Eddie Howe Returns!

[Interpolic]

  On 16/03/2024 at 22:39, The College Dropout said:

With some bad luck I thought we could finish 8th.  Behind the top 6 and Villa.  

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If you're going to bang on about wage bills to the extent you have then you can't claim 8th is par "with some bad luck" when we have the 8th highest wage bill. 

[The College Dropout]

  On 16/03/2024 at 23:09, Interpolic said:

 

If you're going to bang on about wage bills to the extent you have then you can't claim 8th is par "with some bad luck" when we have the 8th highest wage bill. 

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7th/8th is par if all things are equal except money.   
 

we are much better run than Chelsea - who are still shambolic. So 7th is minimum.  
 

Since the takeover the leadership has been excellent, we’ve been great in tranafwr market and Howe looked one of the best managers in the league. I thought As we had done last season we could punch above our weight but not so high maybe finish 5/6.  
 

At the same time - the squad was thin and lacking quality and depth in some key positions. Injuries, loss of confidence etc. we could finish at the bottom of that group… but still part of that group.  I also think the club modelled a ‘bad’ season as like Conference League place finish. 
 

In defence of the season we’ve had more bad luck than I modelled in the ‘bad luck’ scenario.  Again - I think some of that bad luck is self inflicted.  

[Conjo]

  On 16/03/2024 at 22:53, midds said:

6.5th was par before the season kicked off imo. We've been dealt a harsh hand this year but that's the standard he'll be judged by tbh. Anything less than par and he'll be asked some very uncomfortable questions at the end of the season

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By whom? Irrational shitposters on here and twitter psychos, or the people in charge who by all accounts have enough between the ears to understand the massive issues we've had on top of what (from what they've acknowledged themselves in the documentary series) would be a difficult season?

[Kanj]

Revenge tour begins next season. Get ready to get fucking punched in the face and shithoused to death. Fuck off rest of the PL. 

[Terrymac1966]

Four centre backs and Longstaff in midfield poses managerial questions which in a forum are rightly under discussion

[timeEd32]

  On 16/03/2024 at 23:35, The College Dropout said:

7th/8th is par if all things are equal except money.   
 

we are much better run than Chelsea - who are still shambolic. So 7th is minimum.  
 

Since the takeover the leadership has been excellent, we’ve been great in tranafwr market and Howe looked one of the best managers in the league. I thought As we had done last season we could punch above our weight but not so high maybe finish 5/6.  
 

At the same time - the squad was thin and lacking quality and depth in some key positions. Injuries, loss of confidence etc. we could finish at the bottom of that group… but still part of that group.  I also think the club modelled a ‘bad’ season as like Conference League place finish. 
 

In defence of the season we’ve had more bad luck than I modelled in the ‘bad luck’ scenario.  Again - I think some of that bad luck is self inflicted.  

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I agree with a lot of what you say but I can’t get behind using wages as the benchmark for grading performance and then outright dismissing one of the clubs with massively higher wages. It doesn’t work that way, especially when they brought in a new manager and expectations were raised. 

[The College Dropout]

  On 17/03/2024 at 00:27, timeEd32 said:

I agree with a lot of what you say but I can’t get behind using wages as the benchmark for grading performance and then outright dismissing one of the clubs with massively higher wages. It doesn’t work that way, especially when they brought in a new manager and expectations were raised. 

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Well aye had Poch come in and performed that moves us down a place. I wouldn’t have any arguments. But they’re 11th.  There isn’t a club in Europe using resources so poorly. 
 

I didn’t think we would finish Lower than 8th at worst. I thought we did things too well, the manager was too good. 

[Zero]

  On 17/03/2024 at 00:26, Terrymac1966 said:

Four centre backs and Longstaff in midfield poses managerial questions which in a forum are rightly under discussion

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Ironically Howe probably should be praised that he finally make some changes to his tactics

[Infinitely Content]

I can certainly understand the frustrations this season, frustrations which I'm sure are shared by Howe himself. It's quite alright to have reservations about certain decisions a manager makes - that will be the case across almost all clubs and their supporters. However what we achieved last season was remarkable given the resources Howe and his team had to work with, and this season some terrible luck and some fine margins have truly been the difference. It has saw a regression in terms of consistency and performance that was likely inevitable anyway given we only lost 5 games last season. It is very difficult as fans not privy to certain information, nor having the football knowledge to truly understand the fine margins in football, but I'm quite sure it's not as simple as Hall over Burn, or Anderson over Longstaff. Those fine margins are sometimes not tactical or personnel based, but hidden factors that are unmeasurable.

It's a shame that there's an apparent growing section of our supporters waiting to pounce and call for the head of a man who has achieved so much with this team already and absolutely deserves our unwavering support at least going into next season. Howe has been very sensitive in harnessing the potential power and influence of our home support - he 'gets' what it is to be Newcastle manager, and I find it disappointing and frustrating that some are failing to see that's something worth getting behind (at least for now, given the circumstances).

