STM Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 The only thing I will say on the "too nice" debate, is that I don't think Dubravka should have walked back in as second choice. Sometimes managers should lay down the law, even if Dubravka is genuinely our second best keeper. Its a out setting a precedent. Apart from that Howe looks tough enough to me. Binned off Fraser quick enough. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledGeordie Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 (edited) 29 minutes ago, Optimistic Nut said: In the long run, the last two months will probably turn out to be a good thing. It's highlighted a few weaknesses, shown who the players are who are top level and which ones were performing above themselves. I'd be very surprised if we don't sign 4-5 quality first-team players over the next 2 windows to add to the likes of Pope, Botman, Trippier, Bruno and Isak. The likes of Burn, Almiron, Schar, Willock, Longstaff etc will all be important to the squad but shouldn't really be starting 30 plus league games each from next season. Might still be 1-2 of those if certain positions aren't available in the summer but we're going to get there eventually. Totally agree, recent months and the cup final show how much we’re still lacking quality and depth. Summer will be a big squad change imo, loads of dead wood out clearing the wage bill and genuine quality brought in. There could and probably should be at least 3 new potential starters at the start of next season imo (LB, number 6 type player, new winger off the top of my head as a starter). I wonder if there’s further change in the striking department too. Edited February 28, 2023 by ExiledGeordie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prophet Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Aye, he's ruthless without being a cunt about it. Clark, Lascelles and Ritchie were eased out of the first team at the earliest opportunity, while the latter two who are apparently big voices in the dressing room were still made to feel they were playing their part. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 We've probably needed a spell like this just to manage our expectations a bit. 2022 was literally up and up. From 19th to 3rd and the brink of Wembley. A little spell like this (where we're still in a really strong position to rally for 4th) isn't the worst thing. We're still not playing particularly badly, just lacking in a few areas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Aye we've had a year of straight progress. I was hoping we could ride that wave to a top 4 position then put together a team that could maintain it. It looks like now we'll probably miss out on top 4, maybe Europe all together. But have a better understanding of this squad's level and areas for improvement. Also gives Howe an opportunity to show other sides of his management and coaching. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 59 minutes ago, Optimistic Nut said: We've probably needed a spell like this just to manage our expectations a bit. 2022 was literally up and up. From 19th to 3rd and the brink of Wembley. A little spell like this (where we're still in a really strong position to rally for 4th) isn't the worst thing. We're still not playing particularly badly, just lacking in a few areas. Agree with that. Plus every negative result only drives the desire for a positive one. I require this visceral reaction to sustain my nearly dead soul. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interpolic Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 "Too nice" is a meaningless cliche uttered by men with very red faces who are obsessed with Jeremy Clarkson. It isn't even remotely accurate or relevant with Howe: - There are no disciplinary issues in our squad - He has us playing smartly re game management etc - He's refusing to back down when challenged on our "antics" Yes he seems a nice bloke and is respectful towards other managers etc but I see no evidence whatsoever of his demeanour affecting us adversely. It's a pathetic and ungrateful comment to make actually, given what Howe's already done for us. Hopefully it's not one of those things that gets picked up by more and more thick fucks, and becomes accepted as fact. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andymc1 Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Just a quick one RE: Mr Nice Guy. It's a load of tripe. Heard from the horses mouth recently that he is a lot different away from the cameras, and this "PE teacher" thing couldn't be further away from reality. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
80 Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 People said similar things about Bobby Robson. Getting rid of him worked brilliantly. People making supposed niceness their key criticism deserve Souness. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 1 hour ago, The Prophet said: Aye, he's ruthless without being a cunt about it. Clark, Lascelles and Ritchie were eased out of the first team at the earliest opportunity, while the latter two who are apparently big voices in the dressing room were still made to feel they were playing their part. Also came probably as close to criticising the players publicly as he has done after the final when he said we made good opportunities but weren't clinical enough to take them. It's more or less an admission that we aren't good enough, something he emphasised again afterwards when he said it will be a long process to get us to where we want to be as a club. He's never going to slag anyone off individually, it's just not what he's about, but there's a burning desire to win in there. Some fans are just too thick to see past the surface. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shays Given Tim Flowers Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 I do feel our toe-to-toe approach with Liverpool and Man United wasn't the best way to go about things. Hindsight is 20/20 but we don't have the players to compete as equals. We've lost those games 4-0. It's fine to have a manager who is committed to having the team play in a certain way but until our players match up we're likely to be exposed. I don't know, certainly in terms of the final feel like a more pragmatic approach might have been the way to go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lush Vlad Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Shays Given Tim Flowers said: I do feel our toe-to-toe approach with Liverpool and Man United wasn't the best way to go about things. Hindsight is 20/20 but we don't have the players to compete as equals. We've lost those games 4-0. It's fine to have a manager who is committed to having the team play in a certain way but until our players match up we're likely to be exposed. I don't know, certainly in terms of the final feel like a more pragmatic approach might have been the way to go. Liverpool we were perhaps a bit gung ho and loose at the back. Which resulted in them scoring and also contributed to the red card for Pope. But I don't think we played like we played this game anything like we did against Man U in the league, or say City earlier in the season. They were much more games where it felt like we tried to go 'toe to toe' with big teams. The high press and really ballsy call of leaving 4-5 players pushed up in the opposition half doesn't seem to be as consistent now. It feels if