August football: This was nearly called "Ballgust"

[Gray Fox]

Trent smashing one in from 30 yards. The opposite side to his coin from last week.

[phonics]

Firmino doing monster numbers in FPL.

[Baz]

Firmino doing monster numbers in FPL.

Salah captainers in the mud

[Waffdon]

Conor Gallagher really needs to move back to a counter attacking team. He is like a child when playing for a team that gets pressed in possession. And a bit din too.

Abramovich would have Tuchel sacked in a few weeks

[Spoonsky]

Firmino starting over the lively looking Carvalho is a surprise. Hoping we get the chance to put the latter on very early in the second half.

Been a vintage performance from him so far, even before the goal.

First Anfield goal since 2020 :D

[Boydy]

Stop, stop, they're already dead.

[Giggles]

Do these results mean the league is not over already then?

[Gray Fox]

Could and probably should have been 8-0 at half time. This is basically the Palace game, only Liverpool actually scored the first chance.

[Boydy]

1563538640457805825

:cool:

[Spoonsky]

Decent half that.

[Waffdon]

You’ve played 2 promoted teams and 2 mid table teams. It’s to be expected

[Gray Fox]

It matters little admittedly, but how can that 6th Liverpool goal not be offside?

[Waffdon]

Leicester are a mess

And they score as I say that. Get your money on 2-3

[Gray Fox]

Bournemouths plan to stop Salah worked to perfection.

[randomlegend]

Haaland is ridiculous. He's going to score about 40.

[Manc]

Bournemouth providing a strong case for a smaller league.

[Manc]

Vlahovic is pure class.

[Lofty]

Another 3 points for the bluebirds :cool:

[niko_cee]

Leeds were absolute shit and their manager is a lunatic, must have been some effort by Chelsea to get mugged by them last week.

Brighton with Haaland would probably piss the league.

[Waffdon]

Mitrovic is such a don. Should have been a penalty if he didn’t score

[Gray Fox]

The flying fuck is Gabriel doing there?

[phonics]

Odegaards sycg a pretty player to watch.

[Waffdon]

Proper footballer. Him and Haaland should have a lot of fun for Norway

[Giggles]

It’s a pity they boycotted the World Cup.

[randomlegend]

Odegaards sycg a pretty player to watch.

He's so fucking good. Oozes class and has so much influence over games.

[Waffdon]

Arteta couldn’t look like ‘Pep’ anymore if he tried. I suppose he has hair.

[thommo]

Nice to see the handball rules are just made up whenever the refs/VAR like. Shame as I think we deserved a draw on the whole.

[phonics]

Nice to see the handball rules are just made up whenever the refs/VAR like. Shame as I think we deserved a draw on the whole.


:happycry:

[Lewis]

Arteta couldn’t look like ‘Pep’ anymore if he tried. I suppose he has hair.

'EtH' was rocking trackies and a polo shirt like Neil Warnock earlier. Proper manager.

[Shindig]

Gateshead of the week: 1-0 loss to Wealdstone.

[Ben]

Gateshead of the week: 1-0 loss to Wealdstone.

Any budget for signings? Big struggle otherwise.

[Shindig]

Not by the looks of things. Everyone that's came in has been on a freebie. The only departure that was for an actual fee seems to have been Macauley Langstaff. He and Scott leaving really leaves us with little up front.

Rob Elliot has joined but he's primarily in there as technical director rather than playing between the sticks.

[Manc]

Ben letting the board down with that post.

[Lofty]

He's so fucking good. Oozes class and has so much influence over games.

Taz said he is a fraud though :sorry:

[Giggles]

Taz said he is a fraud though :sorry:

That was the clearest sign he was going to succeed.

[Waffdon]

Losing 7-0 twice in 3 weeks is impressive. 3-0 and 4-1 inbetween as well

[Kikó]

Wtf is going on?

[Waffdon]

Too many Glaswegians on board. Get Fat Tony oot the club

[Waffdon]

Jesus Christ, what a volley that is from Saint-Maximin

[Gray Fox]

I’m not looking forward to him against Trent.

[Waffdon]

Looks like he’s done his hamstring in so you’ll be saved.

[Gray Fox]

That'd make it about a fair fight.

[Gray Fox]

I'd love to know how that isn't a red card for Forest.

[Giggles]

I won’t claim to know how it all works as it seems to change weekly, but isn’t it red for a ‘goalscoring opportunity’ only? The ball was going to sail over Kane by about a foot.

[randomlegend]

Dean Henderson's penalty stats are pretty ridiculous. 10 saves out of 18 faced.

