TheEntertainer

yeah that's what I'm saying, there were a couple of comments saying he was resting them for the cup and was just saying there's no way that's the case

We can't possibly be resting players because the focus is on the cup? It must be that he just has to rotate because of the number of games we've played. There's no way he thinks a 4th round cup game is bigger than a league game given how the leagues been going recently.

I've gone 2-2 in the work prediction league, it could literally be anything though, very hard to call.

This bit is a great point and is absolutely why people are frustrated which is why I don't understand some of the push back to the frustration, I do also agree it creates over the top, knee jerk reactions, but this stuff is so important to everyone here: "Your point that "it currently doesn't feel like he's going to [turn it around]" is exactly right. And it feels fucking *terrible* to watch the team (who in some way are an extension of each of us and part of our own identity and self-worth) not fight, seem clueless, seem tactically naïve, seem tired. It feels awful and that feeling persists. When we're winning and playing well, or even just outshithousing other teams, my whole life is intangibly better in every aspect. When we're limp and losing, and particularly when we lack resilience, can't hold a lead, are jittery and nervous in the late stages of most games, I feel in some way personally diminished by that. But those powerful feelings are sometimes a bad basis for making decisions. Because we just want those feelings to stop, and it almost doesn't matter what happens to make them stop, we just *need* them to stop. And that can push anyone into prioritising that short-term pain relief at the expense of longer-term cool head thinking. Maybe particularly football club directors who are often vain and brittle." I've been thinking about it over-night and the more I think about it and despite how disillusioned I personally am currently and how much it feels like Eddie isn't the answer (given how poor this entire season has been) the alternative is probably worse. The way the club has been managed behind the scenes since Stavely and Ghodoussi left has been a shambles so I reckon if we did get rid, we'd have no plan for a successor, would end up mucking that up even more and end up not with an elite manager who could turn the ship around but someone much worse than Howe who would instead make things even worse and things could spiral. So despite my reservations, I'm still Eddie in, I'm just very very unhappy about how this season has gone so far.

Yeah 100% this. Also in response to some of the rest of the post this was responding to, I don't think anyone thinks Howe is a shite manager, unfortunately in football most managers have a shelf life at a club and results seems to decline despite the fact we can all clearly see the manager is talented and has acheived fantastic things previously. That's my worry, not that Howe's a knacker and should never have been given the job, I'm worried that through burnout, our style of play not working anymore or whatever it is, we've gone as far as we can under Howe. It's a weird thing about football and I think it's maybe because it's so hard to manage people at the very top level for an extended period of time, but managers who are succesful for extended periods of time are the exception not the rule, even Pep's not seemed at his best the last couple of years, he's just lucky to have infinite money to throw at the problem and Mourinho was the best in the world and now he's really not. I still want him to turn it around as I've said, it currently doesn't feel like he's going to. Doesn't mean he won't, but the worry is he's taken us as far as he can (which has obviously been incredible, but doesn't mean we should now accept that he can do no wrong). I'm not really sure what micro penises or aura farming have to do with any of it so I'll just skip that bit.

Yeah he wasn't amazing but he was miles better than Wissa

I think Botman had a good game yesterday, won most of his challenges, looked comfortable on the ball, there's nothing he could do with the 1st one, Trippier gave the winger so much time he could perfectly pick his cross, Tripper at fault again for the second and a bit of an iffy pen decision and the third he was marking his man and Trippier was miles out of position again, maybe Thiaw should have got to him quicker but the shot went straight through Pope. Nothing he could really have done for any of the goals and he looked good other than that.

Yeah, we basically need 6 more points from 13 games to be safe, pretty sure no matter how badly we're playing currently we can manage that. I'm expecting somewhere between 10th and 16th as most likely. I'd think there's much more chance of us turning it around and finishing 7th than completely falling apart and not winning another game and being relegated.

i kind of agree that outside of Newcastle Keegan is seen more for the 'I'd love it meme' than what he acheived, which definitely hurt his legacy, but I don't think people think he wasn't a succesful manager. Levels I guess, he was a hero to us and outside this space, he was just a succesful manager, I don't think other fans don't rate him though.

He's never been the same since that stupid ring doorbell thing bar the odd game, it obviously massively got into his head last season and now he's just succumbing to father time. He was consistently fantastic prior to that though.

I'm completely on the same page, he's been so good for us and so important to this transistion that I really really hate watching him now, because I'm going to start hating him and I really don't want that. He's so far off it now it's hard to watch so I just want it to stop for his benefit as well as ours.

Absolutely superb today, there were two player on the pitch who looked like it really mattered for them tonight for Newcastle and he was one of them. I honestly love him losing his cool a little at the end when he's trying so hard and honestly being so good and getting very little from the rest of the team. Rapidly becoming my favorite player.

