Big Jow

Can’t believe people doubted you, sweet prince.

Must not be trusted with penalties either.

Come on. Their new manager bounce springing into action after failing to achieve a win in the Championship.

That’s just exaggerating the point really, isn’t it? Not every substitution will work, but Klopp’s did at the weekend and it was clear an increased energy and workrate supported the change in the dynamics of the game. Also noting Chelsea made much fewer substitutions at that stage in the game, but I’m assuming you know that.

Maybe we just need to move Howe into midfield like we did with Joelinton.

Look like a team terrified of conceding a goal. Too safe, slow and unambitious. There are clearly a lot of issues with the team at the moment, no matter how much some are trying to cover their eyes to it. Whilst a win will be good, which I do think we’ll grind out, the performance matters a lot. You won’t build confidence with a scrappy win against a struggling Championship team in a disjointed performance. We need a good, fast, free flowing win. Which is easier said than done with the position we’re in at the moment.

I would love them to be taken over by any middle eastern country with poor human rights purely to see how it would play out on their forum. It’d be comedy gold.

Not sure when Football Manager started to become a reliable source.

That’s just so untrue really. Not sure if you watched the game but the substitutions made changed the flow of the game. That was down to the fresh legs, not the quality, as others have pointed out he bought on youngsters for established quality players. But each to their own.

Still can’t believe we turned an actual offer of money down for him. Crystal Palace were mental.

I don’t understand your point. Signing 4 players doesn’t necessarily prove that Howe doesn’t have a preference for those type players. We’d never operate as a football club signing only British or PL players. A bit like the French model we had under Ashley. We predominantly signed those players but would buy others. That model didn’t work and I don’t think this one would either for the reasons previously outlined. Also massively pointing out my post above regarding this not being confirmed or proven, hence it being a question rather than fact.

The expensive and crap elements are not one descriptor, they can be separate. I wouldn’t want McTominay or Phillips for any realistic value. I’d consider them both to be crap. Phillips already proving that point elsewhere. If we bought McTominay for £20m, I’d still be gutted. That £20m could provide much better value elsewhere quite easily. It’s the values and the targets themselves that give me cause for concern. That said, we’re talking entirely hypothetically and it could be Nickson driving these links/deals. Which is why I don’t use it to form an opinion, because it’s guesswork.

I’m not judging him on it, which is why I said I’d prefer to know the answers before making assumptions or judgements. I’d be concerned if there was truth to the McTominay and Phillips rumours being led by Howe as they are exactly the opposite of what we need. The wider point is about chasing expensive but poor signings based on PL or British experience. If this was the case I don’t think we’ll progress like we want to because we’ll constantly overpay for players when FFP is already hampering our efforts. Hence why, if it was true, I’d have question marks over Howe in that regard. However, as I said, we don’t and won’t know, so it blurs the lines as to whether it’s a genuine concern and therefore makes it impossible to judge.

It’s sickening how clubs constantly bail out the top teams. They all make an absolute fortune from shite players, simply because they play for them. How anyone can ever exchange 60m for Mount, a 7m loan fee for 6 months of Phillips etc. is beyond me. Same further down with young players. £10m here and there for a player that has never played for them, just comes with a tag of being involved in the club.

That’s exactly how I would play. I assumed initially this is what Howe was trying to do but it’s not possible in this set up because we clear the ball to Isak and the closest player to him is 40 yards away.

For me it’s almost impossible to make a determination on whether I would replace Howe in the summer as there is too many jigsaw pieces missing, which I will never know. I know he isn’t where I’d like him to be tactically during this difficult season. I know I disagree with some of his decision making and approaches and I firmly believe we are out of cups and further down the table than we could be, even with the significant issues. Some of which I believe are his responsibility or he has been a factor in. However, all of things I don’t know is a large deciding factor, for example: 1. Does Howe have a fetish for expensive and limited British/PL players? Is he responsible for trying to push through deals for Phillips and McTominay? 2. Is this “breakdown of trust” with Ashworth real and if so, who is to blame and why? 3. What are his long term plans with signings (if he is even responsible for the decision) 4. Why is he appearing stubborn in his approach and what is he expecting to achieve from it? 5. Have previously positive relationships with players like Almiron changed, leading to a lack of form, was the attempted sale Howe or club led? It’s not a straightforward decision with some idiot like Bruce, who you know his glaring limitations but also know he’d be making ridiculously shite decisions in the background. As far as I see it we have an exceptional talent who has limitations. He did sensational things with Bournemouth and us in his first season and a half. However, he also got relegated with Bournemouth due to his limitations. Will we progress further from here or stall/go backwards? The answer to that is in the 5 questions above. If I knew the answers to the above I’d be willing to give a firm opinion on it, but we’ll likely never know. I disagree with some who have posted who feel you have to be Howe in or Howe out, it’s not as black and white as that.

Because both Mourinho and Conte are stubborn managers, which ultimately led to their sacking. Really weird example to use.

We also reminisce about Champions League nights. Their equivalent is finishing 7th a couple of times.

Am I missing something with this? He played a full 90 minutes the day after this post?

I’ve always found it bonkers that Americans pay such extortionate fees on any sporting ticket. When I went to a baseball game, the resale ticket was actually cheaper than the fees I paid.

We do seem to be really good at having our valuations and sticking to them from a selling point. Can’t think of a single player who has left who I would’ve expected more for and if we start getting £20m for backroom staff we are taking the piss.

4 foreign signings vs. 10 domestic ones. Too early to say if Tino is a snip but agree with the others. Not quite the same value in the ones you omitted though. Howe clearly has a preference for PL/British experience, it’s oblivious to refuse to accept it. Thank fuck someone put their foot down on Kalvin Phillips though.

There are far too many stories from too many journalists about this power battle/Howe wanting the most input, for it not to be accurate or at least a slither of truth. Would give him a huge vote of confidence if the club give him that and quite clearly not facing any prospects of the sack if true. Would either work fantastically and Howe will be here in 20 years picking up our quadruple or he’ll be canned next season and we’ll be starting the whole project from scratch.

Maybe the versatile bit means the forward can play LB too.

Edit… deleted as others answered it.