anything, like we are having a mini identity crisis and are stuck between two different styles. We're certainly not pressing or at least doing it effectively as we were earlier in the season. Edited February 28, 2023 by Lush Vlad Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OverThere Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 2 hours ago, Lush Vlad said: Liverpool we were perhaps a bit gung ho and loose at the back. Which resulted in them scoring and also contributed to the red card for Pope. But I don't think we played like we played this game anything like we did against Man U in the league, or say City earlier in the season. They were much more games where it felt like we tried to go 'toe to toe' with big teams. The high press and really ballsy call of leaving 4-5 players pushed up in the opposition half doesn't seem to be as consistent now. It feels if anything, like we are having a mini identity crisis and are stuck between two different styles. We're certainly not pressing or at least doing it effectively as we were earlier in the season. I don't think we can play that tactic with ASM in the team so a decision has to be made one way or another Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shays Given Tim Flowers Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 3 hours ago, Lush Vlad said: Liverpool we were perhaps a bit gung ho and loose at the back. Which resulted in them scoring and also contributed to the red card for Pope. But I don't think we played like we played this game anything like we did against Man U in the league, or say City earlier in the season. They were much more games where it felt like we tried to go 'toe to toe' with big teams. The high press and really ballsy call of leaving 4-5 players pushed up in the opposition half doesn't seem to be as consistent now. It feels if anything, like we are having a mini identity crisis and are stuck between two different styles. We're certainly not pressing or at least doing it effectively as we were earlier in the season. Perhaps it's an issue with my use of 'toe to toe'. The games you refer to were certainly more open but we still felt very much front foot first on Sunday but with perhaps less potency both in terms of our press and also our play in the final third. I would have liked to have kept the game tighter for the first half and a lot more awkward for the first 20. I feel like we had the run of the game but without the quality to hurt, in a one off game we'd have been better off trying to counter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groundhog63 Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 (edited) We've got some ungrateful, entitled cunts in our ranks and make no mistake. From the 1st week of the takeover and sad sacks wanting the whole squad replaced with galacticos by Xmas to clueless fucks questioning Howe this week. Hope most people enjoyed the cup final and, hopefully, a return of trips to Europe next season because when it becomes the norm the novelty will soon wear off. Edited February 28, 2023 by Groundhog63 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lush Vlad Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 3 hours ago, OverThere said: I don't think we can play that tactic with ASM in the team so a decision has to be made one way or another Yet we did earlier in the season when he started and to a lesser degree, a bit last season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 What I find so funny about this 'nice guy' bollocks is that most of the angry shouty managers are the worst managers! It's such a stupid, dumb trope man. Really annoys me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pubteam Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 1 hour ago, Groundhog63 said: We've got some ungrateful, entitled cunts in our ranks and make no mistake. From the 1st week of the takeover and sad sacks wanting the whole squad replaced with galacticos by Xmas to clueless fucks questioning Howe this week. Hope most people enjoyed the cup final and, hopefully, a return of trips to Europe next season because when it becomes the norm the novelty will soon wear off. Cracking point, some of our fan base have unrealistic expectations. We can't build a world class team until until we have the facilities and infrastructure in place. If they want to point a finger it needs to be pointed directly at Ashley who signed the club up to long terms sponsorship deals that have crippled finances in the short term. The new owners said it was a 10 year plan from the start. Eddie has got some very average players performing way beyond their level, they were always going to get found out eventually. He turned the team into a professional outfit, a team that just about every so called pundit predicted would be relegated last season. I don't know why people can't just admire how far we have come. He has more tactical knowledge than any previous manager we have had. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
54 Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prophet Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 The numbers suggest that our attacking methods are still decent enough, but I do agree with the lack of a plan B. I think that will come with more quality options, particularly in attack. We've seen that he isn't afraid to stick Isak and Wilson up top together when chasing a goal, but we're still having to turn to the likes of Murphy and Ritchie at times. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCormick Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 58 minutes ago, 54 said: He spelt “pursuit” wrong. Get rid. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Butcher Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 Going to be so interesting to see what he can do with a proper balanced, quality squad in a few years time. Doubt he's going to be our Wenger/Ferguson, but you never know. Would love for him to spend most of his career here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Icarus Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 Do you think it would be fair to say that he maybe doesn't get the love from our fanbase that he deserves/has earned? He's very uncontroversial and calm, which maybe doesn't tickle the pashun ganglion in our fanbase like KK or SBR did, and he doesn't yet have the prestige that Rafa had, but I honestly love having him as our manager like - he's every bit a Newcastle manager in terms of how he has us playing imo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LV Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 Not too many managers have taken us to a cup final so quickly. He’ll do for me bonny lad Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 11 minutes ago, Kid Icarus said: Do you think it would be fair to say that he maybe doesn't get the love from our fanbase that he deserves/has earned? He's very uncontroversial and calm, which maybe doesn't tickle the pashun ganglion in our fanbase like KK or SBR did, and he doesn't yet have the prestige that Rafa had, but I honestly love having him as our manager like - he's every bit a Newcastle manager in terms of how he has us playing imo. Think that's only recently isn't it? Since we've hit some patchy form. Scroll back a few weeks and people are absolutely gushing over him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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