Eddie Howe

[Erikse]

2 minutes ago, Ronaldo said:

100%. Reality is in the middle.

 

 

 

 

It usually is. Things are rarely all black and white despite our love for those colors.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

5 minutes ago, Ronaldo said:

100%. Reality is in the middle.

 

 

 

Easy to say but harder to put together a coherent argument for. 
 

I get the nobody is above criticism angle, I just haven’t heard any compelling arguments for what he could have been doing. 
 

We need to learn to enjoy the ride. 

[Hanshithispantz]

34 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

One line that stood out for me from the Amazon doc was Dan Ashworth saying something to the effect of "next season will be a lot harder," during a Zoom call to the owners about whatever subject. 

 

We were always going to hit a rough patch this season. There was no earthly way we would sustain the same dramatic upwards curve from the prior 18 months; and that's before we factor in a generational injury crisis. 

 

Howe's tactical inflexibility is fair game for debate, but everything else you might critique about the team this season has a massive and absolving asterisk imo.  

I don't think he's tactically inflexible tbf, he's just (arguably) made the wrong calls. 'Arguably' because, with the injuries and fixture buildup, it's hard to imagine any system would ultimately have been fruitful.

 

His first season here we were very defensive, although not in a park the bus way, and ended with top 4 form.

 

We've resorted to a low block a lot recently in the latter half of games and looked well drilled, just too shattered to make the ball stick up top.

 

He changed it today with Isak and Wilson and we looked better etc.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Hanshithispantz

[Pata]

1 hour ago, Orphanage said:

Always thought it was a bit odd not to get another striker in the summer . 

 

Who are the third strikers on Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd, Tottenham, Villa and Brighton?

[Gallowgate Toon]

Been let down by our attackers in recent away games as well. Not even a sniff of a half chance being converted. We're definitely not playing amazing going forward or owt but creating enough to at least do better than that pitiful output.

 

Across the last few league away games, we've amassed about 5xg and missed 8 'big chances' while only scoring 1. Compounded by lack of available rotation and we're leaking goals we can't afford to concede.

[gbandit]

Don’t really see how the argument is in the middle. We have a manager who dragged us out of the depths with some amazing football. He gets us CL football, he has us qualified without a freak refereeing error. He takes us to a cup final for the first time in over two decades. He gets us extremely close to qualifying for the semis of the same competition the following year, despite  playing Man City, Man U and Chelsea. All while we experience an unprecedented injury crisis. 

 

People are criticising rotation and in-game subs. I think we’re all on board with that. If people are criticising much beyond that or questioning whether he’s the right man for the job then they need their heads checked

[AyeDubbleYoo]

7 minutes ago, jackyboy said:

I think that maybe we got off to too good a start. Champions league and draw with Milan, hammer PGS then knock Man City and Man U out of the cup. Players must have been walking on air and then we start losing.  Not just losing but playing poorly and they don't seem to have picked themselves up. I know we've had a bad run on injuries but most of our so called reserves would be good enough to get in the teams of the bottom clubs. Everyone knew it was going to be tough but maybe some of the players didn't realise just how tough

On the other hand we also have some

players who looked comfortable relegation fodder before Howe arrived. 

[Andy]

Just now, Pata said:

 

Who are the third strikers on Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd, Tottenham, Villa and Brighton?

 

I guess the difference there is that our strikers are crocks. Was obvious you'd struggle to even get half a season out of Wilson, and Isak is clearly prone to muscle injuries too, so it always felt a risk. 

[Ronaldo]

3 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

Easy to say but harder to put together a coherent argument for. 
 

I get the nobody is above criticism angle, I just haven’t heard any compelling arguments for what he could have been doing. 
 

We need to learn to enjoy the ride. 

I think a lot of it, for me anyway, is being conscious of the ownership. I want Howe to get years here and I want us to continue spending big but both in tandem aren’t possible when we’re clearly going backwards.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Just now, gbandit said:

Don’t really see how the argument is in the middle. We have a manager who dragged us out of the depths with some amazing football. He gets us CL football, he has us qualified without a freak refereeing error. He takes us to a cup final for the first time in over two decades. He gets us extremely close to qualifying for the semis of the same competition the following year, despite  playing Man City, Man U and Chelsea. All while we experience an unprecedented injury crisis. 

 

People are criticising rotation and in-game subs. I think we’re all on board with that. If people are criticising much beyond that or questioning whether he’s the right man for the job then they need their heads checked

That’s what I mean, the middle is a lazy position IMO. Unless ‘somewhere in the middle’ means way over to the Howe is class end. 

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Just now, Ronaldo said:

I think a lot of it, for me anyway, is being conscious of the ownership. I want Howe to get years here and I want us to continue spending big but both in tandem aren’t possible when we’re clearly going backwards.

But are we clearly going backwards? Football doesn’t work like you finish 4th so next season you finish 3rd. So many factors are involved. 
 

This season is likely to lead to a lower league position, but IMO that’s fully understandable based on the bigger picture. 

[HaydnNUFC]

3 minutes ago, gbandit said:

Don’t really see how the argument is in the middle. We have a manager who dragged us out of the depths with some amazing football. He gets us CL football, he has us qualified without a freak refereeing error. He takes us to a cup final for the first time in over two decades. He gets us extremely close to qualifying for the semis of the same competition the following year, despite  playing Man City, Man U and Chelsea. All while we experience an unprecedented injury crisis. 