[splinter]

Eddie has done so well overall from when he first came in and undoubtedly  deserves to stay.transfers in the summer haven't worked out and it looks like from the outside that Eddie and Ashworth weren't on the same page.For me we were better off without Ashworth.Nichson and Eddie did  better job with the signings. Injuries  were unprecedented and continue to be.let's re set and go again next having taken the learnings from this year on board.

[Collage]

Hopefully this is Eddie's 94-95 season and we'll make some great signings in the summer to compete at the very top again next season.

[gbandit]

  On 17/03/2024 at 10:00, splinter said:

Eddie has done so well overall from when he first came in and undoubtedly  deserves to stay.transfers in the summer haven't worked out and it looks like from the outside that Eddie and Ashworth weren't on the same page.For me we were better off without Ashworth.Nichson and Eddie did  better job with the signings. Injuries  were unprecedented and continue to be.let's re set and go again next having taken the learnings from this year on board.

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Agreed master

[Lush Vlad]

Wasn’t sure whether to post this here or the FFP thread. But some interesting points. 
 

Whether or not the Saudis get the right people in place across the board to enable success and if we can do it within the constraints of FFP. I don’t know and nobody really does. 
 

Either way, I agreed with most of the tweet. 

[r0cafella]

  On 17/03/2024 at 11:29, Lush Vlad said:

Wasn’t sure whether to post this here or the FFP thread. But some interesting points. 
 

Whether or not the Saudis get the right people in place across the board to enable success and if we can do it within the constraints of FFP. I don’t know and nobody really does. 
 

Either way, I agreed with most of the tweet. 

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Can’t see the entire thread thanks to musk. I do hope the thread points out the fact it doesn’t actually matter who we hire if we can’t compete due to FFP though. 

[Lush Vlad]

  On 17/03/2024 at 11:42, r0cafella said:

Can’t see the entire thread thanks to musk. I do hope the thread points out the fact it doesn’t actually matter who we hire if we can’t compete due to FFP though. 

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  Reveal hidden contents

Last night was a reminder of how big the gap is between #NUFC and Manchester City (not that we needed it). 

And although it sparked frustration from the fans, it's important to remember that Man City's success is the result of decades of huge investment across the whole club.

In an era with no FFP, no multi-club ownership, and far less competition - it still took them 2 seasons to qualify for the Champions League. It took Eddie Howe less than that.

And even in Europe, they went out in the group stage of their first two Champions League campaigns.

Of course since then they've won a bunch of Premier League titles, a UCL, and are the best team in the world - but it's due to the culture, the system, the facilities, the academy, the ownership group, etc. - which all take years to implement. You don't create long-term success without those important building blocks.

Hence, tangible success and trophies *have* to take time to come at #NUFC. There are no shortcuts. You have to go with the process, which is what the club have been beginning to do over the last couple of years - and they have to keep doing it.

The natural progression after several relegation battles followed by an over-achieving 4th place finish isn't to then challenge for the title. 

We've got so far to go to bridge the gap between us and the big six. 15 years of chronic underinvestment can't be overturned in 3 years, especially with FFP.

Even with Liverpool this season - they've sustained a title charge and won a trophy while having a horrendous injury crisis. 

Why? Because they've had young/academy players come through and not miss a beat. Bradley, Quansah, Clark etc.

And although Klopp deserves some credit for trusting them, the bottom line is that they are just very good footballers. And they're the result of proper investment in facilities and academy recruitment - two things that don't just appear overnight.

Ultimately the point is that bridging the gap between #NUFC and the big six will take time, long-term thinking and patience. 

It's easy to get unsettled when the team isn't playing well, and while the likes of Bruno and Isak aren't surrounded by players of a similar quality. There's no easy quick fix to either of those issues though.

I understand the frustration, but investment needs to be made across the club - even in places where fans can't see it - in order to achieve long-term success. 

The youth team for example, give it a few years and it'll look much better. They've already invested heavily in some great talent. We'll only reap those rewards in at least 5 years time.

There'll be dips in performance, big players leaving, and other bumps along the way, but every year we'll be inching closer to being part of the elite. 

It might be slow progress, but it's the best and most sustainable way to go about it. And when we get there, we'll be able to stay there. Patience is key, and once again - progress is never linear.

 

[r0cafella]

  On 17/03/2024 at 11:45, Lush Vlad said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Last night was a reminder of how big the gap is between #NUFC and Manchester City (not that we needed it). 

And although it sparked frustration from the fans, it's important to remember that Man City's success is the result of decades of huge investment across the whole club.

In an era with no FFP, no multi-club ownership, and far less competition - it still took them 2 seasons to qualify for the Champions League. It took Eddie Howe less than that.

And even in Europe, they went out in the group stage of their first two Champions League campaigns.

Of course since then they've won a bunch of Premier League titles, a UCL, and are the best team in the world - but it's due to the culture, the system, the facilities, the academy, the ownership group, etc. - which all take years to implement. You don't create long-term success without those important building blocks.

