Philosopher

My feeling is a defender that can play out well and has pace (whether that is RCB or RB) is needed still. A play in the advanced midfield positions (to play alongside Ramsey or McGinn) that is a proper playmaker. Some that has the decision making, passing and skill to control games is needed. That player needs defensive qualities too. The final piece is a tricky, skillful, consistent winger / forward. For me this sorts all the issues this team has. High caliber additions is essential. We need 30 to 50 million pound players.

I feel we can overhaul Brentford, but the tricky part is Brighton and / or Liverpool. Liverpool are brilliant one minute, average the next. Brighton are consistently hard to beat and just keep ticking away. I thought Newcastle would fade away in March / April and end up 5th or 6th, but that doesn't look too likely now. The Man U win will galvanise them. We are the form team in the league outside the top 2. The Newcastle game on the 15th is big. But first we need six points against Leicester and Forest. That is very doable, but Leicester have always been a bogey team for us. If we can get 7 points from the next 3 games, that should be a good return.

Did more in 15 minutes than Buendia did all game.

I criticised him, at the time he clearly wasn't playing well enough. Still don't see him as captain material, still think we need a better players than him as a regular in the first team, however i always felt he was important to have in the squad. I also never said wasn't good enough. Although he certainly wasn't playing well enough at the time. I did say he was a sellable asset that we could improve on and I still think he is. That's contentious at the minute I know. But 31% possession isn't really good enough going forward. We need to play the ball out better, and be better when our opposition are behind the ball. Is McGinn part of the solution to this? I'm not convinced, but when he plays like he did today, he certainly isn't a cause of the problem. He's is playing well, and hopefully he will continue to for a long time. Deserved man of the match, and played very well.

Great win. 9th in the league. Happy days! McGinn man of the match. Worked hard, good on the ball, lovely goal, combative. 8 out of 10. Watkins with a lovely finish, worked hard constant thorn in Chelsea's defense. 8 out of 10. Ramsey's best game since his return from injury. His ball carrying was a good outlet, worked hard defensively, and got an assist. 7 out of 10. Martinez made a number of important saves, not necessarily any great saves, but didn't put a foot wrong. Distribution was patchy, but generally okay. 7 Douglas Luiz, assist, good distribution, worked tirelessly, always composed. 7 out of 10. Moreno defended well, linked up well, conservative in his attacking intent today, but that was what was needed. 7 Young defended well, spoiled well, wise head. 7 Mings defended well, distribution was a bit pedestrian. 6 Konsa defended well, distribution was also pedestrian. 6 Kamara was off the pace today, but as he's been out for nearly a month, I can understand. 5 Buendia, did very little, chasing shadows most of the game, offered no threat whatsoever. 4 Perfect away performance against a gifted group of players. That to be fair carved us open a few times.

Bailey had two players marking him most of the time. Most of our play was concentrated down our left, so Bailey and Traore had little of the ball, and were usually isolated marked by two defenders with little support. Bailey's assist came from his right foot, his weaker foot. He has actually put in some good balls with his weaker foot. But being his weaker foot, there will be bad balls as well. Good assist yesterday. Don't get the hate. We defending his box, and getting high up the pitch. Worked hard.

Only my second trip to Villa Park this season, fantastic result. Excellent performance. Totally controlled the game. Played in a very controlled manner. Bournemouth were toothless in has to be said. Luiz definitely man of the match. Was everywhere today. Only counted 2 missed passes. Scored. McGinn was workman like again. Tough in the tackle, arse was put to good use! Moreno was a menace on the left. Constantly beating his man, played most of the game as a left winger. Ramsey was finding room for those runs. Scored the best goal. Mings was immense, Got hos head to all the dangerous balls in, in he zone. Assisted Buendia, covered Konsa's ass too. Konsa went to sleep on those balls over the top. Passed well on occasions. Cash was untroubled. Didn't get forward in support much. Martinez was good, two good saves, good distribution. Got annoyed every time he played that long goal kick to Bailey, as Bailey is not equipped to claim those balls. Buendia was poor, constantly gave the ball away, looked lightweight all the way through, but still scored. Bailey with a good assist. Saw very little of the ball, as we concentrated our attacks down the left. Both Bailey and Traore were getting isolated a lot with two men defending them, and little support. Watkins had a good chance to score, held the ball up really well when needed. Linked up well on the left side.

