As stated before I think a point is good and I'd have taken that beforehand. However I don't think that should be used to ignore the fact we look nothing like the team of the previous year and a half and hiding behind arguments about unrealistic expectations are disingenuous. I never expected us to get champions league again this season but I also didn't expect us to suddenly forget how to pass a ball, the whole team with a couple of exceptions looks well out of sorts compared to last year in every game so far bar Aston Villa and that is a big concern.
Once we get willock Joelinton and Hall playing we'll do OK, but I suspect it'll be too late. The two injured players are out weeks then they'll be below their best a good few weeks on top of that. I don't think Hall will get a game until the cup game vs City in a diluted side that will make it almost impossible for him to demonstrate anything going fwd.
Howe should not be immune from criticism. Howe got praise when he gets it right. Stands to reason he is open to criticism when he doesn’t. Balance. P.S the result is a good one. The performance less so.
I don't think we will be winning the CL mate But, once we get some players in and some out, we should be fine in the league. Tonali still looks ****ing miserable
Personally I think everyone is allowed their own opinions on the matter. Last night was a good result. Not so good performance. Howe keeps making some bizarre decisions whilst in the main getting things right. This season our intensity is not there like last season. We are not playing as well as last season thus far. But that’s fine. We have had a difficult start to the season. Howe is doing a good job. But I do think this squad is better than how we played last night.
I was just about to do a thread saying Tonali looks like a waste of money but for once I couldn't be bothered with the agro. He's got flop written all over him but it may be because he's always played with far more capable players. I'm with Roly Newcastle need to realise the likes of longstaff Burn and Murphy should be nowhere near Newcastles 11 having spent 450 million.
It was very hot they can't play with the same intensity and in the prem they've reinvented the rules so they have to play steady rather than waste time then short periods of high intensity. Then you've got key players missing and the realisation players that were good enough in a relegation side still make up 20% of the 11. I've come to the conclusion that Newcastle are 3 or 4 top players away from really competing at this level. It's like we finished 4th too soon.
Everyone is forgetting how slow we were at the start of last season. We sure as hell didn't come out the blocks all guns blazing. It took a hell of a finish from Wilson to beat a hard working Forest team on the opening game. We really struggled against the likes of Crystal Palace, who sat deep and we struggled to create anything. I'd be looking at our pre-season this time around. A lot of the players were straight into International duty within 2 weeks of the season ending. We then had that tour of the US which seen us travel 3 states and 3 games in a week. Not exactly ideal prep, then we do this crazy thing of 2 games in 2 days at SJP. Then add the other games like Gateshead and Rangers and then rather than getting stuck into full on pre-season training, we're spending time either preparing for games, traveling to games or recovering from games. We're a point worse off than last year at this stage, having played better quality opposition.
Play less pre season games against better quality opponents. And do more fitness and technical training is the way forward. Isak looked knackered by the end of the game yesterday.
On the same day 8 years ago we lost 2-1 at home against Watford with Steve McClaren in charge,changing times
Overall the results have been OK despite having players out and facing some of the best and the best side in the world. I think it'll get better once they get further into the season and confidence increases. Willock Joelinton are about 65 million quids worth of missing players and Hall will be replacing Burn at some point so there's another 30. Barnes should come in for Gordon imo because he was ****e last night.... Gordon will get better he's very young. I'm hoping the two Joe's are back before PSG?
That being said I think it will be Willock or Joelinton with Anderson as the sub. Likewise I think eventually it will be Bruno or Tonali, and I could see a rcm being a priority position in the summer with a rw and a rcb.
