It was hard to watch and another reminder of how far we’ve fallen, but I won’t lose too much sleep over a defeat like this when their substitute, Fabinho, cost about as much as our entire starting line up (£45m).
On paper we probably have one of the three worst squads in the league, and we were up against a Liverpool side currently outperforming Man City – and one of the best attacking sides in Europe. Considering we were forced to start the likes of Joselu and Hayden, it was always going to be one sided, wasn’t it.
No one expected us to get a result at Liverpool today, but it was a little frustrating that we’ve shot ourself in the foot for two of their four goals – something we’re doing a little too often at the moment (although Dummett’s penalty was debatable).
Performance wise, Lascelles looked shaky once again and Joselu was absolutely woeful. Ritchie put in some great crosses down the left, Diame did well in a thankless task in the middle and Fernandez, Yedlin and Dubravka did decent jobs given what they were up against.
Here’s how the table now looks after today’s results:
Burnley were slaughtered 5-1 at home to Everton, Huddersfield lost convincingly at Man Utd, Fulham lost a lead to draw at home to Wolves in the early kick off and Cardiff managed a point away to Palace – so elsewhere things could’ve gone worse.
Now the tough run begins – with us set to play 5 games against the ‘big six’ in our next 7 games:
- Watford (A)
- Man Utd (H)
- Chelsea (A)
- Cardiff (H)
- Man City (A)
- Tottenham (A)
We move on to Waford away on Saturday – a game we could do with getting something from given the fixtures we’re set to face.
HWTL!
Horrific. We lacked quality last season and we have even less this season – but at least last season we had unity, we looked like a team of 11 players who had a bit of a plan.
That was gash!!. I don’t understand why you would switch from 3 CBs against probably the best attack in the league.
I expected a defeat today. It’s not that I’m disappointed at, but the manner in which we got beat, if that makes sense. We usually make it harder for the top 4 clubs.
Liverpool could have had a full Christmas dinner and a few bottles of wine yesterday and still walked through us today.
The only good thing to come out of it is I found a fiver behind the sofa ??♂️ Every cloud.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Well sadly I predicted 4-0 and I was exactly right. Referring was abysmal once again. Absolutely shocking to give a penalty at 1-0. They are saying that Salah is going to be penalised for simulation, but his goal stands and turned the game. Clearly it was cheating, but banning Salah now doesn’t help us. The bias against our team by totally S.HIT referees and officials is so clear but it seems quite ok as long as it’s against the Toon…
Joselu needs to been taken by plane to South America and dropped into the Amazon jungle … ??
Dubai Toon(Quote)
Yeah Salah went down in my books today like – that was just plain cheating, and I don’t like that one bit. Another decision where VAR would have made all the difference.
Sean Dyche went on a major rant after the Arsenal game about cheaters and how he was the only manager trying to make a stand against it. He was on about Ozil in particular diving against them.
I’m not sure it would have changed the outcome, but diving like that is just wrong and kids seeing Salah do it and awarded for it, that’s not good for the game.
As for Joselu, he’s rubbish!! – but that’s no surprise to anyone. It’s also not really his fault, so I can’t be too annoyed with him. But I am annoyed at Rafa continuing to select him. I just can’t see how Yannick Toure or Sorensen in the U23s can be any worse. I wouldn’t expect either to come in and be prolific – not at all, but certainly offer more than Joselu.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Look at that run of games ahead of us as well man ??♂️?
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy, yes I fully agree the Sorensen or Toure can not possibly do any worse the hoss… it could be the making of Sorensen too and help him to sign a new contract. What else does he need to do, to get a chance..
Dubai Toon(Quote)
I try not to get on any NUFC players’ backs but we simply cannot play Joselu ever again. And I am starting to feel the same way about Lascelles who has gone from John Terry to Mike Williamson. Terry wasn’t that great with his feet either but would be in the right place at the right time and put his body in the way if necessary. Lascelles looked like that last year.
Now with Lascelles and Joselu we are effectively playing with 9 men.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Hopefully it was all part of Rafa’s cunning plan to get 3 points at Watford.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
imo we will go down Rafa has given up and who can blame him,not me
icedog(Quote)
I watched MOTD last night and Salah went down like a sniper got him. But I bet he doesn’t get a ban. Dummett pulled back on his arm – nothing that would make him go down the way he did, but enough for the FA to kiss Lpools **** and avoid banning him.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Totally deflated today… even if Salah gets a ban for diving, (he won’t) it will not change the points or the result. At 1-0 anything is possible. Most likely the result would’ve been the same but it might just have been different. Players will continue to cheat, and refs will continue to serve up bad decisions against us and not a dam.n thing will happen. We will not buy any decent players and the continued links to Borini leave me cold and in dread. I’d rather nobody than another failed ex mackem who is even worse than joselu. We will not be sold and inevitably we are going to end up in the bottom 4 if lucky, or relegated if not… Rafa will be gone and I’ll be another f.ucking year older… ???
Dubai Toon(Quote)
Ice – it does feel like that doesn’t it?!. Everything just feels very stale and stagnant at the moment doesn’t it?!.
