Leicester 0-1 Newcastle: Monumental display secures Premier League survival

The perfect away performance and the HUGE win we’ve being waiting for to move TEN points clear of the bottom three and secure Premier League survival.

Benitez got his tactics absolutely spot on, but the players put in a monumental effort and deserve huge praise; especially on the back of last weekend’s deflating result.

The first half was played out perfectly and the theme continued. We limited Leicester to possession football in safe areas while also being dangerous on the counter and sharp on the ball when we got forward ourselves. We played with real desire and discipline but also showed real quality when and where it mattered – and that’s the key difference between tonight’s win and last weekend’s defeat to Palace.

The goal was brilliant (watch it below), with Ritchie’s delivery and Perez’s fantastic piece of movement and finish giving us that moment of quality we were crying out for last weekend:

https://twitter.com/SkySportsPL/status/1116786943126274049

Every player did themselves proud tonight. Rondon lead the lines expertly, proving once again why it’s imperative we sign him permanently, while Almiron and Perez were menaces in attack all night. Ki and Hayden did solid jobs in the middle, Lascelles put in a strong display after the odd wobble in recent weeks, Schar was top class once again and Javier Manquillo also came in and did a very decent job at right-back.

Matt Ritchie also deserves real credit for the job he did at both ends, defending well and playing a huge part in Perez’s goal. Play like that every week and he’ll never look out of place at this level; even as a left wing-back.

Here’s how the bottom half of the table looks after tonight’s result:

Elsewhere this weekend Cardiff face a trip to Burnley, Brighton host Bournemouth and Southampton play Wolves at St. Mary’s, but relegation fears seem non-existent now we’re practically 11 clear of Cardiff when factoring in goal difference.

Just four games left for us now, with Southampton, Brighton and Fulham representing three VERY winnable games:

  • Southampton (H)
  • Brighton (A)
  • Liverpool (H)
  • Fulham (A)

I wasn’t overly confident coming into this one, with Leicester in real form after winning all of their last four league games, but we were absolutely brilliant and fully deserved this moment.

What an effort from all involved.

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About Olly Hawkins

As a Junior Magpie since birth and season ticket holder, I eat, sleep and breathe all things NUFC! Here at the blog, I aim to bring you news, views, match reports and transfer exclusives as and when I get them.

144 thoughts on “Leicester 0-1 Newcastle: Monumental display secures Premier League survival

  1. Brendan said he made tactical changes at half time. But it was us who dominated the 1st 10 minutes and that sort of eased the pressure a bit.

    With 10 minutes to go I was going to post that there would be 5 minutes of injury time. I didn’t, because there was nobody on. Still, where did the 5 minutes come from? It just seems so arbitrary.

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  2. I might be stating the obvious but I think Almiron will settle once he gets his first goal and/or assist. He looks like he is rushing it a bit for the final ball but that is how he played in MLS and they almost always came off. Just needs the rub of the green as he has shown he is still willing to try things.

    Some would say it is the transition to the a faster and higher quality PL, but he is missing by fractions so I think it will come.

    He is being double or triple marked and is still going for it. If we can get a bit more quality to give him a bit more space by giving the opposition more to worry about I think he could be top 10 in the PL (and then probably snapped up by Man U 🙂 )

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  3. Agree Eric was saying that exact thing to the lass who helps me with Lew last night. He is desperate to score and getting closer with every game, he needs one to go in off his **** or something and then i reckon he’ll be off.
    The lad has an amazing engine and is sooooo fast, love watching him.
    Thought Schar was good last night, loved his little dribbling run, deserved a goal at the end of it. He does like collecting cards though doesn’t he .
    Manquillo was also good apart from his late brain fart which could of resulted in a pen , albeit it would of been really soft. All the same i’ve seen em given as they say.

    I thought it a thoroughly deserved win and though not mathematically safe you would have to think we are, Cardiff would need to do something pretty awesome and us pick up no more points.

    Just need fatty to sell up and Rafa to sign now for the perfect summer.

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  4. Almiron’s so desperate to score he’s rushing chances. Love watching him though. It’s easy to see he’s really bought into the Toon.

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  5. georgio:
    Almiron’s so desperate to score he’s rushing chances. Love watching him though. It’s easy to see he’s really bought into the Toon.

    Yep, he’s defo rushing them mate i agree, it’ll come, maybe now we are all but safe one will come with less pressure.

