Newcastle 0-3 Chelsea: Another tough watch on Tyneside as grim stats say it all

Few expected anything other than a Chelsea win this afternoon, but a second half collapse and resultant 3-0 defeat made for another difficult watch for the sold out crowd inside St James’ Park today.

One stat that perhaps says it all is the fact we had our one and only shot on target in the 84th minute. 21% possession never helps, however it wasn’t really a contest if the truth be told.

Defeats like this won’t define our season – Chelsea are European champions and top of the league for a reason – but there can be no denying that we are in dire need of a new manager; who has a big job on his hands to keep us up and build immediate momentum when he arrives.

We defended a little better in the first half and looked relatively organised for 65 minutes, but I wouldn’t say we were ‘competitive’ – something Jones has described us as after the match. After all, the lack of pressing, belief or attacking threat on offer left few inside the stadium feeling we’d hold on for a precious point or pull off an unlikely win.

With us sat like sitting ducks and struggling to get out, Chelsea found that all important breakthrough via a thumping strike from Reece James just after the hour mark – and they never looked back from there.

That goal was followed by another from the England international just 12 minutes later, with Jorginho scoring from the spot after Kai Havertz was brought down by Karl Darlow to make it 0-3.

The result leaves us stuck in 19th on just four points. To make matters worse, results elsewhere didn’t go our way, either.

Burnley beat Brentford 3-1 to move above Leeds and out of the drop zone, Southampton won at Watford to move seven clear of us and Crystal Palace stunned Man City with a 0-2 win at the Etihad – although I’m not so sure they’re relegation contenders based on their impressive start to the season.

Back to the game itself, I actually turned to my brother and said ‘that might be the closest we get to scoring today’ when Ryan Fraser got in down the left and fizzed a ball across the box just a two minutes in. Unfortunately, I was right!

Another frustration was Saint-Maximin today. He was way below his best at Palace and, aside from a stunning piece of skill that saw him leave Chilwell for dead, he was largely anonymous today and cut a frustrated figure.

The referee was poor, giving a few dubious yellow cards and missing a few clear fouls on ASM and Wilson, but our defending for some of Chelsea’s goals was even worse.

Graeme Jones has said all the right things and can take some credit for a solid point at Palace last weekend, but the team selection today left me and many others scratching their head.

We were crying out for Schar’s ball-playing ability, not to mention the fact Fernandez must be watching Clark – who struggled once again – and wondering how he’s being overlooked.

Dubravka’s ability to organise a defence is also something I feel we’re missing, while Almiron and Willock’s pace, energy and ability to break forward could’ve helped us carry much more of a threat on the counter?

Seems easy to say in hindsight, but these are changes many – including myself – were calling for prior to today’s game. Maybe Jones wanted continuity, yet a line up that didn’t work at Palace never felt likely to trouble the European champions.

With a trip to Brighton up next and us still without a win 10 games into the not so new season, it’s absolutely vital the new owners appoint a new man capable of galvanizing a group of players crying out for some fresh direction.

A final word must go to Wor Flags, who put on another brilliant display in the Gallowgate End.

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.

152 thoughts on “Newcastle 0-3 Chelsea: Another tough watch on Tyneside as grim stats say it all

  1. Jones said after the match that he would do the round of interviews and then go back to his room and see what happens. Thems fighting words Graeme 🙂 I assume he meant go back to his padded cell in a straightjacket if he is looney enough to think he is a good coach. 2 games 25% and 21% possession. Not even Brucie, Schteve or Ugly John achieved those lows consecutively.

    I think Favre would take the job on Monday. He is 63 and has nothing to lose. Even if we go down I think he would stay. As ex- Gladbach, Nice and Dortmund Manager I think he still has some pulling power in the game as well.

    Jones cannot be allowed to Manage another game. It is obvious now he was pulling the strings along with Bruce and they were joint “tactics”.

    As soon as I saw the team I thought minimum 3-0.

