TheBrownBottle

I didn’t know that. Fuck. Feels very ‘John Barnes as top scorer’ territory. We were shit and had a cup run that year too.

He does sound like someone apologising to the wife after pissing the bed again after yet another night on the terps, having told her he wouldn’t do it again

oh aye, I’m not disagreeing. It doesn’t render them immune from criticism though

I don’t expect them to have that. I do think that they’d have a modicum of common fucking sense though. And those of us who are professionals couldn’t just post or like what we want on social media. It could cause problems.

I agree, it absolutely didn’t help. But what he’s done since coming back has been absolutely dire

Howe’s already said that Wissa is fit, and has been for some time. He was unlucky to get the injury he did - but he came back last year. The lad has a clear and obvious attitude problem and has been poorly scouted - which didn’t even require anyone to actually do any scouting, but simply to turn to the back pages of the press and see he went on strike against his own club.

I don’t think he’d be a success at quite a few of them - he’d likely fall out with a powerful DoF and get the sack. But I reckon he’d be considered by them.

Most of them would - mainly because in the modern game, the manager is far more like a head coach and they’re not as indispensable as they once were. There’s no chance that Rosenoir would be manager of Chelsea or Carrick at Man Utd a decade ago.

I am, and I’m happy to give him credit for the 2022 window(s). But that was four years ago. I don’t blame Howe for Isak - I get the impression he (correctly) wanted him out. But where’s his excuse for the likes of Elanga or Wissa? Do we seriously think he hadn’t seen them play? He’d spent plenty of time politicking to get himself control over transfers. He got it, and they’re his signings. And again, if last summer’s window had been a success I don’t doubt that all those defending Howe for it would be saying ‘sure, all the signings have been tremendous, but that’s nowt to do with Eddie’

I never said the previous windows was Staveley. I think Howe would’ve had serious input and would have had final approval on signings. It is hardly ‘all on him’. He’s not to blame for an absentee ownership group. But he’s far from exempt from blame. I suspect many on here who are defending him by saying he’s blameless would not be saying ‘none of this is on Eddie’ if this season had went really well.

Name a manager who gets all their ‘first choice’ players It is a terrible excuse. He’s had plenty of money and time to assemble a squad better than the one that lot down the road scrambled together

Elanga is 100% Howe’s signing - we went for him the year before and signed him early in the window. Just bizarre to pretend we’ve bought a load of players Howe didn’t want.

Won an FA Cup a few years later and we’re still challenging for years afterwards - ultimately being the third biggest club in the East Midlands had far more to do with gravity kicking in

Ranieri got peddled by Leicester in the same calendar year as winning the title

Grimly holding on to the last vestiges of hope is most of our lot in life

It’s hardly undeserved. We’ve gotten worse as the season has went on - he’s spunked a quarter of a billion on players who haven’t improved the squad, our tactics look stale and atavistic, the in-game management is formulaic and poor, we’re now shipping goals at a rate which would be likely to break records, and the results haven’t been close to good enough. I’d still much rather he resigned than was sacked at the end of the season.

I could feel my finger hovering over it - it’s probably where I am

I changed my vote on there about five mins ago - to ‘unhappy’

Yeah, you’re not wrong. Probably a good reason not to act in a radged-up state. The club is where it has been for most of my life - mismanaged and uncared for by its owners.

The thought of Hopkinson drafting a shortlist and interviewing for the manager’s position sends my blood cold tbh. I can imagine a Rosenoir-type corporate bullshit merchant doing well.

They should - their squad is worth a fraction of ours. The man has spent enough money that we shouldn’t look equally shit.

Look at the relative tools at the disposal of the two managers today - that shitshow was the result of a disparity in quality in favour of Sunderland? And who signed those players?

They’ve just been promoted from the second division via the playoffs - they wouldn’t be in a position to have to deal with first rate opposition like Carrier Bag.

Did Mitchell secretly sign Wissa and Woltemade?

So as long as we avoid European football we’ll be ok? Fair enough, doesn’t exactly scream ‘elite coach’ though.