NUFC vs Everton

[Nufcian]

Playing Gordon as a striker

Playing Woltemade too deep… he’s too slow and too lightweight to play there.

Still playing far too f**king slow in the build up, passing the ball sideways and backwards.

Howe needs to have a look at what he is doing… I’ve said it for a long time now.

Not saying replace him, but this isn’t good enough. We have injuries, but our starting line up / formations/positions of certain players is plainly questionable surely?

[toptoon]

That's not enough, though, TT.

If this was all they were capable of-if we were Burnley, say, or Wolves-we'd still be pissed off. But we are capable of so much better than this.

Oh I agree but I gave up on europe through the league ages ago. Were not good enough this season - a lack of fire power. Wolt doesnt get forward enough and doesnt shoot when he does and Wissa has been sh*t so far.

Ive seen us peter out to a 1-2 defeat from there before. Eddie rang the changes and there was lots of effort and, as I say, we were unlucky (even before the Tonali shot).

[OwdBillCook]

Playing Gordon as a striker

Playing Woltemade too deep?… he?’s too slow and too lightweight to play there.

Still playing far too f**king slow in the build up, passing the ball sideways and backwards.

Yep, totally agree with this - and it baffles me why we keep doing it when it so obviously doesn't work. Teams sit back off us & we've no clue at all what to do.

[5under1and]

Have had time to calm down
WHAT THE **** WAS THAT !!!!!!!
Why didn’t we get a new keeper why didn’t we sell Willock what a couple of clowns
Was so annoyed that Gordon didn’t run after a ball that was allowed to run out of play unchallenged
Looking at Woltemade I have got to say he is sh1t but then comparing him with Wissa he is world class 100 million on those two

[Curian]

I think that Wolte has gone backwards but that it mainly because in my view Eddie is playing him out of position. He must be seriously miffed I reckon. Elanga has moved forwards, Wissa has never got going and Osula is not PL material. We have lost cohesion as well!

[Cannylad]

That first half did my head in, they seemed happy to just pass back and forth in their own half ??
Eddie plays his usual play not to lose game rather than having a good go at them, they started doing that late in the second half but that was through desperation and way too late, I'm sorry but I am quickly tiring of his "tactics."

[Ragatino]

I missed the first half as Qatar was been attacked by Iran with missiles.

However, once again, the players cross the white line, it's up to them to attack. There has to be a point where people stop putting it on the manager and not calling the players out for the inability to win games, where is the ruthlessness sen in the Champions League?

Everton are not easy to beat, Moyes has his team well set up and tough to beat.

That being said, Newcastle United go for the throat of teams in the Champions League. Unlucky against Leverkusen and Pope'd against Marseille.

The rest of the games they hammered Benfica, USG, PSV and took the game to PSG, unluck not to win that.

Not wanting to scapegoat people but Gordon is a personification the inflated delusional arrogance of the players who think 'They're Champions League' players.

You can't beat Everton at home son, you aren't a Champions League Player, you're a bang average Prem player.

Shut up and beat the mid-table teams and prove you're a top player, a big time player.

[Jammy89]

I just couldn't believe it.

We couldn't hold a lead for more than 2 minutes on both times.

Pathetic.

Pope, I think has reached the end of the road - he's been consistently poor all season (not that Ramsdale has been much better) and this I think is ever since his injury.

I don't think Eddie will drop him because of Eddie's loyalty to players.

I do think we need 2 new keepers in the summer, one of whom is our new number 1.

[Jammy89]

Not wanting to scapegoat people but Gordon is a personification the inflated delusional arrogance of the players who think 'They're Champions League' players.

This is how I feel about Gordon at the minute.

You can guarentee he'll turn up for Barca and probably the City FA cup game - just seems to be the bread and butter game he goes missing.

[Zippity]

I missed the first half as Qatar was been attacked by Iran with missiles.

Blimey. Nowhere near you I hope, Raga?

[Nufcian]

I missed the first half as Qatar was been attacked by Iran with missiles.

However, once again, the players cross the white line, it's up to them to attack. There has to be a point where people stop putting it on the manager and not calling the players out for the inability to win games, where is the ruthlessness sen in the Champions League?

Everton are not easy to beat, Moyes has his team well set up and tough to beat.

That being said, Newcastle United go for the throat of teams in the Champions League. Unlucky against Leverkusen and Pope'd against Marseille.

The rest of the games they hammered Benfica, USG, PSV and took the game to PSG, unluck not to win that.

Not wanting to scapegoat people but Gordon is a personification the inflated delusional arrogance of the players who think 'They're Champions League' players.

You can't beat Everton at home son, you aren't a Champions League Player, you're a bang average Prem player.

Shut up and beat the mid-table teams and prove you're a top player, a big time player.

He does my head in, and did today.

There was one point I specifically remember where they were playing the ball in the final third, not more than 3 metres away from him, and he swanned around, no pressure, no attempt to tackle? I?d possibly play Barnes ahead of him out in the left, and definitely play Barnes ahead of him as a false 9.

