Andy

I think Dowman is Yamal good, where Nwaneri is Saka good.

Too crazy to given Dowman the last spot on the plane this summer?

First win of that kind all season and the perfect preparation for an away tie against Barcelona. Get in! #nufc

Little trial run of a back 5 that we'll surely see if the game goes well for us on Wednesday #nufc

That Chelsea handball shout on Botman was one of the most desperate you will ever see

One of Woltemade's better cm shifts, but glad to have Joelinton on to help tighten up

Biggest surprise was that they even had a check to be honest.

They we have it, Tino made a goal through the middle where Murphy was at Rb

Playing Woltemade up against Palmer just feels negligent. At the very least swap him over to the right. #nufc

Livramento always seems better carrying the ball right down the middle of the pitch than he does on the flanks too.

Unlikely, but being able to get one of him or Hall into centre mid at times could be handy when we're missing tonali and Joe.

What about?

Murphy Thiaw Botman Tino Hall

Ramsey Willock
Barnes Gordon
Woltemade

Could it be a back 5? You could sneak Tino in as a LCB who man-marks Palmer, maybe sharing the task with Hall.

Those tables are also a dead giveaway that this was written by chatgpt

Give me strength

Enjoyable first 45 for the U21s, deservedly two up against Blackburn. Lovely finish from Neave after twisting the defenders all over the place, and an even better goal from Park who's been full of energy in and out of possession. U21s have really improved since start of the season #nufc

We managed to find a space for Lascelles, so I don't see why we couldn't keep him - especially if we could a replacement that's U21. Both cover for Thiaw anyway.

Not a bad XI there. I'd go with a 3421, Kudus CF and Davies GK.

I don't have an extensive knowledge of keepers but this is a name I'd have thrown in. We will have watched all the U21s Euros games with Woltemade playing anyway.

Yamal's celebration wound me up almost as much though. Pocketed all game and giving it the big 'un at the end.

I'd feel happier with the extra defender too to be honest. But I wonder if that would mean Hall pressing their fullback a lot and so leaving Burn with Yamal.

Mad that Osula is getting picked for our biggest game ahead of Wissa and Woltemade. Guess it just emphasises that our biggest hope is pure energy and chaos.

Such a shame Gordon not fit or well enough to play tonight #nufc

Nice to see that Vakhtang Salia has scored inside half an hour of his U21s debut proper, after scoring in a friendly last week.

Wasn't sure what his position was as he'd played a real mix but mostly LW in senior football.

Being used as a CF in a 433 for us so far. #nufc

Burn and Joelinton for us. Missed an opportunity to have them serve that ban while we were 6-1 up like Thiaw chose to.

I didn't agree with you here until we beat Villa.

Looks a really good opportunity now.

Can't see City fancying this one too much either when they've got the Carabao final to come and have just dropped 7 points back in the league.

Tough balance as if we get past City, the FA cup arguably becomes the best chance of European qualification.

Would be interesting to see Nick up front with Osula on the right though

Either of the Brazilian midfielders would be decentcover for us. Hugo Bueno reliable back up for Hall and Rodrigo Gomes who scored a couple recently, looked decent at St James' as a rwb. Mane is the gem but will have his pick of the big teams.

He's got a big role to play in coming games. I can see that front two with Gordon being the way we go away to Barcelona, with Botman adding to the defence.

We've seen that identical goal 2 or 3 times (or maybe he's hit post with it). He has absolutely no right to be as good as he is at this specific trick of cutting onto his weak foot with a step over and spanking it into the far corner. Great trick to have nailed down.

If you can get a decent price for someone in the last year of their contract or something, great. Otherwise that extra 50% above the fee of their continental equivalent is basically never going to be worth it.

My assessment might have been swayed by Mbeumo being even worse on the night, and wondering who we actually could have signed this summer to do a decent job on that wing. So much money wasted on that position - Kudus, Madueke, and the three shit wingers Forest signed for 100m to replace Elanga.