Newcastle’s first Premier League home game of 2024 ended in heartbreak after a scintillating game of twists and turns saw Manchester City score a stoppage time winner.
Silva sent the visitors ahead after 26 minutes but a quickfire double from Isak and Gordon 10 minutes before half-time sent the Geordies into the break ahead. De Bruyne levelled with 16 minutes left to play and substitute Bobb restored City’s lead in the 92nd minute.
Defeat for Eddie Howe’s Mags sees them slip to tenth in the league with eight defeats in the last 10 games in all competitions.
The first half was equal parts pulsating and frustrating with controversy woven through the opening 25 minutes.
Newcastle thought they had an opener within two minutes after Isak squared the ball to Longstaff, but it was ruled offside. Longstaff had clashed with Ederson and the Brazilian keeper had to be withdrawn through injury with City feeling aggrieved at the fact that the injury was inflicted during a move that was offside.
City got the first goal of the game after Walker found himself in space on the right wing and fired a low ball in which was flicked into the far corner of the net by Silva. Trippier and Burn both made their feelings known about the goal as Gordon had seemingly been fouled by Dias in the build up.
But St James’ was soon in full celebratory voice 10 minutes later as Bruno played a sublime ball over to Isak who still had a lot to do when he jinked the ball onto his right foot and curled the ball past Ortega.
🎯 Bruno’s pass
🥶 Isak’s finishWhat a quality goal! 🤩⚫️⚪️#NUFC #NEWMCI
— NUFCblog.co.uk (@NUFCblogcouk) January 13, 2024
A mere two minutes later Newcastle were ahead as Gordon was sent through on the left by Burn. He cut in onto his right on the left hand side of the box and swept a brilliant finish into the far corner.
De Bruyne’s entrance to the game after the hour mark showed City’s resolve to get back into the game and he had the ball in the back of the net five minutes after coming on, gliding the ball into the bottom corner from around 25 yards out.
City’s pressure in the latter stages made for a tense end to the game as the Toon struggled to get the ball towards the Gallowgate. City kept recycling the ball and just after the amount of added time was signalled by the fourth official De Bruyne sent Bobb one-on-one who shimmied the ball around Dubravka to break Geordie hearts.
A lack of options from the bench meant that Newcastle inevitably ran out of steam in the closing stages and Howe will hope that the recovery time of those on the treatment table will speed up. Where we lacked options to impact the game and save tired legs, they were able to bring on arguably the world’s best midfielder, who made the difference in the end.
Newcastle head into the winter break without a win in the league this calendar year and travel to Fulham in the FA Cup next on January 27.
STARTING 11: Dubravka – Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn – Longstaff, Bruno, Miley – Almiron, Isak, Gordon.
SUBS: Karius, Gillespie, Dummett, Lascelles, Ritchie, Krafth, Hall, A Murphy, Parkinson.
Can’t really complain we were outclassed, can’t allow K de B that much space and Rodri immense.
We have a hell of a lot to do to reach that level, they just have that much faith in the way they play.
Having said that a few other PL teams will have a job against this lot!
Joseph(Quote)
I’m not sure the toon ran out of steam so much as they were undone by some brilliance but yes they were flagging throughout the 2nd half allowing mancity time deep into the toons half
Attacking wise while they had the energy to do it the toon looked good. Pacey and direct with some good interchange play. There was just too little of it.
Defensively the toon were ok. Disciplined and well organised .. amazing what some coaching brings.. but less aggressive than I would like. Not sure if that was a respect thing or they knew options for replacements were not great so were managing effort levels.
Trippier esp was excellent .. shame he was undone at the end for the 3rd goal. Dubravka was good too.
It was a foul on Gordon by the right back who Gordon had for pace but honestly would any toon fan expect our team to put out the ball out in that situation and nor should we. It’s part of the game or f’kin well should be .. I hate to see them putting balls out when players are down unless its obviously serious
Anyway it’s nice to see the toon competitive again if disappointing to lose a close game .. again
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
I know people will disagree, but I’d argue their goal after the Gordon foul was a good thing in the sense it lit a fire under us.
