Eddie Howe

[Jonas]

  On 26/12/2023 at 23:17, Orphanage said:

Shoulda replaced him with Huckerby 

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Good shout. He looked the dogs bollocks against Chelsea when he came on I thought. Raw but I was very impressed. No surprise he had a good career.

Down the left side iirc too.

 

 

[Interpolic]

  On 26/12/2023 at 23:14, The College Dropout said:

I’m not wrong. They all played Man City.  Not all started but they played. 
 

Man City with a squad more prepared to challenge on 4 fronts didn’t play Rodri, Haaland, Ederson. 

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Sheffield United, 24th September 

 

Pope
Trippier
Schar
Botman
Burn
S.Longstaff
Guimaraes
Anderson
Almiron
Wilson
Barnes 

 

Man City, 27th September

 

Pope
Livramento
Lascelles
Dummett
Targett
L.Miley
Tonali
Hall
J.Murphy
Isak
Joelinton

 

I've highlighted in bold the players that started the 2 games consecutively. Won't take you long to count them. It's a goalkeeper as well. 

 

If you're complaining about the subs that Howe made in that game then sorry to say but you really don't know ball. 

 

They murdered us first half, Howe made the subs, changed the impetus, we looked a different team and progressed against the best team in the country. All the while making sure nobody played 2 consecutive 90 minutes and plenty of key players got 45+ minutes rest. 

[TheBrownBottle]

  On 26/12/2023 at 23:18, Jonas said:

That's fair enough mate, I should have stated that but felt there's a point in there somewhere about seemingly little things make a bigger difference than some give credit for. For a team like that to get derailed by one injury etc. etc.

Fucking hell though, you forget some things and if we kept Ruel were home and dry. Sellars even. Sods law we sell both and Gillespie gets crocked. KK really had nothing like the blank cheque book some imagine.

KK was tinkering too to be fair by then - Guppy's and Brayson's only games were in the LC. Man City in 94 (Mike Jeffrey etc) was needs must tbf. Ferguson started at Brighton in 92, giving the devil his due.

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Yeah, when KK left the whole ‘chequebook manager’ shite was ongoing, but he brought in £20m in sales as well as £60m in signings (and the squad he left was definitely worth more than £40m).

 

It was nearly impossible to cover for all positions back then - and the intensity of play reflected it.  I do think that Gillespie’s injury bollocksed our season that year - we were never the same again.

 

Funnily enough, I do think some of the criticism that could be levelled at KK could be levelled at Howe - Keegan wouldn’t drop Lee or Beardsley even when they were completely out of form, even though the likes of Watson and Huckerby were able to come in for a game or two.

 

Howe and KK are very similar in that I always want to hear them talk.  Robson and Benitez are the only other NUFC managers where I can say that.  Howe isn’t super charismatic, but he’s likeable and level-headed. 

[Interpolic]

Tbh one of the main things I remember about earlier this season was loads moaning when Murphy or Wilson started. Nice easy argument to crowbar in now we're suffering though. 

[The College Dropout]

  On 26/12/2023 at 23:24, Interpolic said:

 

Sheffield United, 24th September 

 

Pope
Trippier
Schar
Botman
Burn
S.Longstaff
Guimaraes
Anderson
Almiron
Wilson
Barnes 

 

Man City, 27th September

 

Pope
Livramento
Lascelles
Dummett
Targett
L.Miley
Tonali
Hall
J.Murphy
Isak
Joelinton

 

I've highlighted in bold the players that started the 2 games consecutively. Won't take you long to count them. It's a goalkeeper as well. 

 

If you're complaining about the subs that Howe made in that game then sorry to say but you really don't know ball. 

 

They murdered us first half, Howe made the subs, changed the impetus, we looked a different team and progressed against the best team in the country. All the while making sure nobody played 2 consecutive 90 minutes and plenty of key players got 45+ minutes rest. 

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Fatigue is cumulative. We weren’t going to rest Bruno in December if we were in the league cup and not in the CL or league. We shouldn’t have played him in that game at all.  Like I’ve said - City have a much stronger squad and completely rested their spine that they will need in big matches - Ederson, Dias, Rodri, Haaland. With the exception of Trippier all of our key spine players got minutes. 
 