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  2. Solid point at Palace??? We robbed them blind!!. They should have been 3-0 by half time & it was only a stunning finish by Wilson that got us a point.

    Jones has actually managed to find the one system where not one of our players perform well – that it’s is impressive. People thought getting rid of Bruce and things would get better – I’m not saying I want Bruce back, but Jones has definitely managed to make things worse.

    These new owners seem no closer to getting a DoF or manager – despite most of the managers in the running currently being out of work.
    It’s pathetic. They need to act with some urgency & fans should be demanding it – coz we are getting cut adrift at the bottom already while they are deciding who takes what office!!.

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  3. Your kidding Olly!
    A solid point at C.Palace?…You mean the luckiest point ever!
    Pathetic attacking then… and just the same today.
    When you have a defence and midfield like ours who continually give the ball back to the opponent’s you might as well go the Keegan route… attack is the best form of defence!
    Would rather have been beaten 6-3 and have a go than just sit back pathetically and lose 3-0
    Jones is the same as Bruce except he tries to say the right things.

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  4. Nearly every time Darlow got the ball he just lumped it up field and if it didn’t go out of play it was won by a Chelsea player. It astonishes me that Jones couldn’t see that. Darlow did try passing out to Krafth who as expected turned round and past it back again. How Krafth gets a game beats me.

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  5. No shots on target for Spurs at 84 mins. Harry Kane has had another stinker. Could it be that his mind is elsewhere? Not Man City, as I doubt they will spend 100 mil on a 29 year old. I think he is thinking the bus has moved on and he will never win anything.

    Spurs have 9 goals in 10 games. Lucky to win a few games 1-0 otherwise their fans would be calling for a few heads to roll.

    How can a team with Kane and Son only have 9 goals?

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  6. The madness is that we hired a new U23s manager this week – why was that even under consideration with so many more urgent posts needing filling first.

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  7. Groucho mate, it is not just Krafth. Lascelles plays like the new Mike Williamson – is scared of the ball. When he gets it it is either a short pass to put a teammate to put him in trouble or back to the keeper for a hoof. And it is not just Darlow, even though he should not have started today. It is all the keepers because they are always put under pressure. Great tactic to hoof it to the 5-6 Fraser on the left and St Max who never, ever jumps for a ball 🙂

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  8. Graeme Jones:
    It’s not if and when you lose…. It’s HOW you lose, don’t roll over and have your belly tickled!

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  9. AND THE FCN SUB DABACLE. Jones has them ready and they know who is coming off and then doesnt make the subs. So the players switch off.

    Have you ever seen that before when the other team makes their subs but we decide to wait?

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  10. I’m not that daft to think if we got a new manager in, that everything would change and improve overnight. Just in the same way I wasn’t daft enough to think getting rid of Bruce would immediately improve everything.

    It will still be the same group of players & we can’t change that til January. But the players are in limbo with Jones as the caretaker – why would they buy into his changes when they know it’ll be a new voice soon.

    When we get a new manager in, I won’t have unrealistic expectations of them. It will take time & there will be ups & downs – and they will definitely need player improvements – similar to Arteta at Arsenal now. But whoever comes in for us won’t have the pre existing quality that he had.

    But we NEED someone in NOW!!.

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  11. The “good talker” and “breath of fresh air” suddenly turned into Bruce after the game. This is what he said:

    “For 65 mins we were competitive, that was the game plan. We had a little bit of momentumin in their half when the ball could have dropped our way”.

    WHAT GAME WERE YOU WATCHING? WE HAD NO SHOTS AND NO CORNERS. WE HAD 8 MEN BEHIND THE BALL.

    “We ended up conceding when I was ready to make a couple of positive subs”.

    YOU DALLIED, THE PLAYERS KNEW WHO WERE COMING OFF. THE TV CAMERAS WERE ON HAYDEN AND FRASER. YOU CONFUSED THEM AND THEY SWITCHED OFF.

    “3 in 15 mins and the game was dead”.