Hence, tangible success and trophies *have* to take time to come at #NUFC. There are no shortcuts. You have to go with the process, which is what the club have been beginning to do over the last couple of years - and they have to keep doing it.

The natural progression after several relegation battles followed by an over-achieving 4th place finish isn't to then challenge for the title. 

We've got so far to go to bridge the gap between us and the big six. 15 years of chronic underinvestment can't be overturned in 3 years, especially with FFP.

Even with Liverpool this season - they've sustained a title charge and won a trophy while having a horrendous injury crisis. 

Why? Because they've had young/academy players come through and not miss a beat. Bradley, Quansah, Clark etc.

And although Klopp deserves some credit for trusting them, the bottom line is that they are just very good footballers. And they're the result of proper investment in facilities and academy recruitment - two things that don't just appear overnight.

Ultimately the point is that bridging the gap between #NUFC and the big six will take time, long-term thinking and patience. 

It's easy to get unsettled when the team isn't playing well, and while the likes of Bruno and Isak aren't surrounded by players of a similar quality. There's no easy quick fix to either of those issues though.

I understand the frustration, but investment needs to be made across the club - even in places where fans can't see it - in order to achieve long-term success. 

The youth team for example, give it a few years and it'll look much better. They've already invested heavily in some great talent. We'll only reap those rewards in at least 5 years time.

There'll be dips in performance, big players leaving, and other bumps along the way, but every year we'll be inching closer to being part of the elite. 

It might be slow progress, but it's the best and most sustainable way to go about it. And when we get there, we'll be able to stay there. Patience is key, and once again - progress is never linear.

 

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Thank you for sharing this, I appreciate it. 
 

Sadly I think bridging the gap is practically impossible as the catch up mechanics we had at our disposal have been either closed or fully utilised. (Our FFP position being favourable and our ability to sign related party deals with minimal fuss). 
 

We don’t have any competitive advantage over those above us and a common them I’ve notice throughout these types of posts is basically it will be fine in time which isn’t realistic Imo. 

[samptime29]

If we are doing below par after half of next season, then you can ask the question. He has credit in bank with me. Injuries, brutal cup draws have screwed us but Howe has made some mistakes.

 

Hopefully we finish well and get 7th. 

[Lush Vlad]

  On 17/03/2024 at 11:53, r0cafella said:

Thank you for sharing this, I appreciate it. 
 

Sadly I think bridging the gap is practically impossible as the catch up mechanics we had at our disposal have been either closed or fully utilised. (Our FFP position being favourable and our ability to sign related party deals with minimal fuss). 
 

We don’t have any competitive advantage over those above us and a common them I’ve notice throughout these types of posts is basically it will be fine in time which isn’t realistic Imo. 

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That’s fair. But we all live in hope that Liverpool fall off when Klopp leaves, City finally get punished and Arsenal

carry on being bridesmaids. 
 

Chance of us squeezing in there again  

[PauloGeordio]

????????

[Lazarus]

This is more aimed at the media than anyone on here but...

 

Anyone complaining about FFP and PSR not being fair and stopping a team from breaking into the top 6 while wanting Eddie sacked cos he hasnt broken into the top 6 wants to give their head a wobble.

[Conjo]

  On 17/03/2024 at 16:13, Lazarus said:

This is more aimed at the media than anyone on here but...

 

Anyone complaining about FFP and PSR not being fair and stopping a team from breaking into the top 6 while wanting Eddie sacked cos he hasnt broken into the top 6 wants to give their head a wobble.

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The same people who were unhappy with the line-up and/or tactics yesterday despite crying out for Howe to try something new for weeks and months.

 

The same people who predicted a bumming against Man City, and were unhappy when we only lost 2-0.

 

 

Edited March 17, 2024 by Conjo

[Groundhog63]

The same people screaming we need an elite manager whilst moaning we've a team full of duds

[TheBrownBottle]

  On 17/03/2024 at 12:03, Lush Vlad said:

That’s fair. But we all live in hope that Liverpool fall off when Klopp leaves, City finally get punished and Arsenal

carry on being bridesmaids. 
 

Chance of us squeezing in there again  

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Sadly, that won’t plug the income gap - it would be a temporary situation.  We’re light years away from the income levels of the Sky six 

[Ronaldo]

  On 17/03/2024 at 11:29, Lush Vlad said:

Wasn’t sure whether to post this here or the FFP thread. But some interesting points. 
 

Whether or not the Saudis get the right people in place across the board to enable success and if we can do it within the constraints of FFP. I don’t know and nobody really does. 
 

Either way, I agreed with most of the tweet. 

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Actually took City 3 seasons.

[Jagten]

  On 18/03/2024 at 00:58, Ronaldo said:

Actually took City 3 seasons.

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Man City initially handled their wealth poorly, and it took them ages to develop a coherent strategy. In retrospect, Gary Cook probably held them back a lot