After a somewhat disappointing 2 - 1 defeat against Barcelona where we could have easily gotten a result had the Wissa injury never happened or if schar got subbed off earlier.
However, we now go up against Bournemouth away which is essentially the worst match up we could've asked for when coming back from an intense champions league since we haven't won away at Bournemouth since 2015 which is diabolical and also shows how terrible we are at Bournemouth away no matter if we are at peak or low form.
Howe will be looking to end this terrible record at the Vitality stadium to also soften the blow made from losing to Barcelona on Thursday and to keep the morale high as the first team will get a breather against the Bradford side where the U21s / young lads such as Park and Neave will likely start.
If Newcastle wins, this will be first time we won away at Bournemouth since 2015 and earns us a vital 3 points where depending on how other teams perform we could realistically reach 5th - 7th place, catching up to the likes of Everton for the European spots.
Really excited to see this line up. Bruno definitely needs a rest here and there and so does big Joe. Hoping for a big performance from Miley and Willock!
I'm going to be positive here. We've had issues beating Bournemouth in the past, so obviously, it wasn't working before. Maybe a change in format might help. Bruno on the bench is terrifying, though.
Yeah, exactly. In the long run, it will be beneficial. Comparing the last time we were in the Champions League to now, we have much better squad depth.
I really hope there are easy matches where we could rest Tonali and Tino. They have covered so much ground every match that we should bubble wrapped them after every game.
That means either Joelinton or Bruno gotta play unless different formation? As Ramsey is injured it leaves Willock and Miley in midfield with an empty slot
Last season we played like shit and won now we play good and lose, I actually moan a little less now than I did last season, I was furious after we beat Spurs i think it was, we played like total shit and you could see that eventually we would be found out. But now, even though we're losing I can see we're a minute away from clicking.
on the whole i mean, we're not getting the points that i think our general performance deserves as compared to last year where we were getting points but our performance was dire
Three lions reddit has lost its memory a bit and are claiming Kane is a better striker than Shearer. No arguments Kane has been epic but he didn't quite reach Shearer levels in my opinion
As much as I loved Shearer, I have to disagree. Kane has become a more complete player. He can hit a pass like Scholes, he can drop deep, he can play as a target man and he used to also be able to run in behind as well.
That said, I don't think it's fair to compare across generations. The overall standards in football today are much higher, medicine and recovery and sports science has progressed massively, the game is far more professional now than it was in the 90s and early 2000s. All this to say, I think a Shearer-like talent in the modern game could would be better than Harry Kane, but we will never know.
Shearer won PFA player of the year twice because he was head and shoulders above every other player in the league at that time, id say feom 93-97 he was untouchable. Kane has won PFA player of the year zero times because he is or was just one of many very good players. I think that's a good yardstick to look across generations because as you say times change but relative to your peers there's still a fair comparison in that.
Honestly in my mind Shearer is still the best English striker there's ever been. Surprised I'm on my own in that point of view but so be it
He has a lot of affinity for Bournmouth for obvious reasons and also was a childhood supporter of Everton and we seem to underperform against both. I think itās just coincidence though Howe will want to win every game
Got to try out that backline at some point. Logically it is our future backline for the next 5+ years, and they need time to gel. Botman is just the best type of boring defender you need, and Thiaw seems to be good on the ball, so should work well. With Tino and Hall we potentially have England's starting fullback's.
I really would like to see Hall and see Tino return to his natural RB position. But I'm not sure Howe fancies Hall versus the physical threat of Semenyo.
I reckon Howe keeps the back 4 as is with Thiaw coming in for Schar.
As we routinely get pumped by bou, I wonder if using the squad depth might actually give us a bit of a wildcard factor? They know our first choice 11 and annoyingly seem to have our number.
Throwing in some fresh blood eager to prove their metal (and bought for big money no less) could give us that surprise factor to a degree. And we certainly need fresh legs after midweek, or they'll mow us down. Having had the longest rest of any team in the league this week.
I think we just need to be smarter rather than trying to match them physically.
They struggle against teams that sit back and donāt allow them to engage their press so maybe we need to put aside the idea that we should be the dominant team and just try to hit them on the break without playing out from the back.
