Eddie Howe

[Gallowgate Toon]

Just now, wormy said:

 

Any particular reason(s) you feel we 'need' to win something this season? Genuine question, not trying to start owt.

We're a serious club again and, for me, we have enough of a platform already to go and win something and that's exactly what we should be doing. Top 4 and cup final last season was great fun, we should be trying to do at least one thing better this season.

 

If you gave me EL/ELC and a trophy this campaign or a top 4 finish alone, I'm taking the former every single time. 

[nufc4eva]

Just now, Interpolic said:

Yeah we can't say we need to win something this season considering who we're competing with. The likes of Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool are years ahead of us, and the deck is stacked in their favour for the foreseeable future. We will win something in the next few years but in the meantime need to focus on progressing on and off the pitch, which we're doing. 

 

 

 

Yeah we were a shit show a few years ago while those teams have built and bought for years. We went from nearly relegated to champions league next season and transformed but don't quite have that edge yet. 

 

It will come though but I don't think setting expectations on top 4 or trophies will help at all. Top 7 is fine with me compared to what we were used to.

 

[TBG]

I appreciate we can't use it as an excuse forever, but we are still far ahead of schedule.

 

Yes, I want to see us lift a trophy, but I'm not going to start berating Howe, the players and the owners etc for not delivering that with a squad still made up with a majority of players who were fighting relegation two seasons ago. 

 

That takes nothing away from those players who have stepped up and improved. But we're still miles behind those clubs that perform at the highest level year after year.

[Checko]

Imagine our team tonight but with, say, Salah on the right wing...

[Interpolic]

Yeah we can beat anyone on our day but our day isn't necessarily going to be a cup final or whatever when the opposition have been there and done it many times. We should be aiming to win or overachieving in every competition we're in, there's a difference between that and expecting it though. 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2023 by Interpolic

[The College Dropout]

Playing for EL at 1-1 would’ve been crazy. 

[TheBrownBottle]

Howe is a smart bloke, and I can only guess at how much the European campaign will have taught him.  We weren’t embarrassed in the toughest group possible, when we’re still in the middle of a squad recycle.  I doubt many of the current players will be there in two years time, which is when we’ll really be able to start kicking on to the next level I reckon - but Howe (hopefully) will. 

[Geordie Ahmed]

The problem is we have some people that think because we finished 4th last season then we need to finish at least 4th again this year, then 3rd and so and in their mind that is how progress works

 

However the reality of progress when it comes to football is very different because we are dealing with a new set of challenges and a moving competition where other teams can and do improve

 

Whilst our league position may well drop from last season this can still very much be a season of progress but we may not realise it immediately

 

The CL games have been an amazing experience for us and I've no doubt Howe has learnt a lot about the competition and how to approach the challenge of game after game

 

Our injury situation has made this difficult, I genuinely believe a "normal" injury situation and we would be going through and despite that if it wasn't for an egregious refereeing decision we would still have some European football

 

And finally I do think Howe will have learnt a lot about his squad, he'll know the ceiling of certain individuals and I hope he is ruthless when the time comes with some of them. If we want to compete with the big boys then the reality is the quality of the squad needs to jump, Howe has improved players a lot, we've seen that but a number of them have hit their ceiling and it's time to leave them behind otherwise we'll be left behind

 

 

Edited December 14, 2023 by Geordie Ahmed

[Gallowgate Toon]

25 minutes ago, nufc4eva said:

Yeah we were a shit show a few years ago while those teams have built and bought for years. We went from nearly relegated to champions league next season and transformed but don't quite have that edge yet. 

 

It will come though but I don't think setting expectations on top 4 or trophies will help at all. Top 7 is fine with me compared to what we were used to.

 

Ultimately, the key is what his bosses think. Context innit but my suspicion is that if we ended the season 7th but didn't progress in any further in comps then they'd not be best pleased. Seems the exact reason we tried to bulk out the squad more this summer.

 

Howe is class and will win something here. I feel it in me bones.

 

Edit: I don't think they believe qualifying for CL again is realistic either with every other front to compete in.

 

 

Edited December 14, 2023 by Gallowgate Toon

[Kanji]

Love him forever 

[Super Duper Branko Strupar]

This cunt been sacked yet?

[BullyDogs]

1 hour ago, Gallowgate Toon said:

Ultimately, the key is what his bosses think. Context innit but my suspicion is that if we ended the season 7th but didn't progress in any further in comps then they'd not be best pleased. Seems the exact reason we tried to bulk out the squad more this summer.

 

Howe is class and will win something here. I feel it in me bones.

 

Edit: I don't think they believe qualifying for CL again is realistic either with every other front to compete in.