You saw Burn go into their celebration & kick off & after that we raised our game for sure.
But equally the worse thing to come was HT.
If only Isak could have finish that chance at the back end of the first half 🤦🏼♂️.
Sharpy17(Quote)
I’ve been critical of the team pre the Sunderland game because we just weren’t turning out good performances. We deserved to get beat the way we were playing.
But that just wasn’t the case today.
I questioned the team pre kick off. I worried Burn would get done & that our midfield would get completely dominated – I was wrong.
I thought Burn was excellent today having struggled in recent weeks.
I thought physically they dominated midfield but actually Bruno & Miley in particular were very affective – certainly in the first half at least.
I thought our front 3 were excellent in the press. City could not play out from goal kicks & we had big chances off the back of our pressing game – our goals were brilliant finishes.
Big credit to Eddie Howe. Had he had Barnes, Murphy, Joelinton, Wilson, Anderson or Willock or even 2 or 3 of those players available to come on and freshen our attack up in that 2nd half.
That’s most of our absentees really – other than Pope, so if we can get some of these players back with performances like that then I think
we can still have a run at that 5th spot 🤞🏼.
Sharpy17(Quote)
I thought the officiating of today’s game was atrocious mind.
That was 2 footballing sides going toe to toe and a brilliant advert for the PL – but the refereeing was inconsistent & cost both teams.
You could see it annoyed both managers – with Pep typically more animated than Howe on the touchline.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Curious what was so bad about the officiating. I’m not defending them and think they missed stuff, but nothing especially noteworthy to single them out beyond the usual standard.
And tbh I read nothing into managers getting into the faces of the officials .. standard 5h1thousing to try and gain advantage for their team
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
I did high light Guimaraes before the game as someone I feel does need to start to show up for big games and I’m surprised you think he did today.
I thought he was pretty standard and that assist to isak aside was what I’ve come to expect from him; sluggish, lacking pace too many touches and too easily thrown off his game. Guimaraes is a good player but IMO his ability is exaggerated.
He was completely distracted by Rodri and lost his composure in the 1st half and Rodri, who is admittedly a beast of a player and a perfect central MF player; pacey and athletic, awesome skill and perfectly balanced with a real f’k you edge dominated Guimaraes 2nd half. Rodri is like Joelinton++
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
Reflecting a little I have some thoughts on tactics .. rarely something I do as I trust howe has a much better insight and knowledge of his team.
Today tho … hmmm.
I do laugh at some of the ‘put the kids on and let them run around’ commentary prevalent among many forums as its cretinous. This is elite sports not Sunday league
The only real chance the toon had todsy was when it got a bit chaotic in the middle / end of the 1st half.
Other than that mancity had the game by the throat and I think part of that chaos was them thinking they could kill the game in the first half and losing their rhythm a bit chasing a 2nd goal. That allowed the toon at them to create some chaos and transition from 451 to an attacking 433 at pace and boy did they do it well. Those goals were a delight.
I did wonder if mancity would make the same mistake 2nd half. Sadly they didn’t and dominated that period utterly. The toon weren’t bad and I was chuffed at how they fought but I do think Howe could’ve helped the team.
With the formation shape and being so deep with no attacking outlet from the off in the 2nd half, I think Howe had options .. not to change the offensive part of the game but to bring some aggression into the MF and try to disrupt Rodri and co.
I would’ve hooked isak who was out on his feet for lascelles around 70 and moved schar into MF to get some aggression and snap in there. A back 5 May have been too disruptive so I would’ve set up in a 4231 kind of thing with Gordon up top and almiron, miley longstaff alongside schar and guimaraes. I would also have looked at hall and krafth later on.
As I said Howe must see tweaks as sub-optimal and the best chance was to hang on with the starting 11.
Problem with that is not only has it not worked this season it’s also risking the high impact players down the line. The toons season does not hinge on the mancity game but the feb through May games
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
There have been a few games this season when one point is better than none.
