NUFC Blog’s 2019/20 awards – Player of the season, unsung hero, most improved, best goal & more

Well, that’s it folks. The 2019/20 season is finally over.

It’s not been easy on the eye and it’s ended just as flatly as it began in that home defeat to Arsenal way back in August last year, however there’s been the odd high along the way and a few standout performers who’ve our latest survival season that bit more bearable!

We’re already looking ahead to the next season with Newcastle facing a battle to finish in the top 10, and you can get a Football Index referral code to bet on the upcoming season.

But for now, here are a few end of season awards, from player of the year, to unsung hero, most improved, best goal and more:

Player of the season:

  1. Martin Dubravka
  2. Allan Saint-Maximin

The Slovakian has been absolutely outstanding, keeping us in several games, making more saves than any other Premier League and being a constant calming influence at the back. He may have made the odd mistake, but so many of our narrow early season wins (or draws!) were only made possible from him keeping us in the game. I think it’s safe to say we’d be in the bottom three without him.

An honourable mention must also go to Allan Saint-Maximin, who would be just as worthy of the award. A breath of fresh air on and off the pitch, a player we’ve barely ever won without and an explosive attacker who’s regularly been by far our biggest threat. Like Dubravka, I dread to think where we’d be without him!

Young player of the season:

  1. Allan Saint-Maximin
  2. Matty Longstaff
  3. Tom Allan

It has to be ASM. His numbers in terms of goals and assists are far from spectacular, but his influence on the team has been huge, with us winning more, losing less, scoring more and conceding less when he starts.

Matty Longstaff comes in a close second after a brilliant breakthrough year, although that may mean little if he leaves for a few thousand, while Tom Allan also deserves a mention after bagging an assist on his senior debut vs Rochdale following an impressive campaign at U-23 level saw him get into double figures.

Unsung hero:

  1. Isaac Hayden
  2. Ciaran Clark / Federico Fernandez
  3. Jonjo Shelvey

Hayden may not always get the plaudits he deserves, but perhaps the best tribute we can pay to him is that we don’t half miss him when he’s not there. Fully committed, consistent and someone whose….

Clark started the season our SIXTH choice centre-back, yet he’s quickly become arguably Steve Bruce’s most reliable option this season when he was fit, putting his body on the line at one end and scoring a few key goals at the other end. He missed the last few months of the season, but he never let us down when he played! Like him, fellow centre-back Fernandez is another who isn’t flashy but barely puts a foot wrong.

Jonjo Shelvey also deserves praise for adding a few goals to his game and enjoying the slight bit more freedom he’s been given under Bruce, with his six strikes seeing him end our top scorer in the league.

Most improved player:

  1. Miguel Almiron
  2. Javier Manquillo
  3. Matty Longstaff

Matty may be the obvious player given he’s gone from U-23 prospect to securing a place in Bruce’s Premier League squad, but I feel it has to go to Miguel Almiron, with the Paraguayan ending the season as our top scorer in all competitions (8) after adding goals to his game following a difficult start to the season.

As for Javier Manquillo, the Spaniard is arguably our best right-back as things stand and turned things around brilliantly to earn himself a new contract at the club. Matty Longstaff also deserves praise for going from U-23 talent to a member of Bruce’s senior squad and rarely looking out of his depth when he’s been handed a chance.

Disappointment of the season:

  1. Joelinton
  2. Andy Carroll
  3. Sean Longstaff

It has to be Joelinton. He was never prolific in Germany and signed as a young prospect, not a proven scorer, but we all expected much more from our £40m man. Two goals and several unconvincing displays have left so many of us scratching our head – even if he hasn’t always been used right.

Elsewhere, Andy Carroll has not only struggled to stay fit but hasn’t made enough of an impact when he’s featured, failing to score all season on his second stint at SJP.

Then to Sean Longstaff. He’s had to odd good game when played in a more advanced role in 2020, however he has generally struggled to get anywhere near that form that saw him linked with a big money move to Man Utd this time last year!

Moment of the season:

https://twitter.com/cwrsmith2/status/1180980896775753728
  1. Matty Longstaff’s debut goal vs Man Utd
  2. Miguel Almiron breaking his duck at the Gallowgate
  3. Saint-Maximin’s winner at Oxford

The ovation Carroll received on his ‘second debut’ was also a spine tingling moment, but these are the three top moments for me. Three goals that sparked incredible scenes and a rare moment of unrivalled joy in a season that generally lacked emotion and entertainment value.

Goal of the season:

  1. Saint-Maximin’s FA Cup winner at Oxford
  2. Jetro Willems’ thunderbolt at Anfield
  3. Matty Longstaff’s debut goal vs Man Utd

Matty’s goal was magical and Willems’ strike an absolute stunner to give us a shock leat at Liverpool, but ASM’s corker in the cup had everything. An individual bit of brilliance that came just when we needed it in a cup tie that was threatening to get away from us. The scenes that followed in the away end were pretty special too!

