Rayvin

I'm never one to defend Paul Ryan but he seems to genuinely not understand what that is about. Why does that make him a dick...?

I've got 3 in the middle with two advanced wingers and a standard back four. I tried Mitro and Gayle together but while Mitro seems to do well in that arrangement, Gayle was totally ineffectual. I'm starting to think I'm going to be told he's having some confidence based goal drought but it's early days yet. I don't feel we have the squad for it, but my ideal systems are 4-1-2-2-1 if I'm up against a better team, playing on the counter, or 4-2-3-1 when I'm on the front foot, with wingers for both. Tend not to use two forwards. In fairness, when Perez comes back I can make the 4-2-3-1 work. Don't feel I have a reliable enough anchor for 4-1-2-2-1 though.

Fucking hell I hope he never comes over here, I'll never get that out of my head.

I was so disappointed when I scrolled up and saw that there was more to that post.

Why not just get them paid back

Don't care, not compromising any more. I'm not voting for them, so the blame lies with those who are.

Don't remember the chips and curry sauce bit... the food isn't bad though, I grant you. The overpopulation, filthy air, constant noise pollution and extreme weather are all kind of irritating though.

I don't think he'll last that long. He'll go this year IMO. The thing is, the likelihood is that they'll replace him with someone less left wing. Which in turn means I won't be able to vote for them, sadly.

I loved that game. Possibly the most entertained I've been in an international match.

You can claim that back you know...

The minimum acceptable goal for this season is promotion. We'll not manage that through the play-offs because we're Newcastle, so it has to be the auto-slots. As such, it could be better than it is presently. If we don't get promoted, Benitez is unlikely to even stay. I think it's make or break this season, which makes every defeat more potent.

Yep, saw that this morning. A shame, but if people want the Tories there's not much anyone can do about it. I suspect Corbyn will go in the nearish future, especially given that the unions are saying this now. Wonder how many members Labour will haemorrhage when that happens...

I guess this makes sense, although China isn't a great place to live. Some manner of sacrifice in terms of quality of life. The standard of play in China isn't going to reach the same levels as Europe under this model though. Even with 'superstars' they'll be brushed aside. The lack of competition will, over time, have a detrimental effect on the players who go out there.

I have to get permission to work from home, that needs to be my goal this year. Not all the time, but enough to employ as a pick me up at the end of a shit week. Not sure I'd get away with it though, it'd be hard to justify.

Was wondering if there'd be any merit in taking Cabaye back (in the summer, once CP are relegated ) I know what you mean though, they're few and far between.

Yeah I've gone in a couple of chapters but still not broken the back of it. I think I need to give each bit some time to sink in as I found I kept checking back the further I went through. I want to retain as much as possible and then pull some manner of plan together. I don't get much of a heads up on my boss' movements at all so he could well be away all week too. I'm thinking of gifting myself Friday off but I've no reason to do so other than making the week as easy as possible

Quite possible. Really looking forward to Shelvey's return though...

Will do, but I did nothing with transfers in the first window apart from ship out Tiote. I'm also still trying to settle on my preferred formation at this point. It's looking like a 4-3-3 with Mitro up top, but I need to work on an alternative system to accommodate Gayle as it doesn't work for him. Any thoughts on that? The rest of the team is essentially as you would expect. I did think about having Perez just behind him and playing through the middle in his case, but Perez is out for 3 months and I don't trust anyone else to play the same kind of role very well.

I responded to RTW by bringing that book with me to keep me motivated At least my boss isn't in today, which means I've got some breathing space to crisis manage whatever happened over Christmas.

Agreed, that's really where our issue is. We should have a plan B though, without him. Still think Route 1 to Mitro would be workable. That said, it's probably worth keeping in mind that we did get the ball in the net twice, albeit not allowably. In the cold light of day I think HF's assertion that this was just 'one of those games' is probably about right. The reason that it's being taken more seriously is because it has happened during a 'slump'.

Duly noted, I just bought this and am in season 1 with NUFC. Unbeaten so far but only 6 games in.

Sounds like you've got this down.

If we ever played Mitro I'm confident that he'd be getting plenty. Really don't understand the situation with him. He's so well loved by the fans and is comprent enough. If we're gonna have Colback and Anita playing and therefore no penetration, why not go Route 1 with Mitro.

The BBC headline for our game is 'Newcastle have 25 shots but lose 1-0. Maybe the issue is elsewhere. We've had concerns about our finishing all season.

You mean the board forced you to sell Hojbjerg?