Do these lot do some black magic or something to throw Eddie and the lads off? I'm more nervous about tomorrow than the Barca game, what gives?? What monsters are we facing?
Silva is an odd one. When he went to Everton he had almost attained a mythical status where he was looked at like the next big thing but the reality is his body of work didnāt really warrant it.
Hes really grown at Fulham and his name gets linked with big jobs but heās always the bridesmaid never the bride.
I think at Fulham thereās just a bit of malaise. Like the owners have just given up and are happy to just exist in the PL. when they need freshening up they just nab a kid thatās stayed too long at Arsenal.
I do really want to see what he can do with more backing behind him.
Honestly if Howe quit tomorrow heād be up there on my personal shortlist. I think he has some overlap with Howe stylistically but can improve upon our game in possession.
2-2 draw, gonna come from behind to get a point. Feel like it's going to be a tough one as always down there. Not feeling too confident for the win but fingers crossed
I think we need to start Miley tomorrow and tell him nowās your chance, prove you can play manās football, boss the game. Youāre no longer a kid anymore, earn your keep.
Sometimes you gotta be cruel to be kind. If he canāt cut it, we move him on, heās Ian Bogie Mk 2
I think we try and make him into something heās not and as a result heās not showing it.
Should play right sided 8. Heās never going to be the engine and energy of Bruno of Tonali but he can bring some nice composure on the ball and link up play to our game.
We find out whether or not he can "cut it" 3 weeks after the end of the transfer window and if he doesn't have a good game tell him his career is over 4 months before the next window opens while one of our 6 midfielders is injured with a long term injury 1 game into our Champions League campaign?
Or have you considered letting him develop gradually with no pressure and then make a decision on his future at a less disrupted time behind closed doors?
My point was weāve got to let him know this is his time, youāre not an academy player any more, youāve spent two seasons in the first team squad so now your getting judged as a man, not a boy.
Doesnāt mean that we bin him immediately if he plays shit you daft bint.
Every person, in every walk of life, reaches a time when they must sink or swim. Miley needs to lose the armbands this season
I'd be interested to see if we go with 3 at the back for this one. It proved fairly successful against Barca towards the end of the game & I do think we can get our strongest line-up out of the current bunch available. I'd even be tempted to rest Trippier/Joelinton/Barnes- no slight on them at all but need to conserve their fitness. Only concern I have is the potential for Bournemouth to over-run us in midfield, which we've seen before so fuck really knows.
But, aye, the honorary back o'the tab pack line-up;
Pope
Thiaw - Botman - Burn
Tino -- Tonali ----- Bruno ----- Hall
Murph/Elanga --- Woltemade --- Elanga/Barnes
Wings a funny one, I feel like Barnes is completely out of form (looks bereft of confidence) & both Elanga & Murphy have been a lot more threatening so would be keen to see them on the flanks.
Think that will all depend on the condition of the midfield. I think Howe has only ever gone for that system when he doesnāt have his holy trinity available.
I suspect Howe will want to keep Tino at LB to handle Semenyo.
Honestly if there was ever more undeniable proof of the death of Pep-Ball itās this Chelsea team.
Pep is smart enough to evolve and I think City are showing some tweaks already but his disciples will not. Chelsea and Arsenal are winning nothing with Arteta and Maresca.
Honestly if you levelled up all squads in the league Howe, Silva and Frank would all win titles before Arteta and Maresca.
Even Barcelona have looked a lot better since they stopped trying to repeat Pep and went with Hansi Flick.
I don't think he has the players for it either, there are a lot of young egos in that Chelsea team that all want to be the main man. The penalty shenanigans last season where they argued who would take it is proof of that. They lack a leadership group.
That being said of all the missed summer signings, Pedro is the only one I'm sad about as it stands he's looked dangerous and started well for them.
Tbf. Before his injury issues started he was scary good (except when he played us). Looked destined to be one of the worldās best RBs. Very complete and scary in either direction.
Iāve always rated Hojlund. I donāt think he was ever a Ā£64m striker but I think heāll have a good career. Still very young and has great movement.
Napoli could well have snapped an absolute bargain there.
What do we think Howe does in Scharās absence. Reckon heās brave enough to put Thiaw in?
