Newcastle (A) Premier League - 30/12/2020 - 20:00

[s(k)aturation]

4 minutes ago, an tha said:

Dogshite performance - some attitude problems in this team now i think, thinking they can just turn up and roll over teams without really being at it.

 

The hunger and desire of last season just isn't there, the belief in finding a way and nicking games that are tight isn't as high.

 

 

You might have a point there, at least with the first-choicers of last season.

Second half against West Brom, first half against Newcastle today.

Jurgen subbing Mo in injury time was perplexing too.  

Jurgen's not in brilliant form himself, if I'm honest.

 

Injuries will be the excuse.

But fuck that.

 

 

[ManéMan]

Problem is Mane and Salah do fuck all most games other than constantly run into defenders and lose the ball, and if that doesn't happen they lose it with half arsed passes. They manage to score with the 3rd or 4th gilt edge chance, which they get most games which masks all the other shit for 90 minutes.

[Captain Howdy]

2 minutes ago, skaro said:

 

Newcastle's first home clean sheet in 12 matches.

 

Cool.

Sums us up, how the fuck we’re top I’ll never know, we’ve been pretty much dogshit since the restart, in fact it all started at Watford away.

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

10 minutes ago, TheDrowningMan said:

They have to be considered more likely champions at this point. People laughed about the stat showing them being three points behind us since January (I believe they’ll actually be ahead over the calendar year when they beat Villa) but that’s momentum. That’s a winning mentality.

If we are going to continue in this vein - and with two away wins all season having played plenty of utter dross I can’t see why we won’t - I just hope City put a run together and deny them #21.

 

What’s with the continuing Manc love in? Fuck off and support them if you don’t already.

[Ronnie Whelan]

Terrible result tonight. 2 points from two poor teams.

 

Fabinho, Ali and Robbo very good.

 

Big problem with Sadio and Mo. Looked so half arsed and diva like. Bobby had a good game. 

 

Trent was awful again. 

 

The midfield was solid but offered nothing. Gini and Thiago looked great when they came on, which is a really encouraging sign. Obviously two world class players so no massive surprise in that. 

 

I thought Nat Philips did some good things, but it's so clear that he is nothing more than a midtable championship level player. Lads like Ings, Kane and Rashford could make an arse out of him in the coming weeks. Rhys Williams is only a kid so likely to be the same with him. Let's just bring in a top level centre half and we can win this league.

[Iceman]

Fucking shite but Thiago at times looked the absolute business. Fabio, Thiago, Hendo, Mane, Jota (when back) is powerful as fuck. Horrible form right now but at least we didn't get done and Allison pulled out that fantastic save. Sets it up nicely for the manc game but what a cnunting waste of 4 points in the last 2 games. Tiredness is an issue but seems as if we lack ability to score ugly goals to open teams up and then end up trying to score at the end of a 13 pass move, which isn't going to happen that easily when you play the shite. Need someone to step up and perfect the long range threat a la Sir Gerrard the Magnificent. 

[VladimirIlyich]

Lethargic and casual is not going to retain the PL. Saying that,the ball just wouldnt go in for us and our corners and set pieces were garbage.

[aRdja]

With a proper number 9 we would’ve walked away with three points. In the last 10 minutes needed to go more direct but we lacked a target. We’ve got players who could deliver great crosses all around and we’re wasting it on 5’9 wingers and Bobby Firmino.

[3 Stacks]

2 minutes ago, Babb'sBurstNad said:

It's largely on Salah today. As bad as we were, we created two chances where he saw the keeper's eyes, and he fluffed them. 

 

If you want to lead the line, take the pens and get the plaudits then you need to be converting those big chances, peak Owen or Torres style.

It is mostly Salah's fault today, but Newcastle, West Brom, Fulham and Brighton were all in the game way too much. It's in one sense a mental issue because those teams are all crap and should have been swept aside, but the other side of it is, with the injuries at the back, we can't control the game with our usual high line. We can't squeeze and press and suffocate these teams without one of van Dijk or Gomez. 

[Captain Howdy]

Tell you what though, that Thiago looks unbelievable

[s(k)aturation]

Just now, Captain Howdy said:

Sums us up, how the fuck we’re top I’ll never know, we’ve been pretty much dogshit since the restart, in fact it all started at Watford away.

 

We've been sparkling from time to time... just enough to deceive.

 

But it's starting to look quite deceiving now.

 

 

[an tha]

3 minutes ago, Daisy said:

All the worry about our defence and its Jota being out that is what will cost us the most

The problems in defence are killing our midfield too.

 

Fabinho in midfield would help us a lot in terms of our tempo and getting ball moving quicker. Hopefully we can get a run of games from Thiago to help us with that.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

1 minute ago, Grinch said:

 

 

 

He scores more than those two cunts ever did. 

As great as he is, I reckon those two would put away more of his chances, all things being equal.

