Anybody foolish enough to think a couple of friendlies suddenly make Barnes and Longstaff class players is beyond help. This is exactly the stupid trap Howe fell into when Almiron had a purple patch. Thankfully with these two, they are both just subs and it’s telling that right wing has contributed more or less **** all so far.
Anderson was last summer... Longstaff and Murphy need replacing Murphy has actually got skills tbh.. he might prove me wrong.
Yeah but the point is he didn't score for Newcastle after bring top scorer in the fitness exercises vs two clubs.
You're right. Only last week when they got best by some Japanese taxi drivers they told themselves it's only a friendly and we shouldn't read too much into it. Barnes looked miserable and desperate out there and Longstaff is still the same player he always has been. Gordon and tonali that's the level.
The point was Gordon is better than Barnes and Tonali is better than Longstaff and a couple of pre-season goals will never change that. There's levels in the squad.
OK then I will he's an elite player and young like a Gordon. Now perhaps you can answer me if Barnes and Longstaff are better?
Does Longstaff have a better prem record than Tonali? Yes, he does. Tonali is still unproven in the prem. I wasn't convinced by his performances before his ban. He looked well off the pace. Of course, this isn't unusual for players new to the prem. Barnes isn't as good as Gordon, but he is still a very good player. Barnes and Gordon on the left wing is an example of what the club want in every position on the pitch.
A team that has won 23 honours in their history despite having been formed more recently than our last trophy. They're a successful Japanese club who are well into their season - I'm surprised they agreed to play us to be honest.
Tonali was an important part of Milan winning Serie A when he was about 21 (2-3 years ago) and then when they got to the semi-finals of the Champions League (was in the Seria A team of the season). If it wasn't for the ban he'd have been in the middle of that Italy team in the Euros this summer. I'd also disagree with the idea he hadn't done much prior to his ban, he only played 8-9 games and he scored one, assisted a few and was looking decent. Bare in mind he's a young lad and acclimatising from another league/country (he'd never even lived far from his hometown before) and I think he'd started pretty well, it usually takes players months. I'm pretty confident he's going to be very good this season from October onwards.
Agreed entirely. It does help that Gordon can be played across the front line too and the solution to our RW "problem" could be Barnes-Isak-Gordon, we shall see.
