OTF

I'd suggest Arsenal need to investigate their boots/studs as they keep falling over under minimal amounts of contact.

Heck yeah baby! GORDON from the right and ISAK baby! #longstaffbalance

Based on that yes absolutely must. Livramento was just way behind the rest of the defensive line. Granted it was because he was trying to cover a player running through but that doesn't bode well.

Nice move there

14 fucking years since the 4-4 comeback victory, incredible. So much that game gave us. Firstly it was an absolute masterclass in shithousery, just niggling, niggling, niggling to encourage Arsenal to self-implode. Barton, probably his most memorable achievement at the club, firstly getting Diaby sent off and then putting away two penalties. Leon Best had a rightful goal chalked off to an incorrect offside decision, but eventually scored one that counted and even Nile Ranger had an impactful substitute appearance. Tiote's goal was one of the most memorable in our history and the reaction that followed was iconic. The classic Steve Harper elbow drop was born. Let's also not forget the invention of Steve Marshall Barnes. https://talksport.com/uncategorized/191864/marshall-barnes-newcastle-were-danger-losing-9-1/

It's a bit fucking weird in the age of injury and sproting intelligence that we're in, but effectively everyone knows (Wilson and Howe most of all) that if he plays in an actual game he'll pick up a real injury.

To be honest given he's already here having Barnes on the bench is a good thing. Having a strong 11 isn't enough in this league, you need someone who can come on and change things and Barnes has shown he can do that numerous times. We still need to convert one of our predominantly left sided midfield/forward players into a right sided one. Maybe it's worth a shot trying to do it with Willock? He's been off the boil and or injured for a long time but he has the energy and pressing to be super effective for 60-70 minutes not just in attack but also contributing defensively.

That's what he's best at.

The effort he puts in is unparalleled. He's a behemoth in that regards. He does sometimes find himself well out of position and/or in a footrace he can't win as a result. I don't think Botman is that much faster than Burn, but positionally he is ruled by his head rather than his heart and this makes a big difference.

It's testament to how shit our youth system was under Ashley that we were properly excited about Longstaff. He did have a good spell under Rafa but never was he ever an exciting player. Worked hard and gelled well in a midfield with Isaac Hayden (ridiculous I know). Hayden was a good player once upon a time but his body wasn't up to his combative nature. Because this was under Rafa the focus was on defensive stability and compressing space so it suited him. In a more expansive game Longstaff doesn't have the athleticism to keep up, he covers a lot of ground but at what seems a snail's pace. I don't see any future for him here and wish we sold him instead of Anderson. Miley is a superior player already with a better range of passing, more physical presence and never gets caught on the ball like Longstaff frequntly does. And that's my rant for today.

Fitness isn't stopping Longstaff from playing.

I mean even if they switch out their first 11 they'll be on higher wages than the team we put out.

Should be giving some minutes to Miley to get him back up to match sharpness.

Hopefully Man City winning their case against the FA opens up our PSR options and Howe gets a chance to replace the aging/mediocre players in the squad.

I don't think anyone else comes in and gets better results out of the players we have, but what is worrying to me is him sticking with a system for so long that we're rarely executing well for an extended period. Our players are two years older than when Howe got the best out of them, and for a number that two years has brought them to their decline (Almiron, Schär, Burn, Trippier, Wilson). Really missing Botman and Wilson, but in the scheme of things our current injury list is well under what we're used to.

They're not wrong

Surely that is not enough contact to be considered a penalty, but knowing our luck they'll say it's not clear and obvious and leave the decision.... Clearly I don't know what I'm talking about.

On that play though the man that had the unmarked shot should have been covered by Longstaff. As soon as we lost possession he should have been sprinting but he didn't even try and was just watching, poor attitude.

Watch Longstaff jogging back when Chelsea had that chance that was saved by Pope. He's been on for like 15 minutes the useless bastard.

Subbing on £4 gazillion worth of players.

Longstaff is the antithesis of an impact sub.

What the fuck Isak!?

Or Tonali.

Again subbing Tonali off short of 90 when he didn't look to be struggling.

Murphy, Willock and Longstaff. Time to turn off?