Sheaf Saint

It's probably about knowing his limitations and being instructed to not commit himself forward too much.

What a superb finish, after another grwat shotr was well saved. What was it people were saying about scuffed shots?

I'm really not usually the type to wish ill on anyone, but if there is anyone less deserving of my sympathy in this world it is DJT. The fallout from all of this is going to be fascinating and entertaining to watch.

And if any future referendum returns a re-join result, or Starmer wins an election on a manifesto of taking us back in without one, will you take the same advice you have been giving to remainers since 2016 and accept that it's democracy and the will of the people?

This actually happened at a "peaceful" protest last night in Arizona...

I think what's most strange is how badly he regressed from the end of last season to the start of this one. He looked like he had stepped up in the same way JWP had during the restart, but he's back to his old self again currently. If he could maintain that purple patch form consistently, he would be a decent squad player and give us a different option to Vestergaard when the opposition demands it, as he's more mobile and quicker (slightly), and he's very good with the ball at his feet and has a really good eye for a long range forward pass.

He provided the assist for both goals against Everton last week. Both very different kinds of assist as well - one a cute little through ball and the other a whipped cross after a change of pace to beat the defender. As well as his defensive contribution, he is such an immense player for us. Such good news that his injury isn't as bad as first feared.

2 of 11 is what I heard. Finally we seem to have other players contributing which has taken some pressure off him. But yeah, it's not just about his goals is it. His overall contribution to our attacking and his ability to bring other players into play can't be overstated.

Correct. We won our first 4 games to briefly go top. We then went on a shocking run of 23 games without a win later in the season, which was broken by a last minute penalty from new signing Neil Ruddock against Newcastle (who subsequently went down). It won't be an easy game on Friday. I remember Steve Bruce lavishing us with praise a few years ago when he was manager at Hull. Obviously a lot has changed since then, but he will make sure his Newcastle team show us appropriate respect and they won't make it easy for us. I'm expecting a performance from them similar to Palace on the opening day. They will defend deep and compact and try to use the pace of Saint Maximin to hit us on the break.

True, but he never got on the pitch. I'm saying he could be in line for a start, because it's hard to argue that any of the other squad regulars deserve it more on current form. But like Skintsaint says, Southgate doesn't seem to care about club form.

The people ridiculing the idea of him getting picked for England might be eating their words soon. Pickford has been dropped at Everton, Pope's Burnley are bottom of the league, and Henderson is warming the bench at Man Utd. Based on today's performance, a starting place for Macca in the next England squad isn't out of the question.

Plenty of criticism directed at the ref(s) today. But for me, the biggest gripe I had was when Bednarek was down holding his head. The Saints players were screaming at him to stop play but he let Villa carry on until eventually awarding them a FK for a foul on Grealish. THEN he signals to the bench for the physios to attend to Bednarek and it was quite obviously a head injury (replay showed he fell on it very awkwardly) and he was being treated for ages. Then he eventually gets walked off the pitch, but the ref decides it's perfectly OK to let Villa take the FK, rather than acknowledging he should have stopped play and calling a drop-ball. Pretty scandalous really. And I'm baffled why Cash didn't get sent off for his handball. It was deliberate to prevent a clear goal-scoring opportunity, and according to the current rules should have resulted in a red card.

We were amazing in the first half and then utter shite in the second. I don't like to scapegoat people but it's no coincidence that our defence fell apart when we had to swap Bednarek for Stephens at HT. Despite having gone 4-0 up, we would have lost that but for McCarthy who was my MOTM. Bonkers really. Hope the injuries aren't too bad.

He had to really. Wasn't deliberate from Diallo - looked like he genuinely didn't know Grealish was running onto the ball when he turned to hit it and clear it. Definite foul though.

If Newcastle beat them later, by any scoreline, then we'll go above them. Edit: Assuming it stays like this, of course.

McCarthy definitely MotM for me. With Pickford being dropped by Everton, does he now get a chance with England?

They are doing to us what we did to Everton last week. Overloading us every time they come down that side and it's too easy for them to get in and play balls into the box. I'll be surprised if they don't score any more TBH. It's coming.

No, clearly a weak link. A shame because he had a decent ish run last season and looked to have improved, but he's regressed badly this season.

Is that Cabbage Face formerly of this parish?

Can I assume that doesn't include the MLT goals where the ball was rolled to him first (like the Wimbledon one where he flicked it up before smacking it) And didn't we beat Everton 4-1 in the Pellegrino season, when Unsworth was their manager and they were utterly woeful?

One more goal and we'll go second!

Yeah I thought it was a bit quiet on the other thread!

Total negligence from the ref there. Can't believe he still let Villa have the FK afterwards.

Agent Targett!