Best team performances of the season:

  1. Tottenham 0-1 Newcastle
  2. Newcastle 2-2 Man City
  3. West Ham 2-3 / West Brom 2-3 / Bournemouth 1-4

My winner may surprise a few, but I thought we were outstanding in every area of the pitch that day, executing Bruce’s clear game plan to perfection.

The 2-2 draw against Man City was another superb display, while 3-2 wins at West Ham and West Brom (FA Cup) along with our recent 4-1 victory at Bournemouth were the only three occasions we’ve played with swagger and genuinely outplayed the opposition (the scoreline flatters the hosts massively in both!).

Worst team performances of the season:

  1. Norwich 3-1 Newcastle
  2. Leicester 5-0 Newcastle
  3. Newcastle 0-0 Oxford

Our first away game of the season against newly promoted Norwich was a low point. We got absolutely battered without putting up a fight, looking all at sea defensively, anonymous in midfield and like a team of strangers in attack, with Almiron and Joelinton worryingly isolated.

The collapse at Leicester was worrying, as was the recent surrender at Man City, while the 0-0 draw at home to Oxford was tough to watch considering the level of opposition and occasion.

Signing of the season:

  1. Allan Saint-Maximin
  2. Jetro Willems
  3. ???

ASM is a clear winner here, with his £16m arrival from Nice proving to be one of the signings of the summer across all Premier League clubs.

A big shoutout must also go to Jetro Willems, who had been impressive at both ends of the pitch before injury cut his loan deal short, scoring some stunning goals and defending better than most expected too.

Worst signing of the season:

  1. Joelinton
  2. Krafth
  3. Bentaleb

At £40m, Joelinton’s return of 3 goals and 4 assists in all competitions hasn’t been nearly enough, while Krafth has proved to be a bizarre signing given he’s spent most of the season being our third choice option in a area where we lack real quality in the first place.

Bentaleb would also make the ‘top three’, having shown next to nothing since arriving – despite many having high hopes for the former Spurs talent.

I can’t say Danny Rose has impressed me either, looking unfit at times and a shadow of the player who was starring for Spurs not so long ago, but at least he’s done a job since Willems’ injury.

Feel free to give us your answers to all the above in the comments section below!

(Fancy writing for us? Send any articles/ideas over to us at [email protected] & we’ll get back to you!)

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.

340 thoughts on “NUFC Blog’s 2019/20 awards – Player of the season, unsung hero, most improved, best goal & more

  1. I actually think Masters should be sacked for being an idiot. His job is not like some mid-ranking civil servant, he will be paid a fortune. I think Scudamore got paid like 3 million as a golden handshake. He had the perfect opportunity to announce the takeover with the resumption of football and the Liverpool Derby that weekend and the Red Bindippers still having a 100% home record. The fool sat on his hands.

    All of this controversy would have died down like it has with Chelsea, Man City and PSV. The papers can only write so many stories before people get bored so it just disappears after a while.

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  2. The Chronic really are pretty pathetic. They get handed the story of a lifetime – the takeover – and what do they do with hit, nothing. They repeat the same shyte day after day and never even scratch the surface. Just Douglas and Ryder interviewing themselves and saying the PL and NUFC have said ‘no comment’. A lot of their stories were even about what other journalists had said, their rivals. I mean, the biggest investment fund in the world wants to buy NUFC and Ryder and Douglas interview each other.

    I know there was takeover fatigue but they created a lot of that by repeating the same stuff day after day after day. And then there is Ryder, it was not only the same stuff but almost the same 200 word article which was **** the first time he wrote it. No wonder the local papers are dying, there is this, pictures of criminals at Newcastle Crown Court and grim stories of road accidents. That is their “content” now.

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  3. Ashley has missed the boat on this. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but he really should not have stayed so distant as this dragged on for months. He should have been pushing the premier league for an answer because the longer he waited the lower the value of his asset became. The Saudis have said as much. They said the deal was not economically viable. My view on this is that they think after Covid they were overpaying.

    So what is NUFC worth in the current environment? Probably 200 million. Would Fatty sell for that when he valued NUFC at 350 mil a year ago? Not sure?! He has seen millions if not a billion wiped off his own net worth so he knows the score. But he is stubborn.

    Still think this 35 million transfer kitty is make believe, but we will see.

    Might have to recall Jacob Murphy and listen to Brucie’s line that him and Sean Longstaff are LIKE new signings.

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  4. Shamrock:
    You know who would do a great job in the current system in place of Joelinton?

    Mitrovic.

    Agree mate, said it for a long time.

    If Fulham fail to come up we should go for him. If Brentford fail to come up we should go for Ollie Watkins.

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  5. Olly – any chance of getting rid of this pop up ad and I think the site might well be fixed ??

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  6. If Man U get Sancho, as it looks like, they will have a formidable team. I will even cheer them on if they have the 3 English forwards – Sancho, Rashford and Greenwood. I think Greenwood is set to be a superstar.

    At least I can watch some decent football with English players.

    I am worried about NUFC now, petitions or no petitions.

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  7. We are fooked Eric, our owner is even less interested than before and i suspect a lot of our better players will be looking to go now the TO has crashed and burned.

