Back to Spursday football. An enjoyable test with the possibility of CL entry should we win the Big Vase. We did well last season, losing in the semi’s to the eventual winners, could we reach the final in Baku Olympic Stadium (that’s in Azerbaijan, you thicko))?

There are some very strong teams in the competition including Chelsea, AC Milan, Sevilla and FC København. Nonetheless, to get knocked out early would be a shock.

We start with a home tie against Vorskla Poltava. It would be a fib if I pretended I had heard of them before the draw, I very much doubt if any of you had either. Thanks to Chas’s excellent post we know what they eat, and more about the club which finished third in their league last season.

Quite frankly, we should beat any Ukrainian team with our reserves, many of whom will get a start tonight.

So, who gets a shirt and who will come out after the half time orange slice?

We will surely get a look at our hugely expensive new GK, Leno. Apparently, he is very good with his feet and can double as a left sided defender when Hector goes walkabout. Why else would we buy him?

Others who might get a start are Terreira, Lichtsteiner and Welbeck. None of whom has enough post- WC fitness to play more than 45 minutes…. it was very hot in Russia and Danny played at least 10 minutes. The Swiss Bloke i, in particular, will want to show how a full back should defend.

Perhaps Emery will experiment with his CB’s and give a chance to the Yoof, Holding and the other younger Greek bloke. Can’t see who will play LB with AMN out, maybe a Willock or Monreal? Or could we experiment with 3 at the back and Iwobi playing as an extra MF?

My Team:

Leno

Swiss Chap   Holding  GB   Anon

Elneny    Terrier  Smith-Rowe

Mhiki    Iwobi

Welbz

A nice mixture of young fellows and chaps needing a kickabout. The bench should be fun and assuming we are ahead by a couple late in the game I expect to see some new blood.

That said, the above team has not one player who started at Newcastle and UE is unlikely to experiment to such an extent.

This a competition we can do well in and getting off to a good start is important. Doing a Man City and under-estimating the opposition could be embarrassing. We need to win this one and we should.

COYRRG

How do we assess the work of Mr. Gazidis? Do we look at the results on the pitch? Of course not, that is the responsibility of the coaching and playing staff. So, has Gazidis taken Arsenal forward as a commercial venture? The answer must be a solid Yes.

When Ivan arrived The Arsenal we were the 6th biggest (in terms of revenue) football club in the world. Our turnover was ￡265m appr. There followed a decade of Oil money when countries bought and implemented their financial power into European clubs. Where are we now? We are still in 6th spot with a revenue of ￡487m.

This after City, PSG, Juve, etc have been Oiled.

I would say this is a job very well done. The club have expanded both in terms of revenue and staff size yet remain a club with traditional Arsenal values.

Much has been written about the power AW within the club and the inability of Gazidis to reduce his influence But how do you do that when Mr Wenger was already an Arsenal legend when Gazidis arrived? And … Gazidis is answerable to the owners of the club who wanted Wenger to stay.

Was the revolution in the summer of 2018 under the auspices of Gazidis? Surely he knew he would be out of the club before it saw any results. Yet being the gent that he is, nothing was said about the MD leaving as well.

It must be said that Arsenal have not been as successful on the pitch during Ivan’s reign though we have won 3 FAC’s.

One could question his inability to present a more transparent view of the off-pitch transactions. Many complained that he was aloof and refused to answer the questions raised at the AGM’s.

Gazidis has to be judged on the commercial success and value of AFC and in this he has been hugely successful in a time of change. He always attended the games, spoke well about Arsene and the Arsenal, led the club from the front – a very different type of MD to, say Ken Friar.

Ivan has taken on a difficult job in Milan despite the money available. I wish him good luck.

written by Big Raddy

The Toon away. We do OK up there but as RC78 so rightly says, this will be a difficult fixture from which to garner 3 points. NU have only lost by one goal against the Chavs, MC and the Lilly-livered Lillywhites

Last season we lost 2-1 at St James. With good fortune and the wind at our backs we hope for a better result this afternoon.

Benitez has done a wonderful job and deserves a Toon statue. Promotion plus keeping them up with hardly any money and an appalling group of Southern lardarses on the BoD.

What is lacking is a proper No.9 and that is an essential requirement for the Toon Army. What a history of great CF’s they have had: SuperMac, Dirty Shearer, Thieving (allegedly) Cole, Keegan, Beardsley and back in GN5’s time, Jackie Milburn. Now they have …  Rondon. That said, Rondon and probably Rondon’s mother could score against our fragile defence.

Newcastle could well have Shelvey and Matt Ritchie back in midfield so we have be secure – surely a start for Terrier to put a marker on Shelvey.

Thankfully, Rafa has got rid of the filthy tactics previously employed by NU managers – let us not forget that Joey Barton played for this prestigious club.

Given our flaky back five scoring is essential and thankfully we have the firepower upfront. Did you know that we have scored 8 PL goals this season with 8 different scorers?!

My Team:

Helmet

Fashion Icon    CUWTH (Cock up waiting to happen)   GB     Nacho

Terrier    Granit    Welsh Chap

German Genius

Laca   PEA

Should we start this team the onus is very much on the FB’s to provide the width. As always, we have a strong attacking bench.

I fear that away from home Emery will be more pragmatic and choose  to play with just one upfront, perhaps including Mhiki as a false 8 (whatever that means). Had Iwobi been fit, I would expect him to start ahead of Laca.

And just in case you have forgotten, St James was the scene of the worst refereeing performance ever seen. Who will ever forget the afternoon in which Phil Dowd showed himself to be a complete and utter  ****.? No Gooner will. Dowd is now a Traffic Warden in Wallsend.

Newcastle’s recent tactics have been PTB and hope for the best, I expect Benitez to be more expansive this afternoon, correctly surmising that our defence is prone to lapses. Should be another exciting game.

COYRRG