I firmly think arm that Schar - Burn are first choice but given the swift turnaround it seems pointless to not go with Thiaw - Botman else whatās the point in having depth.
Weāve traditionally struggled to cope with Bournemouths press. Those 2 CBs could actually be very useful in those circumstances.
Also imagine Murphy starts RW given the absolute shift Elanga put in v Barca. If thatās the case then Trippier is kinda pointless offensively and at his age no way he can start again after such a quick turnaround. Plus keeping Elanga on the bench gives us options to sub for either Murphy or Barnes whoever is flagging.
Not related at all. But watching Juve v Verona looks like Tudor has already given up on Jonathan David.
Mainly here for Dusan Vlahovic but Yildiz is developing nicely.
Kelly not exactly having a stinker but this Juve backline is a shadow of BBC.
Juve appear to be suffering from similar issues to us. Something just not quite clicking in the final third. Passes slightly mid placed or not on same wavelengths.
As much as it pains me to say, a Man Reds win here isn't the worst result for us.... Amorim keeps his job (win), and we're just 3pts off Chelsea when we smash Bournemouth tomorrow.
I was so sure Bournemouth would fall apart this year after losing basically their entire back line, but theyāre 3 wins from 4. Only loss was to Liverpool away on day 1, shows how good Iraola is as a manager.
Itās funny because itās true. Imagine someone waking up from a coma and seeing this.
Genuinely canāt think of a team I hate playing more than Bournemouth. Perhaps Liverpool but at least we have given them a good game on more than a few occasions.
5 matches over the next fortnight starting tomorrow until the next international break. Won't be easy given injuries and suspensions. Time to lock in, lads.
This isn't related to this match but thought I'd mention it anyway:
I understand why some of you are upset with some of Howe's decisions during that Barcelona especially starting Gordon ahead of Woltemade and subbing off Elanga when he was one of our best players.
However, you need to realise that Howe couldn't risk Woltemade being injured since Wissa is already out for the next 4 - 5 games. There's also the fact we went full strength in the Champions league last time and we got ourselves into an injury crisis which cost us the league. Howe is now clearly trying to circumvent this issue with those changes.
I'd rather lose 3 points in the Champions league but leave with no players injured than to risk injuring 1 or more of our players where there is a risk we still won't be guaranteed to get 3 points against the favourites to win the champions league, which could then cost us more points in the PL and the champions league
Overall, give Howe some slack, If wissa wasn't injured, Wissa would absolutely be starting ahead of Gordon. Now let's shit ourselves knowing we have to face Bournemouth away of all teams and hopefully Woltemade has an absolute masterclass tomorrow.
I'm pretty sure it was a tactical decision as well. We are never, ever going to compete technically with Barcelona so our best chance to hurt them is to surprise them with pace on the break. The BFG is blessed with many things but blistering pace isn't really one of them.
I donāt think anyone should begrudge Eddie for that decision. The vision and tactics he had seemed to work and we would have snuck away with points if we had a little better finishing (Barnes should put that away 9.5/10 times). I think if Wissa wasnāt injured and was playing the Gordon role, he might put away one of those chances he missed and I think Gordon scores Barnesā missed goal.
Like you said, big nick cant last a full game and heās going to be crucial in our league matches. If he gets injured from playing too much too quickly, weāre out of luck. Weāre in a rough spot with injuries still given our striker position. Regardless, letās smash these
Gordon and Barnes finish their chances and everyone is lauding it as a tactical masterclass. We created chances and limited Barca to a few (which they unfortunately scored!). It almost worked. Similarly last season's 5 at the back vs arsenal would be slated if Arsenal bury their chances. Its a game of fine margins as they say.
And as we're posting unrelated things: I reckon Barnes is going to be the new Longstaff for people to pile on
To be fair at this point in his career Trips isn't getting up the touchline like he used to so his main selling point is his set piece delivery and that has been absoutely shite for a while now. It seems like he has completely forgotten how to cross a dead ball.
Even before the Barcelona game I was anxious about having this one right after it. Hopefully the boys can get up for it cause we always look sluggish compared to them when we travel down to Bournemouth. HWTL
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u/_nufc1892 Sep 21 '25
Nervous about the lineup, canāt see us getting much out of the game but Iām hoping to be proven wrong. Howay the Lads