    I COULD SAY THE GAME WAS DEAD WHEN WE SAW YOUR TEAM SELECTION BUT I WILL SAY THE GAME WAS DEAD WHEN THE 1ST GOAL WENT IN.

    DIDNT TAKE LONG FOR JONES TO TURN INTO BRUCE.

    He should be Assitant Tea Boy to Charnley. Let him keep his title but keep him away from the team.

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  12. Jones also said “we need a fresh face”. He is admitting that the job is beyond him, as if we didnt know that by the team selection, performances, possession stats and corner and shot stats.

    I can honestly say Ugly John Carver did a better job and his squad was devastated by injuries.

    I even think Ugly John did better post-match interviews than that nonsense from Jones.

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  13. I am going to cheer myself up and go to The Guardian comments section to watch the Spurs fans implode 🙂

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  14. poor team performance, just one shot on target, went to pieces after we conceded, same s%&t different week.
    New manager now please Mandy, if only for the new manager bounce we may get.

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  15. Eric, to be fair to Jones he hasn’t asked for the job. I think he’s more than aware he hasn’t got what it takes to stem the flow of utter Sh$&Eness that we are at present.
    These players have only ever know one mentality under Ashley, just keep ticking along, don’t worry about the cups and 17th will do nicely. They simply haven’t a clue about how to buck the odds, they had it a bit under Rafa, but we have a team of individuals now rather than a cohesive unit that he managed to partially build. All he needed was one or two more attack minded players and we would of been in so much better a position now.
    We have gone giant leaps backward and look doomed this season, it will take a miracle worker to get this lot to start picking up points.
    Martinez is not that man neither is Gerald, Lamps or John effin Terry imo.
    Gonna take a very brave man to sort this lot out.

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  16. Kimtoon: it is a sad state of affairs when someone is worse than Bruce. Even worse is that I believe Donkey would be better suited to our hoofball than Fraser. If you are going to pass back to Darlow for the hoof then dont expect someone 5-6 to get on the end of it. At least Joe is tall and he does win some balls in the air, just there is usually nobody near him to pick up the scraps.

    Self-awareness is great, but there is no excuse for that team selection today.

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  17. Eric+Sykes:
    Jones also said “we need a fresh face”. He is admitting that the job is beyond him, as if we didnt know that by the team selection, performances, possession stats and corner and shot stats.

    I can honestly say Ugly John Carver did a better job and his squad was devastated by injuries.

    I even think Ugly John did better post-match interviews than that nonsense from Jones.

    Eric – a blind man in a dark room could see we need a fresh face!!.

    These are supposed to be the professionals come to save us from the numpty Ashley. Most of the managers we are linked with are out of work – and yet it’s still about 6 weeks in and we are not close to making an appointment.

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  18. I am not that bothered if Jones is kept on as part of the coaching staff, just not head coach below the Manager. He has shown he has massive limitations over the last 9 months so he should only be part of the set up. Maybe set pieces? I was being facetious when I said he should be tea boy.

    In an ideal world he would be out with the rest of them. He seems a genuine bloke, just very limited. I really dont want to trash him but that Palace team selection and performance set me off. I was hoping for a change from Bruce and that is not what we got.

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  19. So Dyer needs a transplant then, suspected as much. Poor guy, hope he gets one and that his health improves.

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  20. Kieran Dyer is needing a liver transplant ?. Poor sod is worse than I thought. Hope all goes well for him & he’s back on his feet soon.

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  21. Hope Dyer gets the transplant. I had a friend and colleague who died waiting. Very sad story as he was next on the list and died in the hospital waiting. He was on the list for about 2 years. It wasnt alcohol related either it was some infection he got.

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  22. Graeme Jones has proven to be a disaster this season as both coach advising Brucie and as interim Manager. There is no doubt from his team selections, tactics and formations that he was much more in line with Bruce’s views than we were led to believe. The narrative everywhere – media, blogs, pundits – was that there was a bit of tension there. There were countless observations by these people about how the players went to Jones instead of Bruce, how there would be a player huddle with Jones with Bruce casting a lonely figure outside and how it was Jones who was responsible for the turnaround late last season.