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  8. Covid will continue to cause issues too, games without the crowd there look sterile and soulless to me.
    Are they dropping the 5 sub rule for the new season?

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  9. kimtoon:
    We are ****ed Eric, our owner is even less interested than before and i suspect a lot of our better players will be looking to go now the TO has crashed and burned.

    Kim – I know thats an instinctive reaction with how everything has turned out.
    But I read a lot of people saying we were screwed last summer when we lost Rafa, Rondon and Pérez – and took Bruce … and there was a half ar$e takeover back then if I remember too.

    I think we have to wait and see who we get in. I don’t expect a big spend, id be surprised if we spend as much as half of what we did last summer if I’m honest. But £40m on Joelinton v less than £20m for Danny Ings or Neal Maupay.
    I don’t think we need to spend big, just wise.
    Our squad probably need 5-6 players. There are some decent free transfers and I suspect there will be loan players too – but then that’s not the end of the world.

    I read that all of our players would jump ship coz Rafa left, and we wouldn’t be able to attach decent players – but then most stayed and we got ASM – the most exciting player we’ve had for a long long time.
    He’s still there, and until such time he leaves – or Dubravka or any of our better players – I’m not going to start with the ‘we’re going down’ craic just yet.

    I wish we got bought out – I hope we still do (but highly doubt it).

    Had we got bought out I didn’t believe we would go on to buy Mbappe and all the rest – and as we haven’t been bought out I also don’t believe we are f@ckecd either.

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  10. kimtoon:
    https://twitter.com/footballdaily/status/1290328241102884866

    Kim – and that’s why I’m sure the top 6 clubs have had a say in slowing the PL down in their decision.
    The invest that John Hall put into the NE with NUFC, the falcons and eagles – it may us a real force.

    The players we signed, the interest we stirred up – we were everyone’s 2nd favourite team. The fan base was and remains legendary.
    Sadly we won nothing, and Hall only had so much money – imagine if we had the kind of money the Saudis could put in.

    To call us a sleeping giant doesn’t come close imo. With the right investment and the right infrastructure, we could easily take a good slice of the global commercial pie that the PL generates. The problem is that the top 6 clubs will fight tooth & nail not to give that up.
    Leicester & Wolves don’t concern them, because whilst they are doing ok, they don’t have the financial clout to really hurt them long term – and if they start getting close, well they’ll just buy their best players – Kante, Drinkwater, Mahrez, Maguire – all taken by top 6 clubs. Chilwell will be the next and not the last.

    The Saudis could and would make sure that doesn’t happen to us – and that is as much a reason as anything else why the PL have bottled it imo.

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  11. Sharpy17: Kim – and that’s why I’m sure the top 6 clubs have had a say in slowing the PL down in their decision.
    The invest that John Hall put into the NE with NUFC, the falcons and eagles – it may us a real force.

    The players we signed, the interest we stirred up – we were everyone’s 2nd favourite team.The fan base was and remains legendary.
    Sadly we won nothing, and Hall only had so much money – imagine if we had the kind of money the Saudis could put in.

    To call us a sleeping giant doesn’t come close imo.With the right investment and the right infrastructure, we could easily take a good slice of the global commercial pie that the PL generates.The problem is that the top 6 clubs will fight tooth & nail not to give that up.
    Leicester & Wolves don’t concern them, because whilst they are doing ok, they don’t have the financial clout to really hurt them long term – and if they start getting close, well they’ll just buy their best players – Kante, Drinkwater, Mahrez, Maguire – all taken by top 6 clubs.Chilwell will be the next and not the last.

    The Saudis could and would make sure that doesn’t happen to us – and that is as much a reason as anything else why the PL have bottled it imo.

    Agree mate

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  12. I signed the petition. It cant hurt. I would also like to cast the spotlight on Masters so if we can get 100k plus signed up the national media might pay attention.

    I think we are worth 200 million now but if Ashley would accept 250 I think there are things that could be done to pressure the PL. First, Ashley and the Reubens could put pressure on. Whatever you think of Fatty and his Tat he is the premier sports retailer in the land and the Reubens must have Govt clout to get their property deals done. Start there and then you could have the Saudis pressure the Govt high ups. Fck Liverpool and Spurs, the Saudis have 1,000 times the influence they have in terms of what they can do with trade with the UK. Just needs a few private words.

    If they really want to get this done Masters would not know what hit him.

    Then there is the threat of litigation. As long as the Saudis are not sick of getting their name dragged through the mud this could be resurrected. Maybe by Easter 🙂 Not holding my breath though.

    I wonder if Fatty would take a 49% cash injection from the Saudis? Put Mandy on the board and hire a DOF? That’s a way around the PL rules.

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  13. Eric , looking at other PL and EFL owners there is a fair bit of Chinese investment and we all know that the Chinese government won’t let Chinese companies f art without there say so, yet there is apparently no probs with that like or THEIR human rights issues.

    Maybe the Saudi pif need to be investors rather than owners ?, if Amanda wins her case v Barclays she may well take a larger stake in us, the Reubens can certainly afford it too, they just made a £80m donation to Oxford uni i believe, and have made several donations to Newcastle food bank during lockdown.

