Very rarely do Italians come into the premiership and hit the ground running so give the fella a break. He was coming off the back of an international tournament and with moving to a new country and clearly had the betting investigation all affected him. Why you would pick him out for Brighton when we were hopeless and nobody had a good game is beyond me. Let’s see where he is this time next season and we will know but I hope once he is back it’s the last we see of Longstaff because we can’t keep carrying a limited footballer in the midfield of a club in the top half of the league

I am really hoping that the way the club & undoubtedly the players have supported sando during this period will have shown him what a great club we are & how much the club want him here. The fact that he was able to train with the squad i think was a huge break too. His english & familiarity with the players & the coaching staff will all have benefited from this period, albeit we'd all rather that had happened with him in the team. I am really hopeful that he comes back hungry to prove himself to the players, fans & the wider footballing world that he is recovered & ready to remind us all why we were so excited to have signed him last summer. Cheers as always craig, howay the lads.

Just watch the Toon go next season Craig. A midfield of Joelinton, Bruno ad Tonali backed up by Willock, Anderson and Miley with a forward line of Barnes, Isak and Gordon plus decent backup and Pope back with Trippier, Hall, Schar and Livramento with the addition of a couple of new centre backs. Months since we played with a full squad and we have the potential for sixth. With a reasonably free season top four looks potentially a big possibility.

Craig, l Like you, but Tonali will be an exceptional upgrade to Longstaff. Imagine a midfield 3 of Brun, Tonali and Joey. All fit

Craig, just go rewatch the extended highlights vs Villa at St. James and let me know what you think. We were electric that day - very unlike how we're playing in midfield these days.

Too much is made of those 12 games Tonali played. He was class IMO considering it was his first games in a new league and country with a massive personal issue going on in the background. Best player on the park against Villa and Liverpool and was up there against PSG and Milan. He wasn’t great at Brighton but who was? Tonali is on another planet to Longstaff they’re not comparable in any way. Roll on Tonalis return he’s gonna be unreal for us

Totally agree he has a lot to prove, I wasn't convinced with his performances . Time will tell hope I'm wrong 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

Is he better than Sean Longstaff? Yes. Simple

love your vids craig keep em coming

I agree Sandro has a lot to prove next season. However, I think he deserves a reset and we should get behind him when he comes back.

Great to hear a honest true opinion about this worrying subject ,be interesting end to the season once we get to July and city get banned 5th may then become champions league possibly,and city may not be the only top team deducted points,cheers

Looking forward to his wor flags welcome display 💪🇭🇺

Did many a paper round around that part of Gosforth, Ashburton Newsagent’s best paper lad 2007 & 2008… great Christmas tips !

Tonali owes us simple as! You can’t draw any conclusions of the little we saw of him before ban for many reasons. Yes he has a lot to prove but we got to give him a chance to do it and if and when he gets his opportunity let’s support the lad and don’t drag him down if he doesn’t set world on fire immediately, it’s a total restart for him 👍

I love Tonali. I hope that all toon fans will get right behind him next season from the get-go, just as they did when he came off in his final game before his ban. He is a young lad who made a mistake. Lift him up

You hit the nail on the head... When he played he brought nothing and even worse he hindered Bruno... As soon as he went out Bruno excelled. I dont think he should be a shoe in until he proves himself.

It would have meant Longstaff could have had a break if Tonali hadn't been banned.

Cheers Craig. Agree from a Tonali perspective. A lot to prove but he needs a season to do that, not a handful of games. Can see potential. For me back to the same question - can Tonali and Bruno play together. I thought not and was proved right before he was banned. We didn’t need a Tonali and this may now open the door for Bruno to leave. Great Tonali will be a year down the line and fully trained up. Need to see really. However Longy needs to go, doesn’t offer anything. Always caught out of position and his passing has been atrocious. He won’t start next season if we keep him. I think Longy, Wilson and almiron need to be sold to bring money in. As for Burnley, we must win this and all our games as Manu Utd are scraping results and Chelsea are flying. We literally can’t afford to not win all our games. We start poor and are not good enough overall with the fit squad we have.

Hopefully like Gordon (and maybe Hall) he will come good… and by good I mean great… based on the esteem he is held in by Milan fans. I do agree that post Villa he wasn’t great, but the good thing is we know the ability is in there.

I totally agree,,, Tonali did pull out from some challenges,,, not tracking back as well. Lets see if he can now prove himself. For me some very concerning aspects of his game.

To be fair Craig, Tonali would have known he was facing all kinds of shit due to his gambling. I believe he's a top class player and we've got a real bargain. How many Italian central midfielders have ever come over here? Zola? That's about it. We don't need a number 6. Joelinton, Tonali and Bruno are well capable of performing that role on any given day.

Tonali should be physically fit if he has maintained his training programme which I am sure the club will have developed for him, so he should not take long to be match fit and realistically he will or should be like a new signing for the club, but he has a lot to prove especially as it appears the club have been very supportive to him

Tonali is class,and will prove it,next season👍

Tonali had good moments in his short cameo at the start of the season, but still is to convince many. Seems sometimes that the longer he is banned the better player he has become.

