Minsk

I have already posted how it could have been better executed.

I haven't seen anyone say it's a bad idea. My post was about it being badly executed. It would have had more impact with more thought/better planning. Also, it was a mod who created this thread by removing some 'off topic' comments in a thread that is usually taken off topic and just left to run its course.

See above

WTF! Getting stupid now. If matches are called off because of the 'covid enforced rule change' then only the players available for the original match, i.e. those fit or unavailable purely because of Covid, should be eligible to play when the match does go ahead. Not: new signings; players currently injured; players away at AFCON.

Indeed. Good to see such a thing being highlighted, etc, but not sure they really thought this through and surprised they were allowed to do it. 1. No more red - so removed the red from their home shirt which they weren't allowed to wear anyway. 2. Apart from no numbers/names identifiable for the officials, wore the same colour shorts as the opposition. 3. The only thing of colour on the shirt was in red! (The FA Cup logo) apart from the black 'say no to racism' underneath it..... 4. Assume white kit was chosen because they believe most knife/violent crime in north London is committed by white teenagers? 5. They lost to a team wearing red!! As for the match, Forest well deserved the win. Think they will enjoy having The Foxes on their patch too. Spence had a great game.

It seems Adam Armstrong is becoming the new whipping boy for some. How he can be slagged off for yesterday's performance is beyond me. And to say Long 'embarrassed him' or that he 'should have imposed himself as Long did' displays a clear lack of any footballing nous whatsoever. As others have mentioned, he came on to play RM, for a definitely flagging Stu, in a match we were 1 up in while playing with 10 men. I would imagine his instructions when coming on were along the lines of: 'You're going to RM. Keep it compact. Support Prowsey. Don't take risks. Only break forward when you are 100% certain you will the ball and are not leaving a gap behind you.' That would have probably changed after we were pegged back. How can that be compared to Long, who replaced Broja as the lone striker? They were given different jobs to do. AA's was out of position. Perhaps if roles were reversed he would have done better than Shane? Most certainly Shane did a far better job than Broja, including the 30 minutes the latter was playing in a team with 11 men. Haven't seen any posts saying Long 'embarrassed him' or that he 'should have imposed himself as Long did'. I also don't think Shane would have done any better if it was he playing at RM. Moreover, I have seen posts digging at Perraud. Also seen many saying Lyanco is too rash and makes many errors. As well as hundreds saying Tino shouldn't be playing at RB; he should be used as a 10 or rested. Broja on the other hand is never criticised. He should play every minute of every game. I expect he is exempt, seeing as he is only a loan. It's almost as if some want our latest signings to fail or, perhaps, to find things to bash Ralph with?

Looks like I was wrong and Ralph went very strong from the outset. Just hope no one picks up an injury.

Yes, I do. If you read my post again you will see that it says the team I am 'expecting to see', i.e. the one Ralph will pick. That does not mean it is, necessarily, the one I would pick. (I taught English as a foreign language for 14 years, so realise sometimes such explanations are needed.) Having said that I think that line-up should be suffice to beat Swansea whilst resting a host of starters for Tuesday. I do realise that Theo and Shane aren't the players they once were, and cringe when they are selected in the premier league, but think they should be okay for today's opposition. Shane in particular had a good match last time out. Apart from them, Arma with JWP and Moi (or maybe Stu Arm) in more advanced midfield roles should provide the goals. If not bring the Nathans and/or Armando off the bench for the last 20. Better than risking most of a team we want to start on Tuesday, imho.

Given Covid and injuries, expecting the starting 11 to be something like: Willy Valery Lyanco Bednarek Perraud Diallo JWP Moi Theo Arma Long (That would keep the likes of FF, Salisu, Stephens, Romeu, Tella, Redmond, Stu Armstrong and Broja fresh for Tuesday - even if some are needed to come off the bench - with fingers crossed for Tino, Che, Small and Smallbone also back in contention by then.)

As mentioned above, KWP suspension is for accumulation of yellow cards and, therefore, only applicable to league matches. So he could have played in the cup on Saturday but is suspended for Brentford on Tuesday.

Yep. Spot on. Following our win over Liverpool on 4th Jan, in the league, we had 8 losses and 1 draw before our next victory, away at Sheffield Utd. As you also rightly say, this season we have a far greater squad depth. That should lead to our Match Day Comparison becoming positives way before the 10th league match from now is played. It would be great if that could happen in the next 5, but they are: Brentford (H); Wolves (A); Man City (h); Spurs (a); Man Utd (A). Can't see us picking up many points in that lot. 5 would be amazing. Our following 2 matches after are home to Everton and Norwich. 2 very winnable games.