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  14. I made several comments yesterday and they all just disappeared. What the hell is going on with this site?

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  15. georgio:
    I made several comments yesterday and they all just disappeared. What the hell is going on with this site?

    Thought these issues re. comments were fixed but it seems there’s something up.

    I’m going to email the tech guys now and flag this up. Hopefully it’ll be sorted ASAP!

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  16. Do we really want Josh King? He scored 6 goals in 26 apearces last year.

    David Brooks would be a good signing but probably nearer 20 million rather than the 11 million mooted on here. We’ll have to see how the transfer market develops. You cannot judge it yet as Man U, Chelsea and City all still have money even in a pandemic. They are not representative of the rest of the league(s).

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  17. Back to Josh King. He has 1 year left on his contract which means he is an Ashley type player, that is, we may be able to get him on the cheap. But his goal record for his career at Bournemouth is what you would call only OK – 48 goals in 161 appearances. That is 1 in 3.35 games. You cant really say he would do better in a better team as Bournemouth probably were better than us during his time there even though it hurts me to say it.

    This is probably the pond we are fishing in though and maybe even below. The signing would definitely be of the order “he’s better than what we’ve got”. Banging in 6 goals in a season rather than Dwight’s 4 is not going to change a lot.

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  18. AND: if you are Josh King would you really want to be relegated twice in successive seasons 🙂

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  19. Olly Hawkins: Thought these issues re. comments were fixed but it seems there’s something up.

    I’m going to email the tech guys now and flag this up. Hopefully it’ll be sorted ASAP!

    Olly – ask them to shift this pop up ad too please mate

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  20. Thanks Olly – I’ve been a regular for over 10 years and never had these problems before.

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  21. Charlie Bennett: has Danny Mills ever said anything that makes sense? Top of my list for idiot pundits is of course Phil “the opposite of what I say is correct” Neville, followed by Merse and then Danny Mills. Even Robbie Savage, who says stuff just to be controversial, is better.

    Has anybody else noticed that when Phil Neville does co-commentary he always seems out of breath. Him and his brother should be banned from doing Man U games. There’s partisanship and there is downright bias.

    I actually think that all ex-players should be banned from commentating on their former teams. I am OK with the half time panel or the giant tactics board, but I think they take away from the action with their biases during a game. And I couldn’t give a **** about their little anecdotes about their playing days.

    Is it sexist to say that PNev is so bad that he couldnt even cut it as the women’s coach?

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  22. Sharpy17: Olly – ask them to shift this pop up ad too please mate

    Sadly, some of these extra ads have been needed to allow the site to survive post COVID-19. Not ideal I know, but it hit us pretty hard at one point.

    Working on a fix for this ongoing comments issue though.

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  23. Sharpy: Mitro is The Championship top scorer and has also missed a few games due to suspension. Big surprise 🙂 But, if you asked any NUFC fan – Mitro or Joe – we all know the answer, even if the Mad Serb was sent off and cost us a game now and again.

    I fully expect to read a headline when Mitro is 50 that he has been found dead in a Ukrainian jail cell. Last time I went back to Newcastle that is a story I heard about one of my classmates from high school. Did you ever watch American TV shows where they would have the kids vote for “most likely to succeed” or “most likely to be found dead in a ditch”. Well, this guy was definitely “most likely to be found dead in a Ukrainian jail cell”. Everybody knew it, and it happened. Hope I am still around when Alexander fulfils his destiny.

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  24. I always thought it was quite apt that we had a basket case forward for a basket case club Eric.

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  25. Poor people, what with covid and a shot economy it’s a disaster, hope we in the UK can help them .

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  26. The Guardian are making excuses for Man U now. An article today saying OGS doesnt have the tools to challenge for the league. Of course they do!!!!

    Probably the best midfield tandem in the country. Pogba is a brilliant player when he is not trying to show off and the pundits arent all trying to give him a w@nk. Fernandez is better so he doesnt have to be the superstar.

    Then they have the real superstar-to-be. Greenwood. Add Rashford, Martial and Sancho to that and you dont really need a defense.

    I am really looking forward to seeing this English based attack for Man U. I never thought I would say it but I am so frustrated at NUFC that I have to clutch at straws somewhere.

    I think we are getting relegated.

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  27. I’m bored of reading articles about the takeover or how to support it now like.
    The Saudis pulled out. There is no takeover to be had anymore – the money has walked away.

    The time to petition was in the MONTHS it was the PL to make there decision – that was the time to try and put the pressure on. When many other people were voicing concerns or highlighting the negatives – that was when to highlight the positives. Doing it now the money has gone seems entirely pointless to me.

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  28. I also don’t understand what our recruitment team are waiting for.

    We need a winger and a midfielder and Ryan Frazer and Jeff Hendrick are both available on a free. Both have PL experience, both are English speaking and both would improve the squad.
    Is there better players out there – of course there is. But are they really good option based on our budget – absolutely they would.

    Then you can spend the money on a CF and LB – or consider loan options depending on who you want and how much they’d cost.