When he was banned I was only interested in 1 question, does he want to be here once it’s up? If he does, after this time he will be phenomenal I have no doubt. Was a great player at Milan, look what Eddie and his team have achieved with the other lads since they came in. If Sandro wants to be part of it he is going to be next level.

Getting Tosin and Kelly in on free transfers would be a tremendous start to the window, especially in the context of Botman and Lascelles being out until at least near Christmas. It also obviously sets us up in terms of being able to concentrate whatever money we have to spend on transfer fees on other areas of the pitch, such as the forward line and right wing.

Craig I think he knew the shit was about to hit the fan! Hopefully he will repay the loyalty we have shown him

I'd like to hope that when he returns he's had time to learn how Eddie wants him to play, how he can fit in to that, he's learned the language, culture and feels like he has a point to prove. Someone made a point about Italians generally needing time to settle so hopefully we've hurdled that step although it must be understood that it will take time for him to get up to speed.

Had plenty of time to adjust Watch our players and how Eddie wants to play in various ways . His overall strength and movement will be better too. New signing that we've been able to bed in...

Good video Craig I'm with you regarding Tonali I think he has lots to prove I'm not sure he is suited to the pace of premiership but he has to be better than Longstaff, who gets knocked off the ball caught in possession and really has no football brain . Let's hope Tonali is that 52 million player

Agree with just about all of that video..Burnley is that game you look forward to thinking it's a win, but likely the hardest game of the last 4/6 weeks

Tonali is a class act. He will become an NUFC icon just as he was in Milan. Do you know anything about football Craig? Did you ever play at any level?

Sandro was great during villa game I agree however even that day Villa kept splitting through our midfield. All season we’ve had little protection, the only missing player was Willock whose been a huge miss

Villa game was his very best game, and I agree he wasn't the same after that game. Is he suited :/ I'm not sure, I'm sure in time he likely will be, but when you consider we could have had paquetta :/

A fair set of points, part of his form could be the distraction but the other side is similar to Gordon he is given time to adapt to Eddie tactics plus English language and EPL physicality (in training) so hopefully he can hit the ground running as Gordon did this season

Great video craig. Maybe time for a trim tho lol Mr flintstone

BTW, what's your over/under of Eddie's win percentage after 2 years? I reckon 55%+, he might hit 60% in 4 years. He's a winner, and he teaches people how to win. Hopefully the best manager of all time. We need the continuity. Newcastle might be like the Manu teams of the 90s

Tonali has had a pre-season lasting ten months. As Eddie says he will need some practice team games behind closed doors. I wish him well and he does owe us. Let's hope he repays Eddie's belief in him. Nobody knows why our away form is so bad, but we could do with stepping up tomorrow.

Dear Craig, Canny video as always👍 Score prediction:5-0 the Toon👍✊👏🤘😎😁 Regards,

I have my doubts over Bruno, Tonali and J7 in a midfield and always had a feeling that Tonali will eventually be Bruno’s replacement. Hope that isn’t the case

he will come good

Where did you see tonili?

Rambling a bit there Craig

Seems Tonali took a paycut ,wonder if it was willingly though😮

Next season we will see whether Tonali can cut the mustard. He certainly owns us full commitment.

Yessir. Sandro has a lot to prove. Not sure how much video you've watched on him, but he could move anywhere. I see him more of an attacking midfielder than Bruno. We don't know shit. Watch and enjoy. Times will get better.

Back all the players.

Please turn off HDR video recording :)

Even a 50% Tonali is better than the best version of Longstaff simple as that

What’ll be interesting is if he clearly benefits from the hiatus. If he comes back and is off the map great it’ll be very interesting from a developmental pov. Oh, and Craig, stop obsessing about a number six. Perhaps ask Eddie directly about it. You’re not going to see a traditional no 6 in an Eddie Howe team.

Don’t agree Craig; he’s an outstanding player and will be invaluable to the toon.

I'm looking forward to half way through next season where Tonali's bossing it and everyone dons their tinfoil hats and suggests we knew all along that he was getting banned but we pretended not to and took advantage of Milan for them trying to offload him, at a potential cut-price..

Give it a year once he's back in action my personal opinion is Sandro will be as big Bruno

Tonali initially looked like he wanted the first flight back to Milan but with this ban I think he thinks hes got something to prove and he may not hit tge ground running but 10 games under his belt and his fee could be a bargain

I do not think Tonali has anything to prove - after all he was the captain of AC Milan. What he has to do is repay the backing the toon gave him to the fullest possible extent. Him taking a pay cut on his own accord is a step in the right direction. If he helps the toon win a trophy of some sort within the remaining time of his contract, then that is a debt fully repaid in my eyes. Having Big Joe and Miggy back is a great sight for me and I would probably enjoy seeing them on the pitch at some point in the game hopefully. If we are to secure Europa league winning all our games is a must. Time will tell.

