It’s come to this

ash doesnt set the team up

rafa needs to know we dont need to set up to not concede we need to attack

his negative tactics will get negative results

the lad from swansea has turned that champo side around and attacked at home and he is getting the results

you only have to look at the league to see there isnt much betwen the teams from 7-8 down

the only differance is the mentality and the fact they play their own games

we will go down because of rafas negative tactics and holding grudges

ash will have to take some of the blame

but as rafa got all the prise last season for bringing us up after a huge investment from ash (net spend or not he backed rafa )he has to take the blame this season for his continued negative and no plan b tactics

I think it must be demoralising for the team to be told in effect that we can't win and should pack the defence. It's also demoralising for the fans and awful to watch. Who dares wins. Who doesn't dare deserves what they get.

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Originally Posted by occult

I think it must be demoralising for the team to be told in effect that we can't win and should pack the defence. It's also demoralising for the fans and awful to watch. Who dares wins. Who doesn't dare deserves what they get.

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Well as others have said - years of under investment have ****ed us.

Now we can't compete with them currently.

wec ompeted with manure

we were on top last week until rafa meddled

any player can compete

we have a very good attacking side
ritchie atsu the lad from chelsea murphy are as good as most outside the top 6-7 attacking
not so good defending
ritchie in the box is as good as most strikers out side the top 6-7 in the box
not so good defending

we have proved we can score
how many games have we gone ahed in only to then sit back and loose

kk realised if you cant defend attack

soo attacking we can compete with thteams in the top 12

so why sit back

its a bit like saying a lad who has a sweet left foot to only use his right

horses for courses

liverpool do it
poor at the back so attack

Liverpool do it because the owners rightly invest in the squad
We sell our better players then paper over the cracks
Every year we get weaker but on occasion find a gem
Then we all know the fat man will sell him on
You can't compete when your owner only has the club to advertise his company

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Originally Posted by toptoon

You make a good point.

Now we compare ourseles with Huddersfield and Brighton - I’mmot having a go at you.

I’m one of those deluded Toon fans who thinks we deserve better than what we’ve got.

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It’s not a good point though, look at the investment both teams made compared to us.

I'm not arguing with the point that has been made ad nauseam that we haven't invested enough in players. What I'm saying that making this point is now pointless. It's like going to the doctor who diagnoses your illness but can't suggest a cure. Of course, in the long run there is a cure: get a new owner who'll invest in players but the immediate problem we have, i.e. the short term problem, is avoiding relegation in the few remaining games of this season. We can't fix that by buying more players before the season ends.

I and some others are saying that we can't rely on goal difference to keep us up. We need points. That means scoring goals. That means attacking. And we can't afford to write off any games with so few games remaining. That is defeatism.

It's risky. But not as risky as relying on goal difference.

So what should Rafa say to his players before a match? 'This club's owner is mean so you're not good enough to compete with whoever we are playing. We'll pack the defence and try to stop the other team scoring. If we get lucky we might even score ourselves on the break.'

I suggest he should say, whether he believes it or not, 'Man for man you're as good as anyone in the PL. We play to win.'

What's for certain is that if our only ambition is to stop the other team scoring or to keep the margin of defeat as low as possible, people won't turn out at the turnstiles or watch TV to see a team that never gets out of its own half.

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Originally Posted by occult

Are Brighton and Huddersfield Championship teams in the PL -or just Newcastle?

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While they sign £15m strikers we get £5m striker joslu and a loan signing

Just **** off Ashley!!! We used to compete with man utd Liverpool arsenal now we can't even compete with some of the smallest clubs to have ever played in the prem.

Only one man to blame

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Originally Posted by tinostongue

Think we all feel the same,the pundits all agreed that without Rafa we would be bottom, and that we have a championship team, competing in the Premier league. When will the penny drop, if ever, with our owner. Too late now though fatman.Waiting now for the usual repost from tweedle dee and tweedle dum, "Mike has given Rafa all the support he needs financially, Rafa has bought these players, this is his team,blah,blah,blah. Thought we did ok tonight, but absolutely no attacking threat upfront, championship midfield according to Gerrard,hes not wrong.Rafa set us up with an attacking team, so that should keep some people happy,the "attackers" are just not up to it unfortunately.

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To say that we'd be bottom without Rafa as manager is speculation which cannot be proved or disproved because when you depart from reality and go into fantasy land anything is possible.

How about 'without Rafa we'd have been beaten 0-5 by Watford at home instead of 1-3 or 0-4 by Bournemouth instead of 0-1. Or we'd have lost every game his season and not scored a goal.' Can't prove or disprove any of this.

This is not a dig at Rafa because he didn't, and wouldn't, make such claim about himself. He'd have more sense. Let's stick to real results, shall we?