Buendia doesn't play as high up as Bailey for example. Almiron, ASM, and Murphy all play high up and look to get in behind and work their respective channels. Buendia doesn't play like this because he hasn't got the pace for it. He is similar to McGinn in that he follows the play, always trying to be 'in the thick of things.' As a result he does indeed get through a lot of work. He is constantly making challenges, but what is his tackle success rate? With Buendia I don't doubt the work he puts in, but the effectiveness of that work. If you look at Newcastle the attack is Joelinton, Almiron, and Wilson, all players Howe inherited. The midfield includes Willock and Longstaff also inherited. Their defence however has been almost completely rebuilt from Goalie to DM. The path Emery has to take is different. Also Newcastle have achieved nothing yet. They can still drop out of the top 6. Howe has more prem experience and is a very bright young manager, probably the best English manager out there. I listened to the long interview he did and was very impressed with his man management, and his commitment to coaching and developing his players. I have since been impressed with the defense he has forged and the quality of the press he has implemented. Which is a different approach to the one he had at Bournemouth. This is a coach that's still developing himself. The DM and Goalie Emery has are top class. With two high quality CB'S, and in Cash and Digne very good fullbacks. The back four can all but improved on but not by much, and not easily. It's not about a total rebuild, but a remodeling to suit the change in approach. For me a proper ball player is needed at centre back, and maybe a RB that can defend really well in addition to having composure and ability to play out. Ultimately the situations are similar in that a few well chosen acquisitions can revitalise the team, however the nature of those acquisitions are rather different, and the style of play also. The midfield is light a player, Coutinho has been used as a 10, not as a wide midfielder, Buendia can be used as both. However Coutinho's injury record, and Emery's apparent desire for two pacy forwards (including the striker) suggests that we are light in both the wide midfielder and wide forward position. The only way a wide midfielder isn't needed is if Emery decides he wants three in midfield, rather than 4. I'm suggesting 4 signings which is 3 first team improvements, and a back up Goalie. However if he has faith any of the 4 young keepers we have that's great. Bare in mind Newcastle have bought 8 or 9 players under Howe. I'm proposing a total in the region of 6 (including the two we have already signed), plus possible replacements for a couple first team squad players that may (or may not) be moving on. Maybe a bonus pacy left wide forward would be nice too, but that's an icing on the cake type thing! Essentially I agree with in you in regards to numbers, and the right forward position. However I feel the AM position is light in numbers (unless Aaron Ramsey returns and impresses) so needs to be looked at as being a priority also. The CB position is important from a stylistic point of view and how much the right player here could improve us. For me Konsa isn't a top 6 starting CB. Carlos has question marks, and Mings is always one mistake away from calamity. It makes sense to bring in a real top draw player here to build the defense around for the next 5 to 10 years. In regards to Carlos, his passing statistics (like Mings) is boosted by his long passes (in terms of distance). What I'm specifically talking about is short passing and movement. Mings likes that ball to the left channel for Watkins. Carlos likes to switch the play. These aren't particularly nimble pass and move the ball players. One of the reasons Pep's Barca always played Mascherano as CB was to have a player that could link up with Danny Alves and carry the ball out of defense to Xavi and Messi. I suspect Emery wants to do something along those lines on one of our flanks. (But with a proper centre back, unless he decides to put Kamara there). We currently have 4 centre backs, but Chambers for me is poor at centre back. Also Chambers is extremely versatile, so having him as a 5th centre back aswell as a third right back, and third DM gives the squad a lot of depth. An additional centre back for me makes too much sense not to look at it. As you say all those players like Sanson, Hause, and so on need to be moved on for the benefit of all parties. Do we extend Youngs contract (I'm not convinced), is Digne content to fight for his place? These all need to be addressed. But the fullback positions are 100% if one comes in one has to go out.

