Newcastle played a tough game on Wednesday night and we have another game at Stoke on Monday afternoon so Rafa will be making some changes to the side that went down 1-0 at home to Manchester City.
Henri Saivet was not even on the bench on Wednesday night and with all our central midfielders now available Rafa may want to go with them for the next two games.
That seems unfortunate for Henri who could be on the bench.
We expect Mikel Merino to start this game along with Isaac Hayden so we will have two fresh players in the engine room.
Mikel Merino – should return today
The in-form Christian Atsu should be back as should Matt Ritchie, who is due a goal after hitting the woodwork three times in recent games.
Rob Elliot has a thigh problem and he’s not available today.
Here’s a possible team Rafa could start in the game – we must take all 3 points today – and end our five-game losing streak at home.
Darlow
Yedlin Lascelles (c) Clark Mbemba
Ritchie Merino Hayden Atsu
Gayle Joselu
That’s a strong midfield line and none of the four players started on Wednesday night.
What do you think?
Comments welcome.
110 comments so far
toontaff2
Dec 30, 2017 at 9:28 AM
Comment #1Has to be : Yedlin, Lascalles, Merino, Ritchie, Atsu.
Clark/Mbemba – or both?
Manquillo/Dummett
Darlow/Woodman
Hayden/Diame/Saivet/Shelvey
Perez/Gayle/Joselu
Shame we don’t have a decent manager to make those decisions 😉
Jib
Dec 30, 2017 at 9:31 AM
Comment #2The deal was clinched last month and
then celebrated in the curry house.
That evening they agreed Staveley back to the Gulf
Ashley to the States and no announcement until
20 days after the window opens to save Rafa
getting gazumped on his signings
Simples
Nufc-83
Dec 30, 2017 at 9:32 AM
Comment #3Team I would play today:
Darlow (don’t rate him but hard to throw woodman in when its a must win game).
Yedlin Lascelles Clark Dummett
Richie Merino Saviet Atsu
Joselu Gayle
Not a big fan of Joselu (who is) but we need that height and Gayle must play so him and Perez do not work together
Transfers for window:
Out:
Haidara
Mitro
Colback
Gamez
=£14m
IN:
Barry (need experience and he still has quality to compete with Hayden etc)
Salimani
Ings (Loan with option to buy)
Delefeou (Someone mentioned him earlier if we could get him on loan would be huge boost)
GK – Not sure who but ideally someone with experience
Cam/no10 – Not sure who but someone who can find space and is comfortable on the ball to create
Transfer fees probably around £43m
Total spend £29m
expatmag
Dec 30, 2017 at 9:32 AM
Comment #4Jib
Sounds feasible but we are dealing with Ashley here. Goalposts are invariably moved after the fact by the greedy fat one.
Jib
Dec 30, 2017 at 9:41 AM
Comment #5I’ve just realised with NUFC83’s post
None of us early birds considered
Henri Saivet in our selections
Jail for Ashley
Dec 30, 2017 at 9:43 AM
Comment #6Sounds feasible but in reality it’s the only hope we’ve got to cling on to. Surely we’ll know our fate by the 20th. Not sure why Rafa kept mentioning that date mind. I hope to gawd it’s not because they’ve earmarked these next three as winnable and are going to wait until their outcomes to see what they have to spend. Surely with two months of knowing our predicament at least a couple can be announced next Tuesday.
Jail for Ashley
Dec 30, 2017 at 9:44 AM
Comment #7I think Saivet only played the other day due to those injuries and a suspension.
expatmag
Dec 30, 2017 at 9:45 AM
Comment #8Jib
Sub at best for Saivet, I would imagine
expatmag
Dec 30, 2017 at 9:48 AM
Comment #9JFA
We should know a lot more by the 20th because the next 3 games are winnable and if won, it would move us up to 27 points and only 4 wins away from safety, in my opinion.
Jail for Ashley
Dec 30, 2017 at 9:51 AM
Comment #10I could be wrong, I was once back in 2012. But I don’t think we’ll see much of Saivet again, I said the other day that a player who has been largely over looked and has been told to find another club isn’t going to automatically work his way back in to the managers plans on the strength of one good goal.
