Eddie Howe

[Menace]

Bar Botman we're basically at full strength aren't we? Top 7 has to be the target - forget about the summer and see what happens in January. I don't really understand how Guehi would have solved our misfiring attack either?

[Smal]

I think we’d have been worse off than we are with Guehi tbh. Big Dan has been the least of our issues this season and arguably our best and most consistent performer.

[Danh1]

8 minutes ago, Smal said:

I think we’d have been worse off than we are with Guehi tbh. Big Dan has been the least of our issues this season and arguably our best and most consistent performer.

He has been quality. Aside from last season when he was hung out to dry at left back he has been a quality signing. 

[ExiledGeordie]

15 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

Similar but a lot less stark; the midfielders definitely need to improve but I thought both Tonali and Joe were really good in spells yesterday. 

 

Agree that Bruno isn't in great form. The only thing that would've tempted me to back his sale was the prospect that he'd burn out this season. Looking plausible atm.

I don’t think any of our top players have been in tip top form and that’s hurt us 

[The College Dropout]

Just now, ExiledGeordie said:

I don’t think any of our top players have been in tip top form and that’s hurt us 

Aye last season we had bad injuries but Schar, Bruno, Gordon and Isak were among the best in the league.  
 

Not the case this season.  

[Displayname]

Getting the players mentally and psysically ready is part of the managements job tbh. 

Its one of the things Howe did expectionally well during his first 18 months here.

[Nucasol]

The Big 3 players have all been well below par this season. Despite being a protected species they have to carry their share of the blame for the erratic performances.

[Abacus]

It's been a frustrating stop-start season so far. Signs of progress, but always lots of off-field distractions and daft international breaks.

 

That said, we played pretty well yesterday particularly in the first half and on another day, or with a non-rusty Isak, we go on to win it from there. But with the second half in particular, we didn't have that magician to break down teams when the press isn't working or is nullified.

 

I also unreasonably blame Wilson for his constant injuries far more than I should do. However good he was when fit, it still winds me up that he hasn't been replaced.

[ExiledGeordie]

The team has been essentially become a bit stale. We’ve been desperate for additions to the front line but haven’t had any and it’s all become a bit predictable. That coupled with Wilson being a crock is having a massive negative impact. We’re crying out for additional options.

[GEFAFWISP]

You stand still on transfers, you get left behind. We're seeing what happens when we've wasted two transfer windows due to PSR and toeing the line with PL rules, the stagnation is real and it could very well cost Howe his job. Who's fault that is behind the scenes is anyone's guess, but I'd assume there's a lot to be apportioned.

[J7]

14 hours ago, Rod said:

No it didn't. We were on top most of the game and controlled the game actually.  We were very unlucky I thought.

Na, we weren’t. We got exactly what we deserved. One of our weaknesses is breaking teams who sit back down. Brighton played us perfectly. The last 10

minutes or so were a mess.

[Mikky]

20 minutes ago, GEFAFWISP said:

You stand still on transfers, you get left behind. We're seeing what happens when we've wasted two transfer windows due to PSR and toeing the line with PL rules, the stagnation is real and it could very well cost Howe his job. Who's fault that is behind the scenes is anyone's guess, but I'd assume there's a lot to be apportioned.

The inability to sell the likes of Almiron - Wilson et al has hurt us badly 

 

No transfers - no progress 

[Dr.Spaceman]

I just want to see some short term progression. We've been shite for a few weeks now.

 

One thing I will say is that we do look a lot fitter than we did at the start of the season.

[RS]

I think every average club would struggle with key players losing form at the same time.  Self entitled fans of the richest club in the world are quick to point the blame.  Blame PSR fraud first before blaming the manager. 

[Theregulars]

I think he did enough for two wins as manager; it’s not all on him that our players can’t finish off chances. Tbh he’d be very justified giving Gordon time out of the side, if anything his faith in Gordon while underperforming is directly costing us points. He’s been bad this season.

[Ronaldo]

1 hour ago, Menace said:

Bar Botman we're basically at full strength aren't we? Top 7 has to be the target - forget about the summer and see what happens in January. I don't really understand how Guehi would have solved our misfiring attack either?

If we finish 7th again the ‘project’ has failed hasn’t it? We’ll see players leave and will basically require a rebuild.

[r0cafella]

6 minutes ago, Ronaldo said:

If we finish 7th again the ‘project’ has failed hasn’t it? We’ll see players leave and will basically require a rebuild.

