Howay

I don’t know mate his defensive stats look solid enough to me

The issue with us saying there’s players we’d get rid of before him is there’s little to no market for them, whereas maybe there is one for him. If selling him can allow us to buy a better team player I don’t really see why we’d hold on because we’d rather get rid of Ryan Fraser first. Bruno and Trippier are the only players I’d keep going forward, if a good bid comes in for any other player and we have identified an improvement then we should sell. There’s going to be more effective, team players hitting the market so I see absolutely no reason to hold onto him because he has a slightly better xG and xA than Fraser (btw both his xG and xA are way worse than I thought - so he’s basically recorded the tally expected of him and it’s his best ever return for us, but still worse than most the league from his position?), players like Sterling, Raphinha, Sarr etc are all going to be available. Maybe some like Sterling are a stretch but you never know I suppose.

Longstaffs last contract was £22k a week, I know a lad that’s family friends with the longstaffs. That’s how I also can deliver top class insider knowledge such as his lass drives a clapped out Corsa because Sean won’t buy her a new car, and his dad was Bruce’s infamous nark.

I think this is where the discussion gets confused. Many like me are taking issue with the calls to build a team around ASM, that’s what I’m arguing against. As I’ve said I really don’t like watching him in our team but I’ll concede there’s more pressing issues in the team - but my point is purely that he’s absolutely not the player to build a top side around. Which you’ve pointed out already with regard to saying he’d be at a better side if he did the things he needs to do.

A lot of those stats aren’t impressive though. Like ranking 38th for assists, 46th for passes into the box etc, that’s a lot of players out of 20 teams above him especially considering for half the season the attack was aimed completely through him. A lot of the stats will be skewed that he’s played more than others too. His crossing stats are the stuff of nightmares too if we add them in. To be fair to him he absolutely does create chances, the issue is he lowers the chances with his own actions at times - it’s not always just Chris Wood being a donkey. He delays passes making it harder, or makes the wrong choice I.e shoots himself when the passing option would score, or Vice versa. He very regularly goes on runs and takes 2 players out the game and the pass for a great goal is on but his heads still just down and he continues to just lose the ball. Those increase his xA or chance creation type stats but he’s at fault - and the issue is he’s not improving in these choices he’s continuing the same way and now blaming others. His dribbling stats are borderline meaningless imo. He sprints off with the ball every fucking time he touches it, if every other attacking player in the league did that he’d not be top and iirc he isn’t top for successful dribbles as a % of total dribbles. If he was anywhere close to the player people frame him to be someone would have been in for him now surely? Maybe that’s not a fair statement but I really do question why if he’s this really effective player that’s the best dribbler in the league nobody has put a bid in. I also disagree he was better under Bruce. This is his best season for us, it’s just now people are frustrated as instead of his runs being a “may as well give it a go” type of thing it’s often massively missed opportunities. All those stats also don’t factor in that to be top of those things he completely fucking disregards his defensive duty, compare that to Fraser, Almiron, and Murphy who are the players his stats are compared to. He gives the ball away loads and fucking refuses to adapt due to game situation - continues to try and skin players in our own half when we are a goal up late in the game. He’s a 5 a side player. I know others feel another way, but I really find him frustrating and not exciting to watch now, no amount of stats saying he dribbles past more people change that for me. I think we are a better team without him.

I’m personally pretty convinced the £60m chat is a tactic to deflate the market. I just cannot see how it would be that low an amount for us, we were actively trying to spend around £100m more in January right up to the end so why would we now be restricted so heavily? It also just doesn’t mesh with the players I know for a fact we are scouting. Why are we scouting the players we are if we’re targeting 4-6 players in but have £60m to spend (both per Edwards)? That would only be about Matty Targett money per player for 4 players, or 20m per player if we somehow sold 40m of players - none of the players we’ve spent months scouting would cost as little as that.