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  29. Ake up at City completing his move – Torres signed last night – over £60m spend already for a team that DID breach the financial fair play rules.
    I dare bet they aren’t finished there either by the way.

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  30. Sharpy17:
    Ake up at City completing his move – Torres signed last night – over £60m spend already for a team that DID breach the financial fair play rules.
    I dare bet they aren’t finished there either by the way.

    Exactly mate, and that tweet i put up has been removed too now. It was on Spennymags twitter account and showed an excerpt from ref Mark Halsey’s autobiography where he says he was told to say he hadn’t seen things that were controversial or missed in games and that they were told they had to give a certain amount of corners ,throw ins and pens and fk . And that there was bias towards certain clubs.
    It harks back to this in 2016
    https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/soccer-news/mark-halseys-allegations-strike-footballs-8762901

    Whole set up is corrupt.

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  31. Sharpy, we may be approaching clubs/players but they may not want to come to us, it is a bit of a ***** show to be fair.

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  32. always said where there is big money there big crooks makes you sick its not a honest world now a days
    who would like to be young now a days not me for sure

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  33. icedog:
    always said where there is big money there big crooks makes you sick its not a honest world now a days
    who would like to be young now a days not me for sure

    True mate, football used to be a working class sport which was in the main honest. Now it’s a money driven rich mans plaything . The PL in particular is riddled with corruption imo.

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  34. kimtoon:
    Sharpy, we may be approaching clubs/players but they may not want to come to us, it is a bit of a ***** show to be fair.

    Kim – maybe I’m being too flippant, but I don’t see our position now being any worse than it was last summer. We may not have had the football we all would have hoped for – but it certainly wasn’t the disastrous relegation many predicted when Rafa left and Bruce came in.
    I’m certainly not predicting success or even plain sailing – we won’t get that. But back Bruce early for a change coz everything was left last minute last summer.

    Get players in, get contracts sorted, refund last seasons season tickets and left the fans know what is happening with their tickets this season.

    The failed takeover is ****. But the club need to step up now and act fast – because regardless of everything else, the new season starts in just a few weeks and Bruce needs players in.

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  35. Olly: I will add Daniel Harris to my list of Journos to ignore. Him and Delaney will now be top along with PNev. I am also going to be actively against the Red Bindippers and Spurs from now on.

    Liverpool get nothing but praise in the media. They are ever questioned about anything and there are so many of their ex-players on TV they could start their own channel. Their owners are Hedge Funders which is a legalized tax dodge but nobody mentions that. It is legal because this type of business makes a lot of money which allows them to lobby congress. They pay about half the tax as I would if I made the same money.

    And Spurs. The media (TV and Print) had a collective w@nk about that new stadium. Not a day went by without some double page spread about building progress in one of the papers. You would think Levy was paying them, but for some reason the Southern press have a hard on for Spurs. It even made it over here with some sort of stadium tour shown on TV. They even asked Susan Sarandon about it when they interviewed her at a game (she is the mother in law of an ex-US footballer). How do I know that they have beer that fills the glass from the bottom and planned a cheese room if the media didnt go on and on about something that fans of 19 other PL clubs do not care about?

    I never used to care either way about Spurs or Liverpool. I do now, and want them to lose.

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  36. kimtoon: True mate, football used to be a working class sport which was in the main honest. Now it’s a money driven rich mans plaything . The PL in particular is riddled with corruption imo.

    i agree 100% mate

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  37. So, do Spurs and Liverpool now have veto power at the PL as regards who can own a club? The Owners and Directors tests are supposed to be a set of rules that are very specific and to be applied impartially. How can 2 clubs try to influence the implementation of impartial rules?

    I know that things are never that simple but what gives Liverpool and Spurs the right to interfere? And to what end? To keep their pally top 6 elite status? Continue to hoover up all of the money and still have their fans complain about everything and how they are hard done by. Of the fans I see in the pub over here the biggest moaners are Liverpool and Spurs. Even Villa and West Ham are better.

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  38. Fulham thought they’d got promoted but then found out they had to meet Liverpool and Spurs first!

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  39. Eric, well apparently they had to vet Masters before he got the nod for the job so who knows how much power they yield .
    Don’t forget Masters was 4th choice after 1 got turned down and 2 others withdrew apparently, curious stuff.

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  40. Sharpy, sorry mate but we have to agree to disagree about the up coming season. It is different to last summer
    1. Failed takeover has left everyone deflated, even the players must be gutted, knowing they won’t be able to compete again.
    2. Small transfer budget £35m much less than last year.
    3. No fans in stadium to help the players lift their game.
    4.Joelinton AGAIN
    5. Bruce AGAIN
    6. Defense gone to pot after having been so good under Rafa
    7. The owner gives even less of a **** than before now he’s lost out on his £305m
    8. PL will likely gives us at least 4 of the top 6 in our opening 6 games and at season end to ensure we go down as punishment for daring to think we can play with the big boys and because fans have beensigning petitions and abusing them on their twitter account ! LOL they are now banning toon fans comments.
    9. Refs will be under instructions ( see my mark helsey post earlier ) 😉
    10. We can’t score and now can’t defend either and Penfold cannot be trusted to address those key positions in a timely matter or at all for that matter.