Some of our better players leaving in the summer is inevitable at this point. 

[TheBrownBottle]

PSR is definitely a factor, though on the flip of that we’re three years into Howe’s reign, and we’ve spent well over half a billion quid on transfers, and Jacob Murphy and Miguel Almiron are still our right wing options.

 

That’s not the fault of PSR.  Yes, the Ashley-era dross is difficult to get shot of - but I can’t take seriously the idea that 1) we couldn’t offload those two and 2) there literally isn’t anyone who we could have bought for a small share of the spend to date better than those options.

 

Three years is usually enough time to suggest that this is a manager’s squad.  

[Sima]

2 hours ago, Smal said:

 

Think we should try playing with a midfield a bit more. Too often our only source of progression is a CB playing it to a full back who plays it down the line for a winger.

 

We've lost the ability to play through the centre since Botman got injured.

 

Such a huge part of our build-up play.

[SUPERTOON]

15 minutes ago, Ronaldo said:

If we finish 7th again the ‘project’ has failed hasn’t it? We’ll see players leave and will basically require a rebuild.

Absolutely, but when every other team around us improved their squad and we didn’t then it can’t come as a shock.

[Cf]

8 minutes ago, Ronaldo said:

If we finish 7th again the ‘project’ has failed hasn’t it? We’ll see players leave and will basically require a rebuild.

 

With the financial restrictions in place there's only so much the 'project' can do. 

 

Until something changes in the rules we'll be in a position of needing sales/rebuilds whilst the sky 6 can just spend whatever they like. 

 

It's not to say we can never finish in those places but it's very hard to do so. 

 

As for Howe he still has my support but it's not unconditional.

 

Last season we would have made Europe of not for Chelsea winning 5 in a row and City not bothering to turn up despite having the worst injury crisis I've ever seen. 

 

This season so far isn't filling me with confidence. We said the early results weren't sustainable with the performances but now we have the opposite where we haven't got the results our performances deserve. 

 

Ask me a couple of seasons ago am I sure he's the man to take us to the next level and I'd have said yes. Now I think the answer is I hope he is. He's done enough where at this point we keep the faith and get him a fucking RW in January. 

 

Feels like it might be a milestone moment. Do we stick with our man (Ferguson, or Arteta more recently) and potentially see it pay off or do we become one of those clubs chopping and changing managers?

[Lotus]

1 hour ago, Danh1 said:

He has been quality. Aside from last season when he was hung out to dry at left back he has been a quality signing. 

BDB is fantastic at the last ditch stuff. But a high press needs CBs to get super tight to forwards as they drop deep to make options for the opposing team to play out. There he is badly exposed. He hasn’t the pace to get tight and he’s the most easily turned. His recovery pace is non existent. 
 

[TheBrownBottle]

3 minutes ago, Cf said:

Feels like it might be a milestone moment. Do we stick with our man (Ferguson, or Arteta more recently) and potentially see it pay off or do we become one of those clubs chopping and changing managers?

Arsenal were already doing what they were doing pre-Arteta - finishing in the top few spots and winning cups.  Ferguson had a remarkable track record at Aberdeen to hang some confidence on - including winning a European final vs Real Madrid.

 

On the flip, Chelsea are the most successful English club this century, and have had eighteen permanent managers in that twenty-three year period.

 

I’m not saying that Howe should go at all, but I don’t at all think that just keeping someone in a job means that at some point it’ll all work out.  
 

I still hope this all works out and he’s a success, but the confidence is being really battered around the edges on that front.  I still think he’s got every chance of turning it round, though. 

[Ikon]

I think his downfall will/could be that he prioritises Intense/dynamic players a little bit too much over creativity/flair/technical ability. Personally i like our style but imo there has to be a little bit more there, something different that makes us less predictable. If we don’t manage to be at our peak intensity 200mph then we don’t have a lot more, especially if that fails us to go a goal or two up. I think we need variety in our play, a mix of intensity as well as being able to be slightly more composed in possession and not always have to rush it. We aren’t very good in possession when the maximum tempo and intensity isn’t there. 

[The Butcher]

Arteta won a cup in his first season which probably kept him in his job.

 

After that he's spent hundreds of billions to become a glorified Stoke.

 

Not sure he's the right man to take Arsenal to the very top.

 

On top of that he's an absolute thundercunt.