TheFish

That was, without a shadow of a doubt, our worst performance of the season and I include the FA Cup exit against Shef Wed. Not a single player in a black and white shirt had even a par game. Dunno if it was the slew of away days, the arrogance of winning 5 on the bounce, or what, but that was terrible. No complaints here, on the day you were better in literally every department. More intense, more awake, sharper and more bold. Nothing but praise for your lot and the job Emery has done. Nothing but criticism for the Newcastle team, no intensity, no sharpness, timid and asleep. Your attackers were given acres of space by a midfield and defence that have been incessant pressers throughout the season. Your back line had nowt to do, and your wide players had the run of the wings. The bare minimum you expect from Eddie Howe's Newcastle is that they'll run their bollocks off. We did not do that. I honestly think you could have played your U21s and taken all 3pts on Saturday. Special mention for Watkins. Having seen him properly now, I can understand why you rate him so highly. p.s. The Mag is a rag, I'd dismiss it out of hand before you even click the link.

Dunno how much of Joelinton you've seen, but I'm telling you, the kid is a monster. I'd post fbref's useful scouting reports, but I'm not able to c&p images here. He's outstanding. Last paragraph is spot on though, Howe and Emery have built sides to compete with the players that they have and direct combinations won't really work. e.g. Burn is great for the way we play because he moves across to become a CB when we attack. Would Moreno work as well in that set up? Probably not, no, but he's definitely a better LB.

Now who's trolling?

You misunderstood, it isn't Joelinton over Kamara, it's Luiz over Kamara, but like I said, that's a coin flip. It's Bruno over everyone, Joelinton + 1 of Luiz or Kamara. Conceding 1 from open play in 7 doesn't necessarily mean that's down to your CB. More likely it's down to Emery's excellent coaching, and pragmatic system. I've only watched Mings on tv, or when we faced you under Gerrard or other previous managers, so yeah I may be being harsh. Too often though, I've seen him be poor positionally, or rash in the tackle or cocking up e.g. for Saka's when you faced Arsenal this season. I don't rate him that much at all.

Courtois is the best 'keeper in the world it's official and all that, and that Southgate chooses ol' t-rex arms ahead of Nick Pope is a mystery that will baffle historians for centuries to come.

Nope. Martinez is a good 'keeper, no doubt, but I prefer Pope.

Yeah I don't watch Watkins as much as you, and I guessed I'd be biased so I looked at the objective stats on that website. Wilson isn't 'just' a finisher, he does link play, he does track back, maybe not as much as Watkins, but he's not lazy in that regard. Plus Wilson is my wife's favourite so, I'd rather have Wilson, thanks very much. Longstaff is actually doing well, but no he's not going to be in the NUFC squad much longer.

Love the lad, but he's not as good as the others. Between you and me? He's a weird looking bugger as well. Looks like the kind of kid who never had a bed time, the kind that knew how to roll a cigarette before anyone else did. Midfield is definitely a key position, two combative physical midfields trying to impose themselves on the other. Wouldn't rule out a red card as the fouls begin to stack up. Is Kamara fit for the game? I also think your back line will have a decision to make. Do they try to play through our high press, or do they try and go long? Play through and you could take advantage of overloads in the centre, or be found out like Man Utd and West Ham were. Go long and you could catch us out at the back, or our giants at the back could gobble up those high balls and all you're managing to do is invite pressure.

Not in the slightest, just like them proudly bragging that it's been over a decade since we last beat them. Aye, there's a reason for that 'marra', we've not met you in the league for 8 seasons Our fans don't poo on their seats, or in London fountains, we didn't need a public vote to source a nickname for the team, we didn't pinch the name of our stadium from Benfica. We're bigger, better, and much much sexier . I dunno which of the West Midland clubs are your sunderland equivalent. They're the ones who'd think their season a success regardless of where they end up, as long as they beat you. They'll be the ones who're saying that Emery is a fraud, that your best players will leave in the summer, that you're one bad season away from financial rack and ruin... despite the opposite being patently obvious. They're the oddest of the odd.

Player Comparison: Callum Wilson vs. Ollie Watkins | FBref.com Wilson is pound for pound, the better player. Scores more per 90, takes more shots and gets more shots on target per 90. Creates more for others too. Like I say, it's a coin flip between Luiz and Kamara ahead of Longstaff and Willock, but Joelinton and Bruno are must starts. Bruno needs no explanation. But I've watched big Joe go from a joke, a £40m flop, a punchline of a striker, to being one of the most physically dominant, dynamic central midfielders I've seen in a black and white shirt. He's genuinely a monster in midfield and his footballing brain is way, way better than it once was. He's starting to add goals to his game too which is not something I ever thought would happen. I love him and his big goofy smile. Can't argue with ASM taking his man on two or three times instead of just the once, but you can't argue with the end product, in terms of creativity he's up there with the very best in the league. And play him alongside a career 1 in 2 striker like Wilson... that's just golden goose stuff.

Pope Trippier Schar Botman Moreno Luiz Bruno Joelinton Isak Wilson ASM That might seem harsh or unbelievably biased, but that's honestly where I'm at. Pope has more clean sheets, better save %, more sweeping actions etc. Schar has improved hugely under Howe. He's calm under pressure, good tenchnique, threat from set pieces, not just aerially, but he's got a good shot on him too, plus he has a wonderful range of passing. Every time I've seen Mings he looks like he's got a big mistake in him, like Lascelles does. Moreno beats our leftbacks because Targett hasn't been fit and Burn isn't a left back. Coin toss between Kamara and Luiz, for me. They're both better than Longstaff/Willock, but neither are good enough to oust Bruno or Joelinton. Front three speaks for itself. Watkins is in good form, but I'd have any of our lot over him.