If a club came in with a reasonably big bid for him I would get rid of him, he?s become arrogant and (as you say) thinks he?s made it and is a ?Champions League? player.

He?s a pen merchant, giving it large with Trips about him being on pen?s and they?d padded the f**k out of his stats in total? in the Prem? 3 goals in total this season and 2 from penalties? that?s in 21 or 22 games that he?s played in? and he thinks he?s all that?!?

[Marat18]

Not that I disagree on Gordon, but at least he tries doing something. Half-ar5ed most of the time, yes, but still.
May be it is Hall (my player of the season) makes him look better.
Woltemade anonymous, Wissa - even worse. Defense - we were lucky not being 1-3 down after Thiaw was left flat on his ar5e on the sideline. Pope - I bet I felt how nervous our CBs were passing it back to him after their second.
I am pro Howe, but I cant get the way he treated Dubz when he almost left for SA - playing him up to the moment he signed an extension then benched him the very next game.

[OwdBillCook]

I missed the first half as Qatar was been attacked by Iran with missiles.

However, once again, the players cross the white line, it's up to them to attack. There has to be a point where people stop putting it on the manager and not calling the players out for the inability to win games, where is the ruthlessness sen in the Champions League?
.

Yep. I get that totally.
But also I get the frustration about lack of tactics. Look, I know a lot about cricket. I'm a football dunce. But I watched it since the 1960s so I hope I'm not completley stupid.
For me Newcastle far too often now, having totally abandoned Plan A, namely "intensity is our identity" in the Prem, have zero plan B.
As has been said, we so often pass sideways, ignoring free wide players, then so pass sideways again, oh dear being hassled, so pass backwards.
We have a forward who is 2 metres tall. Who is also a skillfull player. But he is hardly ever in the box in free play. He plays deep. So, if we do play the ball wide, run up the wings, then unless we do it slowly - which allows time for defences to regroup - then there's never anyone there to receive a cross. So we look toothless. Because we are.

I think Zip said that we are a better team than this.
I agree. I think this squad of players is consistently underperforming in the Prem. The excuses are wearing thin.
The horrible Isak affair was a disaster. Left us with no pre-season, and panic buys to replace him. Awful.
Then the injury to Wissa. Sh!t piled upon sh!t to say the least.
But we should have recovered from a lot of that by now.
"Too little time on the training ground". *******s. If you're in Europe, and the cups, you know damn fine what's coming. Too little time, in the first half of the season maybe. Not now. Excuse, not reason.
I'm no expert at all - just an average numb-nut.
But I am very concerned.
We should be a well-funded, well-managed, quickly progressing club.
And yes, maybe we did rise a wee bit quickly - but hell we need that for the extra revenue.

But I see us in a wee bit of a hole now. Not really like me to be pessimistc. But, hey, Europe is pretty much dead now . Without Europe we cannot attract top players to fill our glaring gaps. Worse, our best players will be tempted to leave. Our enforced expensive buys this summer are increasingly looking like total flops. I hoped Wissa and Elanga would hit their straps under Eddie. I now will be surprised if they do. "Bedding in time" "time on the training ground". Nah, for me that no worky any more.
Again, I agree that we are a better team than current results suggest.
But where does that line of thought lead. Like it or not, it has to be the manager.
The manger - at least in this club - is indeed the manager.
On field play not working? Not good - refine your tactics, manager. Develop flexible aggressive/defensive moves to suit different opposition teams.
Players attitudes not quite right? Not good - sort it out manager. Get the team pulling together. The team is more important.

Yep. Awful feeling at the moment. I love what Eddie has done here. He seems intelligent, highly driven, wanting not only him but Newcastle to succeed. And yet.....
What is happening at the moment does not seem good. Eddie doesn't seem to have totally picked up on the Einstein definition of insanity - "keep doing the same thing over again and expecting a different outcome"
Maybe harsh, and I know little of the subtle aspects of football on the pitch, never mind management and behind the scenes.

Apologies if this is a bit of an incoherent rant. I'm definitely pissed off.
And by now, slightly (?) pissed.....

[Cannylad]

No apologies needed Bill, you're spot on.

[Zippity]

Yep, that's a very good rant Bill#2 (just to differentiate you from Bill#1 )

Other teams in Europe have larger and better squads, granted, but also the same limited amount of time on the training pitch. If we want to be a team that plays in Europe as well as challenging in the league, we need to find a way to do both.

We've all said it before-something's not right. Even going back to last season when we were so absolutely shite when we just had to beat Everton to ensure Champions League-obviously you can lose any game but the manner of that defeat was shocking. Any other club, from the outside looking in, you would see the signs of the last weeks of a manager-players falling out, players being played out of position, baffling tactics, the manager seemingly watching a different game when you hear his post-match comments, players being booed or called out, team being booed, fans falling out over all of the above.

All stuff we've seen before a manager departs but, hopefully in Eddie's case, we buck the trend and he'll turn it around and we'll be looking back on this season as a temporary drop in standards.