Magic Lamps

He is starting to become a problem. Many on here warned about his limitations and inconsistency as well as the huge economic burden his signing put on the club. He looks 100% the player he was at ManUre and Everton. Brilliant at times but unreliable when you need him. Really needs to step up. He and Timo are starting to develop better chemistry and the team needs to play to his strengths more for him to be effective. There were tons of situations were he or Timo could have been released but Kovacic, Kante or Chilwell completely slept on the pass. So frustrating. That being said, i have no doubt we will find ways to create chances better for him but he looks just as erratic a finisher as the rest of our misfiring attackers. Obviously, we know he is a big personality but the way he behaves himself on and off the pitch is not just confident but testament to how he really overestimates himself. Remember, he said he rarely makes the wrong deicisons facing towards goal.Yet, he had three of those situations and made a mess of it. He missed two good chances. His passes to Timo were terrible. He really thinks of himself as Haaland's big brother but he is basically just a bulky, more experienced Tammy Abraham.

Credit where it's due he was our best midfielder yesterday. He dominated Brentford physically, made a lot of great dribbles, never lost the ball and linked up midfield and attack astutely. After 70mins he ran out of gas but hung in there, won an important header in the box. He has a place in the squad if he continues like that.

What a night. Can’t believe we hung on for 20misn va fkin Brent Ford but int break and half the defence injured are mitigating factors our strikers are still useless tho cos the team has 0 clue how to work with quick, counter attacking forwards

Toney is such a dirty cheat

Kante and RLC have tired so we lost control of midfield

We can’t release our quick strikers early to save our lives incredibly lucky

Timo and Rom really try to get but they are erratic passers

RLC gives us so much physical presence in midfield chilwell also playing great heartwarmjng to have two Problem kids back on track

With our best defenders out this will be itchy af. Probably a scoring draw... Flick the sucker cramped Rüdiger into that shitty plane to fkin Macedonia which is exactly what you want to do with a spine patient. If a there ever was a game to fulfill the definition of a banana skin fixture to a T it is this one. Will be genuinely surprised if we took home all 3 points.

+1 I think he is brilliant. Maybe one of fastest players in the world and has some strength to back it up. His output is still a little inconsistent but he has made a lot of progress. also has outscored all our attackers so far this season.

Stupid Flick flew him to Macedonia despite apparently NOT being match fit after all… should have just sent him back here ffs.

Hazard has given us all he had to give, there is nothing left in him. He has his legacy here and will be remembered a legend but he can only tarnish that status if he returns as a shadow of the player he used to be.

lol true. Really forgot that. Won't be watching it anyway.

Actually surprised it is mostly junk. Should not deal with that piranha too often

all clear. Apparently the back issue does not prohibit him from playing if he must so he made the trip to Macedonia -.- Would much rather have him here to assess his injury concerns but Flick does not give a damn about Rüdiger's health beyond next summer.

It is apparently just a minor back issue but as we know, back issues never really cease so might be a known and ongoing problem. Will definitely miss a few days of trainign tho

Injured. will probably miss the next fixture

It was an amazing deal for inter. 100m pounds for a limited 28 y.o. striker.... But i guess they need it lol I did not agree with the transfer either but now he is here we can only support him and hope that he proves us wrong. In the right situation he can still be a decent option. We would possibly not have won the games vs Villa and St.P without him. I just hope TT has the balls to drop Rom for games where he really is not helpful.

You are right. We will still create situations where he can be useful but I doubt he will ever play to his full potential for us unless we tinker the system around him. A system which has won us the CL. But it is not all doom and gloom. In games were we have been exepcted to have the majority of the ball such as Arsenal and Aston Villa he made an immediate impact whenever we managed to move the ball quickly. We can still get better at these situation, so I don't think he will go to waste completely. At Everton and at Inter, Lukaku got better after the first season, had more of an effect on the team, cos of adaption and the teams learning to play to his strengths better. So some signs for hope...

IMO, He is a counter attacking striker. He is at his best when he moves at pace into the Space towards goal, using his strength to brush aside defenders. That is where he was most effective for inter and is for Belgium. He also is usually a decent finisher when he has this little bit of extra time on the ball. he does have some target man qualities such as shielding the ball and turning it but his link up play and timing in the air are not good enough for that role. i would not say he is specific for a system but is clearly better in a counter attacking system than in a possession based one. His limitedness is exactly why I did not want him for the given price .

ah now it is a wealth fund. One post ago it was a bank account. Make your mind up. And before, try to read first about things you don't understand. Apparently you have not understood either concept so far. No idea why you make this personal. But my head is fine, thanks.

No, you are wrong and also, once again, completely missed the point. PIF is not a bank account. Unlike a bank account it does no consist exclusively of cash but as I said mostly in stocks, bonds and real estate. Those trillions and trillions are not the budget to bankroll Newcastle. They won't dedicate their entire state wealth to buy players for Newcastle. Even if they could, it is not the priority of the PIF. They will make considerable investments, but they will not go and spend 1bn in the next window.

The big difference to City who were purchased by a Abu Dhabi owned private equity group with the sole purpose of funding football clubs and the infrastructure around them is that Newcastle was purchased by the PIF aka a sovereign wealth fund which mainly invests in stocks, bonds and real estate. It is huge, 500b but only a fraction will be allocated to bankrolling that club. So Neecastle fans celebrating their richest club in sports are a ging prematurely. city have a substantial fixed budget separated from the VAE state finances but the Saudi‘s commitment to Newcastle within their state fund Could well fluctuate with the oil price . Overall Saudi Arabia is involved in much more capital intensive stuff than the smaller Emirates and football is not quite as vital to their perception in the west. SA hold way more political power so they might not be as hellbent on leveraging their ownership for sportswashing.

yeah but even before Guardiola, City won 2 PL titles with so-so managers and without a clear philosophy by simply loading their squad with PL-proven quality. They were not the formidable force of today but still one to be reckoned with. Newcastle can quickly become such a nuisance themselves. I am pretty sure the head choppers will follow the MC blueprint and find able footballing brains. Also despite Newcastle being an absolute dump of a City, this will not deter players who are in for the pay-cheque which most young players seem to be atm. I doubt they will win a PL title anytime soon but for sure will be a top4 contender within 2 years if this goes through. Newcastle even more so than City are a good base for investment. They have an iconic stadium, are a big club with a huge, loyal fanbase. They used to be in the top25 of clubs even during their prolonged spell in 2nd division. Good thing is their timing is terrible. They will not be able to make any kind of meaningful impact on the transfer market till next summer and their squad is ageing and disjointed so the project might well be postponed if the rest of the league manage to relegate them once more.

talking about knee-jerk reaction they will need at least 1-2 years to make an impact same as ManCity. still absolutely disgusted that the head-chopping taliban-allies get any kind of influence in the free world. Wonder how long they will take to erase the crucifix from the crest.