    However, it seems that they were always on the same page and Jones is as inept as Bruce. Nobody will ever tell me that Jones was Bruce’s idea though. He was foisted on him and he endorsed him.

    But on to Brighton. They seem to be our bogey team and their non-scoring strikers seem to find their shooting boots when they play us. I have no inside knowledge, but I think we will have a new Manager in the stands at Brighton. The new man will pick the team but Jones will be on the touchline. I just dont think there is enough time for a new Manager to make a big difference but it could bring a bit of a feel good factor depending on who it is. I also think they would give the team talk.

    It would be suicide to let Jones carry on with team selection and tactics. I never thought I would say this, but he is worse than Bruce.

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  23. Perhaps I’m getting 5 when 2 and 2 aren’t even there – but lots of talk we are trying hard to get ten Hag in as our new manager – he was a target of Spurs in the summer who went with Nuno instead – who’s position is now being reviewed.

    Are we close to getting Hag and Spurs are making a fight to land him again … like I say, could be getting 5 here.

    Harsh on Nuno though imo. They are 2 points off 4th spot here with his key player effectively on strike.

    Spurs keeping Kane did Nuno no favours really. It’s always going to overshadow everything else.

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  24. Sharpy: I pointed out the obvious in the summer that Levy was making a big mistake not letting Kane go. He has gone into a massive sulk because he thought there was a “gentleman’s agreement” he could leave. I believe him but Levy thought Harry’s love of Spurs and professionalism would override his double-cross. He seems to have miscalculated.

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  25. May I just point out that the Jones games and Bruce 1000th could not have gone much worse. The only thing that could have been worse is if Benteke could hit a cow’s **** with a banjo.

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  26. Trusting Graeme Jones has turned out to be a massive mistake. If this Leeds result holds up we are in big trouble and will show that Stavely and Co should have sacked Bruce and all his cronies on day 1. That includes ALL of the Steves including Harper and Nickson.

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  27. Jones talks a good game. Perhaps his calling is as a double glazing salesman because he should never get a job in the PL again.

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  28. Sorry, he doesnt even talk a good game ALL of the time as his aftermatch interviews were absolute nonsense yesterday. Did everyone see what he said about leaving Fernandez out of the squad. Bruce would be proud!!! I didnt know it before he got control, but he is a Bruce Mini-Me.

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  29. Leeds didn’t look great either there but have now put clear daylight between us and them – and us getting out of the bottom 3 any time soon.

    I don’t expect much against Brighton & if Jones is still taking charge I expect even less – a less than 30% possession for one. But even if we do beat them – unless it is convincingly, we will stay right where we are, coz we are already 6 goals off Burnley for goal difference as well.

    I just don’t see how you convince the manager of a team topping the Dutch league & top of his CL group to come to a club that looks destined for relegation.

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  30. Telegraph reporting the owners are expecting to have a new manager in place for the international break. So that’s Jones in for Brighton.

    Maybe we should do our bit for climate change and not bother going down to Brighton and just give them the points?

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  31. Stuart79:
    Telegraph reporting the owners are expecting to have a new manager in place for the international break. So that’s Jones in for Brighton.

    Maybe we should do our bit for climate change and not bother going down to Brighton and just give them the points?

    Stu – I said earlier that I expected that to be the case due to the absolute lack of any real urgency to get a new manager in so far.

    Jones came out and said he was in charge for the next 2 games – so they have obviously either failed in their first plan, or came up with another one – either way it shows indecisiveness imo.
    If Jones takes the Brighton game that’s 4 games they’ve effectively written off.

    Whoever comes in has their work cut out with this squad of players before they can bring in anyone new – and if we have a mountain to climb come the transfer window, what players do we attract?!.

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  32. I think it’s Martinez they are waiting for now.

    The talk is we are waiting til after the international break. Those games are game 9 and 10 of 10 qualifying games & Belgium have already qualified.