Sheffield United we were 6-0 after 60 minutes. Trippier and co. played 80 minutes. 
 

They seem small but three things all add up in fatigue. 
 

Sime of the injuries have been freak injuries. But Howe’s tactical approach and lack of rotation has been a contributor to the injuries and lack of sharpness.  

[The Prophet]

  On 26/12/2023 at 23:31, The College Dropout said:

Fatigue is cumulative. We weren’t going to rest Bruno in December if we were in the league cup and not in the CL or league. We shouldn’t have played him in that game at all.  Like I’ve said - City have a much stronger squad and completely rested their spine that they will need in big matches - Ederson, Dias, Rodri, Haaland. With the exception of Trippier all of our key spine players got minutes. 
 

Sheffield United we were 6-0 after 60 minutes. Trippier and co. played 80 minutes. 
 

They seem small but three things all add up in fatigue. 
 

Sime of the injuries have been freak injuries. But Howe’s tactical approach and lack of rotation has been a contributor to the injuries and lack of sharpness.  

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Don't necessarily disagree with the bit in bold, but it's all very easy to say with the benefit of hindsight.

 

We don't pick up the freak injuries and we're not in this mess.

[Kid Icarus]

  On 26/12/2023 at 22:36, The College Dropout said:

As in… playing what he thinks is his strongest team again and again?

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On a game by game basis, ie horses for courses.

[The College Dropout]

  On 26/12/2023 at 23:37, The Prophet said:

 

Don't necessarily disagree with the bit in bold, but it's all very easy to say with the benefit of hindsight.

 

We don't pick up the freak injuries and we're not in this mess.

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If we don’t have the freak injuries, we barely see Livramento. That’s not right. 

[Interpolic]

  On 26/12/2023 at 23:31, The College Dropout said:

Fatigue is cumulative. We weren’t going to rest Bruno in December if we were in the league cup and not in the CL or league. We shouldn’t have played him in that game at all.  Like I’ve said - City have a much stronger squad and completely rested their spine that they will need in big matches - Ederson, Dias, Rodri, Haaland. With the exception of Trippier all of our key spine players got minutes. 
 

Sheffield United we were 6-0 after 60 minutes. Trippier and co. played 80 minutes. 
 

They seem small but three things all add up in fatigue. 
 

Sime of the injuries have been freak injuries. But Howe’s tactical approach and lack of rotation has been a contributor to the injuries and lack of sharpness.  

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He made 10 changes for that league cup game. In an ideal world we'd have been 4 up at half time and not needed to play any of our big hitters. But we needed to make those changes to win the game, simple as that. 

 

The changes weren't crazy either - Bruno played 45 minutes, as did Gordon. Miggy played half an hour. Schar came on in injury time so can only assume you were being disingenuous or hoping I wouldn't look it up. If you are wanting to prove a point about Howe's squad management then I think this game is about the worst one you could have picked. 

[dcmk]

  On 26/12/2023 at 23:31, The College Dropout said:

Fatigue is cumulative. We weren’t going to rest Bruno in December if we were in the league cup and not in the CL or league. We shouldn’t have played him in that game at all.  Like I’ve said - City have a much stronger squad and completely rested their spine that they will need in big matches - Ederson, Dias, Rodri, Haaland. With the exception of Trippier all of our key spine players got minutes. 
 

Sheffield United we were 6-0 after 60 minutes. Trippier and co. played 80 minutes. 
 

They seem small but three things all add up in fatigue. 
 

Sime of the injuries have been freak injuries. But Howe’s tactical approach and lack of rotation has been a contributor to the injuries and lack of sharpness.  

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You're using hindsight from a match we have won, to say a player shouldn't have played a half of football.  Him not starting Bruno suggests he was conscious of minutes.

 

If we had lost and Bruno wasn't selected or didn't play, I can imagine a lot of folk on here would be criticising Eddie about not taking the competition seriously.