Shrewd managers settle for the point in those situations so I agree with GoWest!Mag
Sometimes it’s best to park the bus especially late on, was surprised that De Bruyne was allowed so much space allowing him to run at the defence as he has proved what he can do in that situation many many times.
Bruno lucky not to get his marching orders his lack of discipline is ridiculous,
Joseph(Quote)
GoWest – I said I thought our midfield was dominated & of course they were – Rodri & Silva are arguably the best midfielders in the world at the moment – oh & then you add KDB 🤢.
But I thought Bruno & Miley were affective in periods of the game – particularly in the first half but over 90 mins yes they were outclassed.
Discussing it with my mate during & after the game with this suggestion we may have to sell to buy for FFP – I’m keeping Botman & Isak – but £100m for Bruno?!
I think we can replace what Bruno brings to the team & that money could really go some way to strengthening 🤷🏼♂️.
Love Bruno & love his energy, but he’s not integral to our team imo.
Sharpy17(Quote)
I understand the game management argument – but Gordon & Isak were both dead on their feet – there was on out & unless he committed to pretty much all out defence 11 men behind the ball – he had no option.
I’m not one of the throw the kids in & let them run round – but equally I don’t get the 2 keepers on the bench either. I would have had a young forward on the bench to make that switch for Isak – not perfect but better than 2 keepers.
Sharpy17(Quote)
What a kick in the nuts. There in a nutshell is what 115 breaches of FFP can get you. The difference was they had DeBruyne and a host of super stars to bring on and we had nobody. We played amazing in that first half.
Absolutely gutted that we couldn’t hold on. Poor officiating too on both sides.
That’s us down to 10th and likely 12th or 13th after next week.
Gilly Toon(Quote)
I think one of the bigger issues I have noticed happening more and more is the space left open in behind our mids and in front of our defence. As we get get tired the gap gets bigger and bigger.
Last season we were so compact and worked as one unit. This season , the mids are pushing up and the defenders aren’t moving with them. Or the mids are not working back hard enough. Either way we are not defending as a unit and we are allowing way too many pockets of space for our opponent to work in.
We need to sort it out. Villa will cut us apart otherwise.
Aussie(Quote)
100% spot lad somebody knows the game
icedog(Quote)
I know the club are saying we might have to sell to buy, but for me Isak, Botman and Gordon should be keep at all cost players.
I’d rather take a 10 point deduction than sell them!!.
Anyone else I could accept losing – that’s not to say I want to sell them, but I could accept it.
I know there is a generation that might think that would be a disaster but I’m of an age where I saw Andy Cole being sold to bring in Shearer.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Aye st least there was logic to selling cole. Try watching the club sell generational talent like gascoigne for fkin peanuts to bring in .. well .. nobody and the rationale of the current board makes sense
The only surprising thing about the ‘need to sell’ commentary is that some toon fans seem surprised it’s needed. The club have consistently referenced it since takeover.
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
GoWest – aye you win 😂
I was crushed losing Cole. Him & Pedro were just sensational together. I know we went on to sign Big Al, but there was always part of me wished you’d carried on with Cole 🤷🏼♂️.
But to lose Gazza, not replace him & then watch what his career did must have been devastating.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Talksport made a good point this morning. We could afford to lose Bruno more than we could afford to lose Ashworth at the mo 🤷🏼♂️.
Sharpy17(Quote)
lol .. aye I reread my post and it did come across as my present was worse than yours .. I was abit keyboard happy after a day watching the playoffs with Jack and Jim😉
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
GoWest – I took no offence to it mate. You only magnified the point I was trying to make in the first place – in that there will be a vein of fans who think this talk of having to sell one of our top players to be a disaster.
They will have formed a fondness for Bruno or Botman or Isak that causes them to see them as irreplaceable – like I did with Cole, and perhaps you did with Gazza (don’t want to put words in your mouth).
I like Bruno, but he couldn’t lace Rob Lees boots for me – who remains still one of my favourite NUFC players.
