Philip

Neil Dawson said:
Eddie didn’t get consistency out of him with us, and neither have his five predecessors. He was probably at his most consistent under GON being the main focal point.
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Thought it was under Parker he really started to stand out.

Single handed won a fair few games iirc, where they appeared to be destined for a draw. A little like Danjuma under tindall. Different player of course, but similar in terms of being a match winner.

Personally I'd be surprised if Eddie did go in for him, but who knows. Perhaps with ffp Newcastle have to be a little clever in the marker rather than signing a load of 1200k + a week level players. Wouldn't blame toon fans for feeling a bit underwhelmed at this link tbh.
 
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rikki39 said:
didn't eddie sign him and play him more as defensive midfielder where JT pushed him forward more?
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I believe it was actually under Woodgate when we pushed Billing forward and started to see the fruits of his labor when allowed to focus on attacking, and then Parker continued playing him in attacking roles. Under JT Billing had scored a single goal and had no assists, under Woodgate's fewer games he scored 7 and assisted 4.
 
darwinsdummy said:
I believe it was actually under Woodgate when we pushed Billing forward and started to see the fruits of his labor when allowed to focus on attacking, and then Parker continued playing him in attacking roles. Under JT Billing had scored a single goal and had no assists, under Woodgate's fewer games he scored 7 and assisted 4.
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Yah I think you are right, I thought it was JT but memory did not serve me well.
 
darwinsdummy said:
I believe it was actually under Woodgate when we pushed Billing forward and started to see the fruits of his labor when allowed to focus on attacking, and then Parker continued playing him in attacking roles. Under JT Billing had scored a single goal and had no assists, under Woodgate's fewer games he scored 7 and assisted 4.
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Don't think he started that much under JT, did he? I remember JT saying he was injured and Phil saying on social media that was news to him.
 
Cherriess said:
Don't think he started that much under JT, did he? I remember JT saying he was injured and Phil saying on social media that was news to him.
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There was a fair bit of injury/bench time, played 954 minutes in the 2020/21 championship season under JT (sacked after the loss to Sheffield Wednesday on 2/2/21), had 1 goal 0 assists. Played 965 minutes under Woodgate in the rest of the season, had 7 goals 4 assists (too lazy to find the playoffs and cup stats). So actually a very similar number of minutes, but much more attacking contribution under Woodgate (stats from Transfermarkt).
 
Bishop said:
Really? It’s great that we all see different things. I don’t see him in the manager’s system at all, sub at best
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Agree, he just doesn’t fit. Doesn’t offer what the likes of Cook, Christie or Scott offer in a deeper role.

Doesn’t offer what Kluivert offers in the 10 role, with Tavernier, Semenyo, Sinisterra as options around him.

Billing will have a chance to fit in with Semenyo unavailable. But it’ll be Sinisterra who gets to start more in his absence I think.
 
If I was Billing I would be looking to move at the end of the season to keep his career alive. He has the ability to play top flight football for the right manager and team. I'll always be thankful for that free kick to Moore.

I would of course I would be happy if he chose to stay as he can be an useful squad player but his minutes will be low.
 
DJ said:
Agree, he just doesn’t fit. Doesn’t offer what the likes of Cook, Christie or Scott offer in a deeper role.

Doesn’t offer what Kluivert offers in the 10 role, with Tavernier, Semenyo, Sinisterra as options around him.

Billing will have a chance to fit in with Semenyo unavailable. But it’ll be Sinisterra who gets to start more in his absence I think.
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Yes, unless kluivert is moved to the position he's pretty much all always played before in his career... wide left.

I'd prefer to see Sinisterra get the nod though and another start to show us what he can do... as he's a superb player.
 
N19 said:
I see Billing a hit like Mings. A good player who we don’t always see the best of and if we can sell him for a good amount I’d be content with him leaving.
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Yeah exactly.

Assume Billing is one of highest earners too?

Not sure we can afford to have thst, given ffp. Top money should be spent on key players, integral to how we play.

Which under AI system, it doesn't appear he is/will be.

I'd love to keep him as impact sub, quality backup player. But due to ffp, sadly not sure we can afford that luxury?
 
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Bishop said:
Really? It’s great that we all see different things. I don’t see him in the manager’s system at all, sub at best
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Yeah, Kluivert seems to have the nod over him. Not sure why (pace maybe). Anyway, he's good when he comes on as a sub. Maybe Andoni is trying to push Phil to give him more.
 
Cherriess said:
Yeah, Kluivert seems to have the nod over him. Not sure why (pace maybe).
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It’s the flexibility and therefore the unpredictability that putting Kluivert in there offers. He plays the full width of pitch popping up in pockets or rotating with Semenyo or Tavernier.

Billing, stays central. Far easier to nullify without the oppositions defence getting dragged about and potentially creating space for others to exploit.
 
DJ said:
It’s the flexibility and therefore the unpredictability that putting Kluivert in there offers. He plays the full width of pitch popping up in pockets or rotating with Semenyo or Tavernier.

Billing, stays central. Far easier to nullify without the oppositions defence getting dragged about and potentially creating space for others to exploit.
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Yep. Good points/observations that I hadn't really thought about. Makes sense.
 
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