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  6. I understand the talk being about Almiron with him being our big signing and star man.
    I’m not too worried about him this season. It’s going to take a while to get used to the pace of the PL, his teammates and putting down roots in the city. He’s working hard on the pitch, linking well with Rondon and Perez and that goal will come.

    It was Perez last night. He was outstanding imo. Not just his goal, but his dribbling and link up play really pushed Leicester back. Schar was excellent too, but Perez was my MOTM.

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  7. I think that’s us safe now, but there is still points to play for against Saints and Fulham in particular – and Rafa will want them, even if it’s just for pride.

    It was really interesting hearing him speak to Carra last night after the game – and saying he’s not looking for £200m – just to do things right.
    That certainly suggests that a big sticking point in him committing to NUFC is being able to sign players of all ages – I suspect it’s not the only sticking point, but certainly a big one in the transfer market.
    For that to even be an issue is just insane really. No owner or chairman should be putting those kind of restrictions on any manager, let alone one of Rafas proven ability.

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  8. Sharpy, yeah, if Ash lets Rafa walk away for want of common sense and backing then it will be his biggest ever mistake as owner and boy he’s made a few.

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  9. Sharpy I agree mate. Its now all down to Mike Ashley to **** up or actually surprise us all ?
    30 million pound players remark which will have Ashley all nervous. Do you back your manager or let him go remark will definitely put Ashley in awkward situation.

    Pardew would be the cheaper route and it might bring Troy back to the blog as well, which definitely would be a good thing.

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  10. Stem:
    Sharpy I agree mate.Its now all down to Mike Ashley to **** up or actually surprise us all ?
    30 million pound players remark which will have Ashley all nervous.Do you back your manager or let him go remark will definitely put Ashley in awkward situation.

    Pardew would be the cheaper route and it might bring Troy back to the blog as well, which definitely would be a good thing.

    Stem – the £30m comment shouldn’t have Ashley nervous – or if it does, he missed what Rafa was actually saying.
    He was saying that we have the players to compete just now, we just lack match winners – now yes those players will cost £30m plus. But I don’t think Rafa is looking for a squad full of those players – he’s looking for the right players. The prime example would be Rondon, who has fit Rafas system perfectly and would only cost around £15m – but he’s 29 so Ashley won’t fancy him – but Ashley shouldn’t concern himself with that. He’s a player who can help keep your club in the PL – and that will fetch you so much more money in than any sell on value.
    Rafa would be more than capable of getting that blend right of experienced older players, young players and those bargains like Schar, Dubravka and freebies like Ki.

    I really don’t know what else Rafa has to do to prove himself. To prove that there is nobody more capable, and that ultimately his only agenda is making NUFC a top side again. Not only guaranteeing PL football, but top half finishes – which for a businessman, will mean more TV money – guaranteed money, rather than possible sell on revenue from bought players.

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  11. Sharpy , but by his own admission , he doesn’t understand football. He’d rather throw cash at failing high street stores than a top class coach 🙄

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  12. KIMTOON:
    Sharpy , but by his own admission , he doesn’t understand football. He’d rather throwcash at failing high street stores than a top class coach

    Kim – he must understand that Rafa has worked miracles with the peanuts he has been given so far. If he handed Rafa even as little as £50m a season (plus whatever he made from sales), he could focus on his high street empire knowing he has the manager to keep his PL club comfortably mid-table.

    I think Rafa would settle for competing for those 7-12th spots (with cup runs) for the next couple of seasons. If we were in the position Watford find themselves in just now for example.

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  13. Bloody hell , Warnocks gonna give himself a cardiac arrest, Mike Dean has given a pen to Cardiff only to then decide after a chat with the lino to change his mind . I didn’t see incident but coms team adamant it’s a stone waller .
    Refs in this country are a frecking joke, especially mike Dean .

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  14. Great win for us last night. I didn’t see the match last night as I was out but recorded it and watched it this morning. Cracking header from Perez and agree with others on here that he was defo MotM… Rondon so close with that free kick too…

    I would mind seeing Cardiff grab a point here as it would stop Burnley getting all 3.

    Bournemouth are thrashing the seagulls. ??

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  15. Sir bobby will be turning in his grave
    poor old Ipswich, down to the third tier of football.

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  16. Eric Sykes:
    What are Everton doing? Take Arsenal apart and then lose to Fulham.

