TheBrownBottle

It does suggest they’re worth nothing like the fees paid, shit or not. You don’t pay £50m for a winger who can only play if everything is absolutely spot on for him

You mention Robson being sacked, and then you suggest the crowd is now fickle and you’d walk away if they chase Howe - but you didn’t walk away when Robson was sacked with the general support supporting the decision? Robson should’ve been sacked much earlier, the issue wasn’t sacking him it was Shepherd being fucking clueless re a replacement. Howe being sacked right now would be massively premature and he should be given the season (unless things really do go belly-up). But I think there are plenty on here who keep reminding everyone of how in the last two seasons he’s turned this around - the question would be why does he keep needing to turn it around? Why are we consistently shit before NY? I’m not sure a corner will be turned this time around

A man who should have been sacked earlier

Conceding late goals regularly isn’t bad luck

We said this last time we were in Europe - I’m not seeing the learning and adaptation

It’s almost as if his performative anger … wasn’t real

I’d sell them both in January given the chance

Emery is just a better manager, full stop.

You’re right, it’s a watered-down version of it. We play a low intensity version of the same system, but Howe has filled the squad with athletes instead of technical players capable of doing this. It’s just poor management.

I’m not sure Howe can change it. He came into the club after a hiatus having went around Europe watching other managers train. He came up with a method and a plan and implemented them here - a 4-3-3 high press, and it worked really well. Now other teams have moved on and worked us out a bit - but he didn’t attempt to evolve (as an actual elite manager would), but just continued with the same set-up and doubled-down in terms of his signings. There’s a real ‘we’re playing four four fucking two’ element to this. And I’m not at all convinced the players are still with him.

I heard Jesus has forgiven James Bunce, which is very nice of him He reckons Paul Mitchell is a bald cunt though

There’s plenty of players who are technical kicking about, Foden and Silva are just the highest quality examples of it. I don’t think Barnes nor Gordon have the football brains to do it.

Exactly - which is why players coming in from behind him would be perfect. He’s got a deft touch and a football brain - he’d set players who can do that up with goalscoring opportunities regularly.

I’m thinking more of what Foden and Silva do at Man City. Excellent technical players who play one-twos and fast interchanges on the ball. Barnes is just always looking to shoot, and Gordon isn’t a particularly technical player.

He does, and he’s not particularly good at it. I got angry watching him yesterday when he was sauntering up the left wing; the camera was on him, and you can see that he’s just looking at the ball the whole team. His head never is never up; while I don’t doubt he thinks he’s Cruyff and Matthews rolled into one, that’s fucking terrible for a professional footballer who plays as a winger.

Yes; to me he’d thrive playing with what used to be called inside-forwards. Like you said, wingers who prefer to cut inside and attack the goal instead of looking to cross.

I think it damaged the club’s image with players and agents, even if we don’t like to think like that. It seems likely that we reneged on a contract deal and then refused to allow a player to join a bigger club for more money and a record fee. I also think that players and agents are now fully alert to the fact that this isn’t Man City Mk II and will be less inclined to push their clients our way than they were in the first 18 months.

I’m not even convinced that wing play is what Woltemade will thrive on, despite his height. I reckon he’d thrive playing in a front four with a poacher just off him and two technical attacking midfielders supporting the forwards with pacy interchanging passing, looking to slice teams open. Exactly what we don’t do.

Yeah, agreed on most of what you’ve written - I only disagree re Isak. I always felt we should have just sold. Ironically I think Howe was of that thinking by the time of the Celtic friendly - it seems to have been the owners who farted about on it.

- Put some money in - brag about how big it’ll be - watch as people speculate how much you’ll put in - put it in hiatus and hope it disappears quietly That’s the standard route for KSA ‘investments’.

I’m pretty sure Howe was aware that Isak was unhappy. Of course we had a full summer - Howe wasn’t a passenger. He had agency. We signed Elanga in May. At present, there is an argument that all but Thiaw are poor signings - even Woltemade, who is a good player, clearly doesn’t fit Howe’s system.

100%. The DoF role has been a disaster and emblematic of a club with no-one with a hand on the tiller. The DoF has to set out the way the club plays, structuring the side at all levels in terms of playing philosophy, and signing players who play in that system (or systems). Howe has been massively overindulged and it means that if he goes we’re left with a squad who the next head coach will likely break apart. It’s fucking pisspoor management at all levels and I’m sick of it.

He had a full summer, he’s been employed since 2021 by the club. We went for Elanga last season - he’s been a long term target. Howe has spent an absolute fortune at this point - this is his squad. And at present, it looks very much like a bottom half side. Forget about the daft occasional shite put out by the club about being ‘no 1’ - we’re not performing to the level these players are capable of nor has the £250m spent in the summer been spent wisely.

No - but he’s had several summers (definitely not disastrous ones)

He’s had several. And we won’t have the money next summer that we had this summer. If this continues he shouldn’t be given funds to do it all again next summer.