Geremi's Prosthetic Leg Fund
Dec 30, 2017 at 9:52 AM
Comment #11Jail from last,
For the good of himself, not the club. We’ve been tanking for weeks and if regaining some focus was to help protect Prem revenue if he wasn’t selling, he’d do it. He loves a timely statement.
sparky55
Dec 30, 2017 at 9:53 AM
Comment #12Not so much the team selection being so important but the tactics deployed. If we play safe in an effort not to concede an early goal which is pretty much how we start every game, then we’re asking for trouble.
We need to put Brighton on the back foot and pressure them all day long irrespective of the risk of them getting us on the break.
We need to be brave and get a least two goals in the first half and then we can pressure them in a different way in the second half whilst minimising the risk of the counterattack.
Jail for Ashley
Dec 30, 2017 at 9:54 AM
Comment #13expat,
Aye, but like I said he kept mentioning that date in regards to transfer business. We need bodies in during that first week to get them bedded in.
toontaff2
Dec 30, 2017 at 9:55 AM
Comment #14JIB, I put Wor Henri on the bench.
I don’t think we’ll see Jonjo – he’s off to West Ham.
Jail for Ashley
Dec 30, 2017 at 9:57 AM
Comment #15GPLF,
But that’s football related, Keith Bishop only knows how to step in when Ashleys looking bad in the press or the fans are kicking off, nope we’ll hear nowt from the fat man for a while yet.
toontaff2
Dec 30, 2017 at 9:59 AM
Comment #16JfA, we play Citeh on the 20th, then no PL game until 31st 💡
He wants ’em in for our march on Wembley in the FA Cup – 4th round on 27th.
toontaff2
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:06 AM
Comment #17Referee is Anthony Taylor – last SJP visit was 5-1 v Spurs 😉 💡 I think I’ll go for a 5-1 win, for a change.
Jail for Ashley
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:08 AM
Comment #18Sparky55
2-0 up after twenty minutes would be splendid.
toontaff2
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:11 AM
Comment #19Reckons on NUFC.com there are some tickets left for today – none showing on the official site. Got a ticket for the Luton game in the Milburn Sports Bar.
fairscup
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:11 AM
Comment #20Watch out for storm Dylan tomorrow
How will you know it’s here?
The answer my friend is blowing in the wind
Hope we have 3 more points by then.
Geremi's Prosthetic Leg Fund
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:11 AM
Comment #21I imagine it would come from his lawyers. If he isn’t selling any time soon and the uncertainty was still effecting performances to the point we could go down. A statement will come out. Maybe not this early but by end of Jan window as he’d look to justify spending nothing again.
kennyg33
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:15 AM
Comment #22I agree with sparky
Commented the other week about the tactics at home costing us games against the weaker teams and today is no exception; we need to get after them and press High up the pitch straight from the kick off and maintain it. In games against Bournemouth and Watford we started by pressing high and creating chances but by the 20 th minute we retreat to the half way line and start pumping high balls.
If we keep the momentum the crowd stays with the team and we can get a couple of goals up; we can’t rely on getting one and sitting back or not making a breakthrough and retreating as the players confidence dips and the crowd get twitchy.
The crowd are dying to have something to cheer about and will go with the team as long as we get stuck in and close them down – not a fan of Diame but he was excellent against city closing down and the crowd responded to it. Need the same all over the pitch cos we really need the win today.
Jail for Ashley
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:21 AM
Comment #23Kenny,
But we did go after Bournemouth and had a pretty good goal chalked off. We murdered them before our heads dropped. I don’t think that’s down to tactics. Same as that myth that says when we score early we sit back and defend.
ShirebrookToon
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:24 AM
Comment #24Best get ready and hit the road. Cathedral is a calling. Enjoy the game lads
HWTL
WE ARE UNITED!!!
C’MON!!!!!!!!!
Jib
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:25 AM
Comment #25Fairscup
You don’t need a weatherman to
know which way the wind blows
Jail for Ashley
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:28 AM
Comment #26Kenny,
For me the Watford game was lost the minute Joselu miskicked that great chance in the first few minutes.
