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The Toon Army Thread

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I was glad to hear Rafa has the team back in training less than 24 hours are the defeat - can't afford to rest on their laurels!

We need a big response against Southampton - lose that and we might be gone for good. We've started slow in a few games so I hope Rafa chooses players who are up for the fight and ready to put in a shirt straight from the first whistle.

I'd like to see a team of the following personally. The rest probably not really worth giving games to either because they're mentally checked out, not good enough or won't be here next season regardless of our fate.

Darlow: No real other choice but he did fine against Norwich with a few decent saves IMO.
Janmaat (RB): Not sure his heart is fully in it but we haven't got anyone else. Still one of our best attacking threats.
Mbemba (CB): No brainer, our best CB.
Lascelles (CB): Taylor didn't do much and I think his contract is up at season's end. May as well give Lascelles more game time given he's young and probably going to be one of our main defenders if we go down....
Sissoko (LB): Shows how badly we needed a LB in January but would rather give Sissoko a run here than Anita. Sissoko doesn't offer us much going forward anyway!
Townsend (RM): Seems to be up for the fight, says he doesn't regret joining the club.
Shelvey (CM): No brainer but needs help in midfield!
Saivet (CM): No idea why he isn't getting a look but we need an enforcer badly. Someone who can control the midfield and breakdown attacks. Tiote and Anita aren't the answer so why not give him a go?
Perez (LM): Not really a left mid but Gini struggled in away games and we don't have anyone else. He's one of the few who seems to genuinely care for the club.
De Jong(CAM): Saw his impact in the derby. He's a leader and we need all the help we can get. Technically gifted and might be able to help us create more chances in attack.
Mitro (ST): It shows how much passion he has. Loves the club and his work rate is immense. 3 goals in 2 games, maybe he's the saviour?
 
It's going to be a bitter pill if Austin scores against us this weekend...

I should know better but I keep hoping we can jag a win. Maybe once we get a win, it will kick start a survival push? :p
 

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Glad I was out on Saturday night haha...

Saw this yesterday from Lascelles...shows how bad our squad is if a young kid is having to call out senior players.

http://www.skysports.com/football/n...s-his-team-mates-need-to-play-with-more-heart

Rafa Benitez's side are six points from Premier League safety with six games left to play this season and 22-year-old Lascelles has slammed his team-mates for not taking "full responsibility".

"We need bigger characters on the pitch, players who care and who are going to get after each other," Lascelles told the BBC.

"We have lacked it this season and no matter how good you are, if you don't have that fight and hunger and desire, it doesn't matter.

"We had Steve McClaren who is a great manager and now we've got Rafa Benitez , who is a great manager, so it's clearly not that.

"It's the players and we have to take full responsibility. It's ourselves who need to change it and not the manager.

"We need to play with more heart.

"We've got flair players, tricky players, players with loads of talent, but we need more heart, we need more desire."
 
Swansea at home is a winnable game. In good news, Taylor (if reports are to be believed) has played his last game for the club and with Janmaat's broken hand/finger - Mbabu might come in. If nothing else, give kids like Lascelles and Mbabu more experience. They might lack the reputation of some of their international capped brethren but they'll probably have a crack.
 
Bit late to get on but glad we're still in it! :p

Strange team though - Mitro and Shelvey benched with Cisse, Colback and Tiote preferred. Good to see Lascelles in ahead of Taylor and a proper LB in Dummett back. No Janmaat means Anita at RB might be targeted...

Need a win today or we are stuffed. Scum beating Norwich does us a small favour...
 
1-0 HT. Ideal result so far. We need to keep it tight and try to get a second. Swansea might not have much appetite for it as they are safe already but plenty of talent in their team. Hopefully they left their scoring boots in Wales!
 

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3-0!!!!!

Happy birthday Rafa!!!!

We've got some life lads, we're going to go down fighting to the final game!!!

HOWAY THE F****ING LADSSSS!!!!!
 
Good onya for flying the flag Newcy.I was in an alcohol induced stupor by 8.00 and only just saw the result then.
Howayyyy!!!
I want us to stay up and for Ashley to go!

But if it has to be that way I'll take staying up and him:$:straining::mad:
 
Howay the FFFFFIINNGGGGG LADS!!!!!!

What a result lads.

Despite being dominated in possession Swansea never really looked like breaching our defence, it was really good to see Lascellas improve the way he has since Rafa has arrived, he was tremendous on the weekend. Anita played his best game for the season, you never really get to see his pace when he plays the holding role but as a full back you can really see how zippy he is. HOW BLOODY GOOD WAS MITRO?? When this guy came on he literally owned the park, he had some brilliant deft touches and was a real focal point, it was a significant upgrade on what Cisse produced for 80 minutes. Gini is a concern, he was down right shit, Townsend really makes him look 2nd rate as an attacking midfielder.

I have renewed hope and I will go out on a limb and say we will beat City on Wednesday morning... In Rafa we trust
 
Oh and I actually think Lascellas will be a brilliant captain, I hope if we stay in the PL he can have a huge pre-season and push for the armband. The kid seems like a legit leader of men.
 