    Martinez hasn’t really achieved with the Belgium side imo. They may be number 1 in the World rankings, but I don’t think he’s made a final of any of the major tournaments he’s been in charge for – he certainly hasn’t won a tournament and with that squad he really should have.

    I think the Belgium FA may well be happy to let him leave.

    Martinez himself will know that he won’t get offered a better club job offer.

    NUFC owners will know that he would be Jones’ pick for he would want to work with – and despite them having to pay £2m compo, they will retain Jones and I think they want that because he’s popular with sections of our fans.

    The timing certainly seems to suggest the international break has some significance.

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  33. I watched the games today Norwich, Leeds & Villa all looked pony.

    It’s ridiculous we are already 6 points behind Leeds & Villa, and only 2 better off than Norwich.

    There’s a lot of points still to play for, but we desperately need things to change.

    I’m not convinced they will much if we bring Martinez in and keep Jones in the background.

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  34. Really don’t want Martinez. He was rubbish at Everton. Don’t want Jones, Terry, Lampard or Gerrard either. Sounds like Spurs may pull the plug on Nuno… I’d take him to be honest as an option, although I’d prefer Favre, Fonseca, Ten Hag, or anybody other than Martinez.

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  35. Jones seems to have the trust/ear of the new owners. He has said that they have had conversations about managerial appointments – why would they do that with the caretaker if he wasn’t still in their plans.

    Of everyone suggested so far, Jones will have talked up Martinez.

    He wouldn’t be my first choice either. Of those mentioned so far Favre would probably be my preference, though like Gilly, I’d take Nuno as well. I thought he done well with Wolves before they lost Jota and Jimenez got injured – but the job he did developing them from a mid table championship side to a solid PL side was impressive.
    I think his legs have been done at Spurs with the Kane situation.

    I don’t want to know about Lampard, Gerrard, Howe – and certainly not Terry.

    I just think it all seems to be pointing to Martinez.

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  36. Emery did a reasonable job at Arsenal. Got to Europa League final and finished 5th. Imagine they’d be rather happy with that now.

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  37. Emery wasn’t given time at Arsenal – they tried to hound Arteta out too afew weeks ago – now he’s got all of his players fit and available, he’s got them playing.

    What a disgrace that the media have found out about Spurs discussing Nuno. So he’s lost a couple of games, but he’s 2 points off CL. He clearly has players not playing for him – Kane, Ali and N’Dombele.

    They sh@t on Jose & now they are doing the same to Nuno.

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  38. Our owners could learn a bit from Spurs. They’ve sacked Nuno and are about to appoint Conte. Within hours! Meanwhile we are still interviewing possible managers after two weeks…

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  39. So Spurs sack Nuno Espírito Santo after just 4 months! Well I’ll take him over Martinez. Anyone that can clash a few heads together on our players and get them to fuc.king work for their ridiculous salaries!

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  40. So Spurs sack Nuno and have Conte in London already with talks of his appointment in the final stages …. While we’ve been f@cking about for weeks and are ready to give it another couple more weeks.

    Like our need for a new manager isn’t greater than Spurs!!.

    We’ve got these new super duper mega rich owners who so far appear to be as affective as the last one.

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  41. Stuart79:
    Our owners could learn a bit from Spurs. They’ve sacked Nuno and are about to appoint Conte. Within hours! Meanwhile we are still interviewing possible managers after two weeks…

    Stu – I know it’s only 2 weeks since Bruce left, but they knew he had to go long before that!!.
    He wasn’t their man to start with and it’s not like he was on such a winning run when they took over that it was impossible to sack him – he should have been sacked full spot.

    Their handling of this – their first act as new owners has been shambolic & quite frankly pathetic.

    Spurs handling of their situation may be ruthless, and perhaps harsh on Nuno – but it is decisive & shows a winning mentality.

    But let’s not be rushed, Jones has got this til the international break ????

