching the game.

 

That said, I wish we would pick players based on opposition a bit more often, rather than just automatically sticking with something that worked last game. For instance I wouldn't necessarily start Longstaff against a "park the bus" side, despite good form. Against Arsenal and Chelsea however, these games clearly suited him pretty well, so it was an excellent choice in the end.

 

 

Edited November 8, 2024 by Erikse