I put Bruno alongside Cabaye. Very good player, but not making my best NUFC 11 – not ahead of players like Lee, Speed & Batty that’s for sure.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Glad you mentioned speed, sharpy. My favourite toon memorabilia is a replica of his shirt
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
GoWest – I’ve got a signed Rob Lee & Bez shirt. The B&W asics one with the blue star – my personal favourite strip.
I met Speed a few times. What a player, but such a nice bloke – good looked get as well & dressed immaculate. Totally knocked me for six his passing coz I couldn’t get my head round how a bloke who on the face of it had it all could get to that & seemingly hide it so well.
I still don’t think the sport does enough for men’s mental health.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Just been watching Skys analysis of Forest & Everton breaches & potential punishments & have to say the PL have made an absolute farce of it all.
In short, had Forest sold Brendan Johnson at the beginning of the window for £35m they would be fine. But because they had out for their valuation of the player until the end of the window – meaning the sale happened outside of the PSR period – but the club sold the player for £47m.
How on earth can you have an end date for a PSR review part way through a transfer window???.
As for Everton’s, they have breached once. Off the back of the 10 point deduction there should have been a simple ‘this is where you need to get to’ – if they haven’t it should simply be a further immediate points deduction (or whatever agreed penalty).
There should be no need for a review.
But these are 2 clubs that are going through a period of trying to improve their chances of sustainability – one coming up to the PL and trying to stay there (and as messy as it might look, it seems to be working).
The other building a new stadium – which allow higher attendance & generate new revenue.
How dare they!!.
Meanwhile, Man City & Chelsea who have effectively bought trophies continue to go unpunished.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy, so agree with all that mate.
Think we sadly need to sell Bruno, not to a PL club though, none of them are doing us any favors right now, asking for stupid loan fees.
See Jose has parted way’s with Roma, press will have a field day now with linking him with us.🙄
kimtoon(Quote)
I’d have no issue with selling Bruno. Especially if we use the money wisely which I think the current owners will. West Ham sold Rice, Villa sold Grealish. There’s always another good midfielder out there …
Gilly Toon(Quote)
The Everton one surprised me unless it’s for a different period to the last points deduction
The forest one is not a surprise. To me they should be ok as they demonstrate they were trying to be profitable but held back by artificially defined transfer windows. Those windows have always seemed bonkers to me. Are transfer windows a uefa or a pl set of rules ??
I’m not sure conflating now and the mancity/ chelsea investigations is useful and there are loads of explanations including objective articles out there why the cases are different. To be clear I’m not defending either of them
Both mancity and Chelsea also deny wrongdoing whereas Everton ‘fessed up. i wouldn’t be surprised if both forest and Everton deny this charge, politely of course so they can show positive intent .. I would and call the pl’s bluff
I agree with some sort of control to prevent financial doping ( even if the toon are likely to be a big beneficiary without controls ) but the PSR rules whatever the original intent seem ( being polite) unbalanced .
With all the artificial constraints in professional football I can only see this ending up in court and a question is which one as this is about more than the English game
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
Gilly, there may even be a good MF at the toon already 🇮🇹 😉
More seriously, the point about selling carefully and trusting the club will invest wisely is a good one and i suspect in guimaraes’ case that’s what part of the protracted agreement on his latest contract involved.
I know social media isn’t a good sense environment ( apart from this blog of course 😁😁) but it’s funny watching the narrative flip from outraged anguish over a potential guimaraes sale to ‘let’s have a fire-sale’ of players mentality
The team are struggling right now but I do trust their process and approach to get it right.
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
I will be gutted to see Bruno go but we are in an impossible situation with injuries and this ffp so needs must.
Losing Joelinton now for the season will be a massive blow as we lose that grit without him imo.
As for FFP, I can see this being challenged in a court of law some time in the future as lots of clubs really upset by it now as it seriously restricts competition. There has to be a better way of making sure clubs can’t go bust than this restriction on trade.
Man city charges are not the same as those levelled at Everton I believe so maybe that’s why it’s taking longer as well as the fact there’s 115 of them !
kimtoon(Quote)
GoWest – that’s not entirely correct mate. Chelsea fest up when the new owners were buying the Club – there breaches were when Roman was owner & Uefa have already fined them, but the PL haven’t investigated yet.
