KaKa

Kelly and Tosin on free transfers to add depth to left back/left centre back and right centre back would be incredible business.

Congrats Ivory Coast. Well deserved. They were the better team. Naija not good enough going forward at all.

Moyes really left Cornet on the bench and played Johnson the right back on the wing and still have conceded 6 so far. My goodness.

1 hour ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

I would only swap Howe for Pep in the PL and, given this is meant to be the best league in the world, that means he’s a brilliant manager. 

There's a fair few that just can't see this.

I really think a fair few on here really just ought to go ahead and support Man City and enjoy their lives.

All the talk about our players not being technical enough, how we need more control of games, how we shouldn't be losing to this or that team, us not spending enough money, the squad not being good enough quickly enough, going on about us being the richest club in the world and so we should act like it ... etc etc etc.

They are just so desperate to be Man City and so why not just support them?

Instead they remain and complain constantly about everything that isn't as it is at Man City all the time.

42 minutes ago, LionOfGosforth said:

Great win. But these match threads man, seen EH described as "a fucking idiot" and a "fraud" over the course of 90 minutes. Fucking shocking following these threads.

Not worth following the match thread once all that nonsense starts. I usually just bounce now.

It is just so embarrassing, cringe worthy and clueless.

9 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

No, I’m with you - I’m not suggesting that Howe’s achievements are unimpressive.  I’m suggesting that Howe isn’t necessarily going to ‘peak’ in his 50s somehow.  There’s a good chance he’s at his managerial peak - but he hasn’t had the platform to win trophies yet.

 

His only full season with us so far saw him one game away from a trophy.  He might still win one this season yet. 

Yeah, this is really his first chance to show that he can compete for honours. I think the signs look really good. We tend to play really well against the better teams, with a squad that still needs work.

We have spent money, but a lot of it was to simply catch up, due to the lack of spending under Ashley. A lot of our improvement has been due to Howe turning around the fortunes of players we were stuck with that had under performed or been under utilised.

I want to see what he can do once the squad has been built up a bit more. I also think this year's experience managing things with European football will be great for him. It's his first time ever having to deal with that, and there will definitely be some major learnings from it.

Just now, Ghandis Flip-Flop said:

 Think even last week's result needs some context applying. Luto had just smashed Brighton 4-0 so had their tails right up. And how many other Newcastle teams would have withered away when their 4th went in? 
 

if you’d have said before the Villa game we'll get four points from the next two games, most fans would’ve been very happy with that. Does the fact the three of those four points came at Villa Park instead of at home as expected really change that?

Luton have been playing really well for a while now.

They gave both Man City and Arsenal a hell of a time a couple of weeks back.

And like you said they just came off a huge high of battering Brighton.

2 hours ago, TheBrownBottle said:

I’m happy for him to be here, but 46 isn’t young for a manager tbf.  
 

By point of comparison to some big names, Alex Ferguson had won several Scottish titles and won the CWC with Aberdeen after beating Real Madrid in the final; Rafa Benitez, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola had won the European Cup; Jurgen Klopp won the Bundesliga and lost a European Cup final; Arsene Wenger was at Arsenal having previously won the Ligue 1 title with Monaco; Brian Clough had won two league titles and two European Cups with Forest; Arrigo Sacchi had won two European Cups with his great Milan side;  Rinus Michels had won three European Cups with Ajax … and so on, and so forth.

 

Doesn’t mean Howe won’t be successful, but he isn’t a young manager.  

Howe took a different route though. He didn't start off at a club in the first division that could realistically compete for honours.

What he achieved at Bournemouth was pretty extraordinary and ended up completely changing the trajectory of that club, and ultimately allowed them to be in a position to be bought by a wealthy owner and now likely become an established premier league club for good.

There's an argument that his achievements at Bournemouth can be held up in just as high regard. Are there any other examples of similar in recent times?

4 minutes ago, Shearergol said:

 

Good luck to him then.

Be interesting to see what happens.

It's a significant wage for us to pay at this moment in time, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not a massive wage in football nowadays.

1 hour ago, Optimistic Nut said:

If the fans start turning on Howe, the Ashley and Bruce days are everything we deserve. I get criticism of tactics, etc but if that happens the fans can get to fuck. 

I said this not too long ago that a lot of fans might just have been getting what they deserved under the old regime.

Howe has only managed to keep us up under dire circumstances, and then get us into the top 4 since he joined. 

His first time in Europe as a manager and learning to navigate all that, and people think he should be turned on.

Howe deserves better tbh.

46 minutes ago, Shearergol said:

Which of those clubs can afford his wage demands then?

£160,000 a week?

I've just had a look at Atletico's wages on Capology.com, and they have 5 players on over 200,000 euros a week. One of which is Morata.

There's an article claiming we bid £40 million for Koopmeiners in January.

https://www.ilbianconero.com/a/juventus-fari-accesi-su-teun-koopmeiners-e-il-primo-obiettivo-ma-95006

Nagelsmann loved him and was going to take him to Leipzig with him before we came in for him I remember reading.

