Number 1 - Comments

So Newcastle weren't willing to spend something like £18M for Salomon Rondon but were willing to buy Joelinton for £35-40M despite him grabbing less than 10 Bundesliga goals last season... I feel like I'm missing some logic.

I mean, if it comes off, great, and I suppose the net cost is relatively low as its reinvesting the cash from the Ayoze Perez sale but this feels like an odd signing.

I liked the Paddy Power video initially having a dark blue change kit with 110 Paddy Power logos on the front. That would've been bold to try out. Actual kit as is looks pretty nice.

Certainly better than Stevenage, which I'm guessing their fans wish by this point was a spoof.

I think a lot of the big name saw a highly respected La Liga/Champions League winner in Benitez not getting anything out of Ashley and later say that he got little contact or support from on high and thought "Fuck that".

To me, it looks like the club has learned nothing from the Steve McClaren farce, of appointing a "Head Coach" happy to just be in the PL with a club with a big stadium and lots of fans, and spending big money purely to buy their own chosen players, such is stuff like the current heavy rumours of £35M for Joelinton, whose record for Hoffenheim looks pretty mediocre, yet refusing to pay WBA £16M for Rondon.

Bruce might have been OK if it was 2004, when I think he turned the job down, some 2 years before he got relegated with Birmingham. Does feel like the game has moved on though. If he does well, great, but I don't feel excited.

Looked real to me given they wore it yesterday, assuming the EFL/FA don't get involved - I didn't know there was a maximum sponsor size allowance on football shirts but on prominence alone, it looks beyond what's acceptable. Its bad enough that - and I counted this - something like 25 bookies sponsored teams or leagues last season without something so huge standing so proudly.

And yet oddly I didn't think of it as hideous as Stevenage's new Burger King kits.

Saw a quote from a popular NUFC fan site going "Perhaps they've got a manager with promotion to the top flight on his CV 1 year in advance"

I was expecting a downgrade from Benitez and downgrade is what we have, complete with the fact we have to pay Sheffield Wednesday about as much compensation we got for Pardew, and they might not end the story here either.

Not happening - he just declared he's not interested in returning to management just yet. Also didn't buy the Mourinho rumour even before he said he wants more than just challenging for top 10 rather than trophies.

Benitez officially confirmed as leaving Newcastle when his deal expires on Sunday. Not a surprise. Its been faintly clear for a while Ashley didn't want to give him what he wanted even though he would've been willing to stay.

Roll on Mark Hughes, Gary Monk or some other downgrade and a season I'll be glad to see the back of.

I presume for the next round of PL auctions that Amazon might try their luck for more if this initial burst is a success. But I don't really know how many people who don't already access to AP will wanna sign up just to see 2 rounds of games. And I say that aware Boxing Day is still a bit of a lucrative window.

Having looked at our fixtures, I'm bemused the PL is giving Newcastle a slightly different version of last season. Again tis a North London opponent at home on day 1 followed by a trip to a promoted side, plus 5 of the top 6 by the end of October, a bogey ground away day on Boxing Day, and away to Brighton followed by home to Liverpool as part of the season end. Feels oddly unimaginative. Though I guess the bigger issue is the continuing bemusement as to who's going to be running the joint given the questions over Rafa and Ashley that are still unanswered at this moment.

The fixtures for the new season came out today, so seems appropriate to have this ready for 8 weeks time when it all goes off again.

Opening run:

Friday August 9
Liverpool v Norwich (Sky)

Saturday August 10
West Ham v Man City (BT Sport)
Bournemouth v Sheffield United
Burnley v Southampton
Crystal Palace v Everton
Leicester v Wolves
Watford v Brighton
Spurs v Aston Villa (Sky)

Sunday August 11
Newcastle v Arsenal (Sky)
Man Utd v Chelsea (Sky)

Its a hello to VAR and Amazon Prime for this season as well for the first time... could keep things interesting.

Didn't watch it but I did gather a tournament of some ludicrous games leading up to the final delivered a tournament decider that fell way short of expectations.

Still not sure about the handball, even if I'm aware VAR requires a harsher interpretation of the rules around it.

Assuming we're still owned by MA, maybe when he's 35, available on a free and wants a final payday.

My natural cynicism means I'm not expecting this week's "Newcastle takeover" rumour to go anywhere.