[niko_cee]

Whilst all the bealing about Liverpool needing a midfielder is a bit tiresome, I saw them linked to Berge today which reminded me that he existed. That'd probably be a decent signing.

Oh my god look at Fat Ronaldo at the Valladolid game.

[Shindig]

Ah, let him enjoy his retirement.

[Waffdon]

Barcelona’s team and squad depth as a whole looks genuinely brilliant. Quite a young team aside from Lewandowski and Busquets. FDJ/Gavi/Pedri all being in the same midfield should be illegal.

[randomlegend]

They're not in the same midfield. De Jong is sitting on the bench, the little cuck.

[Waffdon]

Yes, well done.

[randomlegend]

De Jong getting booed by the Barca fans, they are absolute cretins :D

[Shindig]

Tony Mowbray heading for the Sunderland job.

[mo]

Tony Mowbray heading for the Sunderland job.

If only they would show a bit more ambition...

1563827502023426049

[Shindig]

Woah. :D

[Dave.]

If only they would show a bit more ambition...

1563827502023426049

Some of our fans are delusional.:lol:

I think Mowbray is a good appointment. He finished 8th in The Championship last season with Blackburn. He has a track record with developing younger players and has played decent football at his previous clubs. One of our greatest managers of all time was a geordie so I'm certainly not bothered about his past association with Middlesbrough.

[ScousePig]

I wrote this piece on Liam Manning earlier as I'd like to see him appointed (extremely boring if you're not a Sunderland fan), but it looks like Mowbray.


Liam Manning may not be our next head coach but I've written this for three reasons and I hope people find it useful:
1. He is currently leading in the new manager poll
2. Not many people seem to know too much about him
3. He was my first choice when we were last looking for a manager just a few month ago

Looking at Manning's experience first of all, and whilst it's true he hasn't managed in the Championship (like all the managers in the usual managerial merry-go-round), he has experience coaching at Manchester City, West Ham United and New York City, and he managed Belgian side Lommel SK before going to MK Dons. If people cast their minds back to May, we were generally delighted that Wycombe beat MK Dons in the playoffs and that we wouldn't have to face them in the final. When Manning moved to MK Dons, it was to continue the foundations laid by previous boss Russell Martin, in particular the playing style in which they had adopted.

This is mostly based off last season, but Manning has deployed the three at the back system we've become accustomed to under Alex Neil. He's shifted between a 3-4-2-1, 3-4-3 and 3-4-1-2 and it's interesting to note that when he took over from Russell Martin, he replaced a man who favoured playing 3-4-2-1 or 3-5-2, suggesting a good fit here. However, it should be noted that at his Belgian club Manning preferred the 4-2-3-1 system, and if you remember back to when Neil first arrived, that's what we expected to see from him. The game has moved on in the past few years and now a back three system is very much in vogue, but it's encouraging that Manning has experience with different shapes. It's a shame he doesn't seem to have deployed a 4-3-3 very much though, especially with the style of football his teams play.

Manning likes a goalkeeper who is good with his feet. Patterson is a promising goalkeeper who will improve in all areas as he gets more experience. At the moment, he's okay with his feet and will certainly try to play in the modern and progressive way by playing it short, but there's room for improvement as his decision making needs work and he can dally a little bit and ultimately get caught in possession.

His back three are generally comfortable on the ball. This is an area where we probably need work, as Batth is first choice yet is more of a stopper. Ballard definitely fits the bill as does Cirkin, even though he's slightly unorthodox at times as a wide centre back.

The double pivot employed in front of the back three are also good footballers, including our former player Ethan Robson. It's easy to see Dan Neil thriving under Manning, however he might think twice about Corry Evans despite him being one of our most important players. Evans is generally good on the ball largely due to his calm head and vast experience, but he's an aggressive ball winner first and foremost. It would be very interesting to see what Manning thinks of Matete as we all know he's raw and very busy, but prone to lapses in concentration particularly with his passing and positioning. Embleton is another option here but alongside Neil there's a lack of real bite which will see us suffer against teams who are strong in attacking midfield areas.

Wing backs are an important part of three at the back systems and Manning's are no different. Gooch is the obvious player who can benefit here and Clarke has been moulded into this role in recent months too, though he still looks a bit uncomfortable at times. I still think there's a chance Cirkin may be a better long term fit here but it's not broken at the moment so no need to fix anything.

The front three are rotated and this is an area we're short in. Options include Pritchard and Embleton in behind one of Stewart and Simms, or if Cirkin moved to wing back you could potentially have Clarke and Pritchard playing off one of the strikers. The obvious option at the moment when everyone is fit would be Pritchard playing behind Simms and Stewart, but it's an area we're lacking a couple of players in.

