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Gordon Barnes Murphy Isak Willock Anderson Ritchie Hall maybe? I wonder if Howe would look at that and think we can possibly muddle through to the summer?

Outside of Bruno he's our most significant playmaker. Take any playmaker out a team and the team will be impacted. I can see both sides of the argument in this case but saying a team that is already out of form won't "fall to pieces" when one of its most influential players are sold is naive at best.

Was convinced Adama Traore would be world class once his end product came. His end product never came.

Shola Ameobi - a striker who played at the highest level and managed 53 league goals in 312 appearances. Wasn't quick, didn't have great technique, wasn't a clinical finisher, couldn't dribble, wasn't particularly strong or have good links up play, wasn't good in the air, not skillful - no discernable quality which warranted the career he had. I can't explain this career at all.

I'd say the fact they have a world class 2nd team is central to their success. I rate Pep as a managerial freak who as you say is able to constantly innovative and implement, but give him a bench that drops in quality to the degree it does for us then I don't think any plan B, C or D he has gives him the same success he's already had.

Klopp had similar injury struggles when he first implemented his style of play and stuck with it.

If you're playing against a team who press as well as Liverpool you need to be both extra sharp on the ball and have lots of movements off it which takes energy and effort. If your energy levels are down then you just won't get through those types of games, which we're finding out now. We can all agree our midfield had a poor game and have been poor for a while - great - so who comes to replace those who aren't performing at the right level? It was the hallmark of Howe's selctions last year and something referenced numerous times by players such as Willock and Longstaff - you had to keep performing otherwise you'd be swiftly replaced. We just do not have that option and haven't had that option for a while. For the past 2 months if you've played poorly, you're still likely to get 90 mins. No manager and team can operate at a high level with that kind of handicap. Ridiculous to assume otherwise.

I legitimately thought Cheick Tiote could be world class until Pardew tried to convert him to a box to box. Same with Longstaff when he first broke through, just looked like he had so much time on the ball.

If anyone should understand the impact of an unsettled club on a player's performance, it should be us.

I see the work rate in Tonali but my personal observation is I don't think he's as strong in the duel as a Bruno or Joelinton. And for what it's worth I'd say Gallagher is more an upgrade on Longstaff than Tonali and he's definitely shown himself to be a key player for us (in the early part of the season in particular).

I think he's been OK at Chelsea but has played about 3 different roles in that team, not an easy thing to do where he'd be a classic number 8 in our team and would do well in that role. He showed and Palace that there is composure in his game too.

I think he's has exactly what those 2 lack. The composure in the final 3rd that would make Longstaff a top top player and arguably the physicality and work rate off the ball that perhaps Tonali lacks from what little I've seen.

Just me who thinks Gallagher would be an excellent signing for us then.

We're always playing down our positions. It's par for the course tbf. They might bring summer business forward but I dont actually think we're that limited, especially with the new commercial deals in place.

Big fan of Philips. Would give us some much needed positional discipline in the centre of midfield but also give us some technical quality too. I still would like to see Bruno allowed a little more freedom in the final 3rd and Philips would give us that option.

I don't know which one of you had the foresight to know that we'd have the below injured or out on near enough the same period of time and should have recruited accordingly but whoever you are, you're wasted on us simpletons at NO. Pope Burn Targett Botman Longstaff Joelinton Willock Wilson/Isak Barnes Murphy Anderson Tonali Out of interest, to those who think we are paying for less than ideal recruitment; what or which positions could we realistically have recruited that would have negated the impact of the above? Second question would be if we started the season with the available squad we had now, then where do you think we would/should be?

Didn't Arteta finish 8th twice? EDIT: yes.

There's not too many teams who press like we do as well. That requires even more physical effort.

I still can't peel myself away from the beleif that these injuries are front and centre as the reason we're playing the way we are. There's certainly questions to be asked about selction and lack of tactical flexibility at times but when your game is built primarily upon intensity and you can't maintain that due to lack of options off the bench then something will give. Our form will not fully recover until we have people who can come off the bench and help maintain that intensity for the full 90 minutes.

Said it earlier in the thread but it's funny how no one's now complaining about Howe making almost the same subs at bang on the 60 minute mark because he hasn't had the luxury to do so and our performances are suffering as a result.

I mean, I'm very much not being sensitive, odd characterisation of my question tbh. So far I've read you say "I can see how Howe got Bournemouth relegated" and how you can see how he's "streaky" based on a ludicrously small samples of poor admittedly poor performance. I just think they're really shite opinions tbh. We all have them sometimes, some more than others though👍

You're characterising Howe as 'streaky' based on 9 away games in an unprecedented injury hit season. Seems rational.

Oh! So 9 games out of nearly 100. Got it👍

We've had champions league form since January 2021 and are currently 7 points adrift of CL this year round. What 'streak' are you exactly seeing that others aren't?

I don't actually think there's much to turn round tbh. Our success has been almost entirely down to our intensity and ability to win the ball in the opponent's half. When you lose an entire team of players to injuries then fatigue will 100% cause that intensity to drop off, affording the opposition more time and space in possession. Not being able to keep that intensity up by virtue of not having the depth in key positions is ultimately what is costing us. Players like Almiron, Gordon, Bruno, and even Isak (until recently) have been playing none stop for the best part of 2 months, some through injury. Does no one notice how no one's now not complaining about Howe making the substitutions at the 60 minute mark? Anderson, Joelinton, Willock, Murphy and Tonali are big big misses in key areas.