A shakey start, but we gradually grew into the game. We missed Joelintons presence at CM IMO. He may not offer the same creativity and attacking finesse as Bruno, but he's reliable at winning the ball and keeping it. Shelvey and Bruno had shakey moments on the ball, but their passing and deliveries were sensational. They did put us in big trouble sometimes though, which will impact my ratings of them. They were **** and good at the same time. How ****ing long can this run go now? We needed these wins really because if we didn't get them, we'd be in squeeky bum mode for the final part of the season when our fixtures are brutal as ****. The rest of our rivals lost. Perfect night. Ratings Dubz - 8 - Solid goal keeping, great saves. Krafth - 7 - Good defending. Schar - 8 - Solid Burn - MOTM - 9 - Some people may disagree but I think Burn was MOTM. Great defending all game and a great assist. Absolute beast in the air. Consistently dominant. 6FT 7 inch Geordie beast. A new local hero. Targett - 8 - Solid. Willock - 8 - Great display at CM Shelvey - 7.5 - Lost possession quite a bit early on and almost cost us, but made up for it with a great assist and good play in the 2nd half. Bruno - 7.5 - He will take time to get used to the pace, his dribbling was naive, but his passing and his goal were superb. His all round performance wasn't amazing, but elements of his play were great. Longstaff - 5 - OK. Murphy - 6 - Good runs, but piss poor final balls. Worked hard. Wood - 7.5 - Good goal, some good CF play. Nothing amazing, but good performance. Fraser - 8 - Great.
Shelvey lost the ball a couple of times tonight, but unlike the past where he would shrug his shoulders, he ****ing raced back. Good to see. I think Krafth has a bit of bad press on here, he’s decent, though I’d rather have Manquillo right back. Far different work ethic in the team this year. They won’t lose!
Close, though I'd give Murphy 5 at best. Positionally, in possession, out of possession, just poor. From actualy being at the match, I'd mark Wood an 8. His pressing and organising the forward press was impressive, tireless for a big man and won a lot of aerial duels plus scored.
Murphy gets a 4 off me, I thought he was absolute turd. The likes of Fraser, Krafth were a 6 for me. Shelvey and Bruno I'd given 7's but only because of the assist and the goal. Otherwise they'd have been 6's. Shelvey was sloppy in possession at times, and Bruno struggled with the pace of it first half. Looked a bit lost. Burn was immense. Closely followed by Targett, Schar and Dubs. Wood was superb too, put in a massive massive shift, having looked a bit flat last couple of games. Willock is just little gem we've nicked out of Arsenal. He will be here for the long term because of his footballing brain and understanding of the game. A coaches dream I would imagine.
Hesgoal isn't doing streams so I couldn't watch it and had to rely on commentary. Bruno looks like he gave it away a few times, which is forgivable as he's only been a fleeting sub before, and needs to adjust to the Prem, but that goal will have given him a huge boost. Sounds like we held out a bit and Soton had plenty of chances, I'm guessing Joelinton was missed quite significantly then? When Joey is back, can he and Bruno play in the same XI?
Bruno was a little off but there were moments (quite a few to be fair) where he looked different gravy. This kid will be with us for a long time so long as we match his ambitions. Great to see Willock back to his old self. He wasn't helped by Murphy and it was clear he was covering two positions. Dan Burn is an absolute warrior. 13M is an absolute bargain. Overall, the lads did phenomenally well. Missing quite a few key players. We are a, dare I say it, better team without ASM? Although we do miss his creativity at times.
Yeah they can for sure. Bruno did struggle, I think it was the pace. He grew into it though and you can tell with some of his passing he has a lot of ability. He looks like once he adapts he will be a great player for us. The thing with him is he has that Brazilian steel about him. You often find they come from tough backgrounds and they aren't afraid of the dirty stuff. He looks cut straight from that cloth. Big Joe would help him actually. As much as Shelvey has improved, I think Bruno will naturally take his role dictating the play. We've got good options in there now with Willock, Big Joe, Bruno. Shelvey did ok but again like Brighton was not at his best on form of late. Longstaff actually looked a bit more confident too when he came on. We were 2nd best for long periods again though, no point hiding from it. They had a lot of the ball but Burn marshalled that back line superbly. Targett was excellent too, obviously up for it against his old team.
Bruno is going to take time to get used to the pace of the league, and to me, we definitely don't want him playing in the CM spot right now. It's an unfortunate selection dilemma now between Bruno and Joelinton.
A double edged sword. We're safer with ASM but also lack his maverick ability to create something from nothing. But what about Joelinton, how much was he missed?
Really? Cos in the line up it looked like Willock was playing centre mid and Bruno on the left. So therefore can't we have a midfield of Willock-Joelinton-Bruno?
Oh for sure. I'm not criticising him. He looks another level and that goal.... Wow! Bloody Shelvey is playing out of his skin . A choice between big Joe and bruno is not one I could make.... Eddie had some tough decisions
Massively missed. Can't wait to have him back. I had hoped for 4 points out of the last two games, expected 2 and we have got 6! I'm bloody delirious!
That's the thing, I'm wondering if Bruno would have played a lot better if Joelinton was playing and doing his usual thing of breaking up play and intercepting everything in midfield. Would have eased Bruno's workload considerably.
I have a feeling that it was Willock who was on the chopping block. Since Bruno's arrival he has picked up in a big way. Full credit to Howe for the way he has managed this group and his handling of the squad will reap rewards as players know if they get the chance and perform they will keep the shirt. No more free loaders.
Lads, solution is absolutely clear to me Murphy out, Joelinton in. Seriously, how good would that be? The pressing, the work, the effort. If we start vs Chelsea with Big Joe in for Murphy, I'm going for an away win.
