Mole

Pretty sure he broke Woltemade no? At least I have a vague memory of nobody believing it at first partly because Hope was reporting on it.

Considering the build up goes through them I disagree, I'm not just talking about goals and assist but general responsibility in phases between attacks. You can argue they have too much responsibility and I won't push back but seeing as they do that's the scenario we are dealing with. As much as Woltemade hasn't been good I just disagree on the fundamental basis of the midfield supposed to supply chances (yes his movement hasn't helped) and they have done a piss poor job of it all season so I disagree with laying the blame at the feet of the striker who receives nothing.

They get a lot of stick because the way Howe plays they have a lot of responsibility to not only score but create opportunities. None of this was done this to the required level, it might seem harsh but it's the reality. But yes everything being equal (nothing ever is but let's pretend it is) Barnes has been productive enough but there's more to it than just your raw output. If you ask me though, nobody in the front 6 positions have performed to the required standard this year except maybe Bruno. Also the wingers not performing to the level required is part of why we are so predictable to defend against anyway.

It's a mixture of things, this and well... Pretty much all wingers not providing the way they should, Tonali not playing at the level and well anyone in the midfield not called Bruno. Woltemade is very different to Isak so expecting him to slide in that spot and give the team the same outlet is asking for well what we got. I'm glad we have finally seen changes to the approach as the season ended. If you could find a striker you hit early and often then maybe it could work to a decent level? But due to players getting older and teams defending it better it was always going to end up like this eventually. Like City over the years have changed multiple times so this was inevitable to happen at some point. Just depends how everyone reacts next season.

Should be fun to follow at least, there were points last summer where we had none of that and the vibe in here was like

I think this is the case for all players tbf.

They explicitly state as much in the clip, it felt like more than anything they were gently nudging the fanbase towards "we're moving, but we need to still improve while we're here". Granted I could be reading far too much into nothing I do that sometimes.

As a rule, I think young players from abroad should always be given at least a second season. Far too many examples in league history of someone looking like complete dogshit (and Obviously Woltemade isn't that bad) and then becoming a great player.

I think it all depends on what system they plan to go with, 4-2-3-1 changes quite a lot but only Howe can answer that question. Assuming it is though I would think they would want at the very least to get another option in the "2" the fact Willock came on at the weekend is probably not a great sign and considering Gordon is likely leaving and the right sided options have stunk the place up you would probably look at 1-2 more options in the "3".

Stacked with quantity, I am not convinced it is stacked with quality and felt this way all season long. Or at the very least we haven't found the right mix which makes them effective as a unit.

I would definitely look to add to the CM options if it was me and if you have to sell multiple people to do it then so be it, granted it probably isn't realistic. But I do feel if the midfield works effectively as a unit it would solve a lot of problems.

Yeah fair, but like I probably shouldn't just assume anyway. I agree it's not a signing we should be making.

I have no idea, but that's fair. I should have considered that.

I think what worked before isn't likely to work again, football is always evolving and as Ferguson used to say "if you don't go forward you go backwards". Like it's possible we'll have the players where 4-3-3 is a viable solution again but I think we are very far away from it. To answer Kaka's question though I would like to see another option in that area of the pitch. For me the '3' in a 4-2-3-1 is the biggest area of weakness in the squad overall considering how important it is.

Again I am not just talking about the formation but the entire approach to how we play, we have shown little in terms of adaptability this season. I never said he or the players aren't trying or that he won't be successful in the future. It's just it hasn't been there this season and I think people being concerned is very valid. Also you aren't wrong there has been limited training time to achieve this and I do want to be fair, in the set up we have played the last two games he was not helped by the fact Bruno got injured ( the entire reason Woltemade was tried in midfield to begin with) and other issues which made the switch in system quite difficult to do earlier.

Yeah tactically the team have definitely been figured out and there's not just a desire to evolve but a necessity. I get why people are concerned by it and it's a justified concern, but I want to see how the summer goes and if next season provides in noticeable improvement as this seems the direction we are heading.

It's definitely not nonsense, even ignoring the formation we have been very inflexible tactically all season. That's not to say the man can't be flexible, but we absolutely haven't been flexible all season and it's a concern that is justified.

I find it funny that people criticize Howe and transfers and then Bowen is brought up when it's the exact sort of thing the club has been criticized for.

I definitely think it's fair to acknowledge that the competition wasn't good while also feeling like that 4-2-3-1 is much more suitable for this group than 4-3-3. Still needs work and hopefully the summer can provide more quality to make it feel more complete as it's obvious there's still quite a lot of obvious problem areas regardless of what formation Howe attempts to try.

Nick curious made me giggle.

It's both. Like I think the set up suits the players we have more but also the opposition was obviously not very good. I would personally sign players for next season with this in mind, as much as I think it works better there's still a lot of obvious personnel issues that need to be looked at.

In fairness to Howe, I think the fact Bruno got injured and Osula was injured as well as strikers not performing kinda fucked with it. The personnel was always kinda messed up somewhere. I do think it's much more suitable though and would definitely sign players next year with it in mind.

Aye, no matter where Ramsey plays I think it's about as good as it can get considering the options. Ramsey has good enough movement to make it work anyway.

If they allow him to do his job it will be a great appointment, the concern for them is will the players even allow him to do that without egos interfering? I could see a Mini Madrid situation forming because that club is a mess. He's obviously a good coach though so if he's allowed to do that it will probably work out very well but that's a big IF.

I imagine to do the full extent of business over the whole summer they probably do need to sell. But they probably can get the ball rolling (as in make a signing or two )without needing to sell. At least that's what I'm assuming, I suspect it won't happen super fast anyway because of World Cup stuff.