macca155

I have a substantial bet on Charlton to be promoted. He's no mug, sound bet imo. I'm not sure we ever had a chance to judge his actual football management. We were so busy watching him self destruct, we never really got that far. He should have stayed at Luton. Too soon to move to Saints and dreadful environment for him. Plus he came across a bit mental which didn't help.

That's because Stephens was the one defender who wasn't losing his head. He isn't top level Prem defender, doubt anyone would say that, but he does at least have experience at this level.He knows what he's doing. He was covering for KWP (what on earth was his role) in the 1st half. With THB having a bad day RM needed him in the middle. The whole sub thing felt and looked like a bit of panic to me. In contrast Santo knew exactly what he was doing.

Agree with most comments. RM was totally owned by Nuno. He made a crucial substitution just before the goal. That involved some changes in their lineup. Almost immediately they nearly scored and the of course did. This is not the Championship. Other teams have good players and can adapt quickly. Downes v Gibbs white was an interesting battle. Took Flynn a while but he won that battle,good for him. I thought Stephens showed a bit of experience in the first half but what on earth was wrong with THB. I just wish we had a tall natural goal scorer on the bench who could cause problems ... oh Dibling should start or at least come on earlier. Long way to go, no need to be disheartened yet.

Well there are idiots at every club but speak as you find. I've been up there three times for games. I've always found them to be both knowledgeable and friendly. My only complaint was they insisted I drink that Newcastle Brown stuff .... urghh. Big difference between real people and keyboard warriors.

Yes fair explanation but it does seem overly cautious. I guess the fact that Saints happily pass the ball around at the back caused some problems with that strategy as it forced Newcastle to go on the front foot a bit. At that point to their credit Saints started playing through your midfield a little and put the left back under some pressure. That sending off really changed the dynamic and it all became a bit of a grind. Oh well it will be interesting to see how the form book unwinds after that game.

That's a bit strong. I think we all agree on AM, that needs to be sorted, I thought Smallbone had an excellent game and once he got going Aribo more than matched them. Neither are in the same league as Joe Linton but it is early days. As for Armstrong, well he forced several saves. Way too early to judge.

What I found surprising was, even before the red card, Howe had you lined up in a rigid 4 5 1 formation, against what is probably the weakest side in the Premier League at the moment. Saints are notoriously weak at breaking sides down, who line up like that. I can't see that tactic working against more established teams. Seems very negative to me.

It's a pain to lose but until they loan in a decent keeper those margins will hit us. AMC actually did ok for the rest of the game but as RM said, that's the narrative. I thought Howe's tactics were a disgrace. He should never be allowed near the England team. Playing a rigid 4 5 1 against us! I was really pleased that an established Prem team like Newcastle were bemused by Saints's style of play. They are so use to absorbing pressure that they didn't know what to do. I'm left with lots of positives. Downes superb why West Ham let him go is beyond me. KWP excellent. Good shithousery from BBD and Armstrong pulled out some saves. Edozie simply doesn't have an end product. SAA was way more dangerous. Dibling was enjoying himself, give him game time and I'm convinced he'll start making a major impact However fairs fair Joe Linton was immense for them. That's what you get for Saudi dollars. Not too bad a day at the office.

I couldn't care less if BBD conned the ref. The guy squared up to him and put himself at risk. Newcastle's nonsense at StMary's with the delayed match plus Murphy .... they deserve it. Good to see our style of football is causing Newcastle some issues.

Agree that's how to ruin a great prospect. He will be targeted very quickly by opposition managers, if Saints constantly channel our attacks through him. However he is a very talented player and I definitely think he'll have a part to play. Probably as a decent sub to start with.

Stuffed with FFP rules and a load of players depreciating while we are unwilling to play them, injured, or cannot sell them. Mara, Sulumana, ABK, Onuachu, Stewart, Larios must be costing the club a packet Teams coming up from L1 like Ipswich tend not to have this problem, they can easily jettison low wage players and buy in carefully. Sadly this is the legacy of the disastrous Ralph (final season), Jones, Selles debacle. Desperate purchases that the club now have to somehow deal with. I'm sure Mara and Sullemana will be shipped off on loan to France before long. ABK may still get a move or the insurers pay up. Stewart and Larios need to get themselves sorted and presumably sent out on loan to get some game time. That leaves Onuachu who I still believe has been badly treated by the club. The man isn't a dud and deserves a decent run out, at the very least whilst Stewart is crocked. Relegation is almost certain this year with the present squad , I'm sure we have all accepted that and will be pleasantly surprised if the quality of Martin's football raises the team out of the relegation zone. As we should always remember Saints are in a league of 6 or 7 not 20. Its not a done deal but likely. I'm not overly bothered about that, the club is clearly planning for that eventuality with some of their deals. If Ballard and Bragg have decent loans they will be pushing for a Championship starting place in 2025. Assuming a 2nd promotion then the club will a lot more competitive next time around. The only worry is that Tyler and Sam will be sold but I guess that's the world Saints are in now. Doesn't mean we can't enjoy the season, Saints will bloody some noses on the way as usual and Leicester, Ipswich, Forest, Everton, and Bournemouth won't be that far ahead of us.

Onauchu has had a bum deal from Saints, deserves a decent run out. Definitely something there. What a terrible friendly, they killed that game with petulance, just horrible. Needed a team to go for us. Oh well Newcastle next

Dibling on and mugs a Getafe player straight away

Why are they all losing their sh** in a friendly

Who gave Stephens raw steak, he's on one today. Seems a good test today, they are a tidy side. This abysmal playing out from the back is going to kill us. However some good efforts from Smallbone, linking up well. Aribo not so much.

Watching in Spanish is a laugh. I recognised McCarthy what is he doing

I mean out of this world

That goal wasn't legal was it .... ridiculous

Good grief, as a combination that is a L1 Championship defence at best. Non existent midfield. Forward line is ok, tolerating Mara obviously, but they won't see the ball so irrelevant. Clearly auditions for Mara, Alcaraz, and maybe Charles This could be grim but hey ho only a friendly. Russell has the right to experiment a bit.

There are many many footballers around. Best not to get emotionally attached to a transfer rumour. Saints are nailed on to be relegated at the moment. It wouldn't surprise anyone. That will make it tricky to attract players. Personally I reckon Saints will pounce on some decent loans, rather than splashing too much cash. Do that right and the team will be more competitive than they are presently. Goalkeeper position is absolutely crucial. Sort that and I will feel a little calmer.

Err Football Manager game

Very important talent for Saints. He has certainly shown real maturity and skill. I hope he features but remember other teams will already know all about him, and will plan accordingly. I guarantee he's been tracked by a lot of them. If he starts nutmegging and sliding past Prem defenders, he'll have to watch his back.

Dibling and BBD already look a huge improvement. Aribo basically getting in the way of their double act.

Taylor is too slow to play LB in the Premier League, he'll get ripped apart and offers zero support to Edozie. Let's hope KWP can slot in there if no one buys him. Rest of the defence is ok. Downes and Smallbone connecting well. Problem is Aribo, Edozie, and Armstrong look exactly like they were in the Premier league last time. Need a bit of zip in the 2nd half

At the very least they need to look like a Prem side playing a Championship side. At the moment they are retaining pocession and looking reasonably solid at the back .... that's all so far, fair to say room for improvement. In a few weeks the likes of Toney, Watkins, and Harland will be spinning and shooting on site. Going to be a long season