I regards to the respective defenses, Newcastles goals against is lower than ours, and Dan Burn is a major part, as that heading ability alone means better defending of crosses and set pieces. Also he has to be beaten to get by him, whereas someone like Cash or Moreno get bypassed in transition phases. My point on McGinn is he isn't in the wide forward position like the Newcastle wingers. He is in an inside right midfield position (and Buendia is often in an inside left midfield position). Defensive stats will obviously be higher if you operate deeper and more centrally, as the ball spends more time in these areas, and there are more players helping to defend that space, so ones stats benefit by being in those areas as opposed to high and wide. The fact is we are only playing with a winger in a wide forward position when Bailey plays. Buendia comes very deep, far deeper than any of Newcastles wide forwards bar Joelinton, and that's because Joelinton is more of a defensive winger, and often plays as the left centre mid. Hence Joelinton's stats being similar or better than McGinn and Buendia. ASM is the one Newcastle winger that is poor in the press, but he is better in the attacking third then all our wingers. His ball carrying is on Jack's level. Plus he tends to only play home games, and is fairly injury prone. Mings is decent at playing out, but he isn't on the level of a Laporte, Dias, Pau Torres. But I'm happy with Mings currently. The right CB is far more of a priority. For me i believe in have 3 top quality CB's, and Carlos being able to play both sides effectively is perfect. But until his last season or two at Sevilla his ball playing was considered a weakness, and he is still rather conservative in that regard, also the pace and aggressionof the prem, combined with how many teams high press will be a real test of his ball playing. Carlos has made his name as primarily being a quick and robust defender. Both Carlos and Mings are turning 30 next season, so having a younger player on their level or higher for the RCB position makes so much sense to me. If I were to prioritise, I'd say, midfielder (in the right or left midfielder position),as we are a player light there, also I'm not convinced by Buendia in there. I feel McGinn is suited to us playing on the counter, I've always found he short passing rather inconsistent. JJ is still young and needs to develop, I believe Emery is trying to develop his defensive side first, which has mean his attacking output is suffering. I see Iroegbunam deserving of a chance to compete with Luiz. Kamara and Dendonker is good enough for the more defensive of the central midfielders. Right forward is on par in terms of importance to the wide central midfielder, but very hard to bring the required quality in. Then right CB. If we can address these key areas you will see an improvement in style of play and ability to break down low blocks, which for me is a major weaknesses (the low block). At least two of the three is required at a minimum. Bailey's suitability is dependant whether we are looking to control possession and get the ball in the opposition half enough. As well as form. He's a good player, and good to have in the squad. Like Buendia and Coutinho, who are also good players. I just think we need to find a true top tier wide right forward player, someone whom we can RELY ON to make things happen. Back Up players in the left back, and right back position maybe necessary depending on what happens with Young and Digne, Moreno and Digne are both 30 next season so a young prospect is needed there if not the this summer then the next. Does Emery rate KKH or does he want a defensively sound inverted right back . A new second choice needs to be found in the goalkeeping position imo.

What about Bruno, Burn, Trippier, and Targett? That is nearly another 100m.

Dan Burn is a very good defender, far better than Digne and Moreno. As for Trippier his positioning is superior to Cash. McGinn is a central midfielder playing as a midfielder in a narrow right wing position. Newcastle play proper wingers. Almiron is relentless, and very quick. Joelinton is a huge winger and quick. ASM very quick, Murphy very quick. Even their slowest winger Frasier is quicker than Coutinho and Buendia. Buendia is slow and lightweight, of you're being pressed by him would you be intimidated? Patient doesn't mean slow! Man City defenders go slow, then all of a sudden a quick pass and move or two later they're on the halfway line. Konsa and to a lesser extent Mings are rather pedestrian on the ball. So Carlos hasn't played 4 matches yet and is coming of a ruptured Achillies! Plus Carlos and Mings both prefer the left cb position. Konsa for me is a clear weak point in our ball playing. I the centre backs can't move the ball with a good tempo when needed we will never be able to play through a well executed high press. Bailey isn't suited to the high press and he isn't brave in the tackle. He's being asked to play very high up, coupled with his weak press, he isn’t involved much as much of our possession comes in our own half. This is partly tactical (particularly away from home) but also an inability to get the ball out without resorting to long ball. If we have more possession in opponents halves and get the ball to Bailey in space facing their defence he is a major threat, but this peripheral figure he has been lately, is useless. But if we had a player aggressive that gets stuck in, with pace, them he would be able to create something that way as well. If we can't get Bailey on the ball in areas he can affect the game he has no value being on the pitch. Emery clearly likes his wingers inverted.