Tsunki
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:28 AM
Comment #27No you don’t, you need the Weather Girls ha ha the temperatures risin’…
Someone is overdue getting banjoed by us and i reckon that lucky team is Brighton. Welcome to NUFC and your 4-0 loss. Bang em in Dwighty!
🙂
Tsunki
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:29 AM
Comment #28So how did Ed deliver his stern message to the blog i missed it?
kennyg33
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:30 AM
Comment #29Jail – that was my point , or attempt at it. When we play like we did in the opening 20 mins against Bournemouth we create chances and look threatening but this season there seems to be a 20 minute cut off where, regardless of score, we drop deeper and invite teams back into the game when we have the chance to kill them off.
What I’m hoping for is that initial press is maintained throughout the first half and we kill teams off completely rather than leaving the game on a knife edge – that’s when the crowd start groaning over misplaced passes and players lose confidence. Confidence has been our biggest enemy in this losing run at home and some of the ground need to realise this and keep supporting rather than groaning. Thought the crowd was decent against city but it’s not been as supportive this season – but at the same time we do need a spark or a tackle or a dodgy ref decision to get us going – and that can come from the higher pressing game. As long as I’ve been a mag the crowd love a good crunching tackle
Jib
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:32 AM
Comment #30Lost in the excitement of the
presence of Amanda – our home
match vs LPool we played a really
good pressing game and should have
maybe got more than a draw.
The team on that Sunday was:-Elliot
Yedlin
Lascelles
Clark
Manquillo
Shelvey
Merino
Ritchie
Perez
Atsu
Joselu
Tsunki
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:32 AM
Comment #31We could do with an impartial ref though. We seem to string some pretty poor officiating performances together.
Singinginthecorner
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:34 AM
Comment #32To all those rafa doubters I remember when sir Bobby Robson was hounded out of the club and look where that got us everyone is entitled to their option but be carful what you wish for never heard one good replacement for rafa yet off these so called fans. Lets get behind the team today and become United again.
toontaff2
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:35 AM
Comment #33https://www.technobuffalo.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/howard-stern1.jpg
Transfer Sage
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:35 AM
Comment #34I posted this a couple days ago but will repeat. Not wanting to go against what others have said but I got this from somebody I trust who speaks to people at the club (including Rafa) as he has family in the academy.
The deal should have been done by the 20th of December but Ashley stalled for two reasons.
1. He isn’t happy with the relegation clause
2. He doesn’t want to give into demands and is throwing his weight around, he doesn’t want to look like he’s “lost” the negotiations.
Again, take with a pinch of salt with anyone who has inside info. Just going off what I’ve heard and have confidence in it.
Jail for Ashley
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:36 AM
Comment #35Kenny,
That’s the bit I don’t get though, surely that’s not tactical. The manager telling them to go for the throat but if we get denied by the woodwork and referee just give it up after twenty minutes and let the other team back in to the game. As you say it’s about confidence, when those initial chances don’t go in their heads go down and they think here we go again.
Transfer Sage
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:36 AM
Comment #36Very confident going into today’s game. I think we have more quality than Brighton and should beat them.
Tsunki
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:37 AM
Comment #37Don’t be tempted to turn JavaScript on in your browser too hastily. I forgot last night and activated my phone home screen to find a list of highly questionable popup notifications there. Very boring. 🙁
Vask
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:37 AM
Comment #38Tsunki, Some whistler from cheshire today that last presided over our drubbing of spurs. Hopefully an omen I think he sent mitrovic off in that game. So it could go either way.
Tsunki
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM
Comment #39Course if I’d just shut this blog tab down in my browser…
Lindisfarne
Dec 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM
Comment #40Whoever the opposition is Rafa attempts to squash the opposition for the first 20 minutes, establish a pattern of play and then dominate possession. Even in the Championship the wheels often fell off this game plan by not taking the chances we created and now we still have the same problem.
We did beat Brighton twice last season because they tried to go toe to toe, but I imagine after the results they have had they will sit back and soak up our soft attack. If we end up playing most of the game in their half how will Rafa determine the best way to score?