 

 

 

The Saudis are in it with us to win and dominate they don't do things half arsed or settle for 2nd best or an also ran. I genuinely think that if we finish 7th or 8th say and don't challenge really for either domestic cup Rumayan and the bosses will be disappointed 

 

A mate said to me after the game that he felt a tinge of sadness tonight as he thinks that will be Howes last game as a champions league manager as he thinks by the tike we are next in the competition we are likely to have someone else

 

I neither agreed or disagreed with him but I could see his point in it

[Geordie Ahmed]

Maybe I'm naive but whilst the owners want us to be the best and very quickly I think they've shown in their time here that they are very switched on

 

All things considered we are having a good season

 

- We've made it to the QF of the League Cup having had to face Man City and Man Utd away, next up is Chelsea away

- We got the toughest CL group by far and we gave it a real good go, at half time of the final game we were heading to the CL R16 and with about 5 mins to go we were heading to the EL R16, and this too after we were on the end of a shocking decision in the previous game

- We are 7th in the league and only 4 points off 5th place so it's still in touching distance

 

And we've done this with an brutal injury situation, even if we had half the injuries I think the above situation is better, reckon we'd be at least 5th and still in the CL. That's not the fault of Howe, especially when you consider the type of injuries we've had, it's just shit luck.

 

Now, we are entering a crucial period because in 6 games times we could be out of both cups and drop further in the league but equally we could still be in both competitions and maybe moved up a spot or two. Regardless of which it is I think calling for Howe to be gone would be absurd and I don't feel there will be the threat of his job going.

 

Even if it turned out to be a "disappointing" season I think he has enough credit in the bank for that to be allowed and be given further tools to go again next season.

[TheBrownBottle]

35 minutes ago, BullyDogs said:

The Saudis are in it with us to win and dominate they don't do things half arsed or settle for 2nd best or an also ran. I genuinely think that if we finish 7th or 8th say and don't challenge really for either domestic cup Rumayan and the bosses will be disappointed 

 

A mate said to me after the game that he felt a tinge of sadness tonight as he thinks that will be Howes last game as a champions league manager as he thinks by the tike we are next in the competition we are likely to have someone else

 

I neither agreed or disagreed with him but I could see his point in it

I’ve known plenty of lads who’ve worked in KSA (including on major residential for MBS), and doing things half-arsed at great expense is very much the way that govt operates.  

[McDog]

42 minutes ago, BullyDogs said:

The Saudis are in it with us to win and dominate they don't do things half arsed or settle for 2nd best or an also ran. I genuinely think that if we finish 7th or 8th say and don't challenge really for either domestic cup Rumayan and the bosses will be disappointed 

 

A mate said to me after the game that he felt a tinge of sadness tonight as he thinks that will be Howes last game as a champions league manager as he thinks by the tike we are next in the competition we are likely to have someone else

 

I neither agreed or disagreed with him but I could see his point in it

 

 

 

They do plenty of shit half arsed. They do have ambition, and unless they are very stupid they will realize what they have achieved so far. I strongly disagree with your mate.

 

 

[TheBrownBottle]

7 minutes ago, McDog said:

 

 

 

They do plenty of shit half arsed. They do have ambition, and unless they are very stupid they will realize what they have achieved so far. I strongly disagree with your mate.

 

 

Much of the ‘Howe won’t last’ crack is coming from that tiresome bellend Simon Jordan on talkSHITE radio.

 

Don’t get me wrong, we don’t know how PIF will react - there is a chance that they pull the trigger if what they want isn’t achieved on their own schedule (whether we think it is reasonable or not).  But we have no evidence for that yet. 

[McDog]

Just now, TheBrownBottle said:

Much of the ‘Howe won’t last’ crack is coming from that tiresome bellend Simon Jordan on talkSHITE radio.

 

Don’t get me wrong, we don’t know how PIF will react - there is a chance that they pull the trigger if what they want isn’t achieved on their own schedule (whether we think it is reasonable or not).  But we have no evidence for that yet. 

 

 

I will give you the Saudi's are not exactly predictable in general.

[Amir_9]

27 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

I’ve known plenty of lads who’ve worked in KSA (including on major residential for MBS), and doing things half-arsed at great expense is very much the way that govt operates.  

 

Mate, I genuinely thought the takeover was off because they wanted to "save face" rather than be made to look silly having to plead for something as it's kind of part of the culture imo. A year later it went through. 

 

I somehow don't expect the operation of our club is in fully "KSA govt" type and there are some other influences and protocols behind decision making at play.

 

It's too early to say in their tenure but the signs so far have been good. 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2023 by Amir_9

[Nobody]

2 hours ago, The College Dropout said:

Playing for EL at 1-1 would’ve been crazy. 

Not often I agree with you, but aye at 1-1 the right way to go was to try and win the game. 