MK Dons build from the back and from deep. They invite the opposition into them and then spring into attack when their opponents have committed to a high press. It's high risk, high reward football. It's clear why we'd need good, confident footballers in deeper areas but also players further forward who can exploit the space that opens up. We've got technical players like Pritchard, Clarke and Stewart who can do this but we might be lacking a bit in terms of pace, especially if space opens up behind the opponents last line of defence.

There may be some heart stopping moments at the back. Imagine Patterson has the ball at his feet on the edge of the box. Ballard moves wide to the right slightly further up the pitch, Cirkin does the same on the left, and Batth drops in alongside Patterson further along the edge of the box. Our shape becomes a back four with the goalkeeper acting as an auxiliary centre back. Evans or Neil drops into his DM position and we end up with a 2-3 shape consisting of our back three, goalkeeper and one of our pivots. This five will outnumber opponents and allow us to pass it around them, and depending on the opposition press, free up either one or both wing backs, and/or the other central midfield pivot player. This is what allows us to beat the press and build up an attack (MK Dons had a lot of build up attacks last season). Clarke and Pritchard (for example) have already displayed what they're capable of when given extra time and space to work with this season, so it could really benefit them if it works.

The double pivot and front three will allow us to overload central areas, and if the opposition remain narrow to accommodate us, space will be left out wide and our wing backs may find themselves isolated with the opposition full backs.

If you're thinking that we've been effective with two big strikers so far this season, then fear not as MK Dons are happy to play the long ball when required. It makes sense when teams are trying to prevent the build up play from the back and committing men in not the press, as it's an easy option to bypass that high, aggressive pressure. In fact, I feel it's something we could really exploit. It may require one of Simms and Stewart to work the channels, but neither of them are afraid of doing this and we can utilise both players' height, strength and work rate.

In the 'positional attack' phase, MK Dons can naturally shift into a 3-2-5 shape, with the wing backs joining the three attackers and the double pivot holding their position, able to keep possession moving across the flanks or break up counter attacks if required. The shape allows the team to counter press and break up attacks quickly, but without pace in the back line can be vulnerable to balls over the top and runners. This is something we'd need to be wary of.

When trying to break down stubborn defences, Manning likes to exploit the half spaces. If you cast your mind back to QPR at home, this is exactly what Pritchard and Neil were tasked with doing. On paper they were central midfielders, but on the ball they both moved extremely wide and overloaded the half spaces and channels. This allowed Neil to see more of the ball than I've seen in other games and generally he used it really well. Overloading these areas can often see the wing back gain possession of the ball in space, able to put a cross in. Whilst crosses generally have a low conversion rate, it goes without saying that it's something we look to exploit with two big strikers. Even under Neil this season we've seen us constantly look to find Gooch who provides the most width out of anyone, and he has either driven wide or cut inside and delivered into the area.

Everything I read about Manning suggests he is progressive, modern and proactive, and from what I understand of Speakmann and his model for Sunderland, he is the kind of candidate I expect us to be having a very close look at.

Some possible shapes with everyone fit:



Patterson

Ballard Batth Cirkin

Gooch Neil Evans Clarke

Pritchard

Simms Stewart


Patterson

Ballard Batth Cirkin

Gooch Neil Evans Clarke

Embleton Pritchard

Stewart


Patterson

Ballard Batth Wright

Gooch Neil Evans Cirkin

Pritchard Stewart Clarke​

[niko_cee]

I thought Potter being linked to Villa was funny, but Sunderland?

[Dave.]

I thought Potter being linked to Villa was funny, but Sunderland?

He hasn't been linked with Sunderland. That was just one random guy saying we should go in for him on social media and it appears to have "broke" the Internet.

[Dave.]

ScousePig That's a cracking post. Remember we also have Patrick Roberts to fit in the team who played an important role last season. He could be useful if we revert to a back 4 (like you mentioned briefly in your post) and shift Gooch (or someone else) back to right back. Ballard is out for a while but O'Nien has been a surprisingly reasonable replacement.

[thommo]

Scott Parker sacked by Bournemouth. :D

[Shindig]

Ah, that's harsh. Nobody gets sacked after conceding 9 in the Premier League these days. :uhoh:

[niko_cee]

Another kill for Klopp. Quite a lot of managers seem to get bunted after getting wrecked by Liverpool. Seems a fairly ridiculous decision.