So true of Lascelles - he might be playing his first season in the PL and played less than 20 games for the club but he didn't shy away from calling out the big names in the squad who've gone missing. Backed up his fighting words with a great display as well.

Dummett might not be the best LB going around but he definitely made a difference. Doesn't offer much in attack but is solid defensively and that's what we needed as we've been cut up badly at LB in recent games. Not the most gifted player but will throw himself in without hesitation.

Darlow got his first clean sheet which will help his confidence - will need his best to shut out City and Aguerro though....

Anita looked really good at RB. Had Montero in his pocket most of the match (think Montero was MotM in Swansea's last game IIRC). At the moment, I'd actually prefer Anita on exposed form to Janmaat. Anita was more comfortable at RB than LB admittedly.

Mbemba was solid again - him and Lascelles need to be our CBs until the end of the season. Colo and Taylor can fudge off haha.

Rafa's decision to give the captain's armband to Sissoko was inspired as well. Happy for him to wear it again against City (maybe he can put in a shift to get them interested in his services ;))

Shelvey had been pretty quiet but dropping him for Colback definitely an eye raiser. Thought Colback battled well though. Doesn't have Shelvey's range of passing but battled away. Shelvey did well when he came on as well.

Townsend looks our best attacking weapon at the moment - hopefully he can keep this form going until the end of the season.

Cisse chased hard and played a few good knock-ons but still struggles with staying onside. Also he isn't as good as Mitro at holding up the ball. Mitro seems like he is our best bet for a striker though to stand up in these final 5 matches. Has bagged a few goals and assists recently and seems like a guy up for the fight.

Gini is the worry - has been a shadow of himself for a few months now and can't seem to find any form. Can't really afford to carry passengers either at this stage.

That being said, I trust Rafa's man management skills. Here's hoping for a good result vs City...
 

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NUFC Tiger said:
So true of Lascelles - he might be playing his first season in the PL and played less than 20 games for the club but he didn't shy away from calling out the big names in the squad who've gone missing. Backed up his fighting words with a great display as well.

Dummett might not be the best LB going around but he definitely made a difference. Doesn't offer much in attack but is solid defensively and that's what we needed as we've been cut up badly at LB in recent games. Not the most gifted player but will throw himself in without hesitation.

Darlow got his first clean sheet which will help his confidence - will need his best to shut out City and Aguerro though....

Anita looked really good at RB. Had Montero in his pocket most of the match (think Montero was MotM in Swansea's last game IIRC). At the moment, I'd actually prefer Anita on exposed form to Janmaat. Anita was more comfortable at RB than LB admittedly.

Mbemba was solid again - him and Lascelles need to be our CBs until the end of the season. Colo and Taylor can fudge off haha.

Rafa's decision to give the captain's armband to Sissoko was inspired as well. Happy for him to wear it again against City (maybe he can put in a shift to get them interested in his services ;))

Shelvey had been pretty quiet but dropping him for Colback definitely an eye raiser. Thought Colback battled well though. Doesn't have Shelvey's range of passing but battled away. Shelvey did well when he came on as well.

Townsend looks our best attacking weapon at the moment - hopefully he can keep this form going until the end of the season.

Cisse chased hard and played a few good knock-ons but still struggles with staying onside. Also he isn't as good as Mitro at holding up the ball. Mitro seems like he is our best bet for a striker though to stand up in these final 5 matches. Has bagged a few goals and assists recently and seems like a guy up for the fight.

Gini is the worry - has been a shadow of himself for a few months now and can't seem to find any form. Can't really afford to carry passengers either at this stage.

That being said, I trust Rafa's man management skills. Here's hoping for a good result vs City...
Click to expand...

Cisse has never been able to stay onside, it's so frustrating.

I still prefer Haidara long term in the LB role over Dummy, but tbh if we stay up we need huge upgrades at full back.

If we beat City we go above Norwich, huge bloody game in the morning, I'll def be getting up.
 
tige19 said:
Cisse has never been able to stay onside, it's so frustrating.

I still prefer Haidara long term in the LB role over Dummy, but tbh if we stay up we need huge upgrades at full back.

If we beat City we go above Norwich, huge bloody game in the morning, I'll def be getting up.
Click to expand...

Yeah, LB is definitely a position we need to strengthen in the summer, along with a couple CBs and possibly a RB if Janmaat goes. I just hope Rafa is the one signing the players!

Huge game. Our record against City is atrocious and a few weeks ago I would have backed us to sneak a win but they've seemingly returned to form which is a worry. Hopefully a full St James' with Rafa and a fired up team are up for the contest!
 
How did Gini not score in the 88th? Geee man, what a save from Hart. We absolutely bossed them the 2nd half, great signs.
 
Missed out on 3 points - hurts a bit more when you factor in how offside Aguero was...but that being said, a point is still precious to us. A little bit closer to safety after coming up against arguably our biggest bogey team. Need to try and get another positive result at Liverpool before our next 2 huge games v palace and villa. Howay the lads!

Sent from my HTC_0PJA10 using Tapatalk
 

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