A team full of effort and endeavour but just not good enough. I won’t grumble too much but we all knew it will be a struggle this season.
Nah, I'm pretty fcked off to be honest. It's now December 9th and we still look like we don't have a clear idea or gameplan. I don't know wtf happened but we changed things when we were sitting around 7th and have turned to absolute **** as a result. We're indisciplined, clueless and some players look utterly lost. What the fck is Hayden's role? Why was Perez so far back for the decisive goal? What is Lejeune doing 99% of the time? The BBC put up a 3-4-3 formation. The players lined up 4-4-2, but didn't look like they really knew what to do. Nobody wanted the ball. It's so easy to play through us it's like we don't have a midfield. Merino was poor, which doesn't help, but why is Rafa's stubborness kicking us so hard? Playing Joselu and Murphy endlessly is killing us. Mbemba is clearly better than Lejeune but is nowhere near the side. Manquilo is ****, gets dropped, gets picked again, is ****, gets dropped......how does Rafa not spot this endless cycle? Rafa knew we had no LB's bar Dummett so has to take some of the blame we're fcked in that position as well. None of this is a good advert for Rafael Benitez. I know his resources are limited, but he's doing a pretty **** job with what he's got. Not too different from last season, when we laboured to the title with easily the best squad. I'm getting as bored of writing it as you lot must be of reading it, but yet again the starting line-up just left me thinking "nope". And, yet again, we got beat.
I mean I can’t grumble at the playing staff. They are clearly trying their best. That being said, Rafa is making some odd decisions. Even Shelvey and Mitro would make a massive difference to the team let alone everything else you’ve said (which I wholeheartedly agree with)
**** knows what's happened to our Merino but he has turned ****ing awful. Like he's lost a yard of pace in his feet and head, perhaps the side-effect of a lack of confidence. I found myself crying our for Shelves to come and get the ball deep to make up for this non-existent midfield, but then I remembered his performances this season... Clarke n all, seriously what the ****ing ****. I love him but why the **** does he think he's part of the Wimbledon crazy gang? Aimless punts to nobody with little purpose or point other than to argue that he'd cleared his lines. The old long-ball issue has existed since Pardree, it's ****ing inherent and I don't know why. Murphy was promising and would look far better in a flowing team, but even he was affected by crowd anxiety in the end. Ritchie ineffectual but tends to be marked out the game. We need Lascelles back, not on a 'hes a better defender's level, but on the thesis of how he shapes the team. I remain certain that 3rd goals wouldn't have occured with him marshaling. Darlow's had his little run, let's get him out the team now. Eliiot's **** but he's better than that. Gayle tho, from now until Jan he's our best hope, that lads back with a vengeance. See the swagger for his goal, it's not his fault he looks **** without the service. We totally fed off the crowd again. I know money's paid and it's everyone's choice, but I'm perplexed at fans that have donned their Newcastle shirt, scarf, joggers, hat and tattoo just to sit there pissed off when we're 2-1 down. Sorry but sitting there mardy won't change much. Maybe get so drunk you'll be happy with the result regardless, it's just that as soon as we had one good chance there'd be a flow due to the crowd waking up. Just wish they'd have tried singing their heart out all match, as much as I appreciate that's an easy thing to say. Perez or Diame, christ they're some bad options. If we'd have bought the ****ing AM Benitez asked for we wouldn't be in this mess right now, guaranteed. All in all as much as I'm moaning it was a pretty positive performance. The goals we conceded were more freak goals than glaring defensive errors and, who knows, maybe we can show up and it'll all work out against Everton. We were playing a team that hadn't lost away since manure I'm August, so I'll blindly keep the faith like a cretin.
Mitrovic, Shelvey and Mbemba are arguably our best striker, midfielder and defender respectively but they are nowhere to be seen game after game. We had an efficient, organised system earlier in the season and we were hard to beat and even hard to score against. Inexplicably Rafa has abandoned that system and we look a mess quite frankly. Cannot wait for Dummett and Lascelles to get to fitness and get Manquillo and Lejeune out of the team.
Everyone is to blame. Rafa included for the aforementioned reasons. Ashley has ****ed Rafa though by not advancing him some money and generally being a ****. I think Rafa hasn't been perfect the last few weeks but when you look at what he has to choose from I can sympathise with him somewhat. The players need to look at themselves as well because their work rate isn't as high as it was earlier in the season and they make so many fundamental errors in atrocious passing and touches, not tracking players and not keeping their shape.
I'm not sure I agree. I'm pretty certain if you gave me £100m I could roll out a team that could win games, that's not the yardstick by which we should measure a manager. A manager should be gauged on what he has at his disposal. Add to that we've essentially wasted the best part of £30m on Murphy, Lejeune, Manquillo and Joselu and questions deserve to be asked.
Not if Ashley won't pay the wages for better players. Remember it's transfer fees AND wages that Ashley is tight with. I don't think it's as simple as saying Rafa buys duds if that's what people are saying. Equally he's not without blame and maybe there were better options out there - it's difficult to know really.
Yeh bit ******ed to moan when a relegation candidate loses to two title chasers. What kind of fanny does that?