Match Day 19 Match Day Comparison: Last season we were beaten 3-1 by Arsenal on match day 19. Therefore, the 1-1 draw with Spurs gives an uplift in both points and GD. -8 points; -12 GD Head-to-Head Comparison: Last season Spurs defeated us 5-2 at St Mary's, so this season's 1-1 draw is an improvement here too. +12 points; +13 GD Next up (in the league) on match day 20 is our rearranged home fixture against Brentford. Last season we lost 0-1 at home to Villa on match day 20. For the purposes of the head-to-head I will use Sheffield Utd. Last season we beat The Blades 3-0 at St. Mary's. I have been very impressed with Brentford so far this season. They have been playing good, brave, attacking football and are clearly no pushovers. They also currently sit 2 points and 2 places above us in the league. That said, I would hope we have enough about us to take all 3 points from them at St. Mary's next week. I feel a 3-1 win incoming. COYS

I agree that we could easily put out 2 different starting 11s for those matches. Ones where both should be reasonably expected to win. However, my teams would be slightly different to yours: Sat Vs Swansea Willy Valery Lyanco Bednarek KWP Diallo Stu Arm Small Theo Che Arma Tues Vs Brentford FF Tino Stephens Salisu Perraud JWP Romeu Moi Redmond Broja Tella That said, I think at least JWP and FF will start both matches. Possibly Bednarek as well. The only certainties are that Salisu can't play on Sat and KWP can't play on Tues.

Disagree. The best date would be Wednesday 5th January. Failing that Tuesday 18th January.

Cheating Geordie twats! They were always going to play the system, especially when Wilson and ASM picked up injuries. Some transparency would be nice re numbers of Covid cases Vs injuries. Won't happen though. What's the betting they missed the magical number of players available required (13) by 1, which would be because they chose to put Hayden under the knife. I would suggest a journalist investigates but he might end up being kidnapped and chopped into little pieces!

No excuse, imo. We had shitloads of injuries last season without getting any matches called off. Just look at the team/squad fielded at Old Trafford, for example. Newcastle should be made to play their youth if needed, just as we had to.

Not what you asked, which was to someone talking about values attributed on transfer market.

More than we paid for him (in transfer fee).

Fully agree with all your points. It would be absolute madness to sack Ralph now. I get that he isn't perfect and I question some of his decisions as well as the next man, but he does get us playing some good footy and sets us up well. There is also no guarantee that any replacement would do better. Indeed, there is every likelihood they would be worse. Looking at the table, if we hadn't stupidly thrown away the win at home to Brighton we would now be level on points with them, Leicester and Villa. We have not been in the bottom 3 all season and, today, are as far from them (in points) as we are from Spurs in 5th. That said, we are where we should be and where I think we belong given our resources. I don't really want this thread being hijacked by the usual suspects and turned into yet another pro/anti Ralph argument but thought your points deserved a response. I won't respond to any other poster on this subject on this thread. Very happy to have that debate elsewhere.

Match Day 18 Match Day Comparison: Last season we lost match day 18 2-0 away to Leicester. This means that yesterday's 3-2 win at West Ham sees gains of 3 in both points and GD. -9 points; -14 GD Head-to-Head Comparison: Last season we lost 3-0 at the taxpayer arena, so gains in both points and GD here too. +11 points; +10 GD Next up, tomorrow afternoon on match day 19, is Spurs at home. Last season they beat us 5-2 at St Mary's; whilst match day 19 saw us defeated 3-1 at St Mary's by their North London rivals, Arsenal. Their 2 week 'covid' break worked out fantastic for Tottenham. During that time Conte has worked on their shape and performances. Add that to the fact they haven't lost in the Premier League since before Halloween (4 wins, 2 draws) and you will see that this will be a tough one for us to win. Personally, I would be very happy with a draw. COYS

And not forgetting the way he majestically gave the ball away with his first touch, just as we were breaking away after being under pressure.

Yep. He was absolutely instrumental in that win today!

Posted 4 minutes before this was the fact that we have a number of covid cases........

He was last season. Sadly he hasn't got going yet in this one. I would say Redders has been our best 10 this season.

Then tell me why we won those because of his contributions. You can't, because he contributed feck all of note. In fact, I would go so far as to say, the team's performance dipped after he was introduced in the matches he came off the bench.