Good post. I'd say if you look at the profile players, player for player we probably are at least even. But if you look at their defense, their first choice fullbacks are better defenders, and with Burn at left back they are bigger. Then if you look at their wingers they have more pace, workrate, and better pressing. For me this is the main differences between the two teams. As a result they play an aggressive high press, on the foundation of a strong defense, that can go long over the top or in behind to any of the front 3, or go long to the striker or Joelinton if they themselves can't play out. It's a very pragmatic style of play the work to their strengths. We on the other hand have a squad where our defense isn't technically proficient enough to play out to a high level, but an attack where Watkins is the only real target for longer passes. Our attacking players behind the strikers lack pace and physicality, which means we have to play the ball shorter on the floor. However to do that sufficiently we need two centre back that can short pass well at a quicker tempo (which we lack), and / or another central midfielder that can both short pass well at a high tempo, and carry the ball. So we need at least two first team players, one in central midfield, and one in central defence (preferably RCB), to get us better in the build up phase. We also need a pacy right winger that presses far more aggressively than Bailey and Traore, but also can finish, and a left winger with pace and skill, to change things up. The other option is to put some faith in Duran and play him off the right, Watkins off the left, and midfield 4 made from McGinn, Ramsey, Kamara, Luiz, and Dendonker, play Cash and Moreno at fullback, and play pure counter attacking football. This way we can go long down both flanks, and have plenty of protection for the defense, with the fullbacks providing width.

Looks like a faster, stronger version of Buendia on that form! Huge talent.

Archer, and Aaron Ramsey on fire at Boro! Ramsey looks like a stronger, faster version of Buendia!

Di'Maria is too old, and was poor for Man U in the Premier league when he was in his prime. I'd stay away from him personally.

You just made my point. Buendia needs development! He isn’t rubbish, neither is it his teammates fault he didn't perform. Buendia continually plays himself into trouble. Isn’t strong enough, tricky enough, or quick enough too avoid losing possession when under pressure. He always wants to play that perfect through ball or clever flick, even when it isn't on (which is often the case) None of these are his teammates faults, they're his. He has had a couple of good games lately and is improving. But if you judged him on his attacking play upto now, it's not been good enough overall. We love him because he harasses and works hard defensively, but most of his bluster doesn't even lead to a turnover because he's so slow and lightweight. I want him to succeed as much as anyone else, when we signed him I was salivating over him and Jack in the same team. But the reality has been depressing. He is creative, but limited, he needs to get smarter, and choose his moments better, to become a useful player.

This is utter rubbish. We played 2 10's under Gerrard the system was practically made for someone like him. And Smith and the scouting team had their eyes on him for a while. Buendia's good games can be counted on one had. He has literally had 3 good games for us. That's it.

Or if McGinn could finish the nice cross Bailey provided with his wrong foot!

But Bailey isn't being used in that way. Bailey is being asked to stay up and be a threat with his pace, which he does have. His teammates have said so themselves. Buendia is slow so has to play deeper.

My personal feeling is that neither Bailey, or Buendia have been good enough on a consistent basis. They have both had very impressive moments, and matches, but mostly they give the ball away the majority of the time. Coutinho for me is the most intelligent of our 3 creative player, and thus I consider him to be better than Bailey and Buendia. The thing with Bailey is he is the only one with genuine pace. And Coutinho and Buendia have similar games, when on the ball. So we have to get an alternative to Bailey at least as Traore is obviously not favoured.

The other two didn't get sent off in the process. Also the other two were put in a tricky situation by being passed to in the process. Martinez made the wrong choice of pass. Not hating but it was a poor mistake, which he followed up with a stupid foul and red card. That's just the reality. Best man to step into the team regardless. Defends well, is good in the air, and with Luiz alongside him, the playing out shouldn't suffer too much.

I'm not saying his going to be starting every game. What I am saying is I expect Emery to see him as someone who in 2 or 3 years (maybe sooner) would be the perfect partner for Kamara. He was doing exceptionally well before Beale left, and since then the team has dropped like a stone. He has underperformed, like everyone else at QPR. As for KKH his situation is a little different. Firstly he is a couple of years younger, and hasn't even got u21 caps yet I believe. Secondly Iroegbunam has won the u21 euros, as the primary DM. Thirdly Iroegbunam is being chased by a number of top clubs. Iroegbunam is further along in his development. KKH has to mature as a defender.

He has massive potential, I'm sure Emery will love him. Iroegbunam just needs to find consistency, which Emery can help him with.

I regards to defenders it's important that any incoming defenders have pace. The high line Emery wants to implement at home necessitates pace in the back 4. Andersen isn't particularly quick. Also I expect Iroegbunam to have place in the squad next season who is 6'1 and aggressive, and can pass. Literally all the qualities we need alongside Kamara.

If we are signing Chelsea players I would prefer Hudon Odoi to Pulisic.