City were also found guilty by UEFA but appeal & the decision was overturned- it was during that period the 115 breaches have been identified & not 1 brought forward yet.
But you are correct that it’s not the same breaches Forest & Everton have coughed to yesterday.
Sharpy17(Quote)
I agree with Kim – as long as Bruno isn’t sold to a PL side & we get a good deal then I’d be ok selling him.
I like the lad but I don’t think he’s as integral to the team as Botman, Isak or Gordon. I think he’s as popular because of the way he stirs up the crowd – but in terms of his output as a player, I think he’s probably quite easily replaced if I’m being harsh about it.
£100m seemed unrealistic once over but you look at Rice, and the 2 Chelsea lads and the figure becomes highly likely – especially if it’s true the deal is broken down to 3 x £32m payments.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Based on the fact Howe tends to hold new recruits back – Bruno, Isak, Gordon, will we get a loan player he feels is ready to have an impact in the team straight away.
Do we look to use Hall in midfield, or maybe Ritchie even?!. Do we look to develop young Joe White – or what about Hayden?! He was once decent alongside Longstaff under Rafa.
I suggest this only as a short term fix to a midfield problem that hopefully isn’t far away from seeing the likes of Anderson and Willock back in the not too distance future.
Not ideal at all but no way do I want to see us waste £7m on Phillips only for him to sit out coz he’s not fit enough.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy, I really ain’t arsed about Phillips at that price, it’s Jesse all over again isn’t it. **** the manc clubs, look elsewhere.
kimtoon(Quote)
What puzzles me is Isaac Hayden. He was a very player for us at times in a position where we need cover. He’s not that old and he’s our player and back with us, albeit briefly if we believe the press. He surely would be good enough for our bench and with some Eddie training could even find his form with us again. He was a solid defensive midfielder and whilst he may not be at the level we want, he’s still better than many and better than putting kids in. Not sure why we aren’t going to use him.
Gilly Toon(Quote)
Gilly – when you look at Lascelles, Murphy, Longstaff, Krafth to name a few – I think Howe could certain work with him & add him to the squad for the rest of this season – who knows, he could even add a few million to his value 🤷🏼♂️
Sharpy17(Quote)
no surprises at all I’m wrong about PSR 🤣🤣
Onto football .. aaah that’s better..
Have the club ever offered anything but the usual ‘we like him’ platitudes about Phillips??
I concur that while being far from ideal it feels like there may be options to make changes and Howe has two weeks to prep the team so a bit of breathing space
Whatever Howe does, Introducing lots of changes into the team (which still looks fragile in confidence ) brings risk so juggling regulars may be more likely.
No one has mentioned livramento ( assuming he’s fit) in mf and hall was mostly recognised as a MF player by Chelsea
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
Kim – I suspect when Phillips went there he expected to get more game time. I think he bought into the hype – but the fact they were playing CBs in his position last season & then bought 2 players that play his position in the summer & he still decided to stay – total lack of self ambition.
Pep has made it perfectly clear he doesn’t feature in his plans so the fact we’re half way through the window & Phillips hasn’t pushed a move says it all really
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy Agree, mate.
On Hayden, he was always the consummate pro for us, even when family issues meant he needed to be away from NE he still played well and gave his all. He may not be our long term answer but you know you can trust him to do a job.
kimtoon(Quote)
I’m seeing a lot of new names for people writing articles for this site. Hope that’s good news for Olly & he’s getting a bit of a break & able to focus on the stuff he wants to.
But it would be nice if they can bring some new posters as well – or dare I say, maybe post themselves now and again too.
We’ve got a great little group on here but it would be nice to get conversations flowing & some differing points of view
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy, There a community regularly posting on articles away from the main chat article and I occasionally post to them where possible with my toast and coffee
Those articles are bit hit and miss; eg I like the “five players the toon can consider” type of thing but ignore the “media / ex-manger clowns says stuff about the toon” type of thing
Anyone interested in what it’s like supporting the toon from afar as my local club are looking at ways to promote ??