    Fulham are gone pressures off, always happens and the toffees are on the beach

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  17. Brighton play Cardiff and Knockheart just gave the Bluebirds a lifeline with his sending off after one of the stupidest tackles I have ever seen. Now he is suspended for 3 games and has put Brighton in a mess. I still think Cardiff will go down, but this makes it more interesting.

    I still think the Red Scousers will be sweating when they come to SJP for the 2nd last game of the season. It won’t be as easy for them as it was at Anfield. We actually play better when we are on the beach – look at the last games of our last PL seasons. Probably best games of both seasons against Spurs and then Chelsea.

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  18. Police are investigating an incident with Joey Barton and the Barnsley manager after an incident in the tunnel after their game.

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  19. Watching Man U and WHam and actually want West Ham to get a result. Mainly because I think it would be quite funny if after all the OGS hype that they started in 6th when he got there and finished, erm… 6th. And out of the Champions League places.

    I also think I would sell Pogba to Real Madrid. He is just so inconsistent and cannot be relied on to turn up. I really don’t see Man U returning to their former glories any time soon, even with all of their money. The other teams around them are close to having the same money and have better managers and probably better squads.

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  20. Eric Sykes:
    Watching Man U and WHam and actually want West Ham to get a result. Mainly because I think it would be quite funny if after all the OGS hype that they started in 6th when he got there and finished, erm… 6th. And out of the Champions League places.

    I also think I would sell Pogba to Real Madrid. He is just so inconsistent and cannot be relied on to turn up. I really don’t see Man U returning to their former glories any time soon, even with all of their money. The other teams around them are close to having the same money and have better managers and probably better squads.

    I know a few Manure fans who definitely didn’t want OGS to get the job.

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  21. I have said this before, but Brighton will be relegated next season so Hayden better be careful what he wishes for.

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  22. Brendan and Leicester fans have a real sense of entitlement. Rodgers condescending that we put 11 men behind the ball when that was absolutely not the case. Fans didn’t turn up and made no noise, even with those clappers things. The title, and the only good thing they did in 100 years, has gone to their heads. I don’t really mind Brendan but they have hired the perfect man with an overinflated ego and sense of his own self-importance. A match made in heaven given this iteration of Leicester City.

    They had the Sky feed in the US and all you could hear were the NUFC fans.

    BTW, Old Trafford is like a library today.

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  23. If Man U had wanted to have someone stroll around the pitch, hit meaningless crossfield balls and pad their goal numbers with penalties they may as well have kept Rooney as bought Pogba.

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  24. Man Utd with their 15th penalty of the season! How is that even possible?! I think we’ve had 2 haven’t we?

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  25. Stuart79:
    Man Utd with their 15th penalty of the season! How is that even possible?! I think we’ve had 2 haven’t we?

    If they had been pressing all year and getting into the box you might be able to understand it, but they haven’t. It has to be bias because it happens every year. I would be more p!ssed off if I was Chelsea or Arsenal. Not sure how many penalties they get – more than us, but less than Man U I would guess.

    You have to look at penalties against at Old Trafford as well. I think at one point they went like 5 years without one.

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  26. You look at the calls in the Man U/West Ham game and they were all 50/50 judgement calls. The difference is that Man U consistently get about 75% of these going their way whereas lower half teams get less than 25%. I think it is unconscious by the officials but it is a complete myth that these decisions even themselves out over a season. There is definitely a big club bias and Man U are the biggest beneficiaries.

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  27. I’m sorry, but VAR will not change much either. The big clubs will continue to get the call on most of the 50/50s. It then takes an obvious error to overrule the original decision. It is not very often that the VAR official stops a game for something they have seen, it is usually a ruling on what the Ref has already ruled on.

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  28. I am not really sure if Smalling, Jones, Young, lindelof and Rojo would get into our team. Hear me out. There have been many players in the past whose reputations were much better than they deserved simply because they played for Man U. Take the player out of Man U and you see their real worth.

    I can think of Wes Brown and John O’Shea going to the Mackems and being distinctly average. There are many midfielders as well such as Darren Gibson and Cleverly. Usually their faults were covered up by having some really good alongside them but that is increasingly not the case.