[thommo]

I don't think the 9-0 has helped, but judging from the statement, it seems like he's been sacked due to off-pitch issues. Could even be down to his comments after the game where he completely threw the team under the bus.

[John Arne]

If you are sacking a manager after 4 games (following a promotion) then you deserve to get relegated.

[Boydy]

Three of those games being against some of the best teams in the league too. Madness.

[Yevrah]

On the one hand I agree with that, but on the other hand we are talking about Scott Parker. They've probably been desperate to fire him since he clinched promotion, but needed some form of excuse, no matter how weak to do so.

[Browning]

Agreed with Yev here. They knew what they were getting. A manager who would take them to the promised land, but put up absolutely no fight to stay there.

[niko_cee]

Dyche to do a reverse Howe?

[Don]

RIP to those entertaining post-match interviews :(

Also, get your dirty hands off Manning please, Scouse.

I see Griezemann banged a winner within 2 mins of coming on yesterday. Is he seriously going to play outthe rest of the season as a 60th min sub in every game?

[Waffdon]

It would be tremendous if they continued doing that with him.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Sounds like he's fallen out with the owner, probably due to the owner not buying him loads of players if the timing is anything to go by.

[niko_cee]

Seems 9-0 is an unsurvivable scoreline to lose by.

[Waffdon]

Get big Dunc back home.

[phonics]

Seems 9-0 is an unsurvivable scoreline to lose by.

Ralphs done it twice and survived both.

[Shindig]

Gus Poyet survived an 8-0 defeat to Southampton. Well, survived in the sense they didn't sack him until six months later. :D

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Good hit that from Lavia.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Chelsea are shit.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Jorginho should be sent off for that, he's such a little shit.

[Waffdon]

They aren’t half. They look a bombscare in a back 4 and their midfield is a bit pathetic when Kovacic or Kante isn’t there. Daddy Boehly will need to drop a few more $$$ to turn this season into anything.

Resigning Azpilicueta up there with the worst pieces of business based on his outings

[Waffdon]

Jorginho needs to desperately go back to Italian snail football too. Anyone on this board could run past him without a care in the world

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I think you might be overestimating my physical capabilities.

[Waffdon]

I have faith in you.

[Gray Fox]

Quite fancy a red card in this Leeds game.

[Waffdon]

Tuchel couldn’t win a game against Chelsea women if they went ahead in the game. Absolutely horrendous. Aubameyang to save the day :lol:

[randomlegend]

1564713631346003968

[Waffdon]

1564622928167276549

:lol:

[Gray Fox]

Isak has his work permit sorted for tonights game and will start. Complete unknown so he could do anything. Thankfully no Bruno or Saint-Maximim for Newcastle.

[Alex]

Quite fancy a red card in this Leeds game.

I was surprised nobody walked. It was teetering right on the edge of going off for a good twenty minutes or so in the second half. To be honest, I would have been bang up for it. There's five or six Everton players I wouldn't have minded seeing get absolutely clattered last night.

I'm disappointed we didn't come back sufficiently to take all three points. Although apparently we already have as many points this season as we had by the end of October, or something, last season. So I can't complaint with the start overall. In the mean time I'll just have to take minor consolation in the fact that Fat Frank's bald spot appears to be worsening by the week.

[Waffdon]

That Newcastle team looks very bang average compared to the other week. No Saint Maximin against ‘Trent’ :(

Fkn Lascelles playing too

[Yevrah]

I'm on Man City/Forest. Another hat-trick for Haaland please.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

He's too damn good.

[Yevrah]

I genuinely can't see a weakness in his game from what I've seen so far, or even anything that he isn't excellent at for a striker.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Might get the hattrick in the first half.

[Danny]

Henderson doing his best De Gea impression with that distribution.

[Yevrah]

He's on a goal every 43 minutes now. :cab:

[Boydy]

He's going to score 50+ league goals this season.

[Giggles]

He's not.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

He's getting 60+.

[Yevrah]

40 minutes per goal now.

I guess teams will have to try and work something out to deal with him better as the season goes on, which may slow him down a bit, but fuck knows what that looks like.

[randomlegend]

Haaland is like one of those strikers on the older FM games who you could get to score 100 goals a season. It was Yaya Sanogo on one of the versions.

Absolute cheat code player.

[phonics]

I love watching this Arsenal team play. 18 months ago I skipped several matches or turned off after 40 minutes. What a turnaround.

[Waffdon]

40 minutes per goal now.

I guess teams will have to try and work something out to deal with him better as the season goes on, which may slow him down a bit, but fuck knows what that looks like.