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
https://youtu.be/-ju7aXHicAQ?si=bDwJQXTQnFOM4M0X
Really like this lad and his analysis of NUFC. I think he’***** the nail on the head again – and interestingly when he talks about the role Phillips would take up I could absolutely see Tonali being that player had he not been suspended.
I’m still not sure Phillips is the right player for us – fitness & fee mainly, but I can well imagine it being a priority to try and get someone in Jan even if that’s the only addition.
Sharpy17(Quote)
FFT is a top channel and naturally I cherry pick the toon articles.
I liked that AC didn’t just talk about the problems in a defensive sense, which is obviously where most of the conversation is focussed, but showed what Phillips offers in attack. A purely defensive ‘6’ risks reducing the teams effectiveness
Phillips could offer alternatives if he’s at the right level( doubtful) and makes an immediate impact (also doubtful)
Wether the club pursue him more fully should also be an indication on how they view the rest of this season
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
GoWest – I think that was going to be Tonalis role in the team though. When he was describing what Phillips would bring and the areas he’s good at over the midfielders we currently have I bet Tonalis stats would be more in line with Phillips than Bruno (I don’t know that for certain to be fair).
Sharpy17(Quote)
Yup sharpy I concur the plan seemed to be to play Tonali/ Guimaraes in tandem. Add miley to that and it’s why I commented that longstaff’s upgrade is already at the club recently.
So, it makes sense if the club are reluctant to spend so much money on Phillips as a stop gap player for this season. That may have been different if they were still in the CL or competitive to qualify again.
Time will tell if that tandem is still the plan or indeed if the players are still at the club
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
With the unsurprising news covered in other articles on players asking for more money when renewing contracts and interest in players from other clubs on top of Eales ‘player trading’ message, is it time to open our minds on the summer window
The club developed nicely over the last couple years and needed the investment to do so to get to an upper mid level team. The pixie dust that took them to the CL last year was Howe. Do the club including Howe now need to mature their thinking and adjust to kickstart the next phase.
The type of trading options sharpy outlines on the trippier article, for example, may be the type of invention Howe recently talked about rather than the lazy ‘sell longstaff, Almiron, Wilson’ guff prevelant among the fanbase
Id be sad to see either trippier or joelinton go and Howe seems to have so much faith in Trippier, that one maybe unlikely but for a young highly rated defender, why not??
While the academy may not be able to offer many options for trading yet the model used by West Ham with rice and villa with grealish may be one route not to mention the money Chelsea rake in on their academy players
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
GoWest – I think the squad is stronger with Tonali – or will be after the suspension, but Longstaff still needs upgrading imo.
Miley may well be that upgrade.
As for the Trippier deal. I think the world of Trips – he is a class above imo & the fact he came to NUFC when we needed him, I’ll always be grateful. He’s without question the best RB I’ve seen at the club.
But hes the wrong side of 30 & will be out of our side in the not too distance future anyway.
I don’t think he’s past it by any means, but maybe over that Christmas period he has shown signs that the congestion of fixtures in the PL is too much – he’s not alone by the way.
He’s a big presence in the team & in the dressing room so it’s a difficult one. I don’t see him becoming a Ritchie or Dummett type squad player – I think he’d expect to play.
If we could do a deal with Bayern – a slow league where Trips would win league medals.
If we could swap him for one of their players or get a fee that would allow us the cash to bring in a player we needed more urgently – it makes sense.
We have Tino to go straight in & we have Krafth – we also bought Ashby.
So maybe, as difficult as it is to suggest – maybe it’s time to cash in on an ageing Trippier while we can get some money back for him.
Sharpy17(Quote)
When you mentioned kimmich I looked him up;
Joshua Walter Kimmich (German pronunciation: [ˈjoːzu̯aː ˈkɪmɪç]; born 8 February 1995) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or right-back for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team.
It Just looks like a considered option and the recruitment team are very smart. He also fits Howe’s adaptability profile. Questions ?? Yes definitely but Let’s see
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
The beauty for Villa & WH was that Grealish & Rice were pure profit – Grealish an academy product & WH picked Rice up on a free.