I actually saw you driving round jesmond recently, thought it would be weird to wave from the adjacent car🤣

No video from turf moor?

Mebbes him getting banned was a blessing in disguise coz he probz would have fallen victim to this seasons injury curse!🤔

Craig time you became more positive and stop giving negative vibes. I understand you are a reporter but please try a positive approach as I unsubscribed months ago from your Channel I defo watch now and again and turn off half way through. I do this for the 6:38 likes of Ton Review, Adam Pearson, The Magpie Channel. It’s ok to be upbeat as a reporter. Let’s hope your more upbeat next time I watch

Craig Hope opinion or Eddie Howe opinion of a player? I know which one I trust most. No hate, I enjoy and like most of your videos, but the negativity puts me off at times.

He will shine given time.

I thought he was awful in most games, I’m hoping he had things on his mind and now he’s focused

You can't really judge on what you saw as half his mind would have been what was happening with his bets. His behaviour seemingly that he did not want to be here was also obviously because his mind was on other thoughts. A serious gambler only thinks about one thing all the time not just when a bet is on.

From what we saw before the suspension I’ve yet to be convinced. His first game was good, never really liked what I saw after that. He and Bruno certainly didn’t appear to be good together………

I think the plan was always to bring in tonali and sell Bruno for 100 mil

A mate of mine saw Sandro on way back to Newcastle on a plane from Amsterdam a month ago! Hope he didn’t go for the magic mushrooms…

Tonali will be back in Italy by the start of 25/26 season.

For NUFC to progress to the next level - Murphy, Longstaff and Almiron have to be replaced.............

I think Eddie Howe's answer shortly before Tonali's ban when asked about his dip in form in comparison to that Villa debut was quite telling. I'm sure you remember Craig he said he felt the Villa performance wasn't a surprise given the amount of preparation Sandro had for the game with how early the club signed him during pre season. One can only hope all this time on the training pitch will mean those performances are the norm when he returns but you are right he does have much to prove.

I agree, Craig. He owes Newcastle, in my opinion .

Tonali has ability and no availability. Longstaff has availability and no ability. Therefore when Tonali returns with his ability, Longstaff can stay on the bench or, better yet, depart this club, as I am quite content that Tonali will be twice the player Longstaff is.

Never calls Sean out for doing absolutely nothing in any game he plays in .come on do me a favour

Craig, i really respect these videos, but the contrasting way you speak about Tonali and Longstaff is crazy in my opinion. You give longstaff freedom and ignore his extremely poor season, yet hounding tonali even when he hasnt played for ages.

Tonali we just don't know, he had 1 good game then looked lost. Not even sure he is a 6 or a 8. He also jumped out of the way of Kudus equaliser at West Ham.

Oh Craig,we love your videos,but as a journalist,don't give half a story about not going to Burnley.leaving us hanging in thin air!!!!!anyway,jeep up the excellent work.

Bar the debut, Tonali looked and played like a man with problems on his mind ...

Longsraff has always been a championship player. He's not a good player in any way. He has never tracked players back and a few times cost us goals. Sandro definitely knew he was in trouble, and it affected him. His head wasn't in it.

Walking past the UKIP dentist again I see.

New players always take time to adjust to Eddies system - Gordon, Barnes, even Isak. Tonali has had time to up his fitness levels, speed, etc. I hope hes worked bloody hard so he hits the ground (literally) running in the new season. We have to wait and see how Eddie gets J7, Tonali and Bruno working together not just going forward but covering our problrm defensive midfield role (no. 6 between the 3 of them). I hate the phrase "like a new signing" because of what it meant under Ashley/Bruce, but lets hope Tonali can fit into the system. Unfortunately, Longstaff doesnt have the quality for the next level, which should be our aim next season, so reluctantly sell him to Leeds to fund incomings.

If I were a Tibetan man, I'd back the Dalai Lama.

ye he was shite before the ban.

I’ve a sneaking suspicion Bruno will be sold and Tonali will be like a new signing-in his place.

I hope he wasn't walking his dog to the bookies.

He has millions of Euro and gambled.He is a criminal guy,who has to leave the club. Milan and whole Italy knew that he is a criminal gambler. Milan searched an idiot-they found him. His name??? Newcastle United Otherwise Milan would not let him leave the club because he is really good. Newcastle needs Mourinho and players as Bruno,Joelinton or for example Palhinha from Fulham. Eddie Howe and Tonali are finished at NC!

Craig, Tonali is floored, & AC Milan knew this. Hes lied, hes a degenerate gambler, id have Elliot Anderson plus 15 of Toons current players before Tonali everyday of the week & twice on a Sunday.

Half of Craig’s patter is justifying his endless negativity and criticism.

What do you watch when you watch Newcastle because the majority of your tales are mental! Played himself out of the team?? What are you on about