I think a few people will look at the sequence in Jan-March with the draws against Leicester, West Ham, Man Utd and Everton, and point out a win in any one of those 4 would've got Liverpool the title. But even so, if someone else is not just winning every single game but almost metronome-like in picking up points every week, there's not much you can really do other than try to keep up.

Hell, when Newcastle beat City in January, I thought they would drop points at least one more time. 18 wins from 19, with that game in January as the only blot, is a fantastic run. They're just phenomenal at what they do and its something Liverpool would have needed to go near-unbeaten to top it. Though I bet some will still wonder "what if John Stones had been a few millimetres more behind the line".

Meanwhile, its something that Brighton have acted quickly. I like Hughton and I do agree its a bit mean that dismissal is the effective thanks for hauling them from a Championship relegation battle to back-to-back seasons in the Prem with a third in the diary and the FA Cup semis. But given there was 3 wins in 23, evidence none of the new signings were really working and signs the fans had turned, especially after the home surrenders to Bournemouth and Cardiff, I don't think a sacking was unexpected.

Its something that Liverpool picked up a points total higher than any other PL winners apart from Man City last season and Man City this year. The well dones have to go to City tbf - 198 points in 2 PL seasons and over 200 goals is a phenomenal achievement.

Its extraordinary that we're in a position where we have to decide which of Liverpool and Spurs was the more improbable comeback. Ridiculous and highly entertaining week.

Totally. Seems to not just be an L2 thing tbf - in League One, Scunthorpe, Southend and Plymouth all got top half finishes last year, with Scunny even in the play-offs, and all 3 were at the bottom end of the ridiculously tight drop battle, with Plymouth and Scunthorpe going down.

And indeed - they didn't get the result. Sol Campbell does deserve credit for somehow dragging a Macclesfield side looking destined for a swift return to non-league and in big financial trouble over the line, but its still crazy Notts County have fucked up so badly that they've got to that point.

Yeovil going after 16 years is mad enough, especially given how much it went to shit after the Championship and so quickly, but the very real prospect of Notts County dropping out after being Football League ever presents since the 1888-89 original is total lunacy.

Obviously its been a while since the last posts here but blimey there's been some utterly crazy games in the Champions League this season, even before the sheer lunacy Man City and Spurs came up with last night.

Maybe that's just it - I didn't realise they were that reliant on loanees in 2017-18 until I looked at their squad, and clearly the replacements weren't up to snuff.

Oddly I said at the start of the thread I thought they'd done better than Wolves. Which clearly shows I know nothing. But then maybe its just the case the Wolves manager had more of an idea of how to make a team out of his own big money signings, and none of Jokanovic, Ranieri or Parker did.

While I'm narked we lost yesterday, it does feel that the relegation battle could be over quickly. Cardiff's next two of Burnley and Brighton away feel for them like win or bust games.

Well... that pre-season prediction Fulham and their £100m+ splurge would ensure they would finish clear of danger fell very wide of the mark.

Yeah I agree choosing to catch rather than punch was the wrong call.

Oh well - we bounced back from that kick in the nads and the one at Spurs the week before with a good win yesterday. Given we were winless in November, we're in a pretty good position with relation to everyone else. Hopefully it continues against Burnley on Tuesday, even if that's not exactly going to be a cakewalk.

Huddersfield do look pretty screwed, mind. Maybe after Smith's red and hitting the post/bar 4 times, anything less than a win would've been pretty painful.

I really can't tell if Dubravka was fouled or not - looked like one in real time but there seems to be doubt either way. Don't think it helps Boly has hands in such a place that it could be seen as one.

Not really sure beating you guys in the replay was worth an immediate defeat and all of 2 shots deemed worthy of inclusion on the BBC extended highlight reel.

What a mess.

A replay... eurgh.

Well that was tedious.

Well... that didn't go well.

Take what we can get really. There may be some questions asked about us being second best and having about 25% possession against a Huddersfield side missing several key players, but clearly, we made our game-plan work for us as we're 3 points better off. And Christ that was necessary after the slap in the face Wolves gave us.

I do wonder if certain players in our team would get games at any other PL club. Surely we can aspire to better options in the full back slots than Yedlin and Manquillo at least.

3 straight wins, have more possession and shots against an injury hit West Ham side, lose 3-0...

Isn't football wonderful.

Seeing official confirmation of the tragic news from Leicester does not make it any easier to hear about. Its an appalling situation for all concerned.