    Also if they keep that 5 sub rule then the likes of City, Pool, Manure et al will walk over most of the also rans so no flukey wins.

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  41. So i tried to sign that petition to look into the PL owner and directors test and got this reply. The change .org one has nearly 80,000 signatures now but only a government one means owt.

    Petitions: UK Government and Parliament
    To:

    Wed, 5 Aug at 08:44

    Dear Kim
    Sorry, we can’t accept the petition you supported – “newcastle united supporters want the government to look into the PL HQ O&D tests”.

    It calls for an action relating to a particular individual, or organisation outside of the UK Government or Parliament.

    We cannot accept petitions that call for an action relating to a particular individual, or organisation outside of the UK Government or Parliament. We also can’t accept petitions about things the Government is not responsible for. This sale is a matter for the parties concerned, and for the Premier League to assess under its Owners’ and Directors’ Test, and is therefore not a matter for the Government or House of Commons.

    We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards:
    https://petition.parliament.uk/help#standards

    Thanks,
    The Petitions team
    UK Government and Parliament

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  42. Why do they have water breaks for night games? 90% are pointless anyway as it is not that hot even during the day. Just have a cut-off temp FFS. If it is above 25 degrees at the start of the game then have the water break. Below, don’t. It is not rocket science but the PL seem not not be able to change anything.

    Same with VAR. It is supposed to be impartial but it actually works in favour of the top teams. There is a built in bias with the Refs to give penalties for the top 6. If you want proof, Man U have had 14 this year. But you can only overturn them if there is clear evidence it was a mistake by the Ref. That is a high bar, and it allows the Refs to be even more biased in favour of Man U. To be sure, a lot of the penalties given WERE penalties. But that is not really the point, because if it was NUFC they WOULD NOT have been given in the first place and VAR would have to overrule the Ref to give it. It may sound like a subtle difference but really it is not. VAR is biased in favour of the top teams because the Refs are biased to begin with and it actually helps them out to justify their bias.

    We all know this, but the PL will not change it in-season. They will not even insist that the Ref goes to the monitor for a penalty decision. And VAR keeps getting decisions wrong. Even simple decisions.

    I would have VAR check every “foul” on Jack Grealish. Then it might be useful. CHEAT.

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  43. Kimtoon: I signed the Change.org petition. It is a not-for-profit but it did ask for a donation, $7 I think. Do they think I am giving my credit card number out to fckn anybody? I get scams every week pretending to be Amazon or Netflix or my bank and trying to get me to go to some bogus site where they will “confirm” your details. Why do they need a donation?

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  44. Are we going to be linked with every Bournemouth player? 20 mil for Callum Wilson? Right, like Fatty will go for that (I think he is probably done with his scouting after Joe 🙂 ). Wilson turns 29 in February and scored 7 goals in 35 games last year. Him and Josh King were 2 of the main reasons they went down.

    The only one I would take from Bmth is Brooks but we would have a lot of competition.

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  45. It is like just because Joelinton got 2 goals in 38 means we should settle for strikers with ****-poor records last year – both of the Bournemouth strikers. NO, NO, NO. That is a reason why we should be looking for better. We dont need more non-scoring strikers. Who is to say that King and Wilson are not on downward trends. Neither scored many last year and they are both approaching 29. Not typical Ashley players so why are we even linked at the prices that are being quoted?

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  46. Are we going to settle into this “he’s better than what we’ve got” mentality? A table leg would be better than Atsu. Should we spend 20 million on a table leg? $40 million on a road cone? At least a pass would only rebound a couple of yards off that rather than 6 directly to the opposition like with Joelinton.

    Even with Fatty and Brucie and the failed takeover we cannot settle. If you believe the budget (and I dont) we should not be going for 29 year olds who couldnt hack it in a bad team. Because, believe me, they will be in a bad team at NUFC this year. We need a miracle with injuries to survive and we need Nickson to find another St Max and not another Joelinton.

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  47. kimtoon:
    Eric, you don’t have to donate, even the government ones do it i think.

    Kimtoon: just saying I am not giving my credit card number to just anybody. I am sure my e-mail has been compromised. I have had so many scam e-mails recently. My Amazon account was hacked and someone put a trampoline, an iphone and a maternity belt in my cart. It has taken Amazon 6 months to fix it and 1,000 fake things in my cart.

    I was also scammed for $2,000 by using my ATM card at Chinese takeaway. I knew it was from there because that was the only time I used it in 2 years. The bank did credit the money back but the crooks were being sly and only taking out 2 or 300 at a time.

    I am just ultra-cautious now.

