It's a free world but just to avoid any side arguments. 1. The overall situation is great 2. Newcastle are sliding down the table 3. They are not winning games currently 4. They're low on confidence 5. They don't have any enough goalscorers
The owners and manager suck the players off quite a bit like so I honestly think they're alright about everything. If it was a tough winning mentality coach, who desperately wanted the trophy he would have ripped em a new one, Conte for example.
Howes everything is great policy will only get the club so far. They need some top players and see if howe can manage them. If you just keep giving him hard workers and great characters he's got an easy job. Give him some really good players to manage.
Nonono, 3 distinct phases here: The start - P8, W1 D6 L1...very average tbh The "run" - P9 W8 D1 L0 ....incredible form Recent - P6 W1 D4 L1 ...similar to start, and we got to the league cup final in this final. I would term this a frustrating period similar to o the start of the season, rather than going to whole hog and calling it a downward spiral.
You're arguing black is white now mate and I must once again remind you we've been having this conversation for months . In those months the clubs dropped places, lost a final , scored less goals and started conceding more goals. Why can't you see the decline? Whether it's frustrating or not is down to us, but it's definitely happened/ing.. I'm not frustrated the overall situation is great.
I have no doubt we will not win a trophy under Howe. If we do, obviously that would be incredible, but he doesn't strike me as a cup winner. Johnston's paint trophy or league 1 champions perhaps. But, like, the FA cup or something? No. We brought him in to do a specific job, keep us up and steady the ship and I still want to see him be with us for another 2 years.
Oh course I can see a decline since I was winning every game, the whole debate is that you use 6 games as a basis for continuing bad results to the end of the season, culminating in us battling with Fulham and Brighton for the top 8, whereas I see it as a lull we can realistically get out of, not necessarily back to winning every game, but certainly getting a better points percentage that will give us a decent chance of top 5. - you constantly go back to the pre Xmas form and ignore we werent that good for the first 8 games, and thus this is hardly the drop off you're making it out to be - you talk about "losing a final" and "having their collective soul ripped out", when another way to look at it is the huge positive of getting to a first final in 24 years. If losing the final is gonna traumatise the players then why even take the chance? Losing the final does not affect the rest of the season. - You talk about confidence being low, but valid examples show it isn't - ie the Arsenal draw, playing better than Liverpool even when we had 10 men etc - this "downward spiral" also includes games like the Leeds and Palace result where we battered them both and they were very fortunate to get a draw - all teams go through low patches even City and Arsenal have had bad post Xmas periods. - slipping places was inevitable in terms of Man Us form, I never realistically thought we'd get 3rd, but Spurs and Liverpool are nowhere near Man Us level, and they ain't gonna leave us in the dust.
I agree at this point because he seems a bit flat for me when things aren't going well. I 1st saw this when Bruce defeated him 4 -1 ... think that was the score. I'm hoping what unfolded at Bournemouth wasn't down to his refusal to do something different and maybe the players just getting bored. I suppose he'll decide his own destiny but If they end this season badly the noise will start and of we start next season badly he'll be gone.
That's the entire point, you're not, you're using a handful of recent results to forecast the rest of of the season using extremes and nonsensical theories - ie we'll be battling with Fulham and Brighton for the top 8, losing the final was ripped out our collective soul, confidence is lower tha the Titanic, more heartbreak is on the cards, we won't score goals etc.
So you're saying newcastle haven't slid down the table, haven't scored less goals and haven't conceded more goals recently? Where is the forecast for the rest of the season ? Why is yours better ? Why is suggesting Fulham and Brighton can't finish above newcastle nonsensical?
That's not what I'm saying at all. Although since Xmas we've conceeded 4 goals in 8 games, which is probably around the pre Xmas level. My point throughout has been that this is a lull rather than anything indicative, as opposed to yours which is using it to forecast that we'll finish as low as 8th, confidence is shot and we'll continue sliding down the table.
That is what you're arguing against mate... you're using mental gymnastics to try and ignore what is actually happening right now and the last 2 months. There's nothing wrong in you choosing to ignore what's happening mate I said that ages ago , however I'm looking at what is actually happening and until that changes that's what I'm basing off not before Christmas. Before Christmas is gone and the teams aren't even the same just for starters. It's not just a dip until you can demonstrate it was a dip.
Mental gymnastics? Now I'm just using facts to back up my point than 6 games does not provide a basis to predict something going forward. If it's not just a dip until I can demonstrate its a dip, then by exactly the same logic, it's not indicative of anything going forward, and by that logic we'd have to wait until the end of the season to see what the outcome is. Facts are facts - we were 3rd at start of the season and are now 5th, that's beyond debate, a square doesn't have 3 sides. But let's look at things since Xmas and suggest that there are some major positives to take here: - started with hammering Leicester 3-0 away - a 0-0 with Leeds when we were much the better team and outplayed them followed by an excellent draw at Arsenal - went out of to FA Cup to Sheff Wed with sucide team, most glad about this as we needed to focus on LC. A 0-0 with Palace when again, they were very lucky. - got to first final in 24 years - lost it, but we were comfortably beaten, if we had lost in the last seconds when we were the better team (like the 2-1 defeat) at Anfield I could have seen this affected the condifence, you could see how distraught the guys were after that match. This time however comfortably beaten and accepted. - not great draws against West Ham and Bouremouth, but at least Vs Bouremouth we showed character to get back into the game, get a goal and made some great defence clearances, ie Tripps at end. - lost to Liverpool, but despite being 2 nil down against them and with 10 men we outplayed them for much of the match and could easily have got back in. Sorry that was ****ing long, but you get me. I would spot 3 performances I was concerned about from all that lot, ie West Ham, Bournemouth and Liverpool, and even positives from them. This for me this run has been more frustrating that outright bad, like our early season form.
The number of games is irrelevant... 1 you're trying to claim newcastle aren't sliding down the table when they in fact are. 2 you're saying newcastle don't have an issue scoring goals. 3. You're suggesting confidence isn't impacted by results.