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  29. There are 2 massive differences between this summer and last summer:

    1. Rafa’s contract is up and he has much more leverage with Ashley. Fatty used the buy-out clause as leverage but now that has expired he has to yield at least to some of Rafa’s demands. Not least, that Rafa will be free to walk if Ashley goes back on his word again. Rafa should be able to demand that the club really will spend every penny they earn including TV money and transfer fees. Which brings me to the second point:

    2. With the 4th lowest wage bill in the PL at approximately 50 million there is no doubt in my mind that Ashley has paid back most, if not all, of his “loan”. Keeping things as they were will mean the club generates a big profit which the “loan” will no longer offset. I am betting that Ashley will hate paying taxes more than he hates buying expensive players. Spending the money on better players means there is less money to tax and hopefully a better team and better results. A virtuous circle rather than operating like Tat Direct. Ashley has actually tried to go upmarket recently with Flanels and H of F and with his property plays. He should try it with NUFC or we will end up like Villa or Sunderland.

    The club is set up at the moment to produce big cash surpluses (or be in The Championship) and Fatty doesn’t need the money. It is time he re-circulated the funds which will surely add to the value of NUFC when he chooses to sell. If he has listened to Rafa this week he has been not so subtly telling everybody this with his references to his time at Napoli and his naming the players he bought there.

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  30. Eric Sykes:
    I am not really sure if Smalling, Jones, Young, lindelof and Rojo would get into our team. Hear me out. There have been many players in the past whose reputations were much better than they deserved simply because they played for Man U. Take the player out of Man U and you see their real worth.

    I can think of Wes Brown and John O’Shea going to the Mackems and being distinctly average. There are many midfielders as well such as Darren Gibson and Cleverly. Usually their faults were covered up by having some really good alongside them but that is increasingly not the case.

    Couldn’t agree more. It is also true to say that players who may not look Premiership class can be seen as much better when brought in to play with better players. Look how Longstaff performed when put in the first team. Before we get rid of Roberts it would have been interesting to see how he performed with better players around him. Surely he would do no worse than Atsu.

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  31. Nice to see Ian Wright on motd putting pressure on Ashley to sign up Rafa and emphasizing the virtues of the club should anyone be looking to buy a PL club. 😉
    Praising the amazing away support and the ‘ miracle ‘ Rafa has performed with the team yet again considering the lack of investment.

    Big Al has coached him well 🙂

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  32. Burnley can consider themselves mighty lucky, can totally understand Warnock being really hacked off. Mike Dean is such a poor ref.

    Hope Brighton stay up, good owners and top bloke in Hoots . Massive game on tuesday for them and Cardiff.

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  33. KIMTOON:
    Burnley can consider themselves mighty lucky, can totally understand Warnock being really hacked off. Mike Dean is such a poor ref.

    Hope Brighton stay up, good owners and top bloke in Hoots . Massive game on tuesday for them and Cardiff.

    Kimtoon: I saw the first half of that game and Cardiff were terrible. I know it is only 45 minutes but Burnley probably should have been 3 up.

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  34. Eric Sykes: Kimtoon: I saw the first half of that game and Cardiff were terrible. I know it is only 45 minutes but Burnley probably should have been 3 up.

    I only caught highlights but commentators seem to think Cardiff had bad luck .

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  35. I think Cardiff were favourites to go down at the start of the season and some people forgot that Huddersfield pulled out a miracle the previous season to stay up. Then there is Fulham. Usually the playoff winner will struggle badly but their spending gave the pundits a false sense that they would buck that trend. But they splurged on attackers and ignored the defense. Wolves always had a better core to add to.

    In retrospect we all should have predicted the relegated teams. I think I predicted Cardiff and Huddersfield and thought it would be Brighton or Burnley to join them. I worry for these teams next year along with all of the promoted teams. And us, if Rafa leaves.

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  36. Kimtoon: are you still having trouble with ads and loading?

    My adblocker expired today and immediately I had problems with numerous ads on this site and it locking up. I assume the ads loading was causing the lockups. The same was happening on The Guardian site.

    I purchased Adguard again for $16 a year and it fixed it.

    The Microsoft free Adblocker stopped working for me about a year ago so I had to purchase this 3rd party app.

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  37. Eric, still loads of ads but not affecting my being able to comment or read like before. Had it continued i would not of come back on, life’s too short to navigate all that stuff and it was ridiculous .

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  38. I think we have a good problem with Dwight Gayle. I never wanted him loaned out but he now has 21 goals in The Championship, and that is with him sometimes being played on the wing. I reckon he is worth a straight swap for Rondon because he is a couple of years younger and Rondon only has a year left on his contract. I also think Fatty could be persuaded to do that as Dwight’s sell -on value diminishes as his contract runs down.

