Razor

David Hopkinson says we’re going to be one of the best clubs in the world by 2030 - Eddie Howe says we may never get to last 16 of the CL again.

This clubs a mess

So... a world leader just says dumb shit which isn't true and all the money markets go "Ok" and suddenly everything is either way cheaper or massively more expensive?

The fuck is this.

Just don't think we need to hear the manager before every game say "we need the fans".

No shit.

Plus fans are inspired by a good performance so maybe that needs to come first and be the focus.

Here's the plan, lads: score loads of goals and don't concede any.

Getting boring, this line.

Fans always support 100% during the match and we saw yesterday (and numerous times this season) that it makes fuck all difference.

Your boys just need to fucking perform, Eddie. Stop putting it on the fanbase.

Nothing to do with cynicism, particularly.

I just fundamentally disagree with our manager claiming the first leg of a Round Of 16 Champions League match is the biggest game in our history.

It's not true of any game. Cup finals, you win and you get the glory. How can this be bigger than those? It isn't.

The same people calling the home leg against Barcelona a "massive game" or "the biggest in our history" will be the ones saying "Well what did you expect? IT'S BARCELONA!" after they knock us out.

That Venn diagram is a circle.

Ooh, the eye roll makes it untrue.

You're right, Amy, it's our biggest game EVER.

It's just not big on its own. We could win it & it could still count for nothing. Even if we progress in the tie, since when has getting to a quarter final been the biggest thing ever? It's just nonsense hyperbole to distract from us limping out of the competition in which we had a real opportunity.

That's what I meant about him becoming a Matt Ritchie. Squad player, happy to just get a few minutes here and there as 3rd choice right winger or wing back, but good around the dressing room.

We need to sign a right winger and a right-back either way.

Have to fucking hope so.

If Andy Howe is in charge, I'd say a £60M move for Dominic Solanke is exactly the sort of thing he'd do.

We could win it 3-0 and it's still no good if we lose the return leg 4-0, so as an individual fixture it's not a big game at all.

Murphy is 31 and his powers are waning, so he either leaves or he becomes a Matt Ritchie.

Ah yes we've had this misunderstanding before

Narrator: He's never ready

And what spectacular judgement it has proven to be.

Ah, my old school nickname

Shame he didn't take the FA Cup seriously considering this "biggest game in our history" line is complete bullshit.

Whatever the narrative is, it was a shitshow & I don't trust Howe to do anything different if the same situation comes up again.

Is it "narrative" that he refused to do the pre-season tour? No. So he was a cunt either way.

Regardless whether he was on strike or frozen out, it'd be the same again.

Isak had three years left. Can't see that one extra year makes any difference if a player wants to down tools and go on strike. Plus we've shown now that we'll bottle it if they use those tactics. Isak had absolutely no leverage in terms of contract but we still caved to him.

Until either of them does an Isak and gives us no choice.

Well we'll agree to disagree on that. Resting players is having them not play football. And it takes nothing away from the choices made yesterday being shite. Woltemade in the bizarre position we're using him might work against the dregs of the league but it was never going to work against City.

Which in theory is fine and might happen (I don't personally believe it) but my issue is the narrative at the time was that we were overpaying because these were "plug in and play" signings who could make an immediate impact. Wissa hasn't even when fit. Elanga hasn't. Ramsey didn't but is improving.

They're not without risk, but there's a difference between a 28-year-old £55M risk and a 24-year-old £35M risk.

If the club announced the departure of Andy Howe, I'd be happy. Instead they've promoted him to Head Of First Team Recruitment. So my worry is they've learnt nothing.

Nailed on. They get the easiest draws going in domestic cups.

Well at least we don't have to tolerate Sunderland going further in the cup than us.

Knocked out by League One Port Vale, who will be in the next round alongside Southampton.

Why the fuck do we always draw Premier League opposition? #nufc

I'd have taken Pino who signed for Palace for only £20M ahead of Anthony Elanga who we paid £52M for.

Options are limited if you're obsessed with only looking in certain places.

Thiaw was our best signing of the summer. Less than £40M, from abroad, not wanted by the elite. That's the blueprint.

There's a time and a place for rotation though.

6-1 up at home to Qarabag he puts out a strong team for absolutely no reason.

Yesterday was the only winnable competition left and our best chance of Europe next season, but he goes back to the Woltemade experiment and rests Gordon.

It's baffling.