Optimistic Nut

Gutted for Gateshead again. Rob Elliot had them playing some mint stuff.

One of my favourite NUFC pics of the last 10 years, this. He'd just starred for France at the Euros, hadn't found himself a move just yet and for a short spell looked like he was going to stay, I'm sure Rafa even nearly picked him for our third game after we'd lost the first two. Fair play to him for actually looking how he felt.

Timber moaning about the amount of football they have to play and saying how there's no Winter break. While I sort of get it, no-one made him leave Holland to come to the Premier League.

Thinking long term, but I'd take Iraola here one day when Howe goes. Absolutely quality what he's done there, they'll finish ahead of the likes of Brighton and West Ham if Evanilson clicks. Just a shame they're another club which will be held back by FFP because they've done brilliantly in the transfer market.

Aye, Ashcroft and NUFC was the main issue for obvious reasons, I take anything about "behind the scenes" problems with a pinch of salt. They had a 12-18 month spell where they pretty much hit the money on every deal together. Less PSR restrictions down there, worth a quid at 50/1 anyway.

Wonder if Ashworth would dare try for Howe..

I'd try them again for £40m in January and walk away if they say no. Can see him going to Liverpool for that sort of fee next summer.

Spending £80m on Antony while fucking it all up with a talent like Sancho is sackable in itself. FA Cup papered over a huge crack for them last season and short/medium term was probably more damaging to them than if they'd sacked him and brought someone like Tuchel in.

Thought he was brilliant today. They cut off the lines to that diagonal ball to the LW that he loves, so he just started playing 50-60 yard rakers over the LB or through the middle instead. Shame he didn't connect with that header properly when he went into full Philippe Alschar mode.

In another dimension, we've got Guardiola strutting around midfield with 120 Brazilian caps Fumaca, with Mourinho Assistant Manager to Bobby during that 99/00 season.

Class how the likes of him & Mourinho seem to love us and playing up here.

I reckon we'd have finished top 4 with him available last season. When you think there was a good 2 month spell where we had a midfield of Bruno, Longstaff & Miley (nowt against them as they grafted their bollocks off and the other is still raw), but those games against the likes of Bournemouth, Luton & Everton home and away. We got 3 points out of 18 there alone. We were only 8 behind Villa in the end. He wasn't exactly Pirlo today but his intelligence and that sort of swagger of "I'm as good as yous" today stood out. He's going to be massive.

Loved that today. Been waiting for a good performance to match the results and we got it. Similar performance v Everton with a win and this has turned into a very good start. Tonali just looks a classy player. Was hoping our midfield would match up to theirs today and it did. Think the top.4 will be City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea but 5th is there for us if we build on this and that will hopefully mean CL this time.

That's Brighton's wing positions sorted in a couple of years time.

For actual money?

Pretty much from February after the first transfers we had that high-press. Fraser, Murphy, Wood, Willock, Joelinton, etc would run their bollocks off high up the pitch, Schar & Burn would defend the halfway line clearing up anything launched when they had to go long because of it, and we just grew from there.

Aye, two-footed tackle on Schmeichel rings a bell.

I'm sure the story at the time is he turned down Elano who went on to smash it that season at City, for Alan Smith.

Mad to think 3 years ago that was all on Charnley man.

He missed a trick by not convincing Forest to hoy the Anderson/Greek bloke PSR deal through the books as £250m and £235m or something ridiculous like that mind. Show PSR up for the farce it is by putting them down as the two most expensive footballers in history. Would have had my full respect.

Given that it's the 3 clubs who PSR helps the most who've finished runners-up in each of your title wins I'm all for it tbh..

They've still got quality in midfield but no Rodri or KdB is huge. I hope Howe plays Tonali here with Bruno and Joelinton as the "muscle" as we might have a chance in midfield if they're all at it. It's the one area we could be at least equal.

Oliver could have done us a favour and sent him off, like. Calls himself a fan.

I don't mind it. Big clubs can't just stroll the last game or two with a scratch team anymore because they risk losing a top 8 spot and having to go into a Play-Off. You also get a lot more "big" games early on with the top seeds playing two other top seeds, as well as giving the usual whipping boys a chance of actually winning a game or two by having two games more at their level guaranteed (as well as the games against the elite). When was the last time Celtic won a Champions League game nevermind scoring 5? Happy to give it a chance, the group stages in the CL as it stood were dull as fuck.

0/4 this season. Got about 7 last season in total through the ballot, 2 the year before when it was a free for all for tickets at 10am due to work commitments meaning I could never get on.