Abacus

Class game this, Leeds looking excellent. I know there's a big rivalry between these two, what I don't understand is why

Never used this callsign before, but calling @Froggy.

TBG strikes again

On the striker point, I do think a part of the poor play is due to not having a cutting edge - attacks just peter out and don't have a real focal point. Woltemade so far doesn't seem to be that either, so far anyway. Exactly what he is is a bit open to debate. Not that there aren't problems with the rest of the team, I won't deny that at all, but that one thing alone does have a big impact on how cohesive a team is, and what it's overall shape is. Annoyingly, leaving aside the price / age factor I was quite happy with Wissa as an option. Then of course the injury and the season starts to crumble. I think all these signings needed sign off, so Howe will be aware that he'll have used up a great deal of personal credit in doing so. He said himself that you live or die by your recruitment. That summer might prove his point and unfortunately not in the way he'd hoped. I don't think they were all bad by any means, and a few hits, but there definitely look to have been some expensive misses based on the bench alone yesterday.

First time I've heard Howe's position be questioned out in the real world. For what it's worth I think it would be a terrible mistake, but I'm wobbling a bit myself today.

Get in Osula, don't think I've seen a goal like it

UtdXclusive can't spell "their". Or their own name.

Brilliant goal that

It's a right faff on. TNT was on discovery plus which comes with my phone contract. Now I'm having to stream to the TV via my phone since it moved from Discovery plus to HBO max because my useless Google with TV stick can't seem to install HBO Max. Honestly you try to do everything right and it's rubbish despite paying a fortune for all of it. Still, at least I'll get to see the second half now where hopefully Isak has a stinker.

I don't think any kid goes to bed at night dreaming of winning the Conference League. At the end of it all though, there are a few fun looking ties to go to, and for boring adults which we're now all forced to be, a few points on the European coefficient of nonsense. Wouldn't be all that excited about it as a competition personally, but I do get why it would be a good thing in general. Anyway, let's do what we can till the end of the season and then see where the journey goes from there. If we don't make it, next season I'd hope for an exciting FA Cup run and a proper charge up the league.

Yorkie should intervene.

If Tudor hadn't been such a disaster, I imagine most of their fans would have wanted him to keep them up by hook or by crook then take Pochettino back after the world cup. The fact he was a disaster and that de Zerbi has now been appointed on a long term contract is a right laugh. Keep them up? Watch them implode a season or two later. Watch them get relegated? He's immediately off to a stinker and having to rebuild a team in the championship. A serious interim appointment to get through to summer safely wasn't a bad idea, but they brought in Tudor instead.

Looking forward to his first tantrum so I can say De Zerbi Goes Bananas. Couple of wins and they're out of it, really. But a 5 year contract for someone that's reportedly confrontational may not end well.

This thought has bothered me. I agree with The Prophet that he's had no real break and had to carry the club on his own with no execs. An "I've taken the club as far as I can" is the last thing I want to hear. I think it's unlikely, or I hope it is. It might explain the equivocation from Hopkinson, though, if they'd agreed to sit down and talk at the end of the season. That's probably two plus two equals twelve, but I've also worried about burnout in the past given how much he puts into everything.

Daft comments in public, making a story out of nothing. If I were Howe, I'd be thinking privately - alright then, give me that new training ground and match your own words with actions. Whilst also trying to focus on the next game instead of thinking about what you'll be asked at the press conference beforehand because of this. Maybe he was trying to say we'll focus on the rest of the season before re-evaluating, which is fine. But he's a bit cloth eared if he doesn't realise these sort of statements will just be spun unnecessarily and create pointless noise.

Good news, otherwise.

It needs a space between the second speech mark and the opening parenthesis. Ideally.

The bit in the middle isn't all that good either. You're welcome. Edit; Just sort them three bits out and we're golden.

With a credible goal threat up front ready to run in behind, teams are less willing to push players up against us. If they can do that with little fear of being caught out, they can keep the pressure on. But likewise with a keeper not rooted to his line and able to sweep in defence like Pope of a couple of years ago, your own back line is able to push up and link better with midfield allowing less space for the opposition to pass through. I think we've been caught at both ends in this way, with differing strikers and keepers variously available and causing some confusion in how we play. Fix both of those spots and we're an altogether different proposition.

I propose Wolfcastle for Spurs manager.

Completely agree with this. I'd rather sign a player with talent, hope they do well on loan if that's where they go and then have a route to the first team. Not to operate like some sort of meat farm. Financially, I get the logic, but from a sporting point of view, or even a human one for those players, it doesn't sit right with me either.

That's a brave post, I appreciated it. You're a good poster and make some good points even if I personally disagree with some of them. I also use football as a bit of a steam valve at times, I think everyone does. I think a lot of people share similar thoughts at times, but it can be a bit depressing sometimes to have those views repeated when we're a bit down as a fan base - that there is by no means aimed at you, by the way. Likewise some people use it as positive escapism, some might say overly positive. I'm probably in the latter camp, preferring to see the positives meaning it can feel like a kick in the teeth when it goes wrong. Some might say I need a reality check in that case; but I'd prefer not to have one when football is where my escapist dreams often go to. The short of it being, you're never offensive, you express your genuine worries in a thoughtful way, you clearly care about the team. There's nothing to stop people expressing negative views when they're valid and despite the highs of this season there have also been lows and we can't deny them either. But that's the football rollercoaster, after all.

I think it's a great idea for a thread so we can talk about the overall direction of the club instead of putting it all on Howe, or PIF, or Wilson, or Hopkinson, or PSR in the individual threads as if any of them are responsible for every bit of it. PIF thread is maybe the closest to it, but they don't set the sporting direction of the club and all those factors come together somewhere. I was just thinking about this in terms of speculation about Tonali. Might he leave? Yes, and I can see why he might. But that's not all on him, or Howe, or PIF. Take a similar player at one of the ESL 6. They might have a bad season and not qualify for Europe the next year. But would a similar player leave one of them? Less likely I'd say, because they would almost certainly spend a fortune buying and attracting players to play around them to fix it. And you'll already be being paid a decent amount with a limited pool of places you might go, so better to hang on for a year. Growing pains for us indeed then, unless and until we can get to their level. Meaning yo-yoing performances and likely player turnover in various seasons while we get there.

I think it's his demeanor. He's a class player but always seems one of those who can't carry the team like Bruno can. By which I mean in terms of team spirit rather than in talent.

But he's since had all those here, and surely no-one expected all those from his time at Bournemouth. So, I'm not sure I followed your point - just that you want a more experienced Champions League qualifying and cup final experienced manager to take his place? They don't grow on trees and ... well... we have one already.