goldeneyed
Just doesn't shut up
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2005
- Messages
- 17,627
- Reaction score
- 8,010
This game summed up for me all that is good and all that is still missing. The biggest miss is still of course a centre forward worthy of the name. Yes Hwang has been making up for the lack of firepower elsewhere but we are far too dependent on him. Equally with Neto's injury and the deflation all round after he went off....he is 70% of our attacking threat....too dependent on him alone to make things happen. It will be impossible to replace his threat as our squad is still so thin in certain areas. Bellegarde either out wide or as a No.10 is the obvious answer so we will see how Gary deals with this huge blow. Surely he is out for a minimum 6 weeks. January we have to get in another wide man as well as a central striker.
Sasa for Neto was like replacing a cheetah with a giraffe. Hope Sasa can speed up a bit in future.
On the plus side Doyle is looking like a very strong candidate for a central midfield spot. His accurate forward passing is just what we need. Toti also is becoming a huge plus and Dawson is absolutely outstanding. Ait -Nouri is getting there and as O'Neil said in his interview just needs to cut out the 'madness' from time to time. Sa still worries me and that failure to hold the ball in mid air cost us dear. Great shot stopper but mentally not as cool as you need in your goalie.
It will be interesting to see how O'Neil and the team cope with losing their most potent attacker. For now O'Neil looks like he is enjoying his job and the team seem right behind him. He is proving all the naysayers wrong and certainly wowed the Sky presenters with his tactical masterclass. Long way to go however.
Overall we should take into account that Newcastle not only played a tough match in midweeek but aso were without Izak, Tonali, Anderson, Barnes, Botman, Murphy...have I missed out anyone? Willock only just back from injury. It just shows how much better and deeper their squad is than ours- after their signings push in the past 18 months. Meanwhile our squad has been depleted so much. Fosun need to decide what they want- the current squad is midtable at best and with more bad luck with injuries could be struggling again towards the bottom.
For me Sarabia, Silva, Hodge and Jonny (possibly Sa) need to be quickly upgraded in the current squad. Above all we must find a powerful central striker to give attacks a focus and get on to the crosses the wing backs and Neto should provide. Sasa may come good up to a point but lacks any pace whatsoever and still looks so fragile. Silva just does not do it for any of his managers and sadly needs to move on. Cunha is hopeless in front of goal and is a No.10 by nature attacking from midfield. O'Neil is more than aware of all this but will he get the backing January/next summer?
VAR - yet again a complete joke. That is three times this season already we have been conned by the 'system'. Costing us perhaps six vital points. Inept refereeing, cowardly VAR 'officials'. Hopeless and perhaps verging on the corrupt. Never a penalty and you could see Howe knew that in his interview. The Newcastle player's swan dive was worthy of a sending off or at least a booking, and only a fool would have missed that.
Sasa for Neto was like replacing a cheetah with a giraffe. Hope Sasa can speed up a bit in future.
On the plus side Doyle is looking like a very strong candidate for a central midfield spot. His accurate forward passing is just what we need. Toti also is becoming a huge plus and Dawson is absolutely outstanding. Ait -Nouri is getting there and as O'Neil said in his interview just needs to cut out the 'madness' from time to time. Sa still worries me and that failure to hold the ball in mid air cost us dear. Great shot stopper but mentally not as cool as you need in your goalie.
It will be interesting to see how O'Neil and the team cope with losing their most potent attacker. For now O'Neil looks like he is enjoying his job and the team seem right behind him. He is proving all the naysayers wrong and certainly wowed the Sky presenters with his tactical masterclass. Long way to go however.
Overall we should take into account that Newcastle not only played a tough match in midweeek but aso were without Izak, Tonali, Anderson, Barnes, Botman, Murphy...have I missed out anyone? Willock only just back from injury. It just shows how much better and deeper their squad is than ours- after their signings push in the past 18 months. Meanwhile our squad has been depleted so much. Fosun need to decide what they want- the current squad is midtable at best and with more bad luck with injuries could be struggling again towards the bottom.
For me Sarabia, Silva, Hodge and Jonny (possibly Sa) need to be quickly upgraded in the current squad. Above all we must find a powerful central striker to give attacks a focus and get on to the crosses the wing backs and Neto should provide. Sasa may come good up to a point but lacks any pace whatsoever and still looks so fragile. Silva just does not do it for any of his managers and sadly needs to move on. Cunha is hopeless in front of goal and is a No.10 by nature attacking from midfield. O'Neil is more than aware of all this but will he get the backing January/next summer?
VAR - yet again a complete joke. That is three times this season already we have been conned by the 'system'. Costing us perhaps six vital points. Inept refereeing, cowardly VAR 'officials'. Hopeless and perhaps verging on the corrupt. Never a penalty and you could see Howe knew that in his interview. The Newcastle player's swan dive was worthy of a sending off or at least a booking, and only a fool would have missed that.
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