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  48. kimtoon:
    Sharpy, sorry mate but we have to agree to disagree about the up coming season. It is different to last summer
    1. Failed takeover has left everyone deflated, even the players must be gutted, knowing they won’t be able to compete again.
    2. Small transfer budget £35m much less than last year.
    3. No fans in stadium to help the players lift their game.
    4.Joelinton AGAIN
    5. Bruce AGAIN
    6. Defense gone to pot after having been so good under Rafa
    7. The owner gives even less of a **** than before now he’s lost out on his £305m
    8. PL will likely gives us at least 4 of the top 6 in our opening 6 games and at season end to ensure we go down as punishment for daring to think we can play with the big boys and because fans have beensigning petitions and abusing them on their twitter account ! LOL they are now banning toon fans comments.
    9. Refs will be under instructions ( see my mark helsey post earlier ) ?
    10. We can’t score and now can’t defend either and Penfold cannot be trusted to address those key positions in a timely matter or at allfor that matter.

    Also if they keep that 5 sub rule then the likes of City, Pool, Manure et al will walk over most of the also rans so no flukey wins.

    Kim – I guess you are right, we will have to agree to disagree. I’m not happy the takeover didn’t happen, but I certainly don’t think it’s the end of the world.
    1. Everyone was deflated when Rafa left last season, but they dusted themselves off and got on with it.
    Our players competed this season, and to suggest otherwise is disrespecting them imo.
    2. Our transfer budget is usually £35m. There’s nowt new there.
    3. Yes it’s cr@p the fans won’t be in, but that’s the case for all clubs – it didn’t seem to effect the players too much after lockdown.
    4. Joelinton is not and was never the player to perform the role he was being asked to. Bruce had little choice but to play him there coz Carroll & Gayle were rarely available. To single him out is a bit harsh though.
    5. The fans have an issue with Bruce coz he’s not Rafa. The players seem to like him, and with what he was faced with last summer he’s achieved more than I expected him too this season.
    6. For the article above some of our star players this season have been our defenders – Dubravka, Fernandez, Jetro and Manquillo. It largely thanks to the goals from our defenders we are still in the PL. But we have suffered a lot of injuries in our defence this season – is that as a result of something Bruce has introduced in training?, possibly – but our defenders are still very good imo.
    7. It’s impossible for Ashley to give less of a ****.
    8 & 9 are both conspiracy theories that I can’t give credence too.
    10. Is up to Bruce and the recruitment team to address. They need to go and buy a decent CF or 2 – we can create goals, we need someone to put them away. If Gayle could stay fit I think he could make a 10-12 goal a season contribution. But we need to get players in. Our defenders can defend well enough if we can keep them fit.

    I reserve the right to judge once I’ve seen who they bring in.

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  49. Eric Sykes:
    It is like just because Joelinton got 2 goals in 38 means we should settle for strikers with ****-poor records last year – both of the Bournemouth strikers. NO, NO, NO. That is a reason why we should be looking for better. We dont need more non-scoring strikers. Who is to say that King and Wilson are not on downward trends. Neither scored many last year and they are both approaching 29. Not typical Ashley players so why are we even linked at the prices that are being quoted?

    Eric – Josh King would be a decent signing imo.

    He’s not building for the future as you say, but he’s far from over the hill and has PL experience – which would be vital in hitting the ground running imo.

    He’s played 161 games and scored 49 goals with 14 assists.

    I know that’s not going to blow people away, but in fairness to him, Howe regularly plays him wide left. When he played in the middle he scored 16 goals that season.

    Wilson is too injury prone for me. I wouldn’t be interested in him as much, but wouldn’t dismiss him either. Both are better goal scorers than we have and have that PL experience. I think that’s important over signing someone from the French of German league.

    Michy Batshuyi could be available for a similar price I reckon – he’s only 26 so could be a good option too. But I expect he’ll be on a big wage at Chelsea – and that could be the problem there.

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  50. Sharpy, it was tongue in cheek mostly that list! lol
    Having said that, we will struggle as i still believe Bruce has never got a plan B.

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  51. NUFC fans think Simon Jordan is an arrogant **** when he says something we dont want to hear but when he says the takeover might still be on we believe him! Typical of football fans, including me. I am inclined to go with what I want to hear, even if it is from someone like Jordan or Rio. Not from PNev, he is always wrong, just do the opposite to what he says.

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  52. Sharpy: have you looked at Batshuyi’s shots on target rate? It is like the worst in the league. Chelsea fans dont like him, couldnt hit a cow’s **** with a banjo.

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  53. I am afraid I have nothing to offer on strikers. Schick looks good but we cant afford him. I am worried about both the B’mth lads. But I have no-one else. Hate to be just negative but I honestly dont know who we can get that would guarantee us double figures.

    Chelsea probably have somebody they could loan us. They are buying up all of the attacking talent in Europe so that must block the way for their academy.

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  54. The Chronic are going to be well p!ssed off when this takeover speculation ends and they cant show that picture of Mandy flashing her cleavage at that black tie event.

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  55. kimtoon:
    Sharpy, it was tongue in cheek mostly that list! lol
    Having said that, we will struggle as i still believeBruce has never got a plan B.

    Kim – I think Bruce himself has acknowledged that. He had no time last summer and probably little say in who came in because he himself wasn’t brought in until near the end.
    His plan B has been Carroll, but I don’t think Bruce has been happy about it.