Lascelles only played as Schar was hurt iirc. I think Howe really doesn’t rate Lascelles, I honestly think the first move we make will be to get Tarkowski on a free and try to sell Lascelles.

I know someone had mentioned they thought ASMs nose was put out of joint with all the attention Bruno has been getting, while I wasn’t sure about it that comment honestly seems to lean that way a little to me. I’d also definitely lean in favor of Bruno’s opinion on players to bring in, wasn’t the last of ASM’s mates we got that part time Aussie brickie that Bruce allowed to join the reserves? .

Good for them, really big result against a comparatively big club.

I think I’ve been one of the ones calling for a massive turnaround in terms of playing staff in the summer (not sure if you were meaning me or not Rayvin but I’d say I’m in that group - although not anything about Howe or relegation worry!) I personally think that result underlined the need for a large overhaul. Going from some posts on here and twitter I might be in the minority, but I thought that was a complete fucking embarrassment and I’m sick of us receiving humblings like that. I could see it pissed Howe, and certain players off as well - it’s not acceptable the 5th especially was pure just giving up and accepting being shown up imo. For too long we’ve carried players who have just accepted this type of hiding, and had managers who made excuses and also accepted it, we really need fucking rid of it. That’s the overhaul I think we need, maybe it won’t all be big name players for large fees like Bruno, but we need a massive change in character. That’s why the Longstaff contract talks fucking annoy me, I’m hoping it is just to get money for him when we shift him because I don’t know what he brings to the side and his attitude fucking reeks. It’s constantly said about how he’s a local lad, but I watched that game yesterday and from kick off he looked defeated tbh, he wasn’t putting in a massive shift or trying to lift his game just a meek acceptance that we’d be beaten. Massive clear out of these types needed imo, get rid of Lascelles asap and bring in Tarkowski, those type of moves will be vital - not just in terms of quality of squad but in attitude. The acceptance of hidings just lingers on from Pardew and Bruce tbh. Shelvey would have been the same too, type of player that only plays well if the whole team plays well. We can’t say we want high standards and players like Bruno/Trippier, and accept absolute twattings like that and give contracts to quitters like Longstaff. For me it just doesn’t mesh, evolve the squad by all means but we need to remove these bone idle elements as soon as we can. I could visibly see how pissed off Bruno was all game at what was happening.

Thankfully we have Ryder, a man that will dig deep in the stories no one is all that arsed about.

Spot on. We need a big clear out tbh, it’s not just the ability levels for some of these players it’s the way they just give up. Longstaff flat out didn’t fucking bother today did he? He walked out knowing we had lost and proceeded to plod about for 90 minutes passing into touch. I used to think maybe a slower build would be best, and maybe in terms of level of talent it might be (because it would be so expensive) but we need a massive upgrade in terms of attitude as soon as possible. Bunch of fucking losers, that loafed about under Bruce for 3 years.

Clash of the titans.

Don’t think people watch our games.

Hopefully with less chat of “let’s build around ASM” and “giving Longstaff a new deal makes sense” while we wait. Get them all oot man.

“ah’ll tell thee wun thing Tarquin Clapton-Bowles would never talk t’ref like that”.

Mr Buzz Killington at it again

Are they honestly giving Longstaff a new contract? I don’t expect him to have a stormer against a side this good but he could at least try and make some effort rather than stroll about.

Having a stormer of a game ASM. Just the kind of reaction you can expect after waving his cock about in that article.

100% he just is brainless when he runs, slow the ball down and allow the team to catch up while we have the ball high up the pitch, nah just keep fucking sprinting off and run it out of play. He’s a fucking liability for me tbh, I’d rather Murphy or Fraser.

Quality defending by hair band boy. I’m sure he will do some dribbles into dead ends to make up for it.

We’re still not mathematically safe mind. Don’t give me that “they won’t overturn the GD” malarkey after acting like they’d overturn the points tally, you talkywhacker.

What a brutal account, the man in the mirror one is canny mind.