Eddie Howe

[Cf]

6 hours ago, Zero said:

Jose is not a better fit than Howe. I don’t think that needs to be questioned

 

however if Howe is fired after losing the next few games, the management will definitely go for Jose, and I think he will accept the offer.

 

we better hope Howe can turn it around asap

 

Collectively we all mostly agree that Howe is the right man for the job and that this season has very much had mitigating circumstances so far. 

 

We also agree that whilst Mourinho has had previous success he's well last his best and would be a laughably short term appointment with no guarantee of success. 

 

Given our owners current actions and appointments what makes us think they don't see it like the above too?

 

I'm not saying the direction won't change but so far they've viewed it as a long term project. Part of that is if you think you're on the right track you ride out periods like the one we're going through. There'll have been questions asked of him I'm sure but I don't think he's in any danger. 

[Isaksbigrightfoot]

5 hours ago, Memphis said:

I think it's a bit silly to think a club that has spent tens of millions of pounds on infrastructure improvements, facilities improvements, medical staff improvements, and more is going to let the manager decide by himself whether or not a player is fit to play. Howe can no more make that determination by himself than he can buy a player by himself. He's a (very important) member of a staff that values his input but doesn't make their decisions based on him. He will play the players that are deemed fit to play. Questions can be asked about why and how those players are deemed fit to play but he's not dragging out some half-injured man by the scruff of his neck to go run out there for 90 minutes. 

 

He's already shown over his career that he can adapt. His sides are quite different here than at Bournemouth. They adapted last year and changed the press style and point of attack. I expect that we will adapt a little this season as well, but the truth is that injuries and suspensions have undone us and there's precious little he could do about it. He's the best manager we've had in an age and I can't think of a better one to lead us from here. Patience is difficult but vital.

This is Howe I feel (see what I did there). There is no point in questioning him either. Well I guess we can question some decisions. But ultimately he hasn’t had a fully fit squad all season.

 

It could be a blessing in disguise aswell. This season is unlikely going to end up with us being in Europe. So we can possibly try other things. Formations etc. Treat the FA cup seriously.

 

Get players back and ease them back in. Focus on what we need for next season when the deadwood gets cleared.

 

 

[The College Dropout]

I think qualifying for Europe is imperative to the clubs growth.  If we don’t qualify for any European competition I think there will be discussions at the top of the club about his future.  
 

As previously mentioned, Eales has recently suggested that’s a reasonable target.  

[Isaksbigrightfoot]

1 minute ago, The College Dropout said:

I think qualifying for Europe is imperative to the clubs growth.  If we don’t qualify for any European competition I think there will be discussions at the top of the club about his future.  
 

As previously mentioned, Eales has recently suggested that’s a reasonable target.  

I think it was reasonable. But the injuries and suspensions have crippled us.

 

We won’t make Europe now. I don’t think anyways.

 

Maybe for long term growth this next season we don’t want it until we can strengthen.

[The College Dropout]

3 minutes ago, Isaksbigrightfoot said:

I think it was reasonable. But the injuries and suspensions have crippled us.

 

We won’t make Europe now. I don’t think anyways.

 

Maybe for long term growth this next season we don’t want it until we can strengthen.

He said it only last week. 
 

If the Joe injury is serious and we don’t sign anyone I would take it as giving up on the season though. 

[Isaksbigrightfoot]

Just now, The College Dropout said:

He said it only last week. 
 

If the Joe injury is serious and we don’t sign anyone I would take it as giving up on the season though. 

I don’t think we can afford to sign anyone though. FFP is hitting hard.

 

The money is there of course but we can’t spend it.

 

Europe seems very unlikely. But get past the Villa game and go on a run of 3/4 wins and it may look different depending on other results.

 

AFCON could hit some clubs hard.

[The College Dropout]

5 hours ago, Nobody said:

Yeah but they were brought back too early/over played because we've had a massive injury crisis though. It's not even a chicken/egg situation, because he has had to gamble to even field a functioning starting eleven.

When was the last time we had anything resambling a bench that was fit for purpose? The fuck is he supposed to do like?

Not rush players back from injury. Take a short term poor team to ensure we have a decent team now.  
 

I don’t buy this idea that he’s had to risk players fitness again and again.  It’s been a poor and continued choice.  

[STM]

If you think we should go from high pressing, fast action, get the fans off their seat, its about the team not the individual Howe to pragmatic, insta-success, its all about me Mourinho, you don't understand football.