 

He saw a way to win the match and went for it and won, it's bizarre to criticise when he wanted to be positive and win.

 

No one could possibly have predicted how the injury situation would develop. 

 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2023 by dcmk

[TheBrownBottle]

  On 26/12/2023 at 23:43, Interpolic said:

 

He made 10 changes for that league cup game. In an ideal world we'd have been 4 up at half time and not needed to play any of our big hitters. But we needed to make those changes to win the game, simple as that. 

 

The changes weren't crazy either - Bruno played 45 minutes, as did Gordon. Miggy played half an hour. Schar came on in injury time so can only assume you were being disingenuous or hoping I wouldn't look it up. If you are wanting to prove a point about Howe's squad management then I think this game is about the worst one you could have picked. 

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I thought Howe’s management of that LC game was masterful tbh.  He rotated, could see that there were issues, changed at HT and we looked like a different side second half.  Perfect.

 

Rotation doesn’t mean changing the entire XI for me, though.  It means swapping out one or two players game by game.  I still think we’ll see Howe doing that from now on - the man learns from his mistakes. 

[The College Dropout]

  On 26/12/2023 at 23:41, Kid Icarus said:

On a game by game basis, ie horses for courses.

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In the league and CL, 7 of 11 always start. The other 4 slots do get rotated. 3 of those slots have picked up long term injuries and suspensions and the 4th has 2 seemingly injury prone players.  That’s not Howe’s fault aye.  
 

The other 7, Howe could do more to keep them fresh and fit. Also including not bringing them back too earlier. 

  On 26/12/2023 at 23:43, Interpolic said:

 

He made 10 changes for that league cup game. In an ideal world we'd have been 4 up at half time and not needed to play any of our big hitters. But we needed to make those changes to win the game, simple as that. 

 

The changes weren't crazy either - Bruno played 45 minutes, as did Gordon. Miggy played half an hour. Schar came on in injury time so can only assume you were being disingenuous or hoping I wouldn't look it up. If you are wanting to prove a point about Howe's squad management then I think this game is about the worst one you could have picked. 

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For the 3rd time. Man City actually lost the game but didn’t bring on their star striker.  I can only deduce that Pep prioritised Haaland’s long term sharpness and fitness over the immediate result.  Howe has routinely prioritised the immediate fixture over long term sharpness and fitness. Bruno and Gordon didn’t need those minutes. 
 

Bruno doesn’t even have a natural understudy in the squad. He was always found to get flogged at some point. 

[The Prophet]

To be fair, Haaland's back up is Alvarez.

[Gallowgate Toon]

Knowing Howe, we will go on a class run very soon. Even today, I thought we played some absolutely lush football in that first 30 minutes - when we nail that coordinated one-touch passing, it's easily the best stuff I've seen us produce in my lifetime.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing us closer to full tilt again in the coming weeks, hopefully with some extra hungry players back and a couple of additions too.

 

We usually get shite all at Anfield so it's all about putting in a really good, unified performance for me. Something to build on going into the next run of games.

[Interpolic]

  On 26/12/2023 at 23:51, The College Dropout said:

For the 3rd time.

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No need. Fuck off. 

 

We made those changes as it was necessary to win the tie. The alternative was throwing it. You're focusing on minutiae in one game where Howe got everything right. Laters. 

[The College Dropout]

  On 26/12/2023 at 23:45, TheBrownBottle said:

I thought Howe’s management of that LC game was masterful tbh.  He rotated, could see that there were issues, changed at HT and we looked like a different side second half.  Perfect.

 

Rotation doesn’t mean changing the entire XI for me, though.  It means swapping out one or two players game by game.  I still think we’ll see Howe doing that from now on - the man learns from his mistakes. 

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When you don’t play your strongest team and lose - yes some will criticise you. But you make the hard decisions for the long term benefit of the season. 
 

We have a small squad to start with considering we play in the CL. Taking the league cup seriously is a questionable thing to do as it means we’ll play 29 games by New Year’s Day. 
 

It’s not hindsight from me. I suggested throwing the Man U game and playing kids. I was bemoaning the lack of subs from the Wolves game. 
 