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  42. Definitely a case of too many cooks spoil the broth… levy just does what he wants. So many in our ownership group that they can’t make decisions quickly.

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  43. Can we assume our new manager isn’t goi g to be Lampard, Howe or Fonseca? They’re all out of work so if it was to be any of them they would have been appointed by now surely?

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  44. Gilly – what’s pathetic is that most of the candidates are out of work.

    Fonseca, Favre or even Howe.

    Offer any of them a 3yr deal – £5m a year – £2m bonus for keeping us up this season – £2m bonus for a top 10 finish next season and £2m for top 6 the following season.

    £100m to spend in January, £200m in the summer.

    Which one of those candidates would turn that down??? – pick 1 hire them and get the f@ck on with it!!!.

    Staveley sat in front of Sky and spoke about winning titles in the next 5 years – nobody had her arm up her back.

    They obviously told Jones he would only take charge for the next 2 games – why would he have said that in his first press conference.
    So they have clearly dragged this out longer than planned.

    It’s not good enough – and it could cost us dearly in the end.

    We go down and we aren’t winning Staveleys title in her 5 years – that’s for sure.

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  45. The new board should have made a decision after the match on Saturday. I dont think it was the worst move in the world to give Jones a couple of games whilst they decided, but nobody could have thought he would be as bad as he had been. All the signs were that Jones was his own man and there was a bit of tension with Bruce. That turns out not to have been the case and that he was complicit in Bruce’s anti-football. His team selections alone show that he is worse than Bruce if that is possible. Then he says he is not a manager, in as many words.

    It would be crazy to keep Jones in charge for Brighton.

    As for Levy. He is desperate now and will give Comte whatever he wants. I dont think that was the case in the summer. This is not a masterstroke, it is desperation. Should be an interesting situation with Kane. Son has looked off the pace as well.

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  46. Nuno got the August Manager of the Month award. Remember Bruce got the April MotM award after all his pundit pals pushed for it. That was the 1st time in his 23 year career. Just bringing up some fun facts 🙂

    Conte is a winner and will tranform Spurs in his own image. Not sure if the Spurs fans will like it as they are obsessed with the “Spurs DNA”. What does that exactly mean? I think the Spurs fans think it is attacking, easy on the eye football. In reality it has been being second best to Arsenal for 30 years, over-reliance on a couple of players and falling at the last hurdle.

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  47. Eric+Sykes:
    The new board should have made a decision after the match on Saturday. I dont think it was the worst move in the world to give Jones a couple of games whilst they decided, but nobody could have thought he would be as bad as he had been. All the signs were that Jones was his own man and there was a bit of tension with Bruce. That turns out not to have been the case and that he was complicit in Bruce’s anti-football. His team selections alone show that he is worse than Bruce if that is possible. Then he says he is not a manager, in as many words.

    It would be crazy to keep Jones in charge for Brighton.

    As for Levy. He is desperate now and will give Comte whatever he wants. I dont think that was the case in the summer. This is not a masterstroke, it is desperation. Should be an interesting situation with Kane. Son has looked off the pace as well.

    Eric – I disagree mate. The board should have came in with a plan in the first place.
    If it took a week or 2 to get their man then fair enough put Jones in temporary charge – but the new manager should have been unveiled either before the Palace game, or just after it.

    To drag this out to the international break is ridiculous.

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  48. Other Blogs are still going on about Rafa saying we should get him back. I cannot believe this is still a topic 3 years after he left. Move on guys. But since he is still on the minds of so many, it will be iteresting to watch him at Wovles. Another loss would be 3 in a row. I am not predicting that, but the blue bindippers would be out for blood if it happened.

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  49. The Chronic are still sticking up for Jones. In a long article about a new Manager they say Jones is working tirelessly behind the scenes. Who gives a fck about that when he puts out the team he did against Palace and Chelsea and played the tactics he did. That’s what counts and that is why he has to go, in addition to the fact he has shown he was complicit in Bruce’s anti-football.

