80

And this, gentlemen, is why you don't lock threads.

We need to hang onto him so hard. Give his dad a permanent suite in the Vermont and whatever else is required to keep the emotional pressure on.

*Epitome

That video will eat Gordon's soul

I omitted the Liverpool game in the same way Sibierski said we should omit this season's Liverpool and Barcelona games. It's easy to paint a picture if we just exclude games from within the last fortnight like Bilbao and Tottenham which counter the narrative. We have created a lot of unfinished opportunities this season - though admittedly it's getting less rather than more. I've got no issue at all with people criticizing things now - this time last year I found myself having to patiently explain to people on here it's alright to highlight problems without it meaning you hate Howe and think he's a clown. On the flip side however, seeing people go on like the sky is falling and we've never seen anything like it before is bizarre. The situation is strikingly - and yes, disturbingly - reminiscent of 12 months ago. Even down to Eddie making bizarre mid game tactical lurches against two different failing West Ham teams. But we also have plenty of evidence our manager can rejig and revive failing teams and take them to new levels in short spaces of time - something that most alternatives fail at.

No we didn't, we were dogshit for ages against any team that wasn't looking to dominate and destroy us. Our only reliable methodology for scoring goals was flailing like a drunken sailor from about February 2024 onwards. Schar and Burn appeared to be our most effective strike partnership. The team functioning better with Longstaff over Tonali was an active conversation. We picked up loads of lucky points at the beginning of last season which kept us afloat e.g. Wolves away, with our expected points figure looking horrible. There were plenty of people who said they were blind to the problems, but they were there.

I think everyone who seems to be shocked and frightened by our recent games should do themselves a favour. Go back and watch 3 games from November and December last season - West Ham at home, Crystal Palace away and Brentford away, along with Eddie's post match interviews. I was really concerned he himself thought he was at the end of the road - our performances were worse in those games than they are now. Against Palace we registered no shots on goal. Not no shots on target, literally no shots at all. Guehi scored an early own goal for us and that was it. Then watch any number of games that came later. Arsenal away in the League Cup Semi 1st leg was precisely one month after the Brentford game. Maybe Aston Villa at home - a 3-0 win three weeks after Brentford. Finish it off with the League Cup final along with the celebrations, which was three months after Eddie looked like a dead man walking. It should give perspective. History seems to be getting rewritten that we've never seen anything like this before.

This guy better be revolutionary for us...

Definite black mark against Ross Wilson if he lets him go for under a million, like.

Sounds to me like he's very committed to being sincere. Can't complain about that, I don't think we need to panic about him leaving just yet, but yeah, realistically he knows there's a chance he leaves at some point. Sounds like there's a chance he stays too, mind.

I associate that chant with defending rapists, so it's not a good one...

I've missed this boy.

I'm taking this as a good thing, and score one for the Hopmeister.

I agree, and it could just be a case of putting the players to work with videos while flying to matches. But I also think part of how we generate CL-level performances from the Murphys and Joelintons is through drilling actions into them in such a way they become muscle memory, and I don't think the Sakas and Rices require the same amount of concerted input, meaning less training time isn't as disruptive to them.

Seriously, some sort of change in approach. E.g. Better/different kind of footballers who are able to operate more instinctively, easier to understand tactics, greater staff delegation, new approach to delivery of instructions. Something along those lines. I don't know what, but there's evidence we struggle with the lack of training time more than most clubs with our schedule. It's not cataclysmic, and there's evidence we've made improvements on the last time we were this hectic i.e. more considered squad rotation, so I can see us making further improvements in time. But it won't be instantaneous.

I think that probably is a killer for us. Solution needs to be found.

100%. What I'm finding peculiar is I thought things were far worse this time last year but - from memory - people who were alright with that are now upset. We're currently -6 points on like for like games. That's bad, but it seems to be a strange season for most clubs at present, and there's a serious opportunity to make that -3 after next weekend's game at Brentford. Given what we've gone through with Eddie Howe, I'm happy giving him another three seasons without even referring to our results. Among other things, I don't see many contenders out there who you could claim even have a chance of coming in and doing better across multiple seasons for the club. The chances of a downgrade are strong.

The short memories are shocking to me.

It's grim that our new bumper signing is already a last throw of the dice substitute and it seemingly didn't feel to anyone - me, the fans, Eddie or Elanga himself - that he could come on and make the difference. I retain faith, but there's clearly a long road to travel.

Gordon's not been the same since the Southgate Euros/attempted sale summer, there's no getting away from it.

Gordon and Botman.

It's about time for me to repeat that we got Bruce because we had Pardew and largely accepted him.

Absolutely. If he isn't, who is?

Last night? Surely not carrying on this morning?

My MOTM. Been a fantastic addition.