Last season - Howe stuck to his guns, when I thought best for him to twist and it worked out much better his way. I don’t mean to come across overly critical.  But he has his approach, he’s not big on rotation and he’s contributed to this knackered squad. He’s not prioritised sharpness and fitness. His attempts at rotation have been insufficient. 

[The College Dropout]

  On 26/12/2023 at 23:56, Interpolic said:

 

No need. Fuck off. 

 

We made those changes as it was necessary to win the tie. The alternative was throwing it. You're focusing on minutiae in one game where Howe got everything right. Laters. 

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And my point is Howe always does what is necessary to win the next game. That has contributed to a knackered squad. 
 

In isolation of winning the next game, Gordon should start every single game. With a view of 6–10 games or longer - it’s probably best that he sat out one or two to keep him fresh and sharp. Even if that meant starting Ritchie or Hall. It would pay off over the medium to long term. Howe hasn’t done that. 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2023 by The College Dropout

[WideopenMag]

  On 27/12/2023 at 00:01, The College Dropout said:

When you don’t play your strongest team and lose - yes some will criticise you. But you make the hard decisions for the long term benefit of the season. 
 

We have a small squad to start with considering we play in the CL. Taking the league cup seriously is a questionable thing to do as it means we’ll play 29 games by New Year’s Day. 
 

It’s not hindsight from me. I suggested throwing the Man U game and playing kids. I was bemoaning the lack of subs from the Wolves game. 
 

Last season - Howe stuck to his guns, when I thought best for him to twist and it worked out much better his way. I don’t mean to come across overly critical.  But he has his approach, he’s not big on rotation and he’s contributed to this knackered squad. He’s not prioritised sharpness and fitness. His attempts at rotation have been insufficient. 

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You are an absolute mong. You don't play a weak team in a cup quater final when you're team hasn't won a trophy in 55 years?. Buffoon. 

[TheBrownBottle]

  On 27/12/2023 at 00:01, The College Dropout said:

When you don’t play your strongest team and lose - yes some will criticise you. But you make the hard decisions for the long term benefit of the season. 
 

We have a small squad to start with considering we play in the CL. Taking the league cup seriously is a questionable thing to do as it means we’ll play 29 games by New Year’s Day. 
 

It’s not hindsight from me. I suggested throwing the Man U game and playing kids. I was bemoaning the lack of subs from the Wolves game. 
 

Last season - Howe stuck to his guns, when I thought best for him to twist and it worked out much better his way. I don’t mean to come across overly critical.  But he has his approach, he’s not big on rotation and he’s contributed to this knackered squad. He’s not prioritised sharpness and fitness. His attempts at rotation have been insufficient. 

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No, I don’t think it is hindsight at all - I believe you were saying precisely that at the time.  I’m one of those who hates seeing reserve XIs start cup games - if anyone is looking for those who hop up and down on the spot for that stuff, it’s me.

 

I think Howe’s rotation has been insufficient in that it isn’t an all-or-nothing move.  Swapping your right back one match, then a centre mid the next is how sensible rotation normally operates.  We played the same starting XI in the first five league games of the season - the only time we had a full squad available.  I doubt that will happen again. 

[TheBrownBottle]

  On 27/12/2023 at 00:41, WideopenMag said:

You are an absolute mong. You don't play a weak team in a cup quater final when you're team hasn't won a trophy in 55 years?. Buffoon. 

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I agree re playing a weakened team in a QF - I’d rather rest players in a league game - but ‘mong’ isn’t necessary; it’s a horrible word mate.  

[Dava1892]

  On 26/12/2023 at 23:55, Gallowgate Toon said:

Knowing Howe, we will go on a class run very soon. Even today, I thought we played some absolutely lush football in that first 30 minutes - when we nail that coordinated one-touch passing, it's easily the best stuff I've seen us produce in my lifetime.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing us closer to full tilt again in the coming weeks, hopefully with some extra hungry players back and a couple of additions too.

