The College Dropout

Tbf Man U’s side is more talented than the table suggests and they had a point to prove.

Nah. It was Hojlund, make him shoot. Martinez didnt even try and go for the ball. He could’ve just evaded him and Hojlund wouldn’t have been able to score. symptomatic of a side bottling it though both the back pass and the crazy decision.

Of course. But it was a big gamble. How many other top clubs would bring in a new manager and sign nobody of note?

Edwards is great and is super diligent in his decisions. But he left Slot high and dry in the summer without reinforcements. He’s a smart operator but he’s an ultimate suit for FSG.

Aye - the mistake is hiding the fact that Villa had shat the bed up until that point.

I think Pep might actually want a maverick though.

Freedman is also more Howe aligned on transfers. Likes his English football experience but also finds bargains.

Whoever replaces him will also keep bringing in young players. She needs a numbers person if so. She’s not that evidently.

I don’t think Mitchell would authorise Barnes, Tonali type signings or the Joelinton extension. Little scope for increasing transfer value for all 3 players. Even the Hall and Livra signings the fees were steep. I also think he may have wanted a different profile of player - more technical less physical. And deprioritise PL experience. I think Howe is willing to trade and spend less money. But he will want the type of player he wants. He and Mitchell seemed to only agree on a small pool of players.

I think there should be someone to provide healthy tension to Howe. And so to spread some of the liability and influence. He had that with Staveley and Ashworth but seems like Staveley didn’t control the numbers well enough. For better and for worse Staveley ran the club and had the keys to the fortune. Along with Nickson, Ashworth and Howe they identified players and ultimately she has final say. We miss that conduit between the owners and management. I don’t think Eales ever had enough influence over PIF and he was misaligned with the old regime. The old regime had its issues. They didn’t agree on Joelinton’s contract. But I think th we tensions were necessary.

Think the behind the scenes stuff could be a factor. And I think Wilson’s recent performances haven’t helped.

Mitchell will be replaced obviously. It will just be someone that can align somewhat with Howe. Everything Mitchell said suggested a significant departure from how things were. And Howe didn’t have total control of that either.

Cherki has the Ribery vibes of being uncoachable. Maybe Pep wants that

Bring back Ashworth.

Liked what is as From that podcast episode. Tough childhood. Has a real resolution about him that some of the others (Gordon) could learn from. I’ve been one of his biggest defenders. But he’s done at this level for us.

A lot of money. He’s not super secure on the ball. I don’t think he’s ideal for other tactical setups. But he’s perfect for Howe. Has the personality profile Howe demands. ‘Is willing and physically able to chase down subbed on wingers in the 93rd minute’ isn’t available in the data and not a requirement for many managers style of play. It’s no accident that the 2 CMs Howe has bought are ‘braveheart’ types mentally although in different ways.

Klopp would want to say - it’s not that he didn’t want Salah - he preferred Brandt. He was successfully persuaded.

I agree with this but there are other factors. Klopp repeatedly never got his first choice midfield options. Edwards seems great at managing whatever budget he can negotiate and can seemingly get the purse strings open too. Getting business done super early. That didn’t happen without him. They would chase players all summer for the player to go to Real Madrid or Chelsea. So it’s also about being able to manage further up. Staveley and co. probably had too much freedom financially. But we do need someone that can advocate for the playing squad.

Mitchell was brought in to pivot away from the previous approach imo and that meant a pivot from what Eddie wanted.

Agreed Txiki and Pep go back to Barcelona. They were aligned. Edwards and Klopp worked together for a number of years despite tensions. Both entities earning their stripes. I think Mitchell was proposing a departure and misalignment from Eddie. That doesn’t work at any club but certainly not this iteration of Eddie Howe at Newcastle.

But he’s aligned to Pep they go back decades. Edwards for many years managed tensions with Klopp enough to win them titles. Mitchell I think was brought in to mark a pivot that didn’t align with Eddie. Eddie would have to concede or leave. Eddie conceding or leaving is impossible now. Eddie had tensions with Ashworth but it was working well enough that Ashworth wanted Howe at Man U. They could align enough.

I think Mitchell’s plans went against what Eddie would want - like almost fundamentally. After last season, I think PIF were less convinced about that old way of working which is why they changed things up. I think PIF had doubts about Eddie long-term or at least needed Eddie to bend more. Eddie’s justified the previous transfer approach. The 2 most contentious transfers - Tonali and Barnes - came up big when it mattered. Spend a little more on what you consider a ‘sure-thing’ profile wise. Eddie has secured the base. I think Mitchell was a practical demotion for Eddie. Not that he was in-charge before or will be now - but he had more influence. I don’t think he wanted Hall that first season but he was happy to work with it if he got Tonali and the like. Mitchell wanted less influence from Howe with a partial eye on possible successors. Eddie is the King now.

Again pure conjecture but it feels like Eddie was setup on a suicide mission, a crash out, he was meant to die at war with the 300. He came back with the enemies head on a stake and a bountiful of Gold.

We are living and dying behind Eddie Howe. I can live with that as long as he’s credibly challenged in the transfer market. But there has to be alignment. Not what Mitchell was proposing which was a break from what has worked a treat.

WOOOOOOOOOW! Pure conjecture - I think Howe has pulled rank and killed him. Mitchell was talking too spicy about the previous work imo. I think he wanted to make big changes. I agreed with the sentiment at the time. Eddie and co. have vindicated every previous decision by winning that cup and qualifying for the CL. You can’t change that approach significantly now. Big marquee signings mostly from abroad, elite youngsters and floor raising proven PL players that fit Eddie’s specific style of football. He needs more of that.