    He has to go when we get a new Manager. He cannot be first team coach. If he has a contract, then either pay it up or have him be an assistant to the Mackem in the U23s.

    #WorseThanBruce

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  50. This is what MARK DOUGLAS said today “Graeme Jones has impressed with his work behind the scenes”. Rememeber Mark Douglas is The Chronic head of football. A hamster works hard on its wheel but it goes nowhere. He is defending this loser – done nowt. Even what he was given praise for – his talking – was undone with a Bruce-like nonsense diatribe after Chelsea. He even pleaded with Mandy to get a “new face” saying he was not up for it. Not up for the Manager job but I would contend not up for the coaching job either as it now is clear that he went along with the cabbage. He must be sapping the life out of ASM and Wilson, and actually that is clear from their performances. May as well put donkey in if all we are going to do is hoof it.

    I have also seen some say that if we intend to play with 9 behind the ball then play 9 defenders. Why not? We know ASM and Fraser cannot defend, so why play them in that “system”?!

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  51. And… what I feared about Darlow when Dubravka was injured last year is happeneing now. I said at the time I was scared about his decision making and that he often looked like a deer in the headlights. He seemed to be over that, but now it has returned. I think he is a confidence player and these losses and constant pressure are getting to him.

    Need to get Dubs in who seems like a stronger character and will at least come for a cross.

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  52. Do we really need a DoF BEFORE a Manager? There are some players who are no brainers because they are so much better than what we have. I am thinking, Coady, Lingard and Tarkowsky. We have 2 months to appoint someone who can do the negotiating. Realistically, maybe 1 month so they could get their feet under the table and make some of their own suggestions.

    What is clear is that we need a negotiator because we cannot leave that up to Charnley. He takes too long.

    Then we cannot let Nickson decide on players. I dont care if Donkey was his or Ashley’s choice, he has to go for that alone. He made a couple of decent acquisitions in ASM, Wilson, and Willock but he doesnt seem to know what he is doing with the defense, or central midfield which is where we need the players for this relegation fight.

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  53. I dont really give Nickson that much credit for Willock. I think it was a shot in the dark with no downside and he got lucky.

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  54. I fear our current league position rules out people like ten Hag and Emery. If we survive, then I think either would jump on it in the summer – but it’s too much to risk leaving clubs they’ve been successful with & are in the CL with to leave now.

    I could still see Fonseca, Favre or Howe taking it – but they could start tomorrow. The waiting for the international break seems to point to Martinez to me – not saying I want him, just that seems the most likely all things considered.

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  55. Watching Wolves & Everton at the mo – Wolves look decent under their new manager – Rafa does not have Everton playing great at all.

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  56. Conte is a really good Manager, but does anybody think he can turn this Spurs team around quickly? When he won the title with Chelsea, all of the other big teams were in flux.

    Man U had Van Gaal.

    It was Pep’s 1st season with City.

    Klopp was rebuilding Liverpool and finding his feet in his second season. They finished 4th.

    Now he faces these teams and a rejuvenated Chelsea with Tuchel.

    After Conte’s title, Chelsea finished 5th.

    If Spurs think this is going to be easy to get top 4 they better think again. Their team just is not that good and it depends a lot on whether Conte can get Kane and Son playing again. Son doesnt have a PL assist this season.

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  57. I find it refreshing that we are wanting to employ a manager who has won so much and is generally viewed as excellent. Imagine that under Jabba. Rafa apart and that really was the exception to the rule.

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  58. Stu – agreed mate. I honestly didn’t see that one coming off at all. I know it’s not signed off yet like but when it’s gone this public you imagine it’s as good as there.

    I think he was treated appallingly at Arsenal – both by the fans & the board. But I think the vast majority of toon fans will be happy with him coming in & will get behind him.

    He’s going to need time coz this group of players are stuck in a bit of a rut, but he should get to work with most of them in the break.

    We’ve got an awful run of games between now and January as well, so we can’t expect miracles – but I think given time he could be a good choice.

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