 

We usually get shite all at Anfield so it's all about putting in a really good, unified performance for me. Something to build on going into the next run of games.

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Having lost to Luton and Forest we will go to Anfield and get a result, just Newcastle all over that 

[Jonas]

  On 26/12/2023 at 23:27, Interpolic said:

Tbh one of the main things I remember about earlier this season was loads moaning when Murphy or Wilson started. Nice easy argument to crowbar in now we're suffering though. 

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It lodged in my mind last season that people wanted Almiron/Murphy or Willock/Longstaff off only to whinge about the lacklustre performance of their replacement. Like the punishment of withdrawal was as far as the thought got and no heed was paid to who the alternative was. Bit like with this injury crisis we should have been tinkering our way through with Christ knows what given we've had three keepers, bairns, a coach and empty slots on the bench but just get those starting XI cunts off

 

 

Edited December 27, 2023 by Jonas

[madras]

  On 26/12/2023 at 21:09, TheBrownBottle said:

I don’t think Howe has a choice but to do what he’s doing now - and yes, I’m well aware of how long this has been going on.  Just saying that he overplayed players when he had a choice - even in October we had multiple options at FB, for example, and he wouldn’t drop / rest Trippier or Burn until they were completely fucked.  Don’t take it as me saying that Howe is 100% to blame or responsible for an injury crisis; I do though think he isn’t blameless 

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He rotated Isak and Wilson right from the start, he switched Gordon Barnes, it's how Barnes got injured, he brought Murphy in at Milan to rotate Almiron, he didn't have Willock or Longstaff to rotate with, then Tonali gets suspended and Joelinton gets injured and has to play while unfit, Botman goes long-term.........but its all because he didn't pull Trippier out of a week, he doesn't rotate, rest or use the squad.

[TheBrownBottle]

  On 27/12/2023 at 03:26, madras said:

He rotated Isak and Wilson right from the start, he switched Gordon Barnes, it's how Barnes got injured, he brought Murphy in at Milan to rotate Almiron, he didn't have Willock or Longstaff to rotate with, then Tonali gets suspended and Joelinton gets injured and has to play while unfit, Botman goes long-term.........but its all because he didn't pull Trippier out of a week, he doesn't rotate, rest or use the squad.

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He started with the same XI in the first five league games.  It took knocks and injuries to start moving the team around.

 

We’re not going to agree on this one by the looks of it madras - I think Howe is an excellent manager and I don’t want to see anyone else in charge, but I think he’s made errors this season and they’re catching up with us.  We’ve had bad luck with some injuries, but our playing style has contributed to others.  We’ve won one league away game in the last fourteen; if we lose at Anfield we’ve lost as many games as we’ve won this season, and there has been serious investment on the playing side.  Howe isn’t immune from criticism - those calling for him to get the chop are being daft, but he’s not blameless for what’s happening.  He can’t be given credit for when we’re winning and playing well but it’s nowt to do with him when we’re not. 

[madras]

  On 27/12/2023 at 03:32, TheBrownBottle said:

He started with the same XI in the first five league games.  It took knocks and injuries to start moving the team around.

 

We’re not going to agree on this one by the looks of it madras - I think Howe is an excellent manager and I don’t want to see anyone else in charge, but I think he’s made errors this season and they’re catching up with us.  We’ve had bad luck with some injuries, but our playing style has contributed to others.  We’ve won one league away game in the last fourteen; if we lose at Anfield we’ve lost as many games as we’ve won this season, and there has been serious investment on the playing side.  Howe isn’t immune from criticism - those calling for him to get the chop are being daft, but he’s not blameless for what’s happening.  He can’t be given credit for when we’re winning and playing well but it’s nowt to do with him when we’re not. 

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First 4 games with a swathe of subs, I dont think anyone is too knacjered then? It didn't take knocks and injuries to play Barnes or Murphy, Longstaff for Tonali, rotating Isak and Wilson for league or Champions league was deliberate.

 

I'll take him task for not taking Trippier off at Wolves and even that's with hindsight, but outside if that there's little he's been able to do.

 

 

Edited December 27, 2023 by madras