Shola - Comments

That's the thing. Ashley is rightly hated, but some god awful owners have somehow found their way into English football in recent years and completely ruined clubs.

If you get good, sensible new owners with a bit of money, and keep Rafa, you'll be on the up.

Elsewhere, WBA 1-0 up at Leicester. Why did they give Shakespeare the job permanently.....

Anyone remember playing these http://web.archive.org/web/20120421061334/http://sortitoutsi.net:80/forum/topic/52994-guess-the-intro/

In what sense? Just because he doesn't connect? what sort of fucking rule is that?

So Ritchie didn't get sent off why?

Replacing Gylfi and an injured Llorente with Sanches and Bony isn't too bad!

Whereas Newcastle just shifted people out on loan?

Well... clearly the West Ham fans I read suggesting their team would provide an easy obstacle to overcome for teams in need of wins and goals turned to be correct.

Very satisfying to get off the mark after the misery this week has mainly been made up of.

That we were poor and thoroughly deserved the points underlines just how awful Newcastle were as an attacking force. They seem to be a side who get organised defensively, but then don't do any work in the week on actually scoring goals, relying on individuals doing stuff rather than having an actual plan. Then fall over, whinge a lot, fling themselves into poor tackles and complain when things don't go their way (I can think of an overrated one-footed diminutive Scotsman who fits the description perfectly). We won't get an easier three points this season - if we'd actually been at the races, we'd have taken them to pieces. As it was, we imposed our identity on one passage of play and scored an utterly glorious goal. 14 passes, 9 men involved, quick change of pace at the end and a sumptuous finish.

Hmmmm... like last week, did alright without threatening in the first half and fell to shit straight after half-time and didn't look like recovering. Which was understandable in the context of Shelvey's idiocy last week, but less so in this one.

Gonna be a bit of a chore of a season I fear.

The Premier League has been getting out of control since about 2014, but this year has taken the cake. Sigurdsson probably is worth that figure to Swansea because they wouldn't have stayed up without his goals and assists last season, but it is still outrageously over the top for Everton to fork that out. Feels weird to say Everton are overspending from wealthy owners, mind - got a bit used to Bill Kenwright saying they were skint or almost always having Barclays knocking at the door for repayments.

As for the Mags have signing Joselu, its a curious one that a not insubstantial quantity of Stoke fans seem to think he's their best striker given he's barely played for them and spent last year out on loan. But it still feels like we're continuing the weird cavalcade of "eh, might come good" signings that have already turned up this year, though least he seems to have joined for less than half the £12million figure banded around last week.