aimaad22

Yoro, supposed to be the next Ferdinand, getting his arse absolutely handed to him tonight by the mighty Southampton

Whatever happens this has been glorious Oh Ten Hag you absolute legend the damage you've done will take years to fix

On another positive note looks like Howe is gradually letting Osula into the side. That goal in the cup will have done his confidence wonders, if he can get another goal or two and continue to improve in the next few weeks that will be a massive boost for our CL chances. On the whole we should have enough to stay in CL contention till the end of the season. Add a possible cup final to that and it's a brilliant season especially considering we've done the sum of feck all in the last few windows. The blip will come no doubt, but these lads have got good heads and they will bounce back. It's been a few years now but I still can't believe the standard of football and quality of people we now have at this club, honestly never thought I'd ever see it. Those clips of matches people still post from a few years back, "on this day 3 years ago" and so on, reminds you of the utter half arsed dross we've often had to endure here. So yeah, those saying just enjoy it are absolutely spot on. I don't think there's negative connotations to it anymore for us though. Maybe Forrest are thinking right now this won't last, a bit like Leceister. I think it's diffferent for us now because of the tone and ambition from the top of course but also because this squad and manager have gone through crippling challenges and come straight back. Our best players seem to have really bought into the idea what it means to play here and what any real success can do for their legacy. A trophy for Newcastle will make them legends, one for say Liverpool or City will be great but they'll be forgotten about in 3 years. I think they get that. I just Howe and this current squad actually win one, whatever else lies in the clubs future, because they've worked their socks off and deserve it. Nufc being Nufc I totally get the feeling that disaster is right around the corner but it's starting to feel different now, slowly.

Well considering all the news seems to point to us rejecting Kelly bids and finally getting the Almiorn deal done, we can see whose thought process here matches that of the football pros.

What an incredible athlete Tonali is man Up and down the pitch in the 97th minute as if it's a cup final and not a 3-0 game at home

Oh dear, another let off. Luck on our side today. Great save from Dubravka but that really should have been turned in

Murphy needed to pass that to Gordon, took too long

Brilliant ball from Bruno. Isak was never missing from there. Quality suff

Ooof lucky let off there

Get innn

Yeah the point is not that the cover HAS to be Kelly, but that there must be cover. If there's someone coming in fair enough.

Defences constantly getting in behind us and targeting lack of pace at the back was a recurring theme for many weeks, not just the Forrest game. I don't blame Burn for it at all, it's just an example of how quickly things can turn in football and we didn't have the resources to adapt. Kelly is the only other defender we have now from that point. Targett is the Wilson of LBs. Trippier seems to be past it. Lascelles and Krafth are injury prone. Schar and Burn are getting on. Botman just returned from a potentially career threatening injury. This is why Howe went for Kelly. Unless we have a replacement we keep him.

Manage is a strong word. Forgotten how easily teams were getting past us at the back around this time last year? There were a number of reasons for that of course but remember we are one Hall injury or suspension away from Dan Burn at left back which means the likes of Chris Wood scoring hat tricks for fun at SJP. And are we really okay with leaving the CL charge to Lascelles if it comes down to it. Things are going well right now but ffs you have to be prepared in football. Yes we do need a forward but sell your deadwood midfielders/forwards to get him not essential defensive backup.

Yeah no way we're doing this unless Mitchell already has a replacement CB identified that we can immediately bring in. Not after the Guehi fiasco and not when 2 of your backup CBs are constantly injured and one starter has just come back from a year out. We've all been crying out for a forward for a while, I'm sure the club is aware of the need too But that money has got to come from selling Longstaff/Miggy etc.

A couple of them on Twitter seem to have decided they want Tino and 25M would get him They absolutely would love any of our midfield or full backs and they absolutely need somebody like Isak and Gordon.

That's the other thing in our favor if we can figure out the PSR lark. Howe has shown he can adapt and come back from slumps, managed a horrendous injury crisis with dignity. So many of these other trendy managers fancied by the media just yet havent been able to do that, look at Ange right now. And will remain to be seen what Nuno does at Forrest when they have their inevitable slump.

I think first eleven might honestly be 2-3 players away only. We all know the positions. RW, pacy CB to partner Botman long term and a Wilson replacement that should really be considered first 11 because Isak wont be able to carry you for a CL season even if he stays fit. They've already shown they can beat anyone, and this recent run has shown the team has come a long way in terms of mentality, getting those huge away wins against top sides and looking in control doing it. And imo we're also much better technically because Hall and Tino have matured in leaps and bounds and in Tonali you suddenly have another player bordering world class in the team.

Other than what has been said about the squad already, I think we need to win a cup first. That'll do tons for the mentality of this squad, help us push on financially and improve marketability, give players more confidence about where we are going etc etc.

Aye agreed with all of that. Miley has that extra bit of quality about him, brilliant technique for the goal too, had no idea he he had that in his locker. Osula is very raw but clearly has something about him and seems like a hard worker, if anyone can help him develop into a great player it's Howe. Barnes has scored some crucial goals for us, he's looked dangerous at times and been an excellent option off the bench even though he's not the complete player an Eddie Howe starter would be. I thought he'd be an excellent rotation/impact player for us when we have European fixtures etc. He's just looked really off recently though, he's a lot better than he showed yesterday. Wonder if that's something the coaching staff can help him turn around or if the club will be looking to offload him if there's a decent offer.

Pun run Yaba Dub-a doooooooooooooo!

Osula

Just about the shape I suppose. It's pretty damming for Barnes too. I like him and he gave us something different off the bench but his confidence seems to have fallen really low and he's nowhere near the player Eddie demands on a week to week basis.

Ah I see

I'd bring on Bruno for Joe half time Bruno is rested and some game time will be good for him plus he'll bring calmness to the team. Joe not really working in this system and could do with a bit of rest too.