I thought he’d struggle to get in behind teams like he did in Germany but didn’t take into account De Bruyne supplying him. Todays goals have all just been tap ins. Proper poacher as well as an absolute freak of nature

[Lewis]

He is very good, but aren't these just the chances Sterling was missing/other people were over-playing? Harry Kane would have got a billion goals for City.

[Waffdon]

Haaland half the price and much younger though.

[Spikey M]

And somehow uglier with a more annoying voice.

[Giggles]

Haaland is like one of those strikers on the older FM games who you could get to score 100 goals a season. It was Yaya Sanogo on one of the versions.

Absolute cheat code player.

Martin Palermo :drool:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Get fucked Liverpool.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Liverpool defence were all over the place.

[Manc]

Trent. It's beyond boring now.

[Waffdon]

And somehow uglier with a more annoying voice.

Definitely uglier. Nobody has a worse voice than Harry Kane though. Special stuff

[Gray Fox]

Quite the tepid display until the goal went in. Why not show that drive before going behind?
Newcastle aren’t doing anything amazingly well but are organised. Klopp really needs to figure out how to play against 5 at the back because every one will be setting that up at Anfield watching how we’re playing.

[Yevrah]

Haaland show over so time to check out a bit of Isak. Very nice finish from him for the opener.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Ramsdale is so shit.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Emi Martinez trying to make Ramsdale feel good.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Such a shame he was offside as that was class from Isak.

[Boydy]

Fuck off Pope.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Eddie Howe should knock Klopp out.

[Lewis]

Fuck off Pope.

Wahey about time.

[Gray Fox]

Second half has been nothing short of disgraceful from Newcastle. No idea how that’s gone in at the end.

[Boydy]

Wahey about time.

Was waiting for you to reply to that. :D

[Manc]

MBS in the mud. :drool:

[Boydy]

Jurgie Time. :cool:

[Mike]

Good job Newcastle had so much cramp!

[Shindig]

Bugger.

[Waffdon]

Liverpool look nearly as bad as Chelsea do based on the starts to the season. Slightly less tragic and have actual forward players but both midfields are grim and both look a mess defensively.

If they don’t bring anyone in tomorrow then that’s a bonus. Hopefully a repeat of 2 seasons ago for them

[-james-]

Was not expecting Fabio Carvalho to sound like that.

[Don]

Dry those tears, Waff, your boys might still get a top 4 place if they sign a striker.

Hate to see those timewasting Saudi cunts suffer like that at the death at the hands of the hottest wonderkid in the league. Hate it.

[Waffdon]

A few Newcastle players went down for cramp but I’m not even sure the ball was ever kicked out for them so I’m not sure where the extra 2 minutes came from. Newcastle cost themselves anyway throwing all the players forward when they were knackered allowing Liverpool to lump it forward for a corner.

I have absolutely no idea how this season will go arise from City getting 100 points. Arsenal and Newcastle top 4.

[randomlegend]

Jurgie Time. :cool:

Just seen "Kloppage time", which I thought was excellent.

[Lewis]

Every Liverpool game should have seven minutes added time.

[Don]

Waff :D That fucking rat in goal was down for more than a minute in stoppage time himself.

And was that Schar who threw the bottle at us? He was the one giving it the biggest after too. So so sweet.

[Boydy]

A few Newcastle players went down for cramp but I’m not even sure the ball was ever kicked out for them so I’m not sure where the extra 2 minutes came from. Newcastle cost themselves anyway throwing all the players forward when they were knackered allowing Liverpool to lump it forward for a corner.

I have absolutely no idea how this season will go arise from City getting 100 points. Arsenal and Newcastle top 4.

Pope had a fucking nap.

[Waffdon]

30 second power nap.

[Shindig]

Isak looked class on debut. Hopefully he stays fit.

[Waffdon]

1565086624245063680

Offft. Bit tone deaf

[Manc]

:facepalm:

[Lewis]

That lesbian seems proud of her foster kids.

[Waffdon]

Elliot definitely punches women about

[Shindig]

And has the videos to prove it.

Nufc.com's take on last night ...


By then though the black and whites had been a denied a second goal by a dubious VAR call that ruled Isak to be offside by an almost imperceptible margin.

Fuck off, lads. It wasn't that close. :D They did call our gamesmanship in the second half ridiculous, though.

[Waffdon]

Jose Enrique has to be the weirdest person on Twitter.

[niko_cee]

That feels like it would be a high bar.

[phonics]

Aston Villa saving Arsenal from their own demise by asking for too much money for Douglas Luiz :drool: