Eddie Howe

[Conjo]

8 minutes ago, Theregulars said:

I think if he belonged here we’d know already, but I hope I’m wrong.

 

Most likely yes, but we'll never know unless he gets more than 10 minutes of game time every other month.

[LV]

I’m glad most on here are level headed about it all.

 

Restored my faith a bit. 

[Wolfcastle]

Just about the last thing I'd do is break up the Schar-Botman combo, but Schar could go midfield.

With Burn (and some rejigging) Lascelles taking his place at the back. Ideally Burn with Targett at left-back.

Its an imperfect world for us at this stage without a huge squad of quality replacements in each position

[Menace]

Shelvey literally did an interview saying he was begging Howe to let him leave after getting a stern no - why would Howe keep an unhappy player around? Our fans need to chill out a little bit, Bruno is back, we can pivot to 4-2-3-1, theres 16-17 games left. It really isn't the end of the world for god sake. We're arguing about letting Shelvey go and not getting in a replacement... I think Howe/Ashworth and co have slept on it and probably decided it was for the best to let him go rather than have him on for another year where he will warm the bench and make 5 appearances max whilst sucking up our FFP.

[The Prophet]

6 hours ago, greydos said:

I just don’t think this whole “we’re keeping our power dry for the summer” argument really cuts it. There’s clearly time and place for buying players to get you through a short-term problem, Chris Wood is recent successful proof of that, arguably Targett and Burn also. There’s no guarantee a long term target will come to us in the summer. And the idea the owners have a master plan for advancing to champions league and staying there in future is tantamount to saying they can accurately predict the future performance of other teams and so know that, even if Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs and Brighton improve, because of a few commercial contracts signed we’ll be sustainably better than those sides on the pitch. There can be no such guarantee! A January disappointment 

 

Generally speaking the stronger your squad is the more chance you have of accumulating the 70-80 points required for Champions League football.

 

You can't predict the future, but using this logic, with a half a season remaining there was absolutely no guarantee additional signings would have sealed a top four finish this season. 

 

Other than being a bit short in midfield there weren't any short term-problems to fix. 

 

Long term, the club will have identified a number of targets for the summer. Clearly we do a lot of due diligence. We'll an idea if the players are keen, how much their clubs wants, along with all the other background checks. It guarantees nothing, but it puts us in a strong position. 

 

With FFP, along with Profit and Sustainability still important factors to considered, splashing out on a short term term signings seems less appealing. Of course, the club will know a lot more about this than us lot.

Putting all that aside, given we have no idea if our recent dip in form is driven by long term causes or if it's just a minor blip, it's hard to know how much impact a short term signing would of had. Especially given Howe's reluctance to start new recruits.

 

So lots of ifs, buts and maybes. Naturally that won't stop certain fans whining on about January every, single time we drop points. That definetly isn't tedious at all. Similarly the fans that were gasping to say "I told you so" after having a moan about the summer window are in dreamland.

[Theregulars]

26 minutes ago, STM said:

 He's a bairn man. Spurs fans had Harry Kane written off too. 

 

Thank fuck Ashworth and Howe are making these decisions and not reactive fans.

A lot of “bairns” his age get regular PL minutes, because they’re good enough. Howe’s as good as admitted in the summer that the ideal scenario was to loan him out, but lack of squad depth meant he stays. 
 

I repeat that I very much hope I’m wrong, but the times I’ve seen him in person and on the telly I’ve not thought that there’s anything there.

[relámpago blanco]

I personally think Man United will struggle against our midfield when Bruno is back without Erikson and Casemiro.  Their midfield is bang average without those 2.

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by relámpago blanco

[Coffee_Johnny]

Just now, relámpago blanco said:

I personally think Man United will struggle against our midfield when Bruno is back without Erikson and Casemiro.  Their midfield is bang average without those 2.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, Casemiro will be back. 

[Theregulars]

1 minute ago, relámpago blanco said:

I personally think Man United will struggle against our midfield when Bruno is back without Erikson and Casemiro.  Their midfield is bang average without those 2.

 

 

 

Casemiro will be playing, so that’s half your argument dead in the water.

[Theregulars]

32 minutes ago, STM said:

 He's a bairn man. Spurs fans had Harry Kane written off too. 

 

Thank fuck Ashworth and Howe are making these decisions and not reactive fans.

Also, I take umbridge at being called “reactive”. All I’ve said is that yesterday’s performance was poor against a poor team and that I don’t think selling Shelvey was sensible with no replacement. I don’t think there’s anything unreasonable about either argument.

[greydos]

9 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

 

Generally speaking the stronger your squad is the more chance you have of accumulating the 70-80 points required for Champions League football.

 

You can't predict the future, but using this logic, with a half a season remaining there was absolutely no guarantee additional signings would have sealed a top four finish this season. 

 

Other than being a bit short in midfield there weren't any short term-problems to fix. 

 

Long term, the club will have identified a number of targets for the summer. Clearly we do a lot of due diligence. We'll an idea if the players are keen, how much their clubs wants, along with all the other background checks. It guarantees nothing, but it puts us in a strong position. 

 

With FFP, along with Profit and Sustainability still important factors to considered, splashing out on a short term term signings seems less appealing. Of course, the club will know a lot more about this than us lot.

 

Putting all that aside, given we have no idea if our recent dip in form is driven by long term causes or if it's just a minor blip, it's hard to know how much impact a short term signing would of had. Especially given Howe's reluctance to start new recruits.

 

So lots of ifs, buts and maybes. Naturally that won't stop certain fans whining on about January every, single time we drop points. That definetly isn't tedious at all. Similarly the fans that were gasping to say "I told you so" after having a moan about the summer window are in dreamland.

