OTF

Whatever happens we can be sure that there will be a good half hour in the studio followed by 90+ minutes of commentators trying to determine the greater great; Liverpool F.C. or Mohamed Salah.

That will be a hugely interesting match, I don't think we'll see any tactical messing about from either side (unless Liverpool have already locked up the league at that point) in that we'll both be putting our best foot forward in both this and the final a few weeks later.

I really don't like Liverpool, intensely so, but I have to admit from what I have seen of Slot he is likeable, bit of a Dutch Eddie Howe in terms of temperament, technical knowledge and application. Level headed, listens to and responds to question with accuracy. Howe is obviously much better looking. It could just be that I'm on a high from the Arsenal game but what an occassion it would be to beat a high flying Liverpool. A final for the ages. There should be an incredible atmosphere in the stadium (mostly thanks to us) and our players will be ready for it this time. Just need to ensure we don't suffer any significant injuries.

If you were a know nought outsider looking on it may seem that way simply because the spending on players has eased up dramatically. Of course as you've noted it only needs a modicum of knowledge to know that we were starting with a grossly underpowered squad that needed a massive overhaul and now that we have a much stronger roster we're heavily limited by PSR.

No. Do you?

How to assess Paul Mitchell, a handy flow chart. July-August 24 || || || Too soon to assess. Ignore what he said. || || || ⬇ January 25 || || || Too soon to assess. No need to ignore what he said, because he didn't say anything. || || ⬇ June-August 25 || ???

I agree 100% but the correct term is squirting.

Howe playing this as though it's an individual match rather than the second leg, which is not surprising and is the right thing to do as long as the players can do it without any sort of complacency.

He's the Geordie Rodri. No pressure or anything.

You're probably right because both Joelinton and Willock like to attack towards the left. However it really depends on Eddie's strategy for the match which will take into account our current position. Willock has more attacking instinct but Miley is a protector of the ball and brings more of a physical presence.

That seems to be the gamble here, which will be wonderful if we get Europe but if we don't it will mean a regression of results and of our squad or in other words no progress at all and we become a less appealing target for the calibre of player required to meaningfully improve the squad. Based on the inconsistency of our performances It's difficult to have any confidence that we will be in Europe next season. And if we are and it's the lesser European competition then financially is there enough of a boost to bring in players to kick us on and give us the squad depth required for extra matches?

What do you mean hasn't?

I don't think we'll be forced to sell if we miss champions league. Some players may want to leave but we'll not be in the position where we want to or need to sell them. This is part of why we're selling players this window IMO. The other part is so that if we do get CL then we'll be best positioned to bolster and improve the squad for the additional games.

Agree, Botman is the future, unless he's had some muscle issues since returning I'd be starting him against Arsenal with Burn, and with Burn told not to push up the pitch.

Both Schär and Burn this season seem to push much higher up the pitch regularly. But yes I'd agree Botman in for Schär.

The MURPH

It's Saturday arvo in the AU. Perfect time to continue with the bogan juice.

Not yet they can't

This thread is a good marker that F all has happened in the window. As Toonpack said it's all about the right signing rather than any signing. I think we have our targets and if we don't get them we don't accept next best. I'm fine with that. If we get champions league in the summer we'll obviously need to strengthen.

I agree 100% and it's amplified 10x when you come in on the back of two and a half years of Steve Bruce.

Murphy is one of the cleanest strikers of the ball we have and he's pretty good with his left foot. Needs a bit of time to get the shot off though, the kind of time being Jacob Murphy can sometimes allow. Same principle applies to his passing. He used to be a lot worse IMO because he would commit to dribbling and have his head down, beat his man then run into a blind alley and eventually turn it over. He's got rid of it from his game for the most part making much better decisions about when to pass or dribble. He can still sometimes get caught on the ball or make a poor decision but he has greatly improved his onfield vision, knowing where our players are and also where the goal is (rather than the post). Currently deserving of a starting spot but would be best suited to being an impact sub coming on when the game is a little more open. I've never found him to be a good player defensively despite him covering a lot of ground. I love to see him do well as he's clearly a great lad who loves playing for us. Like Dan Burn he's part of our identity as well as our playing squad. Gordon, Barnes and Joelinton have all looked out of place when played on the right. I'd like to see whether Willock could play there. As much as he seems to be either hot or cold/injured (most often cold) he has the physical attributes and attacking intent to be dangerous.

Aye, speaks volumes for his attitude and aptitude that the club that sold him to us want him back 6 years on. Wish him all the best.