The Prophet

To be fair, between Ashworth leaving and this summer, we signed no one. Then when the time came, we had no Sporting Director, gaping holes all over the squad and we were turned down by multiple targets, it was a mess. We originally targeted players like Delap and Huijsen, who fit that profile.

It's just how Howe is. If he doesn't think someone is fit enough or tactically dialled in, he won't play them. Age is irrelevant in that regard. I'm not sure why we'd use this summer as a benchmark for our recruitment when it was widely accepted as a mess. Granted, I still think in the medium to long term, most of the signing will prove to be decent. We're entering yet another new era in that regard, let's hope this one sticks.

Bit harsh to be writing him off, when he's barely kicked a ball for us. We've seen with Hall, (rightly or wrongly) if Howe deems a player isn't ready he'll hold him back. It could be anything really. He could be struggling with the move, he might not be physically up to it yet, he might not understand what Howe wants from him, etc. Sure, it shows paying a Premier League premium isn't a guarantee, but it's daft to be writing the lad off already. I thought we'd have learnt by now.

Maresca doesn't, but Chelsea's recruitment model require vast quantities of cash and results in high player turnover. It's not great. I'd say ours needs tweaking to move the focus from paying Premier League premiums, but it doesn't need radical overhaul.

You'll find very few recruitment systems in the Premier League that dont give the manager final say.

We're only four points of fifth Defending set pieces and game management alone probably see us jump into the European places. Obviously there's more to it than that, but in spite of the systemic issues, sorting the little things would go a long way to seeing us improve.

We don't need radical change to be fair, we're not doing some of the basics.

To be honest, I'd rather he kept playing Elanga. For the time being, it's the only way he's going to improve. Plus Murphy has been pretty poor of late.

I'd say we played pretty well v City, Everton and Spurs and while the Burnley game wasn't particularly enjoyable, we ran out worthy winners.

I'd say we're more erratic than consistently terrible. Up until today, performances have been pretty good since the international break.

It's very much felt like a transitional season to date. Despite that we're still only a good run away from being in a good position.

There's still over half a season left.

Not sure I'm having the Edwards/Downie narrative that they bullied us like. It was a truly terrible game, decided by a freak OG. If it finishes 0-0 no one is talking about us being bullied. We've had a few nothing performances like that away from home this term.

I've stuck up for him this sesson when his good performances have been selectively forgotten or he's been piled on for no real reason, but he was bobbins today. A bit like Wolt, I don’t think we've figured out how to get the best from him.

Bit disingenuous to tall about the money spent in the summer when 1) we recouped a lot of it because Howe had to contend with selling one of his best players. A disruptive saga that dragged on all summer 2) he spent virtually nothing in the three transfer windows prior.

Still think he could end up being a useful player for us, providing he isn't hounded out.

I get it. Modern football has very few redeeming features, I find myself watching less of it by the year. Even looking inwards, we're an instrument of soft power for a foreign state, its pretty depressing. First Staveley and now Howe have given it a human face and made it bareable. In fact, Eddie has done more than that, he's given us some of our very best memories as football fans. Howe isn't bigger than the club and life will go on after him, but it's just one less emotional tie and one that could easily be the straw that breaks the camel's back. He's currently in real danger of becoming a victim of his own success.

Definitely think he's still learning on the job when it comes to playing twice a week on a regular basis. He'll crack it eventually.

Seems he's getting the Lewis Hall treatment.

We could also get better mind. It wouldn't be remotely surprising if we turn Chelsea over next week. Both crowd and team only seem to turn up for the "big" games.

Somehow only four points of fifth. Mental.

One third of an absolutely woeful attacking trio today.

Our away form is poor, as is our game management. They both feel like they boil down to our inability to keep the ball. They're areas that need fixing and if Howe can't fix them, they might eventually cost him his job, but it's still very early days. He's had us punching above our weight for years now, winning a trophy and qualifying for the Champions League multiple times, when we really had no right to be. We're virtually in the Champions League knock outs, have a League Cup QF to look forward to and still in touching distance of the Europesn spots in the league, so it's far from a disaster and I'd hope our "supporters" would show a bit of patience to a manager who's give us so much to celebrate in recent years.

He's not wrong though.

Every time