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38 minutes ago, Holmesy said:

It’s less the results though and more the performances. We have knowledgeable football guys with the ear of the board and if they’re seeing why we’re seeing, he might be closer to the door than you think.
If we were showing signs of playing well but not getting the rub of the green, you’d say the tide might turn. But we look totally bereft of ideas regardless who is playing. We’ve been labouring for a good while now and we know he’s not the kind of manager to park the bus and grind out a result just to kickstart some momentum. 

The only way I see things changing if he gets 2-3 new first teamers in January, which isn’t going to happen. How else is he going to change it? 

 


I don’t entirely agree with a lot of that 

 

it’s been bitty, at times we’ve looked closer to results than not 

 

 

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29 minutes ago, Dr.Spaceman said:

 

Any manager and any set of players but sometimes we still play like we've got Luuk De Jong and Sylvain Marveaux out there. I reckon we'd sign Mbappe and he somehow only be a 1 in 3 striker for us.

Mbappe is shite.

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14 minutes ago, timeEd32 said:

It’s concerning at this point. No way around it. 
 

I still think he’s being let down by a number of players and I’m more disappointed in a lot of them than I am Eddie, but it’s also fair to say it’s the manager’s responsibility to find a solution. 
 

I’ll never understand why some are gagging for him to leave though; almost willing the failure it seems. If this is the beginning of the end I’m going to be sad. Off the pitch he’s everything anyone could ever want in a manager and on it his first two years were spectacular. I’m still hopeful we’ll find our way out of this, but for the first time my confidence is wavering.

Im really conflicted because of the things you mentioned. You can see me getting my hopes up every time we play good. 

But its getting harder to ignore that most of the time lately we just dont look like we have a clue what we are doing. 

 

I would love for him to turn it around, its just not looking like it.

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31 minutes ago, JEToon said:


I don’t entirely agree with a lot of that 

 

it’s been bitty, at times we’ve looked closer to results than not 

 

 

We haven’t had a shot on target in 166 minutes and look incapable of unlocking defences in most games. We don’t look remotely threatening from corners and our general attacking play is rubbish. We give the ball away a lot - I’d love to see the statistic on our surrender of possession compared to other teams in the league.

Nothing we’ve seen for the past 6-8 months suggests we’re a well oiled machine about to go on a winning run.

 

Are you seeing something different to that? Maybe I’m just being too critical 🤷🏻‍♂️

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11 minutes ago, Holmesy said:

We haven’t had a shot on target in 166 minutes and look incapable of unlocking defences in most games. We don’t look remotely threatening from corners and our general attacking play is rubbish. We give the ball away a lot - I’d love to see the statistic on our surrender of possession compared to other teams in the league.

Nothing we’ve seen for the past 6-8 months suggests we’re a well oiled machine about to go on a winning run.

 

Are you seeing something different to that? Maybe I’m just being too critical 🤷🏻‍♂️

Well...last season we scored the most goals we've ever scored in the PL if memory serves me right. So equating it to 6-8months seems a bit excessive. Especially when for around 2-3months we weren't playing competitive football.

 

The performances haven't been great, for the most part. Ironically, we picked up less points in games we played better in. But I don't think we're incapable of scoring again or winning games or performing. Given Howe's history here, I have little reason to believe he cannot reinvigorate this squad, albeit, both he and the players currently seem somewhat downtrodden.

 

For me the key thing missing is confidence and belief. We've lost our "being bastards" and intensity is no longer our identity. It has been criticised since for perhaps burning players out but if that is how we find success then we should quickly get back to it.

 

 

Edited by Heron

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 We haven't been able to fully transition from the plucky underdog that people underestimated to a team the can properly dominate the opposition on a consistent basis. In the year we finished 4th I feel we were a bit of an unknown quantity and the players would literally die for each other. We've become too predictable.

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I’m not calling for his head but I have significant doubts now. I’d say overall it’s a year now where we’ve  not been able to look good over a consistent period and have looked significantly worse than we did for ~18 months- despite improvements to the squad (albeit limited). 

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Some of the performances this season have been dreadful and that was another one to add to the list

 

Howe needs time - he’s a good manager, and he still has credit in the bank for me.  But he needs to change the system up - teams have absolutely sussed the 4–3-3.  The running joke re Howe’s 60-min subs is really about how predictable Howe is.  And some of the players need a rocket up the jacksie - Gordon, Bruno, Isak are playing levels below what they’re capable of.  All were linked with moves away in the summer, and on present form they’d be very lucky to be linked to clubs of a similar standard next summer. 