    I think he is at peak value now and we could easily sell him for 15 million to a Championship contender. I think he scored 23 goals for us in The Championship and that number of guaranteed goals is a very valuable commodity. I would even take him back and extend his contract which still has 2 years to run. I thought he was very unlucky for us in the PL and he had the hamstring problems remember (not sure if they have been solved).

    I would even consider bringing Dwight back and upgrading Rondon. I think we would get more goals that way and Gayle is at worst an impact sub that can do damage to tiring defenses.

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  39. I know my views on Gayle are not popular. A lot of fans think he is Championship level but when he was fit last year he opened up space for Perez, a bit like Almiron is doing now. Miggy hasn’t scored or assisted yet (that will come soon) but we look a different team when he is playing. I think Gayle did that as well. He kept the opposition defenders honest with his pace because otherwise it was a game of hold fast at the back and lump it up to the big man.

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  40. I watched both Liverpool and City games today. Both play a high press, have great players, try to keep possession and score great goals by the sackfull. But how come I would watch Liverpool over City any day of the week?

    I think it is partly that City play with such a metronomic efficiency and the opposition just sit back and accept their fate, not knowing what else to do about it. Liverpool at least seem to have some vulnerabilities although they are on for a record 2nd place points total that would have won the league every year except last year (I am assuming both win their remaining games which means City win the League).

    If City are on I will often be doing something else and only look up when they score a goal. That might explain why they only have a half full ground in the Champions League.

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  41. Fancy Liverpool for the title. Simply based on the run in both teams have. Although I see Liverpool having a really tough game against us but City have Spurs and Man Utd in the next two games. Tough but they’re good.

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  42. Stuart mate, it is setting up for NUFC and Rafa to be the Liverpool downfall. We are not the same team they beat on Boxing dDay and it would kill them to have Rafa deny them the title.

    All we can hope for is that City slipup, but I don’t see it. Maybe a draw against Man U or Spurs but then a Liverpool draw against us would still give City the title.

    Interesting though. Better than a procession like last year.

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  43. I too prefer to watch Liverpool Eric and i tipped them for this seasons champions, still think they’ll pip City to it.
    Find City really dull games to watch which i know sounds odd, but with the cash they have spent they ought to be out of site really. That Liverpool are so close is great for the league imo, i also think they have the better attack or more exciting to watch for some reason.

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  44. 4 things I have learnt so far from Wat-**** (21 mins):

    1. That sort of goal was bound to happen at some point with Goalies always passing out from the back.

    2. That was never a red.

    3. Javi Gracia IS a Postman Pat lookalike.

    4. Hopefully this means Arsenal are top 4 and Man U are not.

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  45. It’s a dilemma isn’t it… I’d much prefer Liverpool to win the title but I want to beat them when we play them, if we win, we almost hand the title to City… have to hope that City lose to Man United and lose points v spurs …

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  46. It is time that Joey Barton was banned from football for life. This has to be the last straw. He portrays himself as some Philosopher King on Twitter quoting Nietzsche when he should join his idol in the pond scum of history.

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  47. KIMTOON:
    Dubai, yeah real dilemma, i would like to see them win the league though.

    But then you have to deal listen to:

    Carra
    Lawro
    McMananamanaman
    Michael “interesting” Owen
    Tommo
    The other Jamie (Redknapp)
    Robbie Fowler
    Stan Collymore

    The list goes on and on, and on…

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  48. OH Shyte. The Spirt of ’99 talk will be all over the TV now. Nou Camp etc…

    Please beat them 7 nil Barca.

    6-nil is not enough to shut the fckers up about past glories of 20 years ago. We need a true cathartic experience for the rest of us and to relieve us of Martin Tyler and The Daily Mail’s constant yammerings. Game of Thrones is back on – we need a RED DIVORCE (not Red Wedding).

    A symbolic death of the (not so young – he is 26) pretender Paul of Pogba at the hands of the GOAT would help.

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  49. Does anybody care if we are 15th, 16th or 17th? which of these makes no difference to me.

    Top half? Unlikely. But I still don’t give a **** about that either.

    The only reason I care about the “7th place trophy” is that it will probably get you in to Europe.

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  50. I think that is 20 scouse pundits now I have named FFS. And that is without the Refs and Journos who support them.

    Mike Dean pretends he supports Tranmere Rovers. Yeah, right? ! ? 🙂

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  51. And you wonder why there is a media bias towards Liverpool!!! Because they ARE the media now. I could do the same for Man U and say the same thing.

    But I won’t.

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