    I don’t think Bruce is satisfied with players at his disposal – especially up front.

    That’s why I will wait to see who we bring in. It’s gonna be difficult, but they need to get cracking coz I think probably 4/5 players are needed before the season kicks off again.

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  56. Eric Sykes:
    Sharpy: have you looked at Batshuyi’s shots on target rate? It is like the worst in the league. Chelsea fans dont like him, couldnt hit a cow’s **** with a banjo.

    Eric – the kid has struggled that’s for sure, but he hasn’t played much at all for Chelsea. Maybe if he felt wanted and knew he had the chance of regular first team football with players like ASM and Almiron around him, he could turn it round.

    If he up for £15m, I think that would be fair. Not sure I’d go much higher.

    If Chelsea were willing to loan him, even better. But I think they will want to sell to fund their buys.

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  57. Sharpy: do we really want another “project”? Batshuyi has been a total failure at Chelsea. Their Joelinton if I may say it. They also have Kepa. Would you want him, worst save % for the PLs most expensive keeper. I just dont want any more reclamation projects or trying to change players into something they are not. It didnt really work with Lazaro who looked good when played as a winger and not so much as wing back.

    But back to projects. We have Joelinton. That’s enough for me. You could even say Gayle is as well because after all these years we still dont know if he can cut in the PL. Too many injuries and sub appearances (Palace) to even judge. Then there is “when fit” Carroll. Do we even know what he is anymore? No goals in 2 years, even slower now after injuries and all elbows and knees now. He does win a lot in the air but what use is that if you play Joe off him 🙂 See Liverpool game.

    I am getting a bit grumpy about our lack of options today. This time last week I had hope. Now the grim reality is sinking in. I will try and cheer up tomorrow.

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  58. Eric – with the budget we have it’s bound to be a ‘project’ mate. I’m not saying it should be Batshuyi, but you don’t get an established, ready to go goal scorer for the kind of money we will have to spend – we wasted too much on Joelinton.

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  59. Haha, earthling. You clearly underestimate the sheer power of Joelinton.
    Master of all nonchalance.

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  60. So, getting back to the nitty-gritty here, we all know what I’m hinting at. And who could forget this:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37904703
    Absolute disgrace. :o(
    It’s ahl aboot spacing oot the distinctive triangle. Big gaps are daft.

    Amnesty International dee heva point like. What’s idall aboot like? Theese Soodies. Tha well dodgy man. Am not buying petrol ever again, even though I own a Westland petrel that I reared from birth. He’s been flying me to work during lockdown anyway, which is canny like, just have te clean his beak before take-off like.

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  61. Amnesty International want a “human rights clause” in the Owners and Directors test. Fkn hypocrites. Will they throw eggs at the Queen next time she has Bin Salmon over for a state dinner? How about boycotting the PL if Qatar or Saudis bid for the TV rights in 2022?

    I just dont get this. If you are going to protest and call for bans and sanctions then at least treat all of the abusers the same. It is like wanting to put Gary Glitter in Jail but letting Jimmy Savile babysit your teenage daughters.

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  62. Did anybody know that in 1968 80,000 deaths were recorded in the UK from Hong Kong flu. Nearly double the number of deaths from Covid yet we didn’t destroy the economy to control it. In 2014/15 the number was 28,000 from season flu. Day by day the action of shutting down the country is being laid bare. I blame the media and I blame the government for being pathetically weak.

    As I said at the time, more people will die due to the so called remedy than the virus. Last week a friend of mine got diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. If he’d have been able to get to the doctors in May it may have been a different story. Scared shitless to leave the house (thanks to the media and gvt) and only urgent appointments at GP’s he finally got to go a month ago.

    How many more like him? Not to mention the heart attacks and strokes that ended in death.

    That’s before the Deaths caused by needless poverty over the next few years.

    All for what? I wouldn’t be surprised to learn if Covid only actually killed 20,000 people. How many of them were to die this year regardless? Many I’d guess considering most were over 80 and ill anyway.

    How many of the deaths were caused by something other than covid but because they once had it they put it in the figures? Where’s the media to pick up on this outrage? It’s almost like they think it’s only a story when it comes to the rates going up, not down.

    Pathetic and spineless the lot of them.

    As for NUFC – well the PL are spineless too. Their job is to make decisions and they’ve bottled this one. Embarrassing.

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  63. Rodzilla:
    So, getting back to the nitty-gritty here, we all know what I’m hinting at. And who could forget this:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37904703
    Absolute disgrace. :o(
    It’s ahl aboot spacing oot the distinctive triangle. Big gaps are daft.

    Amnesty International dee heva point like. What’s idall aboot like? Theese Soodies. Tha well dodgy man. Am not buying petrol ever again, even though I own a Westland petrel that I reared from birth. He’s been flying me to work during lockdown anyway, which is canny like, just have te clean his beak before take-off like.

    In today’s pathetically thin skinned woke world, Rod you’re not allowed to use the phrase “nitty gritty”.

    How do I get rid of these stupid fucking screens on here?

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