M_Afro

I was critical of Dean last week but he picked the same team and formation today that most of us wanted and it was better than last week. It was however still a very poor start from us. We should have gone behind which would have changed everything. We also do not flow. Our form/standard of play is poor without Grealish and always has been under Dean. Obviously having a fit/settled Buendia and Bailey will hopefully much improve that. Also, once the team settles we should improve but until the standard of play improves significantly and more consistently we will not get anywhere near the top half and Dean will rightly receive criticism. Final point. It’s ok to criticise if what you see is, in your own view, not very good. It does not make you a bad supporter. It just means you have a different view point. Fundamentally we all want Dean to do well. Who else would we rather have meeting our expectations than one of our own who also just happens to be a top bloke. I love Dean but I will never shy away from saying it as I see it. Watford and Newcastle are poor sides. That doesn’t mean you should always beat them but you should be able to look like a team that is capable of beating them. Last week was shambolic and until we scored today, Newcastle contained us very comfortably. Anyway, a very welcome three points. A good chance to launch our season. I am very chuffed with that.

It makes me feel so sad when AEG starts games for us. It’s nothing against him. He is a top bloke but he is nowhere near good enough to be starting games in the PL. I know he scored a few goals but he is guilty of a high percentage of our attacks breaking down. I am posting this fully in the hope that he will now make me look very silly!

Not having a go but I just don’t buy the match fitness argument. We were much the better team in the final quarter of the game last week which would suggest that our fitness was fine. I agree that we need to get three points on the board though. Watford was a disaster but it’s done. Back to back wins would give us a nice boost to take on some more difficult fixtures. We simply have to find some consistent performances quickly.

I’m still hoping that Connor gets loaned out and it enables us to sign another centre mid (defensive). There’s still time for it to happen. I doubt Connor fancies a season of not even making the match day squad.

I think he’s available. He has trained all week.

Surprised so many are picking JR ahead of Luiz. JR has been largely quiet for us when he has started matches. He always seems to do much better when coming off the bench. I would start with Doug and allow SJM to play higher up the pitch.

I agree. The way Dean spoke yesterday, it seems like he will start on the bench. I get the sentiment and he has played loads since he joined us but I don’t think today is the day to rest him. A good performance is really important after last week. There will be better opportunities to rest him during the season. I would play a three man midfield with Doug and Marv holding and SJM linking.

That’s all true but why then play a 4-2-3-1? That was Dean’s decision. We could easily have gone 5-3-2 or 4-3-3. That would have totally mitigated the need to play AEG as a right winger, Buendia as a traditional 10 and Young as a left winger! Neither systems are perfect with our available players but both would have provided greater control in the game. Anyway, that one’s dead now. Hopefully Dean learns from it, which he surely will. I expect a different set up today and a better performance. That’s all we can ask for. Hopefully the result will then follow. The atmosphere will certainly help too.

I hope we have a chance. This kid is class and can play any role in midfield. If he signed for us, even though he is very young, he would force his way in. Class player.

Newcastle are a garbage team with a garbage manager. We certainly have our problems but we are at home and so long as we go 4-3-3, I think we will be ok. Fingers crossed

Fair enough. If it makes you feel any better, my Toon mate is virtually suicidal and thinks they have no chance tomorrow. It certainly made me feel better.

Why do you think we will struggle with that side? It’s a fairly expensively assembled starting eleven. With home advantage, I think that should be good enough to beat a team that has been largely starved of investment. I genuinely have no idea and I could easily be wrong but I would think that this team probably cost a fair bit more than the toon 11. From the players available I quite like your selection and formation. It’s nicely balanced. Of course we would all be happier with Bailey in for AEG and Ollie in for Ings but Ings at least is a good alternative.

Great. I hope you’re right.

I have a feeling that this guy is going to show us what he’s all about tomorrow. Especially if Dean plays him on the right of a front three. Just had a cheeky bet on him for anytime scorer.

The leak could have come from their side of course.

This doesn’t have anything to do with a fairly awful performance against Watford. This is about stated expectation for the whole season. I think it’s fair to expect us to do better than last season for the reasons I stated. Clearly Purslow agrees and Dean is up for the challenge. I have my doubts in Dean but I really want him to succeed. If he doesn’t then I am sure he will be gone. I don’t want that. I love having someone who gets our club at the helm. Nobody else will ever have the same love for the club that he does but he must also deliver. I really hope he does.

Wow. Great deal for Spurs if true. I think he is going to be a top player. Nuno has a great eye for young talent.

Why do you say that? Our management are fairly guarded with their communication. They would never give the supporters a stick to beat them with. I suspect it was thrown out as a challenge to Dean by Purslow. The fact that Dean then repeated it was an acceptance by him that he was up to the challenge.

Purslow said we are aiming for European football. So did Dean.

It seems some posters are using Grealish leaving as an excuse for us not doing so well this season! This is clearly not what our board think and I totally agree. We finished eleventh last season despite Grealish missing a third of our games. In Bailey, Ings and Buendia we have added three very expensive and talented attackers. We have a very settled defence which should be getting better and better. Although most of us think the midfield is not good enough, it is the same one we had last year. We also have some youngsters who are now good enough to at least be a part of the squad plus Sanson who is effectively a new player. All in all we are in a better overall position. It is only right that the board expects us to do better. There should be no excuses. Dean must get it right and deliver the goods. That means getting to at least 60 points. Too many games like last week in our first 10 matches will spell the end I am sure. It starts tomorrow. Get it right in front of the fans and launch the season in style.

Interesting press conference. It sounded as though he feels the selection was right last week and the players just let him down. I suspect, from what he said, that we will see the same starting 11 tomorrow. I hope I am wrong because that 2 man midfield is likely to get rinsed again! Hopefully he will go 4-3-3 instead.

I like Jed. He’s fine for the cups. Would be concerned if he had to start a run of PL games though. It’s a massive gap between Emi and Jed. I suspect we are on the lookout for someone else. Big Cuts knows his apples.

I wonder when we will start getting linked to GK’s? At the moment, a long term injury to Emi and we are well and truly in the brown stuff!

I think there could be something in that. If they are not convinced by Dean then it makes sense to see what he can do whilst keeping some aside for a new manager should he fail. It’s probably a sensible move too. Let’s see if he can get them ticking with what we already have. We do have a decent squad on the whole.

Bullet well and truly dodged. Let’s hope we have £50m to spend and we choose to spend it a bit more wisely. That could still but two midfielders that transform our side in a very positive manner.