 

A lot of this makes sense. But doesnt address the argument that Shelvey shouldn't have been released, or to apply your logic in full to this scenario, with Shelvey our squad would be stronger than it is without him, and so we'd be more likely to accumulate the 70-80 points needed for champions league this year. And i can't imagine the long term signings we want to sign in the summer who we think are so pivotal to our future, are going to turn their noses up at signing for us now because we reached champions league too early. 

[bobbydazzla]

14 years of a zombie club then within 18 months we’re in a champions league spot and a cup final. With largely the same players. 

 

Yet the angry mob still want to piss and moan.

 

I’ve got no issue with a bit of constructive criticism as the new regime aren’t infallible, but just do it in the context of the amazing things they have achieved.

Some of our fanbase are screaming bloody murder about every little issue they perceive and these

daft clampits need to wise up sharpish as they’re an embarrassment.

 

 

[Coffee_Johnny]

[Theregulars]

8 minutes ago, Theregulars said:

A lot of “bairns” his age get regular PL minutes, because they’re good enough. Howe’s as good as admitted in the summer that the ideal scenario was to loan him out, but lack of squad depth meant he stays. 
 

I repeat that I very much hope I’m wrong, but the times I’ve seen him in person and on the telly I’ve not thought that there’s anything there.

Including Gordon, I might add.

[Theregulars]

44 minutes ago, STM said:

 

You are absolutely correct. What was our squad like circa December 2021? Should have kept Isaac Hayden and Jeff Hendrick around for squad depth IMO.

But that isn’t his point, is it? 

[OverThere]

The problem we have in strengthening the midfield is that to make a noticeable difference we will have to spend a lot, which we can't do. We could buy bodies but that would only add to the problem we already have. I think Eddie has said countless times he doesn't want to add talent that is not as good as he already has, and by that I assume he means the Bruno level.

[Coffee_Johnny]

1 minute ago, OverThere said:

The problem we have in strengthening the midfield is that to make a noticeable difference we will have to spend a lot, which we can't do. We could buy bodies but that would only add to the problem we already have. I think Eddie has said countless times he doesn't want to add talent that is not as good as he already has, and by that I assume he means the Bruno level.

Good luck with that EH! 

[The Prophet]

1 minute ago, greydos said:

 

A lot of this makes sense. But doesnt address the argument that Shelvey shouldn't have been released, or to apply your logic in full to this scenario, with Shelvey our squad would be stronger than it is without him, and so we'd be more likely to accumulate the 70-80 points needed for champions league this year. And i can't imagine the long term signings we want to sign in the summer who we think are so pivotal to our future, are going to turn their noses up at signing for us now because we reached champions league too early. 

 

There's a whole host of reasons that a player may not be available January, but available in the summer.

 

I commented in January that we were short in the middle, but all being well Shelvey or whoever was brought in as a stop gap wouldn't feature too much regardless. 

 

With the information it has available, the club opted to not sign a stop gap. I think it's too early to know if that's going to have an adverse effect on the team. Regardless, I'll enjoy the rest of the season, taking the rough with the smooth. Banging on about the transfer window being a "missed opportunity" when we don't actually know if it was seems like a fruitless exercise.

[Yorkie]

Howe said a couple of pressers ago that Anderson had had fitness issues and, to me, also seemed to indicate that his head wasn't right; based on a comment (from memory) like "he's in a much better place now."

 

I concur that he's looked out of his depth on a couple of occasions and was worryingly poor against Sheff Wed in particular, but his cameos early doors showed a lot more promise. I thought he looked alright yesterday too whilst, physically, he looks ready to compete. 

 

He's definitely gonna get a chance now and I can't see too much harm (in terms of his personal development) in him getting a small number of minutes with us instead of a lot in the Championship.

[The Prophet]

I'm not sure why selling Shelvey has become an issue after drawing with West Ham and Bournemouth when he was only declared fit this weekend and played all of half an hour.

[gbandit]

People like to dig deep after some disappointing results

[Hanshithispantz]

8 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

I'm not sure why selling Shelvey has become an issue after drawing with West Ham and Bournemouth when he was only declared fit this weekend and played all of half an hour.

 

I think @joeyt succulently spelled it out a couple pages back

 

 

We're doing great, but our striker and midfield situation is a pretty big fuckup.

 

EDIT: Unless I've missed people saying he was a problem with the West Ham and Bournemouth games specifically like? Sorry if that's the case.

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Hanshithispantz

[The Prophet]

2 minutes ago, Hanshithispantz said:

 

I think @joeyt succulently spelled it out a couple pages back

 

 

We're doing great, but our striker and midfield situation is a pretty big fuckup.

 

I touched on this on the previous page. I don't feel we need another striker and while we could have done with an extra body in the middle, at this stage it's tough to know how detrimental that'll be.

 

[Scotty66]

1 hour ago, STM said:

 He's a bairn man. Spurs fans had Harry Kane written off too. 

 

Thank fuck Ashworth and Howe are making these decisions and not reactive fans.

 

Hard to believe this bloke could become the PL record goal scorer 

 

 

[Hanshithispantz]

@Ronaldo touched on it yesterday I think like, but we lack a target up top to hit when we need to bypass midfield. Wood, as shit as he is allowed that last year.

 

Obviously the money we got for him was too good to turn down, but losing both him and Shelvey will have a much bigger effect on the squad than people realise imo. Howe had no way to change the game yesterday once Gordon was forced on, both would have played a decent part (not saying we would have won like).

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Hanshithispantz