Generic small time football blather thread FOREVER

[RobElliott 2390]

41 minutes ago, wykikitoon said:

Mate sent me Everton new ground layout. 

 

Was this mate Gemmil by any chance?

[acrossthepond 1178]

Laughed at "Let Me Out" and "Sock Robbers Corner." I don't get all the Wales references though, maybe someone can clue me in? 

[Howmanheyman 43967]

2 hours ago, acrossthepond said:

Laughed at "Let Me Out" and "Sock Robbers Corner." I don't get all the Wales references though, maybe someone can clue me in? 

 

I'd guess some of their fans, especially of a certain age, are from north Wales?

[PaddockLad 22515]

1 hour ago, Howmanheyman said:

 

I'd guess some of their fans, especially of a certain age, are from north Wales?

Yeah their 2/3 years of success in the 80s seemed to get them a disproportionate amount of followers from North Wales ( and Cumbria iirc) Speaking as someone of that age from a similar predominantly rural  wasteland I can completely sympathise. The difference is that I personally just didn’t bother with the 2/3 years of success bit. Still waiting  

[Dr Gloom 26381]

14 minutes ago, PaddockLad said:

Yeah their 2/3 years of success in the 80s seemed to get them a disproportionate amount of followers from North Wales ( and Cumbria iirc) Speaking as someone of that age from a similar predominantly rural  wasteland I can completely sympathise. The difference is that I personally just didn’t bother with the 2/3 years of success bit. Still waiting  

Do you reckon we’ll see us win something before we die?

 

I reckon this board dies before we win anything. We can’t even get the world’s richest owners at the right time

[Holden McGroin 9910]

13 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said:

Do you reckon we’ll see us win something before we die?

 

I reckon this board dies before we win anything. We can’t even get the world’s richest owners at the right time

I said at the time but the feel good factor of Howes first full season will never get recaptured for a long time. It was similar (but not quite as good) as Keegans takeover.

[thebrokendoll 14299]

1 hour ago, PaddockLad said:

Yeah their 2/3 years of success in the 80s seemed to get them a disproportionate amount of followers from North Wales ( and Cumbria iirc) Speaking as someone of that age from a similar predominantly rural  wasteland I can completely sympathise. The difference is that I personally just didn’t bother with the 2/3 years of success bit. Still waiting  

 

I suppose it depends on when entered the fray. '82t o '84  was an absolutely rip roaring success in comparison to the 4 years that preceded it.

mind you, it didn't take long to unravel again.

Edited March 4 by thebrokendoll

[Dr Gloom 26381]

40 minutes ago, Holden McGroin said:

I said at the time but the feel good factor of Howes first full season will never get recaptured for a long time. It was similar (but not quite as good) as Keegans takeover.

if we’re allowed to spend again those times could return. That season we qualified for champions league was driven by a smattering of investment and the pure feelgood vibes in the ground after years of neglect under Ashley.
 

PSR applied the breaks on and off the pitch but if we can find a way to invest properly we’ll start dreaming again. We’re not a million miles away now. We have a core of good players. If only we were allowed to spend the owners’ money we could  turn a half decent team into a squad that can compete. 
 

But this being Newcastle, you have to price in some form of crisis before that ever happens. 

Edited March 4 by Dr Gloom

[Rayvin 8367]

At the heart of it, what is going 'wrong' for the side at the moment? Do we defend poorly, are we low energy, is it individual errors, complacency? Have other teams just worked us out?

[wykikitoon 28572]

Just now, Rayvin said:

At the heart of it, what is going 'wrong' for the side at the moment? Do we defend poorly, are we low energy, is it individual errors, complacency? Have other teams just worked us out?

 

IMO It all boils down to lack of investment over the last 3 transfer windows.  Lack of squad depth, lack of competition for places.

[thebrokendoll 14299]

3 minutes ago, wykikitoon said:

 

IMO It all boils down to lack of investment over the last 3 transfer windows.  Lack of squad depth, lack of competition for places.

 

half the players on the pitch at full time on sunday were heading to or had already arrived at their mid 30s

Edited March 4 by thebrokendoll

[Rayvin 8367]

3 minutes ago, wykikitoon said:

 

IMO It all boils down to lack of investment over the last 3 transfer windows.  Lack of squad depth, lack of competition for places.

 

Yep I agree fully on that too, I just wondered if on a technical level (i.e. within the games themselves) there was any recurring tactical deficiency or issue?

[Dr Gloom 26381]

3 minutes ago, Rayvin said:

At the heart of it, what is going 'wrong' for the side at the moment? Do we defend poorly, are we low energy, is it individual errors, complacency? Have other teams just worked us out?

lack of depth is the main thing. You can criticise Howe for being overly loyal to certain players but it’s a result of having a bench he doesn’t trust. We have about 5-6 quality first team players and a handful leftover from the Ashley era who have been outperforming for a couple of years. The squad is also ageing out which is exactly what happens when you go a couple of seasons without proper investment. 

