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Opinion

Elephant in the room and the duo who are like new Newcastle United signings

2 years ago
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What a difference a proper manager makes.

Overnight, we have gone from nailed on relegation certainties, to a credible Premier League team that nobody wants to play at the minute.

We have gone from the most boring team I have ever seen in my life, to some of the most solid and tactical football I have ever seen from a Newcastle United team.

Now I don’t want to get carried away or try and diminish what has gone on in the past with Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson as it’s early days yet, but as I say, we are playing the most solid and tactical football I have ever seen in my days as an NUFC fan.

It is not yet the most exciting and nothing will probably ever compare with the Kevin Keegan days on a purely entertainment value basis, as times were different back then. but what we have now is a proper football manager with a proper football brain. He plays the game the way we want to watch it as fans. He plays the way he needs to play with what he has to win games.

Rafa Benitez was also a genius at Newcastle and he did what he needed too do, but lets be honest, in the main it was very very boring.

When it was first mentioned that we were after Eddie Howe, my heart sank. Was this really the best we could do? I had reservations about his ability as a top flight manager, to take us from the bottom of the league through the league and to the top.

Now, like I say, I’m not getting carried away, but you only have to listen to the man in his interviews to appreciate his ability and intelligence. He is like a breath of fresh air in comparison to anything we have had speaking for the club in a generation.

Some fans will only have known stooges, liars and impersonators standing in front of those Sky cameras. Rafa being the exception, but even his interviews were uncomfortable at times. Sir Eddie’s philosophy and man management is second to none, he has come in to a bunch of no hopers, barrel scraping footballers, then turned some of them into proper Premier League footballers.

If he said he was playing Longstaff as a centre forward I would be happy to support it. How can you not? Look at the upturn in form for Jokelinton and Pillock, as I’ve heard them been referred to for a while now. Well not anymore eh!!!!!

In particular, those two are like two new Newcastle United signings. I know that’s a cliche…but it’s so true. Ryan Fraser is another, it’s like someone’s put a rocket up his behind. He’s like a little terrier, runs and runs every game, King Eddie has no choice but to take him off as he’s ran himself into the ground every game. His contribution is not to be overlooked.

Then we have Jonjo! I mean come on? Is this even the same person, or is this an imposter with one of those rubber wigs? For me the transformation in Shelvey is nothing short of amazing. He goes over the halfway line, he runs, albeit he isn’t the fastest, he shoots. His passing range is second to none and he chases down people now. The upturn in every single player is unreal. Every one of them are playing probably the best football of their career. Even Krapth and the likes are playing football.

So to the elephant in the room, Chris Wood!

Now for me, and this is only my opinion, he is a great signing. I know he’s not scoring goals and doesn’t really look like getting one either, but his contribution is definitely not to be overlooked. He is a very unselfish player, he had a great opportunity to score his first goal yesterday and laid it off, now that from a player that is desperate for a goal to win over the fans and get him up and running, shows the team spirit that Eddie Howe has instilled in the side. I do know that if a better centre forward had been available our owners would have bought him. You only have to look at the money they have spent. They also seem like very tactically aware people in business. We could probably have signed any of probably hundreds of players who were offered in January, but their attitudes or whatever, were deemed not good enough for us. So let’s get behind Wood as he is what we have and is part of the team.

This brings me to the Newcastle United owners.

In the beginning everyone was on cloud nine, then a few weeks later a lot of people were starting to call them out, for things like keeping Bruce, appointing Jones as the interim, not signing a new manger quick enough, then not signing enough players quick enough etc etc etc.

I hope everyone can just keep calm and support them 100% from here. Yes they will make mistakes, as us as fans sometimes do, but we have to be united from the top to the bottom. So come on people let’s just put what has gone on in the past behind us and stay positive.

This an unreal feeling for me, as I never thought that I would ever see this optimism again in my life time. Even if we don’t win things, as a lot of us older fans know it will still be an amazing journey. So hold on to your hats ladies and gents and buckle up for the ride that is NUFC.

Long live king Eddie!!!!

HTL!!!!!

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