Newcastle United (a) pre-match thread

[Deleted member 77198]

Completely agree, our early shortcomings in Europe were pretty much down to Toure playing at the base and teams making sure he couldn't come short and turn on the ball.

Funnily enough, it was Klopp's Dortmund who first opened my eyes to that Achilles heel.

I'd agree Foden can certainly solve a multitude of problems straight away, although it would seem there is even sentiment from Pep towards Silva playing as often as he still does.

I'd also argue that Kevin is certainly nowhere near the fitness levels he needs at the moment.

At times, he even looks overweight, certainly heavier, same goes for Gundo?

I'd highly doubt, however, Pep and his huge backroom team would stand for that!

Kev is a funny one at the moment.

I agree he looks overweight and he’s struggled off the mark, especially after a bad first touch, he’s looked very un-agile off his toes to get that second ball.

But I watched the full 90 back against Chelsea and even though he looked fatigued and wasn’t exactly fully sharp, he was everywhere.

Not all footballers are of the same fitness levels or capabilities and Kevin seems to be taking a while to get back to full fitness as he builds it up.

He’s still brilliant but just imagine how good he will be when he finally does get fully fit.

 

[Thomas Hearns]

Yeah I’m disappointed, as I was with Mahrez last season (who has improved), so far. But he is young and he’ll hopefully get better.

He needs to have much quicker feet and a much sharper mind if he’s going to do well in this league though. And those aren’t easiest things to improve on.

He’s got central defender written all over him if he can add the necessary aggression to his game . It’s hard to say whether he reads the game well or not but if he does I can see him partnering Laporte for years to come

 

[G-Star Medium Rare]

He’s the key today.

He looked a bit tired against Chelsea but came on full of energy against Shakhtar. Hopefully he’ll be bang on form today.

He did too look like the Duracell Bunny against Shakhtar, and I wondered at the time if that was because that plonker Southgate was at the match !

 

[ws01]

So who else is looking forward to Phil's three minutes today

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Kev is a funny one at the moment.

I agree he looks overweight and he’s struggled off the mark, especially after a bad first touch, he’s looked very un-agile off his toes to get that second ball.

But I watched the full 90 back against Chelsea and even though he looked fatigued and wasn’t exactly fully sharp, he was everywhere.

Not all footballers are of the same fitness levels or capabilities and Kevin seems to be taking a while to get back to full fitness as he builds it up.

He’s still brilliant but just imagine how good he will be when he finally does get fully fit.

Perhaps with Kev we might have already seen his best, certainly on a match by match basis?

I hope not but players do tend to 'thicken out' as they get older.

Maybe those injuries took more out of him than we thought?

He's also had a couple of kids in last two years and settled down.

Sometimes even the best sportsmen prioritise or lose that edge they had before.

Kev will always be capable of moments of brilliance, but he's spoiled us!

 

[mat]

Anyone speak Yarrrkshirre? Couldn't understand a word Kyle just said on BT.

 

[OntarioBlue]

He’s got central defender written all over him if he can add the necessary aggression to his game . It’s hard to say whether he reads the game well or not but if he does I can see him partnering Laporte for years to come

You have to think that when City’s management team shelled out all that money on him they saw something in him.

There is no doubt he is a quality player, strong on in the tackle and very comfortable on the ball. The issues I see with him are that he appears to lack pace and gets caught on the ball too often. It might just be that he needs a season to get used to the pace of the Premier League.

He’s not the first player, and certainly won’t be the last, who needs a little time to get up to speed. He was brought in to replace Fernandinho and I think that’s where he will play in the long-term. The experiment with make-do centre backs will end as soon as Laporte is back.

 

[mat]

Perhaps with Kev we might have already seen his best, certainly on a match by match basis?

I hope not but players do tend to 'thicken out' as they get older.

Maybe those injuries took more out of him than we thought?

He's also had a couple of kids in last two years and settled down.

Sometimes even the best sportsmen prioritise or lose that edge they had before.

Kev will always be capable of moments of brilliance, but he's spoiled us!

I think he's feeling as cheated as we are. Not just with club but at international level too. His dig at UEFA over the next Euros showed another side to him I've not seen before.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

Looking forward to this now, well up for it, let’s hope the lads are too!

 

[Fordyboy46]

If typical City still exists, Almiron scores a hat full today. Still not scored for them has he?

9-8 to City, Almiron all 8 for them

Has Joelinton scored for them yet?