Seriously

Not massively. I think Rafa is doing a good job with a limited set of tools to be fair. With a PL team, things will be different. We saw that towards the tail end of last season. We just need the personnel.

 

Even just a few minor tweaks would have taken that team last night to a new level. Say, for example, we had someone like Townsend playing instead of Gouffran and a half decent midfielder coming on instead of Diame. We need more than those tweaks - but even those tweaks would make a big difference.

I think part of it is as well that Rafa is A PL manager working with a lot of championship quality players, playing in a league that is a very different beast to the PL. His tactics will work better against better teams.

 

Definitely. Should we get promoted (we will but I temper caution as it's NUFC), I believe we will have a very bright future under Rafa.

 

I agree but his tactical decisions last night were very questionable. His subs were downright bizarre. For instance Mitrovic ran himself into the ground. It was crying out for fresh legs late on to keep us up the pitch.

Saying that as much as Rafa got things wrong again last night, I thought lascelles and Mbemba showed how naive they still are. They retreated far too deep late on trying to protect what they had. That is where a true leader senses the need to squeeze the game. Lascelles is not a leader. I said it at the end of last season when there was a clamour to appoint him. Beating your chest is not captaincy.

 

I agree about the subs. I was fully expecting Mitro to come off for Murphy. Trying to look for positives I would say that he was giving a boost to Mitro and is going to use Gayle's forced absence to boost his confidence and develop him with a run in the team. Being realistic though, it probably just means that Murphy will be playing on Monday and Mitro won't.

 

Definitely now. It would be suicide to play Mitro two days later after that shift. To be honest I would probably have done similar but 10mins at the end from Murphy would still have been sensible. Bringing Diame on was crackers, total liability in terms of game awareness. Sure enough lost his man for the goal. Rafa threw away two points last night.

 

Massive overreaction to last nights performance. I thought we were excellent!

Having said that, I think we will need another five players to give the premier a decent go. None of this "if we go up".

We will be promoted the night of the PNE game.

 

Was a good game last night..Mainly thanks to Leeds coming to try and play rather than coming to play spoiler

The Colback sub was the one that did the damage in my eyes..all of a sudden we are playing 30 yards further back and they had a bit more room etc



That all said... We do need more quality all over the team, but not a huge..only 1 or 2 players are good enough.. level of strengthening

A lot of the 'maybes/not good enough's are young ...so 4-5-6 solid reliable PL quality Pros (plus an odd one or two...'what a great buy' player wouldn't go amiss) in for a season or two..will allow them to develop and make it..or not. Agree with Nev its more about tweaking/enhancing rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater

The team (and club) needed a complete root and branch overhaul for at least the past 3 years..Rafa has done that... he has a young squad, seasoned with some solid Championship/Low PL level Pro's..when/if we are promoted I think he will replace those Champ pro's with the slightly better type of PL pro. Stabilise ..then onwards and upwards the following 2 -3 seasons

Plus, the Rafa factor will attract better players to the squad than we would without him...IF (and this is where the real problem will be) Ashley backs him.

 

We are ****

 

If so there's thankfully at least 22 teams ****ter than us in our division.

 

There's waaaaay too much negativity around these days.
Believe in Rafa.
He got dis.

 

I don't see anything to be negative about to be honest

 

Yep, think the Preston game should be the promotion party. If we play anything like that vs Ipswich we'll win comfortably, Huddersfield have Fulham who are playing really well at the moment so can easily see a defeat for them. That would put the gap at 11, meaning we'd have to lose our last three and Hudds would have to win all four.

 

Everything is rosey

 

we'll gan up nee bother.

 

Absolutely

 

I'm thinking the same thing. Just got my ticket for the Preston game. I think that will be the night.

I think we'll win on Monday and Huddersfield will drop points against Derby. They could well drop points against Fulham too, but regardless a win against Preston should seal it.

 

Prem here we come captain....lets keep going.

 

Nothing is going to wipe the grin of my face for a while

 

What's happened like?