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

[Arnaud]

United is right here but the threat is City.

[3 Stacks]

25 minutes ago, aRdja said:

The most successful team in Europe last season was Bayern Munich with a proper number 9 in Lewandowski up front. Teams have figured us out to an extent this season. They just need to put men behind the ball and we would generally rely on a mistake or an individual brilliance to bail us out. If we had a Lewandowski or a Jimenez, they wouldn’t have been able to sit that deep, or we would’ve punished them. 

Listen, you've been banging this drum, very incorrectly, for years now, but yeah, at some point you have to think that if the delivery is so good from out wide like it is for us, it would make sense in the future to get someone who can feast on crosses. 

[Special K]

Shit form, poor results.

 

We're still winning the league

[Rick Sanchez C-137]

51 minutes ago, skaro said:

 

Six draws.

Wonder when the last team won a title with that many.

 

 

Probably plenty, but if we keep going like this we'll end the season with 15 draws.

[Trumo]

There have been a lot of questionable choices made over these last 2 games, and they've not worked out for the better. There's an ordinariness about the performances that can't just be put down to the absence of the leader at the back or the chopping and changing in defence. Complacency might be a factor. Tiredness might be a factor. Loss of form might be a factor.

 

My suspicion is that Klopp and his coaching staff are reigning in the intensity to try and aid the overall durability of the squad. It's a long-term outlook that is hindering us in the short term because, as Pep Lijnders put it, "intensity is our identity."

 

I keep reading on the FF about how we are by far the best team and the rest are ordinary/lucky etc. We've been just as ordinary as the others in a lot of games this season, so we can't assume that we'll just click up another couple of gears and start to streak away once more. By all means be cautious about how close things are, but don't go full-on meltdown and start describing us as a pub team either.

[Kevin D]

Jota. 

[Iceman]

17 minutes ago, an tha said:

One thing the mancs have got is a bit of pace up front and someone to play good balls into those front men.

 

Rashford/Martial v Willliams or Phillips genuinely worries me.

It's not a prospect one would readily choose if given the choice that's for certain. 

[El Dangerous]

30 minutes ago, aRdja said:

The most successful team in Europe last season was Bayern Munich with a proper number 9 in Lewandowski up front. Teams have figured us out to an extent this season. They just need to put men behind the ball and we would generally rely on a mistake or an individual brilliance to bail us out. If we had a Lewandowski or a Jimenez, they wouldn’t have been able to sit that deep, or we would’ve punished them. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’d much rather have Danny Ings coming off the bench than Origi and I’d go one further and say the perfect sub forward for us would be Peter Crouch who was very adaptable but offers you the bread and butter of a target man but it’s obvious that’s not what Klopp wants. Maybe the evolution of this team involves selling Salah and buying Haaland or some other top class intelligent centre forward but it won’t be in January and it will involve a gradual shift in tactics and personnel. 

[Stickman]

This season will be a lot closer than last unfortunately not often you don’t win 27 is it out of 28 games (probably wrong with that stat) at the start of the season but games and runs  like this happen the main thing is you don’t lose them as every point can count .

After losing VVD the Thiago then Gomez then Matip then Allison and numerous others I’m sure anyone would have been well chuffed about being three points clear going into the new year 

 

[dockers_strike]

9 minutes ago, Kevin D said:

Jota. 

As good as Jota has been, anyone who thinks we're drawing games because he's out is mistaken. Overall, the team's played poorly with a number of players out of form or at least not on blob.

[Grinch]

48 minutes ago, Jennings said:

We needed some attacking impetus. Gini was a woeful sub in that situation.

 

Shaq...Ox..both would have turned us into a more attacking team. 

 

I love Kloppo but his subs need to be braver.

Except both are bang average and have been their whole careers.  The love in with those two seems to be because they don't actually play enough to show how woeful they are. 

[Lario]

We’re top of the league without playing well, a fuckload of injuries, and var fucking us over at every opportunity. 
 

I’m not unhappy. 

[Iceman]

4 minutes ago, Lario said:

We’re top of the league without playing well, a fuckload of injuries, and var fucking us over at every opportunity. 
 

I’m not unhappy. 

I'm with this. No team can take the injury crisis we've had and not show some effects results wise. Shows the strength we have to still be at the top. 

[VladimirIlyich]

56 minutes ago, dockers_strike said:

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.

I thought Milner had a very good game and did everything asked of him,Hendo wasnt bad either. Expecting Curtis Jones to unlock the Newcastle defence with killer passes was never going to work either,not that he played badly just too much on his shoulders. Thiago looked class and Robbo,Trent,Fabinho and Alisson were good and while Phillips was ok he is way off the level needed in a team like ours.

[bizzle10]

6 minutes ago, Lario said:

We’re top of the league without playing well, a fuckload of injuries, and var fucking us over at every opportunity. 
 

I’m not unhappy. 

its frankly ridiculous that were top without our 1st choice centre backs but ill take it and hope we kick on 2nd half of season

[Arnaud]

Why is Klopp making these last minute subs ? It does not make sense. 

[ZonkoVille77]

Klopp has never been good at using the subs well. He gets lucky from time to time but generally he changes far too late. Tonight was awful from that perspective. 

[Manny]

I don’t think we were that bad tonight - well, not after about the 30 minute mark. If we’d beaten West Brom 3-0 and then that happened I’d be more sanguine about it. We were not great but not terrible, and created enough to win the game.

 

In isolation it’s just one of those things, but unfortunately it’s part of a season where we’ve chucked a load of points away against shite and it’s threatening to cost us. Still though, I’m far more concerned about the West Brom and Fulham performances than that and Thiago raised is about 26 gears when he came on; that bodes well.

[aRdja]

30 minutes ago, El Dangerous said:

Don’t get me wrong, I’d much rather have Danny Ings coming off the bench than Origi and I’d go one further and say the perfect sub forward for us would be Peter Crouch who was very adaptable but offers you the bread and butter of a target man but it’s obvious that’s not what Klopp wants. Maybe the evolution of this team involves selling Salah and buying Haaland or some other top class intelligent centre forward but it won’t be in January and it will involve a gradual shift in tactics and personnel. 

We don’t even need to replace Salah. Salah and Mane have proven capable of playing as providers in the past. We just need a proper striker to replace Bobby when we play against teams with 10 men behind the ball. 

[Trojan1892]

We got one but he’s injured..... Jota plays last two games we defo win them.

[corro]

10 minutes ago, ZonkoVille77 said:

Klopp has never been good at using the subs well. He gets lucky from time to time but generally he changes far too late. Tonight was awful from that perspective. 

Give it a rest FFS. You’re embarrassing yourself 

[3 Stacks]

30 minutes ago, Lario said:

We’re top of the league without playing well, a fuckload of injuries, and var fucking us over at every opportunity. 
 

I’m not unhappy. 

We're top on the technicality that other teams are crap and are all taking points from each other, though. Our points total at this stage of the season is weak and the performances aren't great either. 

 

Top is top, but we're more than wobbly. 

[s(k)aturation]

1 hour ago, dockers_strike said:

That ref tonight isnt giving a pen to Sadio for that.

 

VAR would have.

[s(k)aturation]

1 hour ago, Rick Sanchez C-137 said:

Probably plenty, but if we keep going like this we'll end the season with 15 draws.

 

Leicester.  12 draws.

[Josef Svejk]

2 hours ago, Strontium Dog™ said:

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

Indecent Alacrity. Sounds promisingly erotic...