[TheBrownBottle]

1 minute ago, Amir_9 said:

 

Mate, I genuinely thought the takeover was off because they wanted to "save face" rather than be made to look silly having to plead for something as it's kind of part of the culture imo. A year later it went through. 

 

I somehow don't expect the operation of our club is in fully "KSA govt" type and there are some other influences at play.

 

It's too early to say in their tenure but the signs so far have been good. 

 

 

 

I agree, which is why I’m not convinced that they will be as reactionary as they could be.  I think this is more of a passive investment than many NUFC supporters would like it to be.  The fact that they’ve handed over day-to-day running to minority shareholders points to that.  

[r0cafella]

Howe isn’t going anywhere and rightfully so. 
 

The club knew this season would be extremely difficult and I’m sure what we’ve experienced thus far is even harder than what they forecasted. We’ve had the worst draws I can remember as well as the worst injury crisis. 
 

The club is all in on Howe, it’s quite evident by not only the players we’ve bought but also factors such as appointing his nephew as scout. 
 

 

[NWMag]

It’s clear from watching the Amazon doc that the board acknowledge a lot of teams struggle the season after getting into Europe, so there’s that. 
 

there’s also the fact we got a horrendous CL group draw, which if it wasn’t for a shocking refereeing decision tonight may have played out a lot differently if it was totally in our hands.
 

we have had no ‘easy’ draws in the league cup - despite this, Howe has rotated and we progressed. 
 

on top of those factors, we’ve had an injury crisis which has been ridiculous - any squad would struggle, let alone ours which is still not complete with quality depth. 

 

and yet, here we are, narrowly missing out on CL progress, in the league cup QF and very much in the top 4 race.

 

For me there is no chance the owners get rid of Howe. If anything, the way the season has unfolded so far has only added to his pedigree. 

[Zero]

He has a lot of credit in his bank, and genuinely speaking injuries are something that he cannot control entirely.  However I do think he could do better in squad rotation and keep the team in a better condition. I hope he learnt the lesson and, together with better resources available next season, be able to avoid the same mistake.

 

Crashing out of the death group is fine. Making the squad at such a bad condition is not. Seriously I don’t think we can win any game with our current form, and it’s not because of his tactics, it’s because the whole squad are half dead.

 

I would be genuinely disappointed if we crash out like that again NEXT season. 

[Ronaldo]

1 hour ago, NWMag said:

It’s clear from watching the Amazon doc that the board acknowledge a lot of teams struggle the season after getting into Europe, so there’s that. 
 

there’s also the fact we got a horrendous CL group draw, which if it wasn’t for a shocking refereeing decision tonight may have played out a lot differently if it was totally in our hands.
 

we have had no ‘easy’ draws in the league cup - despite this, Howe has rotated and we progressed. 
 

on top of those factors, we’ve had an injury crisis which has been ridiculous - any squad would struggle, let alone ours which is still not complete with quality depth. 

 

and yet, here we are, narrowly missing out on CL progress, in the league cup QF and very much in the top 4 race.

 

For me there is no chance the owners get rid of Howe. If anything, the way the season has unfolded so far has only added to his pedigree. 

What ‘the board’ - ie Amanda and the other cuddlies want doesn’t really matter. Yasir doesn’t do failure. You’ve only got to look at the recent negotiations with the PGA Tour and the acquisition of John Rahm for half a billion. The man gets what he wants and any resistance he’ll just burn your fucking house down. Ruthless.

[Ikon]

I love Eddie and he has my support 100%. What he has achieved with us in such a short period of time is nothing but amazing. There are some things i wish he would have done differently when it comes to say rotation, subs and some tactical bits. I'm sure he and the team have learn't tons from this when it comes to many things, being a new experience with the CL, in many ways. However, the next few signings will tell a lotabout where we are looking to go. We need better players technically and in possession as well as style/tactics to control games better, and to save some energy when possible. I don't agree with the signing of Barnes for example. Is a an effective player? Yes, in many scenarios. I don't see him starting ahead of Gordon for example. Some might say that Gordon can play RW and Barnes on the left. I don't want this though as it would make us too predictable having 2 wide players that don't offer too much when it comes to flair and 1v1, especially against teams that tactically or "forced" decide to sit back slightly deeper like many teams play away in europe, as well as lesser teams in the league. Barnes might very well prove to be a very good squad player but i don't ever see him being a key player in a team that once it evolves will need better players in general play to control and break teams down. At the very time of the signing i would much have prefered to see us putting that money elsewhere. I can easily see Gordon being a starting player in the future too, but we need to strike a good balance when it comes to the style and attributes of players as we look to progress and inevitably evolve. I'm very excited about the future and extremely happy and proud of what we have achieved so far. I know i keep babbling about technical/creativity/flair and so on, but it's a must go route going forward to progress to the next level. As said, balance is key.