They're a good side, at this moment in time a very good side, but I still feel, more than anything else, that it's the novelty of a new manager that is having a stabilising effect on the team's morale - after Bingo's sudden departure had almost derailed everything.
Slopp has come in and appears to have had a calming influence on the team, with the result that they are a far more cohesive unit than they were under the Colgate king and his 100 miles per-hour hoofball. But like all teams they have their frailties and they can be exploited. He's only been there a few months and there is a long way to go before we can make a judgment. But so far, they're doing what they have to do to clock up the points. Fair play to them for that.
But I still do not rate vain Dick as highly as many others do. He was at fault for two of the goals last night when he was slow to react to what was happening. Had they not had Salah up the other end the Geordies would have won that game, of that I'm sure.
We'll have a better idea when the transfer window opens and we've seen who's bought who and who's gone where, but so far I've seen nothing to fear from either the dippers or anyone else in the top echelons of the Premier League.