I'm not sure it's because of the various stages of undress the fans find themselves in, but more Newcastle is a one club, one sport, city. It is ingrained in the very culture of the area. I've lived in the North East, Yorkshire, East Midlands, London, North West and the focus on football is definitely more pronounced North of the Wall. Newcastle fans didn't want Ashley out because of the way he treated the Sports Direct staff, that was just yet another shitty cherry on a very shitty cake. The handful (and it was a handful) of morons wearing teatowels should be embarrassed and ashamed of themselves, I know that the overwhelming majority of those celebrating the takeover were happy that Ashley was gone, not that the Saudis were coming in. You maybe thought there were loads of fans in teatowels and waving flags, but that genuinely wasn't the case. A handful of daft lads drew the focus of cameras and there's your attention grabbing image for the news report. The Saudi coloured strip was, in my opinion, a PR misstep, but it was a step taken by Castore and the club, not the fans. I personally don't think any of our lot should buy it, but what can you do? Like you say, online isn't a good reflection of the reality of the situation. I don't think it was a limp performance in the final, I thought we played all right, but had our 4th choice 'keeper in nets and had been missing our pivotal midfielder in the games running up tot he final. Your issue with Sky Sports tweeting out stuff doesn't make a lot of sense to me, I have to admit. Sky Sports are just saying that, given Newcastle are now propped up by an oil state, they'll have access to the kind of funds that means Cup Final appearances will likely come more often than they have in the previous 20yrs. The way we've performed in the League supports that assertion. It is embarrassing for a club of our 'size' to have gone without any trophy of note for 50+ years, and I think that's kind of the point. Newcastle have competed for titles, played in the CL, played in Europe, spent a fortune, had some great/good players all in the last 25yrs, and won.... nowt. That's frankly mental. Plenty of 'smaller' clubs have won something then disappeared into the lower leagues! It's a litany of poor appointments, poor recruitment and so on. Yet throughout all that, the club have struggled on, only being out of the top flight for 2 seasons, still draw attention from the media, still get plenty of bums on seats. Seems to me that the crux of this is that, Football fans that you meet online can be ***iing awful. If I were you, I'd base my opinions of a region on the people I've met in real life, and not the trolls and tosspots you have to put up with online.

Christ, that's a fate worse than death. One thing I'm aware of is how jaded some Man City fans have become. I'm sure if the Saudis continue to propel us up the league and we end up winning as often as Man City have, there'll be a slew of new-er fans bemoaning only beating Bournemouth 1-0. But me, and the longer-serving fans will enjoy the ride and celebrate any success with the kind of joy we've not seen at SJP since Robson and Keegan before him (when we won nowt).

Some of you are and some of the 'analysis' on here was genuinely terrible.

Genuinely not trying to be contrary, but I'm just wondering why you think that analysis is terrible?

Sorry, I'm confused, what's terrible about that lad's analysis and what's up with the pattern I derived?

That's unfortunately what will happen. Sure, some fans of other clubs will continue to rail against us on Social Media and every time the murderous owners do some murdering we'll be mentioned in the articles that follow. But as with Man City and PSG, that anger, that sense of injustice will lessen in volume and frequency. I've 2 close friends who quietly walked away from the club when the new owners came in, they had conviction that I don't. One of them has quietly come back because he missed the away days, he missed the beers before and after, he missed the train journeys, he missed the match day mates and he missed the football.

I did. And I stand by it. The words we use on there are a little more salty than those accepted on here.

A rarity among your fanbase. I totally understand it from a moral, ethical, competitive stand point. It's wrong that states can own a community institution like a football club, it's abhorrent that a state that has committed and continues to commit atrocities are welcomed into the game, it's uncomfortable that that amount of money suddenly floods a club that was a midtable nothingness of a club to make it suddenly a Champions League competitor. But that's kind of the Premier League now, isn't it? Late stage capitalism where everything is for sale, and sportswashing, and customers. If Qatar give up on Man Utd and decide they want to buy Wolves, those Wolves fans that derided us for not blocking the takeover (as if we could) will be cockahoop at the thought of superstar players and Champions League football.

Blue line is your actual goal difference, red line your Expected Goal Difference (xGD). The graph shows that you're scoring more and conceding less than you'd expect given the chances you've created/conceded. The second tweet in that thread shows that since Jan 1 you've scored 6 more than you'd expect and conceded 6 fewer than you'd expect on average.

That's fair and were it any other club owned by the Saudis, I'd wholeheartedly agree.

I think Emery has bags of experience and a ton of honours, but Howe is still young and has shown all the things you want from a manager; tactical nous, man management, improves players, the right balance of emotion and control. Side by side you'd need only look at Emery's long list of successes to say he's a very very good coach, but Howe will have a long career ahead of him. Just curious about your statement that VIlla have the better side. What would your combined 11 be?

Some scout you are, I can't imagine you've watched any of our games if this is how you predict we'll play. We do not play 11 men behind the ball, not even at the Emirates or the Etihad. It's high press, high energy, looking for overloads, using the half spaces. The days of sitting deep and hoping to hang on are long gone.

Why wish such pain on your own club?

Thing is, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs being in total flux there are three spots in the top 6 that should be attainable for the next couple of seasons, right? Brighton are sniffing around and if they can keep their best players they could be in a good place to compete as well. If you have a good end to the season I'm sure Emery will not only get you into Europe, but compete for honours there.