I’m not sure how often that happens, but if you look at another £100m midfielder in Caicedo – who I know probably isn’t worth that but Brighton aren’t arguing.
Brighton bought him for around £20m I believe & were able to turn a huge profit on him in a short space of time – and clearly haven’t missed him one bit.
That’s where we need to get to as a club – you’d hope Ashworth will have some influence as he did at Brighton. Then it’s down to the scouts as I feel confident Howe & his coaches can develop them & increase their valuation.
I’m not sure how well that process has started so far. Yes Minteh may go on to be one of those players – only £8m so even if he can be developed to a £30-40m player it’s a tidy profit.
But I’m less confident with players like Kuol who seems to have been abandoned.
I was raving about Gyökeres at Coventry last season. He was sold for £20m in the summer – Chelsea have just had a £75m bid knocked back for him.
That said, I wasn’t thinking of buying to turn a profit, I saw the kid as a great fit in our side – with a view of taking a fee for an ageing, injury prone Wilson.
We need to develop our own youngsters but we also need a scouting network that can poach the talent from other clubs too.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Kuol has been a bit unlucky.
The hearts and then volendam loans have gone south, at least in part, because the managers when he joined those clubs lost their job soon after and at volendam at least, other coaches did too. Both those clubs are well regarded for developing talent.
I have no idea on the rules of loans to cut them short but judging by the discussion around minteh it doesn’t sound easy
I saw the stories about gyokeres and thought back to your advocacy of him last season
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
GoWest – it’s a difficult one isn’t it, especially at their ages. I’m not sure if they were sent out on loan due to issues with work visas or whatever that red tape is.
For the loaning club there should be a review because the coach you think is developing your player has now changed – but then if that allowed us to take the player back then how’s that fair for the new coach coz he can’t loan another player until the next window – it is what it is I guess.
Yeah I like to ‘scout’ the Championship mate. Not a bad record either having called it with Watkins, Bowen, Pedro & Gyokeres so far. My pick this season was/is Summerville at Leeds.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy, man you need to be joining nixon and co on barrack road😁
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
GoWest – nee money in that mate, I need to get in touch with these boys & become their agents man 😂
Sharpy17(Quote)
👍👍
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
I can understand people being concerned & disappointed by the idea of Trippier leaving – but I wonder if people forget he’s 34 this year?!.
He’s still a top class player, of course he is – Bayern wouldn’t be wanting him if he wasn’t. But he’s not the long term is he?! – and I think Howe has to remember that too.
I know he’s loyal, but that can’t be to the detriment of the the future of his team.
The price has to be right obviously, and for me we shouldn’t let him go until we have a player lined up to bring in in place of him – I don’t mean RB – probably MF where we need that cover.
But if letting Trips go meant we could balance the books & keep the likes of Bruno, Botman & Isak – I wouldn’t be happy to see him go, but I’d probably see it as the lesser of all evils.
Sharpy17(Quote)
So apparently Tripps is keen on the move, but now apparently they are saying it’s a loan so we won’t get much up front even if an obligation to buy.
kimtoon(Quote)
Testing
Shamrock(Quote)
Atletico in for Wilson now…
Shamrock(Quote)
Kim – everyone is talking FFP for the fees we’ve paid out but maybe there is money to buy but we are tight on the wages budget 🤷🏼♂️.
Trips is only behind Isak on wages apparently so loaning him out may free the wage bill up to loan a midfielder in ourselves 🤷🏼♂️.
I don’t see Wilson going anywhere. We are ok for RBs but have no cover up top so he’s staying put I reckon.
It’s all speculation at the minute isn’t it, but I have to say I trust Eales & Ashworth.
We all thought £40m for Tino was quite a big fee for a lad who’d not played much football – maybe that was all part of a bigger plan knowing if they had to move anyone on Trippier would be a ‘sellable’ assist they would be prepared to let go if the deal was right.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy, that’s a good shout re wages. Be sad to see Tripps go he helped kick start our fightback. If he goes, he goes with a big thank you from me.
kimtoon(Quote)
Kim – it may be that he comes back.