[Dr Gloom 26381]

He’s also trying to change the style of play, with mixed success. We looked our best under Howe playing the high intensity pressing game but that led to all those injuries last season when we had the extra champions league fixtures. I think that experience led to them hiring this Bunce bloke as performance director. The approach this season has definitely changed as a result. We don’t fly out of the blocks anymore, we press in moments then look to protect/conserve energy. But this exposes our weaknesses. Apart from the 9 game winning run, we haven’t had many games which we have been able to assert control for more than 30-40 minutes. We also have a habit of starting games okay then dropping off a cliff in the second half, or getting worse after players get fatigued and subs are made. We saw it again on Sunday against Brighton. 

Edited March 4 by Dr Gloom

[Toonpack 15612]

9 minutes ago, thebrokendoll said:

 

half the players on the pitch at full time on sunday were heading to or had already arrived at their mid 30s

👆 This, they are good players but not good for 40+ games a season. Schar etc. should be playing in 3/4/5 game bursts to cover injury and suspension not playing week after week after week.

[ewerk 39290]

It's definitely an element of fitness. We can pretty much accurately predict every starting line up before it's released because we don't have the option for squad rotation. Schar and Burn are both in their thirties yet have started nearly every game game when available. Bruno, Isak, Gordon and Big Joe have all started 30 games this season so far. That in itself isn't the whole issue but when you combine it with the fact that we're in the bottom half of the table for possession then these players have to work harder than those at sides like City or Liverpool where they aren't operating at 100% the entire time and are able to take in-match breathers. We simply don't have the quality to be able to do that.

[Holden McGroin 9910]

We’ve possibly tried to play in bursts but we can’t do it. Howe’s teams are at their best when going full intensity. 
 

we’ve got 2 superb technical players (Bruno Tonali 😂)  in the CM. I don’t understand why we can’t control games.  I suspect it’s the style of play we have.

[Christmas Tree 6703]

Tino is nowhere near as good as Trippier was. 
 

Central defence too old and slow and increasingly bad with ball at their feet.

 

Murphy has moments but is very limited at this level

 

Gordon is hot and cold, more cold recently

 

Midfield let down by all above and a pretty untalented back up squad.

 

Lewis is Mint

[Alex 42160]

Harsh on Livramento imo. It’s not long since he looked a much better prospect than Hall. He’s young, been in and out the team and has played both fullback positions in a side where you never quite know what you’re going to get. I agree in central defence. I think, until we get a pacy replace for Schar the better option would be to play three there, especially with Botman back. It negates the lack of pace because one naturally drops deeper and sweeps. Murphy has been very good but his performance at the weekend was similar to Willock’s. Where their style clashed with the possession football Tonali and Bruno were looking to play. He’ll never be too class because he doesn’t have the composure or touch. But he’s more than decent at this level as he’s fast, direct, hard working and has better end product than he’s given credit for.  I thought Gordon was shite v Brighton but he’s a very good player. It’s fucking hard playing the full match week in week out with his style too. And if he’s coasting through games due to that at times, he looks half the player. You’ve nailed it with the squad but see the previous point re Gordon. On the last point, if you mean Miley, he’s definitely capable of slotting into the possession based style of play the Joelinton/Tonali/Bruno midfield can play. I thought he was quiet v Brighton but, ironically he’d have been great imo with extra space of 10 v 10 with Bruno/Tonali 

[Dr Gloom 26381]

Trippier is always going to be a better technician than Tino. They're totally different players but Tino is the future. He's got bags of energy and pace and can make those recovery runs that Trippier struggles with now age is catching up with him. I'm more than happy with him and Hall as our first choice full backs. It would be great to see young players like that across all areas of the squad. We had one at RW in Minteh but annoyingly had to let him go because of PSR. We had two options like that at CM with Miley and Anderson but had to sell the latter for the same reason. We definitely need some young energy and pace at CB. 

[wykikitoon 28572]

1 hour ago, thebrokendoll said:

 

half the players on the pitch at full time on sunday were heading to or had already arrived at their mid 30s

 

The main two being the CB's but priority is RW apprently.

[wykikitoon 28572]

I 100% understand you want the back four to be starting and playing consistently.  But the option to take someone like Burn off with 20 mins to go or even not start them against some teams we just do not have.

[Dr Gloom 26381]

31 minutes ago, wykikitoon said:

 

The main two being the CB's but priority is RW apprently.

 

no, you're right. our single RW Jacob Murphy doesn't need to be upgraded and definitely hasn't reverted to type after his purple patch 

[Alex 42160]

7 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said:

 

no, you're right. our single RW Jacob Murphy doesn't need to be upgraded and definitely hasn't reverted to type after his purple patch 

Agree it’s somewhere we need to strengthen but it’s less of a priority. Could argue Joelinton, Murphy, Osula and Barnes can cover the wing positions. I’ve pretty much written off Barnes beyond being a super sub but still. I’d be disappointed if we didn’t get a first teamer at both RW and RCB this summer though. 

[thebrokendoll 14299]

15 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said:

 

no, you're right. our single RW Jacob Murphy doesn't need to be upgraded and definitely hasn't reverted to type after his purple patch 

 

compounded by barnes being a waste of a player when he's out there and the chook looking like he's gone in the sulks when he's taken away from the left side.

Edited March 4 by thebrokendoll