 

But while I think he needs time, I’d be seriously reluctant to let him spend money in January when we don’t have headroom to do so.  He’s got a squad of players who are comfortably better than they look at the moment. 

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38 minutes ago, Holmesy said:

We haven’t had a shot on target in 166 minutes and look incapable of unlocking defences in most games. We don’t look remotely threatening from corners and our general attacking play is rubbish. We give the ball away a lot - I’d love to see the statistic on our surrender of possession compared to other teams in the league.

Nothing we’ve seen for the past 6-8 months suggests we’re a well oiled machine about to go on a winning run.

 

Are you seeing something different to that? Maybe I’m just being too critical 🤷🏻‍♂️


but for a penalty scored and a moment of daftness today we’d be joint third. 

Have we been great, no, not really. I just can’t get this world on fire thing quite yet personally 

 

 

Edited by JEToon

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8 minutes ago, astraguy said:

4-4-2 now please ,last season was always a piss take until either wilson came on or isak and the midfield is a car crash 

My God is it 1996 already?

Let's go wild and do 1 1 4 5 like the 20s 

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Just now, astraguy said:

4-4-2 now please ,last season was always a piss take until either wilson came on or isak and the midfield is a car crash 

It's not even that, it's not 442 or 433, we need more fluidity further forward. We see what Tonali can do, same Bruno, I'm now thinking 451. Back 4, Isak up front and 5 in the middle doing the rest (kind of Italy of late).

 

When we attack, unless it's a break we stop 25yds outside we have little movement and end up with no one in the box. In this situation we are better off with Wilson than Isak but Isak better on the break.

 

We're caught between two stools, the break or the domination and we don't have the personnel for both.

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i don't abide boards buying players that managers didn't want but we also cannot have a "guehi or noone" type window again.  I hope all that Mitchell talk wasn't just bullshit and Eddie's on board because I'd much rather they back him than sack him.

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1 minute ago, thomas said:

i don't abide boards buying players that managers didn't want but we also cannot have a "guehi or noone" type window again.  I hope all that Mitchell talk wasn't just bullshit and Eddie's on board because I'd much rather they back him than sack him.

 

As we always said, they need to work together. Probably the summer is where we'll really see it though, Jan is quite early and always a difficult window to work in. 

 

Wouldn't be surprised if we got Guehi in January at all.

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2 hours ago, Holmesy said:

It’s less the results though and more the performances. We have knowledgeable football guys with the ear of the board and if they’re seeing why we’re seeing, he might be closer to the door than you think.
If we were showing signs of playing well but not getting the rub of the green, you’d say the tide might turn. But we look totally bereft of ideas regardless who is playing. We’ve been labouring for a good while now and we know he’s not the kind of manager to park the bus and grind out a result just to kickstart some momentum. 

The only way I see things changing if he gets 2-3 new first teamers in January, which isn’t going to happen. How else is he going to change it? 

 

Finally a view that isn't coloured by the sentimentality of good results a full season and a half ago. The realists know Eddie isn't going to be here in 5 years time unless he starts getting results. At the present whatever he was doing before isn't working now, and he isn't showing signs of adapting. He got a pass last season for the previous years results and having to deal with injuries, but he doesn't have last years results to excuse this years now and the injuries aren't washing anymore

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38 minutes ago, SUPERTOON said:

Another game today that highlights how bad our squad building has been. 80 odd million spend on two left wingers, both of them getting played out of position today.

 

Highlights a manager using a player out of position moreso than it does anything about the squad building. Gordon was identified as a backup CF when he signed anyway. 

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I'm definitely fully behind Howe and have him down as a club legend already. But, I am starting to worry that the performances are so poor so often. 

 

Can easily turn around though, he will obviously be here at least until the end of the season so he has a chance to make everything great again. 

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42 minutes ago, SUPERTOON said:

Another game today that highlights how bad our squad building has been. 80 odd million spend on two left wingers, both of them getting played out of position today.

Gordon played a fair bit on the right at Everton, we started him there, we signed him for his adaptability more than his left fingerless. He only got the run on the left due to Barnes's near season long injury.

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