Bayern are after a RB from PSG that they aren’t willing to let go. He may remain their target for the summer coz he’s only 26. So it may just be a short term thing that actually suits everyone.
As much as Trippier is a huge player for us we have such a depleted midfield, that we need to sacrifice one for the other.
Trips would go get a few medals with Bayern, we get the midfielder in we so desperately need & normal service resumes in the summer 🤷🏼♂️.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Just about to watch SU v WH and looking at that league is it fair to say those top 5 spots are probably out of react for us now??
6th is still very achievable though if we can keep players fit & get a few back in the next few weeks.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Neither Tripps nor Callum are part of our long term future, both are vital to our present. Would their fees give us the wiggle room to get who we need despite FFP. That is the equation to balance. If they go and are replaced with players for our future, our squad will be ahead of schedule. Also, I still haven’t ruled out Neves from Saudi
PremAndUp(Quote)
Another player that is usually the Andy Carroll of our more recent transfer windows and hasn’t seemed to be mentioned yet is Scott McTominay.
He wouldn’t be close to being my first choice, but I think he’s better than Longstaff in both his defensive play & his finishing.
He has around 18 month left on his contract (with a 1yr extension) and his wages are around £60k a week which would be in keeping with our squad.
He’s 27 and vastly experienced. I could absolutely see him in a Howe midfield – and I could see Howe making him a better player too.
Like I say, he’s far from my first pick but I do think he could bring something to our midfield that we are lacking.
Sharpy17(Quote)
By comparison Phillips wages are £150k per week with City. I don’t see him taking a drop in wages & honestly, i wouldn’t want him one of the best paid players at our club – I’m not sure he’d be THAT key a player to warrant that.
I also think if it was a straight choice between him & McTom – McTom would be a better fit imo.
To put the wages into a bit of perspective – Longstaff is on £50k per week.
Sharpy17(Quote)
If wages are an issue for FFP – and that’s just a suggestion/assumption
Then it’s mad to think Targett is on £100k per week.
We also have Ritchie on £45k, Dummett on £35k and Hayden on £22k per week.
Manquillo apparently has either gone or is on his way to Spain – he’s £35k per week.
If we can move Manq & Hayden on that frees up nearly £60k per week – but we are looking to give Joelinton a new contract & I imagine it won’t be long before they chat to young Miley as well.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Apparently joelinton is after a pretty big wage increase.
kimtoon(Quote)
Kim – Bruno is on £160k pw and the likes of Isak, Tonali & Trippier £120k. Joelinton currently on £80k pw so yeah, I’d imagine he’d want to be up there with Tonali & Isak at least.
Manquillo leaving so there’s £35k of it made up at least.
Sharpy17(Quote)
*** these winds are crazy here, my daughter stuck at Berlin airport flight home cancelled will lose earnings tomorrow. Hoping to get 6am flight to stansted then coach.
kimtoon(Quote)
She only went for a 2 night break too.😒
kimtoon(Quote)
Just seen a Ryanair flight Manchester to Dublin diverted to Paris, which may be further diverted to Cologne!
Shamrock(Quote)
Big jet tv live was awesome last night. Plane jenga over stansted and Manchester to dublin flight in the air for hours ending up in Paris! others gone back to where they started after hours in the air.
My daughter now leaves Berlin at 9.30 tonight 24 hours later than planned.
kimtoon(Quote)
Manquillo to Celta Vigo is now confirmed … good luck to him.
Gilly Toon(Quote)
Miggy linked away to Saudi now
kimtoon(Quote)
Miggy to Saudi doing the rounds now! All players linked with exits this week have no long term future at the club, so it’s obvious what the club is trying to do.
Shamrock(Quote)
As an aside, this platform is a bit outdated now for chatting footy. Anybody interested in setting up a WhatsApp group or similar?
Shamrock(Quote)
I think you can also set up a private group chat in twitter, which may be better?
Shamrock(Quote)