100%, Cisse may have strolled about the pitch at times but he was actually a really good player. So far Wissa has strolled about the pitch and not been very good at all, so that's a worry. He was genuinely good last season though, so I still hold out hope, but he's been very, very poor for us so far.

"There's a harsh reality for me. I think I have to think long and hard about - not my effort, because I can't question that - but I have to work better, do more. I have to take responsibility for everything you see on the pitch. I have got to work out solutions. "I also of course have to ask the same of the players. I have to ask them to be really honest and look at their best levels, and judge them against that now in this current moment. "I don't think there are too many who can say they are playing their best. That then gives us growth to improve. He's defo not saying he needs to work harder, but that he needs to be better, which is right and is a great soundbite. I've seen nothing this season to suggest that is likely, but I love the sentiment. My ideal scenario is Eddie turns it around, we have a great end to the season and I look like a massive wanker for ever doubting him, that is feeling less and less likely though.

I’m not saying he can’t be tired, of course he can, I’m saying that can’t be an excuse for underperformance.

I’m sick of hearing about PSR and tiredness at this point. Yes PSR hamstrings us to get into the top 4, but not the top 10. And suggesting he’s tired is ridiculous. That’s his job. The best managers get up and go again no matter how many times they get knocked down. They’re always tired because it’s really fucking hard, but that’s just how it is. If you can’t cope with that you aren’t the right man the for the job.

This season we’ve looked shocking simple as. It’s a clear regression and it feels like we should try and do something about that. I’m not sure Eddie out is the answer, but I’m getting more and more frustrated by how poor we’ve looked every single game. Something has to give, and unfortunately in football that’s usually the manager.

The new poll is miles better than the yes/no we had before. That is all...

Yeah I was excited with the signing (though we obviously over-paid), but he's been crap weirdly.

The signs were there in September (though there were mitigating circumstances), we looked mostly poor and bereft of ideas and nothing has got better since, I'd guess more people are seeing it now and I'd agree it would have been insane to be calling for Howe out in September (or even now tbh), but as I've said before, if the season keeps on like this and we don't go super far in some cups to save it, we really need to look at things in the summer. We've just been poor all season and the Champions league is papering over the cracks, but Spurs finished 4th and every English team finished 12th or above, I think other than the elite it's significantly weaker than the Prem.

I'd snap your hand off for 10th at the end of the season right now, we just look so very weak. Really good start, but can't defend and just seem to completely lose the fight as soon as anything goes against us this season. One man team to the extreme it seems...

I know this has been talked about before, but I don't get why he doesn't want to play on the right, most of the time today when he was effective he was knocking it down the line and beating his man for pace but then often struggled to put in a good cross because it's on his weaker foot, you'd think he'd be great on the right, I don't get it. He's rarely cutting back onto his right effectively and generally just slows play down and has to go backwards when he does which doesn't really get us anywhere. I'm definitely not in the Gordon is crap camp, because I don't think he is, but when he's not contributing with goals cutting in, I don't know why he wouldn't just play on the right to create a bit more for the rest of the team.

Yeah it's a really weird take that it's somehow damning that people who are frustrated with the way we've been playing this season express that frustration when we lose and we don't look good doing so. Football is a results game, even if we are poor, if we win, people are happy and it would rather kill the vibe if after a good result people were in here slating the team and manager (and be weird honestly). Is the expectation that people who are unhappy with how we've been playing post in here negatively win or lose? Or just that if you are negative you should never post? Or you should post all the time about anything even if you have nothing to say? I'm very confused by this take, it's not even an argument, no support for how we played, no support for Howe's decisions, no rebuttal to any of the points made, just oh look negative people are posting again LOL. I think that's significantly less worth time posting than people taking the time to discuss the team we all support on a forum about that team.

I'm really not sure what the answer is, but it's clear something needs to change, unless teams are a level below us (non-elite European teams), or just don't defend properly (Leeds), we really struggle to create anything, Wissa is never in a good position to meet a cross that was Isaks bread and butter, there was a really good example in the first half where I think Miley fizzed one across the 6 yard box and Wissa was still jogging in and at the edge of the box. It just doesn't look like number 9 play. Woltemade is more often in the right position, but is too slow to get ahead of a defender to get there first, unless it's in the air where he can use his height. There have been so many games this season, where if a team have actually set up to defend deep against us, we may as well just give up and go home, or hope for a moment of brilliance from someone, or a set piece. I've said for a while now, we need to have a look at everything in the summer as outworking teams and being solid isn't working anymore, because every team is doing that now. We weren't actually bad in the game overall today, we just really struggle to create good chances barring a mistake from the opposition. Villa on the other hand looked much more dangerous in the final third, it felt like they caused problems most attacks which is the opposite of us at the minute.

Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.