Heron

Around 2 months ago we were the significantly highest team in the league for getting balls in the box. Not sure if that's still the case. Our lack of a proper, goal-getting striker makes our wingers look worse. However, we are perhaps one step to the better selling our most valuable, untechnical winger.

That, a striker and a keeper for me. The DM is probably the most important though, as I personally hold hope for our strikers still.

Cannot disagree. I think we will evolve this summer though. Eddie doesn't rest on his laurels, although it may feel like it this season.

Each to their own. We've been fine as we've built for the last 3(?) years before this one. A virus has hit before we've been able to evolve. But we shall overcome as we've done before.

Our issues are psychological not physical and we need to replace the characters we've lost and remove the bad apples. Howe also needs to get some rest. This PL season hasn't been good enough. They all know that. They will all fix that.

Man City to win their remaining games and Palace to nab a draw costing the Gooners the title is my prediction.

Quoted for evidence.

Howay Rangers

I agree. I think he has perhaps opted to offer a different, counter-attacking threat as a countermeasure as opposed to an alternative approach of 'control'. Most likely because to achieve the latter would be a lot more expensive and take longer to devise, (I suspect) especially with FFP or PSR or whatever acronym these days . I think Woltemade as a result becomes a potential, interesting pivot and a potential change in tact. However, suspect he was just best of the rest... I just don't think for him to take that approach and to have signed Elanga is crazy or absurd it's just a different approach that hasn't come off.

Fair points but one thing I would say is that controlling games is playing possession football. You don't control the game without the ball. I'd also argue that Liverpools players were "just a tad" better than Gordon too (technically) but our fans are asking for 70/80million for him...

We were likely to be coming up against Champions League sides this season with greater technical ability than that of our team and who would likely put us under pressure for large spells of games such as they did in PSG and Milan in our previous CL campaign. Therefore, to have a counter attacking solution such as Elanga and at the time, Isak, is not all that daft. Agree on your points based on the PL and how our team must ultimately begin transforming, given that we have lost Isak, but at the time of signing we had a team spearheaded by one of the most ruthless strikers in world football at that time. Liverpool won leagues under Klipp with a relentless amount of pace, power and direct football - not every tram has to be in the mould of Pepe's sides. As Arteta is also now demonstrating (dare I say it).

You're both correct. Results keep the fans on board - thats all that matters. Journalists are doing their jobs asking difficult questions that fans may otherwise be asking as paying customers of a product they may perceive to be below value for money (dare I say it). Albeit I don't personally subscribe to that way of thinking.

Ridiculous. You can criticise the fee, maybe. But going for him absolutely was not stupid at all.

Let's just pause for thought here... We seemingly want £70/80m for Gordon (this season) who has less goals and less assists in the PL than Elanga last season (6 goals and 11 assists) and less than even Jacob Murphy (8 goals and 12 assists); Gordon last season had 6 goals and 5 assists. The season prior, Gordon had 10 assists, Elanga had 9 and Murphy had 7. On the goals front Gordon had 11 and Elanga 5. Murphy had just 3. Elanaga hasn't paid off this season - but it wasn't so absurd to have spent the money we did on him given increasing transfer fees, his performance across the last two seasons, his relationship with Isak (who we once said we weren't going to sell) and the fact that Salah aside he was the highest ranked player for assists in the league last season outside of NUFC. The fee we paid for Wissa was desperation as a result of our inability to keep Isak and sign players high enough up our list of desirables. I think we can all see that. Wissa got 19 goals and 4 assists last season. All this painting of almost "idiotic" transfers is all very easy in retrospect of a poor league season. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

But we won the game, our first in 6, right? I don't get some of you folk like. It's not Hall FC just as it wasn't Tonali FC when he was tinkering with him and Longstaff. He eventually found a positive solution with some fine tweeking. Of course we ideally want our best players on the pitch and in the best combination, but when the combination and the personnel isn't working, one, the other or both need to change. The very thing half the folk on here whinge about. He did that and he won. Folk still whinge. Absurd.

21

Forza nerrazzuri

Should have been Red that.

It's a shame Fernandes is such an unlikeable bell tip, cause he's a great footballer.

Eddie 4eva

I think people are making this relatively simple question and task unnecessarily more complicated than required like. Of course all the duds could become goods and vice versa next season, but the question is being asked about everything from the start of Howe 'til now. You can only base that off past and present - not future.

Bet you have bacon tattooed on your inner thigh.

You

Canny harsh like I was only replying to a thread.

Well overall I guess. The criticisms I've mentioned in here span across Howes whole tenure (claims he cannot work with a DoF, that his signings are shite, etc.). It is alleged because the root cause of the issues is to be determined. That's why I'm attempting to break the discussion down rather than us all regurgitate the exact same conversations on repeat after every game. I'm trying to split off some of the critiques for further analysis rather than blanket statements back and forth.