 

Clubs hire sporting directors specifically to prevent this madness. A medium term vision would see any Howe replacement (not that there needs to be one), as a similar type manager and not the polar opposite.

 

In short, hiring Mourinho would be the equivalent of ripping up the blueprint and tearing down the foundations.

[MrRaspberryJam]

Are people actually getting angry at the scenario that's been thought up in their heads whereby Jose replaces Howe?

[Isaksbigrightfoot]

2 minutes ago, MrRaspberryJam said:

Are people actually getting angry at the scenario that's been thought up in their heads whereby Jose replaces Howe?

I don’t think it’s anger. I think it’s sheer worry that some might consider swapping Howe for Mourinho.

 

Polar opposites in terms of styles. Not many of our players would suit him aswell.

[STM]

7 minutes ago, MrRaspberryJam said:

Are people actually getting angry at the scenario that's been thought up in their heads whereby Jose replaces Howe?

 

Not anger, no.

[TheBrownBottle]

28 minutes ago, The College Dropout said:

Not rush players back from injury. Take a short term poor team to ensure we have a decent team now.  
 

I don’t buy this idea that he’s had to risk players fitness again and again.  It’s been a poor and continued choice.  

Howe is a football purist, and clearly a decent man, and I like that about him.

 

But I know what a savvy operator like a Benitez or Mourinho etc would have done.  He’d have played kids in a game or two, and used it to make a point / take a shot at a chairman, owner, the FA, the PL - whoever.  It’s a more cynical approach, but it is what should have been done.

 

I wouldn’t swap Howe for Benitez or Mourinho mind (I’ve seen the daft rumours circulating).  But Howe could take an idea or two from them. 

[The Prophet]

I love the smell of conjecture in the morning.

[MrRaspberryJam]

16 minutes ago, Isaksbigrightfoot said:

I don’t think it’s anger. I think it’s sheer worry that some might consider swapping Howe for Mourinho.

 

Polar opposites in terms of styles. Not many of our players would suit him aswell.

 

Well, I'm angry. And not because Mourinho's in it, but because it degrades Howe.

[gjohnson]

No to changing Howe with Mourinho. He was brilliant about 20 years ago and built a Porto team from nothing to trophy winners, but since then everything he's done has been driven by a pretty much bottomless cheque book. His own hype went to his head and has clearly lost his original magic, and has turned so poisonous that it's virtually impossible for him to spend more than 3 years anywhere without upsetting someone to the degree that he's either sacked or leaves. 

 

 

Without ffp restrictions he could be a short term option to get a trophy quickly, but with the current situation he's very much yesterdays man and is rapidly heading to PFM territory

[Conjo]

Squad rotation and injury management issues aside, I wouldn't swap Howe for any manager in the world. When we play our game to the best of our ability, there's very few teams at our level that plays as enjoyable/exciting football as us imo.

 

If we we can add players of better quality but same mentality to the squad, I think we will start winning stuff in the near future under Howe.

 

Added bonus that Howe is a great person. He's shown growth in his approach here from Bournemouth. I have confidence that we will end the season strong and that he can learn from his mistakes this season going into next season.

[The College Dropout]

25 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

Howe is a football purist, and clearly a decent man, and I like that about him.

 

But I know what a savvy operator like a Benitez or Mourinho etc would have done.  He’d have played kids in a game or two, and used it to make a point / take a shot at a chairman, owner, the FA, the PL - whoever.  It’s a more cynical approach, but it is what should have been done.

 

I wouldn’t swap Howe for Benitez or Mourinho mind (I’ve seen the daft rumours circulating).  But Howe could take an idea or two from them. 

100% agreed. I'm sure some managers would've done the same as Howe and with a little bit of luck (Chelsea QF, getting a result against Milan) it may have been worth it anyway.

 

but I reckon a lot of top managers would've done exactly as you've suggested. Dare I say, Howe with a bit more experience or nous at this elite level may have tinkered his approach slightly.

[TheBrownBottle]

28 minutes ago, MrRaspberryJam said:

 

Well, I'm angry. And not because Mourinho's in it, but because it degrades Howe.

Agreed.  And the culprit, whoever it is, is in this forum.  Naming no names - I don’t know any - but posters are dirty

 

 

Edited January 17 by TheBrownBottle

[MrRaspberryJam]

39 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

Agreed.  And the culprit, whoever it is, is in this forum.  Naming no names - I don’t know any - but posters are dirty

 

 

 

 

Who else has posted this Mourinho filth?