Even if Rafa was to sign a new contract, I’m not sure even that would give me any real confidence. Without a takeover or serious backing from Ashley (which won’t happen), it’s like putting Lewis Hamilton in a tank.
I do still think Burnley & Huddersfield are going down, so it’s just the 1 place we have to avoid. But Palace are playing well, and if they can start scoring, they will be well safe. Ranieri has stopped Fulham leaking goals, and they have the forwards to climb the league, and the new Saints manager has already got them looking better.
I’m not sure it will need as much as a miracle, but it really isn’t going to be easy.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Joselu is the worst player ever for the Toon. Why Rafa picks him is beyond me. Having said that his demeanour looks similar to Morinho’s!
Things will look a lot worse after the next month but we will stay up. Burnley and Hudd look gone and Fulham perhaps. They virtually have to win every other game. Cardiff will run out of energy. Best to remember that all the clubs below and around us also have to play the top 6-7.
georgio(Quote)
I think Rafa was probably right to rest Rondon yesterday. He always puts a shift in and would have yesterday – but likely to no avail.
It probably wasn’t lost on Rafa that Lpool have one of the best defensive records in the league this season, so a fully fit Rondon is probably better used against Watford.
Trouble is, he keeps going Joselu. I don’t know whether that is coz he has no faith in the younger players like Toure or Sorensen, or is it more a protest to Ashley – or does he actually rate Joselu (which would be the most worrying). The latter would also explain the approach for Borini. It would worry me to have Joselu, Perez and Borini as our forward options like. Lots of running with very little output.
I’m also not sold on Kenedy at all now – he can go back for me.
Sharpy17(Quote)
SHARPY Chelsea have told Toon they want 17 mil for Kenedy in Jan if we want him,I wouldn’t give 17 bob for him,send him back imo
Icedog(Quote)
It wasn’t pretty but better teams than us have been battered by this Liverpool team. We had Joselu up front. He missed a great chance before they even scored. We lack quality. I didn’t expect anything else.
Now we hear Rafa doesn’t even know what is happening this transfer window. How can anybody be a success at this club? Relative or otherwise it’s the most disfunctional top tier side in Europe.
Stuart79(Quote)
£17m?!?!?!!! Do they know we’ve seen him play???
That explains why they are looking at Borini for £9m though. He’s more a left sided attacker. Buy him, send Kenedy back which then allows for another loan to come in ?
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy – can’t you remember how poor Borini is? As for Kenedy I’ve lost all faith. He’s gone from a £25m player to a £5m player. Something isn’t right between the ears because he clearly has talent.
Please Rafa – no more Joselu. I’d even try young Sorenson instead.
Now we read there’s no new signings in the pipeline. This club is so dysfunctional it’s hard to believe!
georgio(Quote)
So Steve Howey reckons takeover complete by Man Utd game. 😆 Not happening.
Stuart79(Quote)
Yes mate, I remember alright. But he ran like the headless chicken Rafa seems to want up top – rarely an end product though.
I see Dermot Gallagher has said the Salah decision was right – it was a penalty. I knew they would be saying the arm tug from Dummett was enough to make him go down. No it fecking wasn’t but these nuggets stick together don’t they.
Sharpy17(Quote)
happy days 🙄
Apparently steve howey says sold by manure game, yeah right o
kimtoon(Quote)
Rafa clearly ****** off with it all, completely in the dark over transfers again.
kimtoon(Quote)
If that’s a pen then it really is no longer a contact sport.
Stuart79(Quote)
NUFC are fckin shyte man. Praise Rafa as much as you want but we are shyte with tinsel on.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
‘Tis true, Eric. Always will be under Jabba
Stuart79(Quote)
Lads got another cold and awful cough and a uti too, poor sod. This year can **** off and 2019 had better be better cause I’ve had enough now.
We need to get a result at Watford to stand any chance of staying up in my opinion, if we can go into 2019 on 20 points we have a chance. I know we have the big boys to play but so do the other strugglers at some point.
The fixture list gods have been total prats this season and dodgy refs don’t help either but we cannot let them beat us.
Fatman is obviously here to stay , so the protest of his businesses needs to step up a gear in the new year. Got to make it as uncomfortable to own us as possible, **** off the SD shareholders and drive down the share price, it’s already nosediving anyway which is probably why he dropped the takeover gem in the sky news interview. Anything he can to deflect from the **** day he was having in Westminster and his underperforming tat shop shares and confrontation with the London magpies.
