HaydnNUFC

O Prefeito

Made a rod for his own back taking the Everton job, find it very hard to have sympathy for him regarding that. Still love him and grateful for the job he did here, mind.

Well, yeah, that's the point of the statistic(s)? Howe wants us to move toward being a side that regularly dominates the ball and play but in the few times that we've done that we haven't got the results or goals to show for our possession. That'll change but it will take time and transfer windows.

Aye tbf. Rise in expectations/aspirations coincides with a decrease in the level of the atmospheres at games. Was the same going from 1993-94 to 1994-95 apparently.

Saturday was the worst atmosphere post takeover but the circumstances and game itself didn't help. All the queen shit resulted in no music pre game (from what I remember), no flags, no Local Hero etc. On top of that, we're playing a side we were all expecting to beat and beat fairly comfortably. The kick off time as well, I've always found the best atmospheres are night time or late TV kick offs rather than the classic 3pm. And the game itself, when you're bossing possession against a side we were odds on favourites to beat but creating few clear cut chances it's no wonder. Probably why Man City's home atmospheres are so regularly poor only they actually break those teams down 999/1000. The consumer like analogy you make is a probably a fair one but I wasn't surprised by it tbh given the aforementioned factors. Real shame, could tell the players knew it was flat as fuck too given Isak's celebration. It'll be 100x better in the next 4 home games given there won't be any forced mourning but there will be unreal displays and the games and opposition we're up against will gee the crowd up especially in the latter 3.

Think this speaks volumes as well. We've been rancid with the ball for over 18 years, it'll take time.

Away from home against the bigger sides, maybe. I always wondered why that last season after we were robbed of a point or 3 at Chelsea we never went back to the system we played that day; we played our 4-3-3 at Spurs and Man City where we conceded 10 and scored 1 goal across those two games. However I think 4-3-3 will be our primary system at SJP against all the teams in the league and away from home in games where we're looking or expectant to win. We've seen the good (Forest, Man City) and bad (Palace, Bournemouth) of it so far as we're still missing the depth; when sides sit deep which they will start doing when coming up here we lack the quality to break them down. Almiron and Fraser are not good enough especially in this regard, the former is useful for games where we press but creatively he's fairly garbage. 2 goal involvements in his last 38 appearances with Fraser only marginally better. However given the performance at Anfield in the 4-3-3 I can't see us moving away from it and arguably rightly so as it's the system that saw us safe last season, Howe is just implementing a change in the style of football and identity which will only be mastered once the Ashley era dregs used to counter attacking low possession football are eased out of the squad.

Chelsea away on 13 March is the last time we didn't play 4-3-3. If we went to a back 3, good luck getting ASM in that starting lineup; given he's our most creative player atm he has to play. And Almiron never played behind the strikers under Benitez, he played on the left of the front 3 in the 3-4-3 we played post February which oft had us sitting off teams. We never had more than 54% possession in any game home or away post February either which isn't what Howe wants us to be imo. When Wilson is back (before he gets crocked again) we'll lineup with Isak next to him and ASM or the next best fit winger on the left, it'll look like Isak is playing RW on a team sheet but he'll in reality be a lot closer to Wilson with Trippier providing the width. Glimpses of Trippier being the width were there to be seen 2nd half on Saturday but mainly because he was the only one in the side that looked even remotely like creating something. We enormously miss ASM when trying to break sides down and him not playing handicaps us imo.

Gone right off Craig Hope tbh. Think it's an unnecessarily worded article directed at a 22 year old lad who's our record signing and has 2 goals in his first 3 appearances in a new league. If anything it's the wingers and creative mids that article should be directed at, not Isak, given Almiron's, Fraser's and Joelinton's performances on Saturday. On his personal account he's hidden replies containing valid criticism about the article, like the fuck? Just dug his heels in and saying it's not his job to help players settle. Odd. Aye he went in on Bruce brilliantly a year to a year and a half ago but feel that as soon as we hit a rough patch of form he'll be the first one going after Howe. Just a taster there now by centring that article around Isak whose just made his 3rd appearance in the league.

Agree, didn't understand it. We've paid £35m for Botman who is very good on the ball and can use all the PL minutes he can at 22. Could've used his passing ability against a low block and they were never going to overly trouble us. Found it bizarre.

Massive having him back but I felt that we missed ASM more yesterday.

Aye, 0-4 and 0-2. Highlights in the OP. Plus since Fulham have started bouncing between PL and Championship they've only managed 1 goal against us which Matt Ritchie scored for them.

He started and played the whole 90.

Paqueta HAULED off.

West Ham are so poor. Early days like, but shame we couldn't have an extra 4 points on them from yesterday and Palace.

Good goal.

Alan Pardew

If ASM and/or Wilson are back and Bruno is match fit we'll win this, narrowly though, really rate these. And going down for this with my dad, rail strike permitting. His first away game since the Marseille semi final in 2004. Hopefully a better result, assuming we can get down there.

Born in 2007

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/11717935/fulham-0-4-newcastle-scott-parkers-side-bow-out-with-defeat https://youtu.be/l5fmzVWXgKI

After having slept on it I don't feel as annoyed as I did leaving the ground and in the pub. We hit the post twice and had the most possession I can ever remember us having though Bournemouth allowed us that. 1 defeat (away at Liverpool in the 98th minute) in 7 and still better players to come back. But it still was pretty dire at times, we created fuck all from open play and the penalty was the only way we were scoring. Against a side that will almost certainly be relegated this season, its pretty shit. Reminded me of a few games in the Championship under Benitez against the dross when we didn't get the early goal, we'd look clueless in regards to breaking down a stubborn defence. We massively missed ASM today, Fraser and Almiron are one trick ponies, Championship level footballers tbh. Something Howe will have to work on sans ASM, when we have the onus and lions' share of possession because the teams we expect to finish 15th and lower will do what Bournemouth did at SJP. But he can't work on it with Almirón, Fraser, Murphy, Wood et al from the rest of the squad. Its our achilles heel and has to be sorted in the next 2 windows. As a result this season will probably be a lot more similar to 2000-01 under SBR than a few; Howe coming in the season before and turning us around from a toxic cloud and certain relegation to brilliant form and 11th place but getting injuries to key players hindering us. Next season will likely be the one we make the big strides towards 7th/6th, which is as frustrating and irritating as it is exciting.

Think when Wilson returns for another 3 games before getting injured again Isak will start alongside him; on a starting lineup it'll look like he's playing RW but he'll be a lot more central and closer to Wilson with Trippier providing the width as we saw yesterday.