I could also see a manager like Simeone signing him for Atletico, as well as a number of Italian teams.

In a team with more quality around him, where he could keep things simpler he'd look even better.

Joelinton is invaluable. 100% commitment and follows tactical instructions to a tee. If we make him available people would be shocked at the teams that show interest and the price they'd be willing to pay I think.

55 minutes ago, Jaqen said:

Reminder we've beat Villa X2, Man u X2, Arsenal, City, PSG and Chelsea this season alone with clueless Eddie and his terrible system. 

Say it louder please.

Cannot believe the blind spots some people have.

I honestly don't think most people enjoy the sport or supporting the team for what it is.

I could understand it under Mike Ashley because he was grossly mismanaging everything, but it turns out that didn't have anything to do with it after all.

It's just another avenue and opportunity to complain and be angry about something.

Enjoying the sport and supporting the team is conditional on the club buying the players they want, the manager playing the tactics they want, the manager selecting the team they want and the team getting the results they expect, as if it's a video game.

And so you have the constant complaints about players we're linked with, tactics, the manager, team selections, and my personal favourite, complaints about how we shouldn't be losing to certain teams, never giving any credit to how good other teams might have done, as if that is how football works.

I do wish it was possible to have a section of the forum for a more reasoned following of the team.

Gary O'Neill is no joke. Very impressive.

29 minutes ago, Novocastrian said:

He needs to eradicate this blind spot he has very quickly. Elite managers don’t continually make mistakes like that.

As mentioned in one of my other posts, both Mourinho and Conte were keeping Bissouma out of the match day squad throughout their tenures, in teams that had no control over matches, and were playing Skipp and Hojberg ahead of him.

Completely exposed this season by an understated Aussie manager with a fraction of their experience at the top level.

4 minutes ago, Holmesy said:

Literally every top team and every elite manager uses two pacey, mobile, creative fullbacks.
Eddie isn’t better than all of them and doesn’t know something they don’t. There’s a very obvious reason none of them use a 6 foot 7 lumbering giant who moves like a 4 story blocks of flats at full back. Because it’s a shit idea and it isn’t effective! 

We had the best defence in the league with Burn playing there last season.

It also gives us an advantage on set pieces. He has scored goals this season that have actually won us games.

I'd love a more traditional full back, and think that will come next season, but let's not pretend the manager is some dummy and doesn't know what he's doing.

Just now, Displayname said:

I love Eddie and really want him to do well. Just wish he didnt annoy me so damn much with his decisions sometimes.

Ill probably get over it tomorrow. If Burn starts against another pacey winger though..

It's a fair concern.

We seemed to be looking for a first team left back at one point, but then seemed to have put that on the back burner to prioritise other areas. Hopefully we go back to that.

Regarding manager player decisions, every manager has their quirks. I think Burn featuring today had a lot to do with their set piece threat and countering that. The last two seasons we've seen both Mourinho and Conte completely push Bissouma out of being selected completely , which is far more disgraceful than anything Howe has even come close to doing.

We've just battered Villa 4 - 1 prior to today's game with Burn going against some tricky pace players, just didn't work out today. 

Howe is doing just fine, and better days are coming as the squad continues to evolve. Losing him would be a big step backwards.

Burn has probably directly contributed to as many wins  as he has what feels like a loss today. He's hardly been a big disaster every game. But we cannot go into next season with him starting at left back that's for sure.

Regarding Eddie Howe, even on a day as potentially disastrous as today was, still the team came back and looked great doing so. Still his Barnes signing shone as did Gordon, still his setup manages to get two goals out of Longstaff, still he continues to get significant contributions out of 17 year old Miley.

Getting rid of Howe would be a disaster. He would shortly end up somewhere else and only continue to get better and better, and we would never live it down.

1 minute ago, SUPERTOON said:

Who starts LB next season then? You think after signing Hall we buy another one as well ?

Yes, would not be surprised to see Targett moved on and a starting left back brought in.

5 minutes ago, SUPERTOON said:

I wouldn’t bank on that.

I would.

Luton are a nightmare to play of late for everyone. Really respect how they are coming along.

Their power, pace and running matches up well against us, especially with Joelinton missing in midfield along with Tonali.

Brutal for Longstaff, Miley and Bruno as they just don't quite have the legs. Our back line isn't the quickest either.

Mr. Howe please get us a starting left back next season, and don't use Burn there anymore. I am really growing to hate that selection. Thanks.

17 minutes ago, Gallowgate Toon said:

Proper KdB-style strike, watching it back. 

With his left too.

So nice having someone that shoots so well in the team, and with both feet.

Great to have him back. Please stay fit!

Today was a good day regarding Burn.

Should pretty much ensure that he is not used at left back going into next season.

Backup to Botman and only ever at left back again in emergency situations.

That performance was so embarrassing.