 

People are criticising rotation and in-game subs. I think we’re all on board with that. If people are criticising much beyond that or questioning whether he’s the right man for the job then they need their heads checked

 

Fully agree with the 1st paragraph, but my personal main criticism is we've been largely poor away from home since we stuffed Everton at Goodison in April. Its now almost January and a few of those away games/performances were before this freakish injury list got as big as it did.

[Vinny Green Balls]

Just now, AyeDubbleYoo said:

But are we clearly going backwards? Football doesn’t work like you finish 4th so next season you finish 3rd. So many factors are involved. 
 

This season is likely to lead to a lower league position, but IMO that’s fully understandable based on the bigger picture. 

It really absurd to say after a few grueling months of a season. But this honestly feels almost like the same conversation from last January. It's going to pop up every time we have a rough patch. And it's often the same posters.

[Ronaldo]

2 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

But are we clearly going backwards? Football doesn’t work like you finish 4th so next season you finish 3rd. So many factors are involved. 
 

This season is likely to lead to a lower league position, but IMO that’s fully understandable based on the bigger picture. 

No I don’t think we are, currently, but it’s headed that way. 

[Vinny Green Balls]

1 minute ago, HaydnNUFC said:

 

Fully agree with the 1st paragraph, but my personal main criticism is we've been largely poor away from home since we stuffed Everton at Goodison in April. Its now almost January and a few of those away games/performances were before this freakish injury list got as big as it did.

No doubt we have been generally poor away from home for this whole season.

[LiquidAK]

4 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

But are we clearly going backwards? Football doesn’t work like you finish 4th so next season you finish 3rd. So many factors are involved. 
 

This season is likely to lead to a lower league position, but IMO that’s fully understandable based on the bigger picture. 

Yup, we've hit a rough patch but the only way you could say we've genuinely gone backwards is if you look at this season devoid of all context

[Vinny Green Balls]

Just now, Ronaldo said:

No I don’t think we are, currently, but it’s headed that way. 

then why say it without a caveat? And we are headed toward going backwards?  

[Cf]

2 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

But are we clearly going backwards? Football doesn’t work like you finish 4th so next season you finish 3rd. So many factors are involved. 
 

This season is likely to lead to a lower league position, but IMO that’s fully understandable based on the bigger picture. 

 

I got the impression from the Netflix piece that the ownership appreciated this. 

 

We got to the CL ahead of schedule. We strengthened our squad but it's still clearly not at the same level as the top teams. Even without the injuries we don't really have the depth to properly challenge. 

 

Last season we had a week between games and were able to implement our press every game as well as prepare for each game. The tactics instilled in the team helped disguise the slight lack of technical quality in the squad. 

 

We just don't have that luxury this season. On the roadmap I imagine this was put down as a transitional season where maybe we'd be pushing for top 4. And squad wise it still is. 

 

Add the injury crisis on top and I think we're not in the worst spot we might be. 

 

Howe isn't above criticism and maybe there's a few things he could have done differently but I'd be surprised if anyone else would have done much better with this squad, schedule, and injury crisis. 

[Gawalls]

1 hour ago, The Prophet said:

 

Considering he started from a much higher platform and is yet to achieve anything, I'd disagree. Granted both are very good coaches and Emery could do well this season.

They were seventeenth when he took over, hardly a much higher platform. Both managers have done equally well and stupid to compare them yet.

[Vinny Green Balls]

Just now, Gawalls said:

They were seventeenth when he took over, hardly a much higher platform. Both managers have done equally well and stupid to compare them yet.

 didn't you just compare them?

[gbandit]

I think the away form is largely linked to not playing with the same intensity and press that we do at home. This must be to try and save legs either for the latter half of the season or more likely because of injuries and squad fatigue. I don’t doubt that they’ll have a plan in place for trying to make us more defensively resolute away from home but we’ve not played with a consistent back four all season and our midfield lineup has been very inconsistent too

[The Prophet]

8 minutes ago, Gawalls said:

They were seventeenth when he took over, hardly a much higher platform. Both managers have done equally well and stupid to compare them yet.

 

They were already a few years into their take over, with a superior squad and a decent academy.

 

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by The Prophet

[BShearer]

can we really afford to keep spending big if we not making CL 2 of next 3 times?

 

 

[WideopenMag]

1 hour ago, Hanshithispantz said:

Losing to Sunderland away wouldn't be even remotely embarrassing. It would be shite and the craic will be lifting, but the odds of it happening aren't exactly long.

 

The season is a write off at this point, atleast from where we hoped we would be at the start.

 

 

 

Eh? it would be the most embarrassing result in our recent history.

[Jagten]

18 minutes ago, gbandit said:

Don’t really see how the argument is in the middle. We have a manager who dragged us out of the depths with some amazing football. He gets us CL football, he has us qualified without a freak refereeing error. He takes us to a cup final for the first time in over two decades. He gets us extremely close to qualifying for the semis of the same competition the following year, despite  playing Man City, Man U and Chelsea. All while we experience an unprecedented injury crisis. 

 

People are criticising rotation and in-game subs. I think we’re all on board with that. If people are criticising much beyond that or questioning whether he’s the right man for the job then they need their heads checked

This is obviously the macro argument, which I broadly agree with, but it obfuscates important context, which gets you to the middle. Analysis can, and should, run deeper.