[KevieG]

Thiago looks like someone from another planet. The only bright point tonight. 

[s(k)aturation]

 

Mane goes down from that goalie challenge on the line, and it's a deffo pen... Owen and Nolan are saying.

 

And it looks that way on replay.

[therevivalist]

Alcantra showed us in a few minutes what we have been missing as a good team, to become a top top team. Hopefully, he will stay healthy and we should be alright with a CB addition. But this draw feels like a loss. Hard to blame the boys because they gave it all, especially in the second half, creating so many chances. I think there's something wrong with Salah mentally. That interview seems to have boomeranged and destabilized his performance. Some psych help may go a long way.

 

As for the title, we're still in it but we have made it so much harder for ourselves. Not everything is lost.

[El Dangerous]

Just now, aRdja said:

With a proper number 9 we would’ve walked away with three points.

We won every fucking trophy going without your ‘proper number 9’. We don’t need one, that’s not how we play. He’d just be standing around not understanding why there’s full backs in front of him and midfielders in defence. If we get a ‘proper number 9’ he’ll be moulded to play our way. The way of the most successful team in Europe.

[Strontium]

Mane didn't even appeal, total brainfart, normally he hits the deck with indecent alacrity.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

1 minute ago, 3 Stacks said:

It is mostly Salah's fault today, but Newcastle, West Brom, Fulham and Brighton were all in the game way too much. It's in one sense a mental issue because those teams are all crap and should have been swept aside, but the other side of it is, with the injuries at the back, we can't control the game with our usual high line. We can't squeeze and press and suffocate these teams without one of van Dijk or Gomez. 

Yep, the domino effect has been pretty disastrous. If anything, I'm surprised we've coped as well as we have. No pace at CB now, which draws the midfield back, which in turn isolates the attack. 

[Anubis]

The mental exertions of the past two seasons have caught up with us. We don’t look like we have the will to find that last minute winner any more. Today we just tamely spent injury time passing it around the back. In seasons past we’d have spent it camped in and around the opposition area. 

[Code]

8 minutes ago, Arnaud said:

Mané was good, he tried and was lively, Salah and Bobby missed sitters.
 

Why isn’t Bobby playing more like a number 9.he keeps playing away from the box !

In what alternative reality was Mane good?

[dockers_strike]

Some of our players need to get in the gym and do some work on their upper body strength. Sadio, Bobby and Mo all brushed off the ball far too easily. Yes, Newcastle have some big lads but it wasnt always the bigger lads doing the shoving.

 

Once again, a ref dishes out yellows to us like sweeties to a kid in a sweet shop yet a couple of Newcastle ones went unpunished.

 

But it would be wrong to blame the ref, it was a very, very poor performance by the team. In fact, we're playing like our used to be 'normal' December and dropping points all over the shop.

 

Said before the game I was surprised Curtis was in the side. He looked lost against West Brom and was no better tonight. Jurgen just doesnt trust Shaq and putting him on with 4 mins of added time was pure desparation.

 

Trent was Newcastle's best defender all night. Did he get one decent cross in? I said it last season, he slams the ball into the first man too often. If he saved himself against West Brom, he didnt do it for tonight's game that's for sure.

 

Robbo got forward a lot but he was putting too much beef into his crosses so they went beyond the strikers. Or maybe they werent bust a gut to get on the end of them?

 

Fab played well. Young Nat seems to have copped a lot of stick but how come he's got these experienced pro around him and they're passing the ball back to him all the time? It's like no one wanted to take responsibility.

 

Midfield was totally unproductive. Hendo didnt have a good game and neither did Milner. The front 3, what can you say? They all had good chances but either wanted too much time or were not clinical enough. And I keep saying we always want to walk the ball into the net to much. Mo? Fucking hell, I dont know what to say about the chances he had and missed.

 

Gini comes on and is in a good position to take a shot but, he has to square it to someone and the chance is lost. Thiago comes on and started spraying the ball about but then the receiving player is wanting 2 touches by which time Newcastle have closed us down.

 

Have to say Jurgen's use of subs was poor yet again. I can only think he put Shaq on because he wanted to run down the clock. Curtis stayed on the pitch far too long and the game was crying out for Ox or Thiago.

 

Oh and this talk about the 'title's gone,' just fuck off with that shite.

[Joey8FrogsLegs]

7 minutes ago, Captain Howdy said:

Tell you what though, that Thiago looks unbelievable

He does.

[Anubis]

Also, given Bruce and Newcastle actually tried to attack us I can’t begrudge them a point, unlike that other gobshite.

[Iceman]

We don't have our power in defence after VD got taken out. As awesome as Fabinho is he needs someone next to him and today that cat he had as his partner was shaky as fuck and looked scared out of his mind any time he got near the ball. Put Thiago and Fabinho in there as a pair against the mancs is what I would do. Solid is what we need.