GrahamTaylor5

So, I had to leave my TV on 58 minutes to go and collect my son from cadets. Some people would be really bitter and twisted about missing the remaining 4 goals. I am one of those people.

I think Burn makes sense as he has played every game and some rotation is good. I also think the Isak for Wilson is an alright change. It is amazing to have Isak or Wilson coming on around 60 mins. It would be gutting as a defender to see.

Got to feel for Murphy after his two goals.

I'm not sure what is going on from Murphy but he seems to be having an 'off game' which is a pity as I think he has played well recently. It is sad to see him miss the post twice within the first 10 mins

I'm buzzing about this. I've missed the whole game as I am away but I had a feeling that we would get nothing out of this game.

That was great by Joelinton and Bruno.

Imagine playing for 65 mins then having Wilock, Gordon and Isak coming on the pitch. Must be brutal.

To be fair, I think West Ham have played well. We are just better than them. I don't get why they are so low down the league based on this game.

Hold on a minute- with talk like that- we might be seen as the tope team in the North East.

I want an explanation for the ruled out goal still. I think NUFC should push for it now that we have ehe 3 points. It is an absolute joke.

I am happy with this. Their goal came after a long passage when we seemed to sit back and let them at us. I feel sorry for Pope and Trippier as their mistakes, one leading to the goal came from a slip. I noticed that Miggy ended up on his backside as well. I feel very pleased seeing the improvements in ASM. It is also really good to see how well Isak has played, showing how well Howe has handled the full situation. I think Murphy was good today but it is scary to think how good we could have been with Gordon on. The future feels bright. We let them have a 10-20 minute spell in the second half but then proved good enough to push on and win. I feel that these are good signs.

Get in

Yes

I thought it was a pen in real time but I don't think it is on the replay. Pope was turning back into the ball and his chest is what makes contact with the shoulder. It is not a foul to me.

Burn is having a great game. I am still not sure about the level of hate he has received recently.

ASM with some great balls. At least twice for Isak. Great to see this added to his game.

I must be watching a different game. We look the better team. 1 mistep from Pope but we are definitely the better team.

Replay doesn't look as bad. Good decision by the ref as I would have given that.

To clarify. I think Howe did want Bruno, Isak and Gordon. My observation would be that out of the three of them, Gordon would be more likely, injury aside, to start sooner into his NUFC career as he has previous Premier League experience as seen with the early starts for Trippier. I also feel Isak would have played far more for us had it not been for his injuries. I'm not blindly going to agree with all of Howe's decisions but so far I cannot see how much better he could be doing. I also love the fact we are not burning players like Bruce did with Joelinton.

To be fair the last comment was supposed to be a joke but it missed the mark. I was hoping this would help. I'm a bit needy like that.

That might explain why Howe is not starting him. Either that or Howe didn't actually want to sign him. I'm not sure which one.

I have not watched MOTD in a while. Was it really only 10 mins last night or is that an exaggeration? If it was 10 mins, is that about how long the actual match highlights last, for the number of games, on a usual basis?

I don't think he had a say in Bruno either. He wouldn't start him for ages last year. Only logical explanation. Either that or Isak has been injured for the majority of his time here and Howe is managing him well. I'm not sure which.

I'm really coming round to Murphy as a sub. He is not someone I would want coming on in the 80th minute to 'unlock' a defence and he is not someone I would want to see rotated in the squad as a starter but I do think he is a good enough standard for the role of a sub. He has the right work ethic, quick enough to help defend, quick enough to run at a tired defence and he seems to love playing for us.

I went to post in here this morning that I knew we had the ability to win but that I didn't think we would win. I was also going on to say the fact we got to a final is amazing but it just feels wet blanket so I didn't. I feel that given where we were 12 months ago, even when we had Bruno and Trippier, the thought that we could finish top 10 and lose a league cup final would be something I would have jumped at. However, given the way we have started this year, dropping down the league a bit and today makes it is so much harder to accept. That in itself is a brilliant thing. I just feel so lucky to have my team back. I think we did ourselves proud today. We didn't drop our heads and fair play to Karius who performed at a decent level. It feels like this was one step too far at this point of our journey but it also feels like it is a step on our wonderful journey rather than a disappointing climax to a fluky season that where we won't get a better chance again.