 

 

Edited January 17 by MrRaspberryJam

[80]

1 hour ago, TheBrownBottle said:

Howe is a football purist, and clearly a decent man, and I like that about him.

 

But I know what a savvy operator like a Benitez or Mourinho etc would have done.  He’d have played kids in a game or two, and used it to make a point / take a shot at a chairman, owner, the FA, the PL - whoever.  It’s a more cynical approach, but it is what should have been done.

 

I wouldn’t swap Howe for Benitez or Mourinho mind (I’ve seen the daft rumours circulating).  But Howe could take an idea or two from them. 

Putting aside the taking shots specifically at the board bit, I agree we should have played kids for one or two games in this run to give our main players the necessary recovery time. I'm sure we'd have come out with more points from Forest, Luton etc. Instead, the maximalist approach has exhausted everyone and we have no more to show for it.

[TheBrownBottle]

6 minutes ago, 80 said:

Putting aside the taking shots specifically at the board bit, I agree we should have played kids for one or two games in this run to give our main players the necessary recovery time. I'm sure we'd have come out with more points from Forest, Luton etc. Instead, the maximalist approach has exhausted everyone and we have no more to show for it.

Tbf, I didn’t mean our board - just a general point that a Mourinho or Benitez would have used it to take aim at whoever they thought either wasn’t backing them or was blocking them.  I don’t think Howe would’ve been justified at having a pop at NUFC’s board 

[The College Dropout]

Aye - they would be dragging PSR & FFP every week for the last 2 months.

 

I don't think the club want to take that approach publicly. But they would have put it on the agenda in the media. Likewise they would've been vocal about the PL purposely trying to implement laws to specifically halt Newcastle's progress.

 

That might not be the best approach. It probably isn't. But it would be on the media agenda more. I'm hearing more outlets talk about FFP drawing up the bridge to success though so our approach is working.. it's just a long-term approach.

[80]

I think Eddie's approach to most of these issues is extremely admirable. He's pushing at an open door with me when it comes to things like blaming mental fatigue - something players can attempt to control - rather than physical exhaustion, which it's easier to excuse surrendering to, and lets defeatism creep through the door.

 

But the problem is that attitude can be gamed by others when they're actively out to fuck you.

 

Another problem with it is you're at risk of undermining your credibility when you refuse to acknowledge how badly things are stacked against you and insist maximising your approach to everything. To be clear, I don't think Howe has done that to himself with our players, which is the most important thing, but there is a risk of the dam breaking if it's not managed very carefully.

 

Games like Bournemouth and Luton, I'm sure the players knew in themselves they just had no more to offer, but they apparently internalised that and took the blame themselves for it rather than blaming their manager or whatnot - which again, is extremely admirable and gold dust really, when it comes to building a team's mentality.

[Lush Vlad]

1 hour ago, 80 said:

Putting aside the taking shots specifically at the board bit, I agree we should have played kids for one or two games in this run to give our main players the necessary recovery time. I'm sure we'd have come out with more points from Forest, Luton etc. Instead, the maximalist approach has exhausted everyone and we have no more to show for it.

 

Which games should we have played our stiffs and effectively chucked the game?  Considering our U23's are not even very good in the league they play in.  We would get absolutely massacred whoever they played against, I would say.  Are you suggesting we might have got a draw or a win against someone like Luton or Forest if we played the likes of Ndiweni, Alex Murphy, Diallo, Parkinson etc.  They have looked slower and less mobile than the lads who were playing through injuries and/or 3 games a week. 

 

I often find myself calling for changes when watching us of late.  Then realise we have a load of defensive options on the bench and it isn't our defenders who constantly look out on their feet.  There actually has been a bit of rotation there and all.  Some enforced through yet more injuries, of course. 

 

Then we have Matt Ritchie who I'm not sure touched the ball for the best part of a half against Chelsea.  He is that far off the pace.  Who is there after that that could have come in and actually done a job?  Even if they were at 100%.

 

The only one that still has me totally confused is Hall.  He really is a pointless signing if he can't get the odd start or 30 minutes here and there.  Especially during the worst injury crisis I can remember at the club and is supposedly on track to go down as the worst in PL history.  It makes me think there might be some truth in the playing time rumour and obligation to buy. 

[La Parka]

Im fairly sure we have a way out the hall transfer and are using it. Been saying it for months.