We cannot let him off the hook, not after his latest lies. He is about to lose the only asset the club has in Rafa, his nightmares only just started. Think after the window which will yet again be **** the fans will start voting with their feet and if they don’t then they deserve what’s served up.
kimtoon(Quote)
I still can’t understand the need for austerity in the transfer market. It doesn’t make any sense at all. We’re now (technically) sitting on a whole 2 years worth of PL and TV money, turned a profit in the window and are owed monies from earlier sales. It’s got to add up to £250m or near enough yet Rafa’s scratching around for loans and piddly fees. Where’s the f*ckin money gone then? Is no one asking these questions?
georgio(Quote)
Exactly mate, I keep reading how lots of things have been sold off for a pittance only to end up back in fatty’s hands or owned by a family member ? who knows the truth of it. IF anyone is doing due diligence it must be a nightmare trying to un fathom what’s gone and where to. I think there has been some very creative accountancy going on for years, HMRC don’t come sniffing without good reason either. Apparently there is a considerable amount set aside to clear that mess up as well once the outcome is reached.
Football is a dirty business now, full of bloody crooks and charlatans and there’s no guarantee the new owners, should we get them, will be any better.
All the same, I really want that piece of work to do one.
kimtoon(Quote)
Kim
I understand that HMRC dropped their investigation into NUFC some time ago. Most of the HMRC staff are now concentrating on the UK exit from the EU.
Sadly , I can not see Ashley ever selling the club , and he certainly will not spend the £150m – £200m
needed to have us competing in the top half of the Premiership. Indeed, he seems quite happy to gamble on a low seasonal spend and to just survive in the Premiership.
I do not think he is too bothered as to whether or not we are relegated as he will probably expect an outlay of some £10m- £15m will see us immediately promoted again.
sidekick(Quote)
Sidekick, I thought it was an on going investigation, I read only a week or so back that a sum has been set aside for any fine. Are you sure it’s concluded ?
kimtoon(Quote)
HMV on the brink of collapse , step forward mike Ashley any minute now.
kimtoon(Quote)
Kim
There is an HMRC department here in Newcastle that deals with the tax returns of all the football clubs.
I heard from a few sources up here that the investigation was over.
I think a lot of the media want to paint Ashley in a bad light ,( no idea why 😆 ) so when they are reporting his involvement in buying failing businesses on the cheap, they like to bring up the fact that his football club was investigated by HMRC .
sidekick(Quote)
I think Steve Howie has banged his head or been smoking some seriously strong s.hit… saying we will be sold by next week and announcement before the manure game.. ????. Ha ha ha… yeah right.
Dubai Toon(Quote)
Steve Howey was never the brightest.
Your rumours are interesting Sidekick. Hope they’re true.
Shelvey’s back in training apparently but I doubt Rafa will start him at Watford. I’d like to see Longstaff given a go instead of Hayden.
georgio(Quote)
I’m hoping Steve Howey isn’t fat wrong – for the obvious reason, but also for his sake.
He earned a lot of cool points for his say on The Debate and representing the truest view of us geordies so far. But if he’s entering into the Micky Quinnesque ‘I have a very good source’ $hite, then those cool points can quickly be taken back!!!
Sharpy17(Quote)
Hi ice, just want to tell you that Rafa did not give up. With liverpool we actually played well at the beginning only if Laschelles did not make that mstake. Then it was the soft penalty. You will see we wil pick up points later. But it doesn’t matter as long as Ashley is here. It will always be relegation fight. Do you know whether there is any truth in Howey’s recent claim re. takeover?
funrafa(Quote)
Georgio: I don’t understand the Fat Lad either. Nothing he does makes any sense. If he wants NUFC as an advertising vehicle for Sports Direct then what good does it do him to be in The Championship? Just sell up already!
Then he turns up for a few games and disappears again.
He is obviously setting us up for post Rafa and a probable stay in The Championship. They have slashed payroll. But why?
He must be taking some money back because we are not spending. That is his MO in his other buisinesses that he bought through SD. Cut costs to the bone and skim as much as you can until the whole brand dies a slow death.
Hopefully we will be sold before we turn into Sunderland.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I know everyone celebrates Rafa as our savior but we are playing a depressingly awful brand of football most games. Lump it up to Joselu is not a style of football I want to see.
20 good minutes against Liverpool, good halfs against Bournemouth and Man U is about all we have had this season. If this is entertainment then I would rather watch grass grow.
Rafa should just leave because he is serving up the most sterile shyte ever to preserve his reputation. I am getting sick of it now. We had no shots on target against Fulham FFS. You know, the Fulham with the worst defensive record in the league.
I am coming around to Stuart’s point of view where I would rather watch an entertaining game with us in the Championship than the dreck served up to us every week now.
AND IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE WITH OUR RUN OF GAMES COMING UP.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Hi mate sorry since Peter B left club I’ve lost my contact in the club,cannot help on this one
Icedog(Quote)
That’s fine. Thanks ice.
funrafa(Quote)
Surely the press must have a way of finding a way to find out if the PL have been told as Howey claims
Icedog(Quote)
Not if you are depending on Wor Lee and Chris “the intern” Waugh.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
To bloody true mate
Icedog(Quote)
Ice, the PL simply said ‘ no comment ‘ when asked if they had been notified of possible new owners. The chronicle asked them.
kimtoon(Quote)
NEW THREAD
https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2018/12/29/watford-a-pre-match-thoughts-team-news-predicted-line-ups-2/
Watford preview
Olly Hawkins(Quote)