Eddie Howe

[ExiledGeordie]

23 minutes ago, Ben said:

The next 5 games are all winnable, see where we are after them.

I think the next 3 games are huge for him

[Jordan]

Things have gone stale but I think the clubs as much at fault as Howe is. We haven’t backed him in a window for a year and the squad is still largely made up of players who were rightfully bottom of the league when he took over. 

[ExiledGeordie]

1 minute ago, Jordan said:

Things have gone stale but I think the clubs as much at fault as Howe is. We haven’t backed him in a window for a year and the squad is still largely made up of players who were rightfully bottom of the league when he took over. 

Agreed squad has definitely gone stale and it’s unbalance too 

[gjohnson]

2 minutes ago, Jordan said:

Things have gone stale but I think the clubs as much at fault as Howe is. We haven’t backed him in a window for a year and the squad is still largely made up of players who were rightfully bottom of the league when he took over. 

Wasn't that exactly why he got so much plaudits? Dragging those players to CL and getting performances way above their level? Obviously they've aged, but things are definitely less than the sum of their parts now

[Scoot]

14 minutes ago, Jordan said:

Things have gone stale but I think the clubs as much at fault as Howe is. We haven’t backed him in a window for a year and the squad is still largely made up of players who were rightfully bottom of the league when he took over. 

 

Totally agree. We need a refresh. That will mean selling 1 or 2 big players but unfortunately it'll have to happen as we cannot continue like this.

[ExiledGeordie]

Just now, Scoot said:

 

Totally agree. We need a refresh. That will mean selling 1 or 2 big players but unfortunately it'll have to happen as we cannot continue like this.

I wouldn’t be that bothered if Bruno was sold next summer, he’s replaceable 

[TheBrownBottle]

17 minutes ago, Jordan said:

Things have gone stale but I think the clubs as much at fault as Howe is. We haven’t backed him in a window for a year and the squad is still largely made up of players who were rightfully bottom of the league when he took over. 

If the stories are true that Howe has refused to allow sales of players, then he's at fault on that front too.  The squad is definitely not mostly made up of players who were bottom of the league - Pope, Vlachodimas; Trippier, Livramento, Burn, Botman, Hall, Targett, Kelly, Murphy; Bruno, Tonali, Miley; Isak, Gordon, Barnes, Osula, all were bought by Howe (other than Miley, who came through the youth set up).  That's the majority of the squad, comfortably.  We're three years in - this is the manager's squad.  

[Superior Acuña]

1 minute ago, TheBrownBottle said:

If the stories are true that Howe has refused to allow sales of players, then he's at fault on that front too.  The squad is definitely not mostly made up of players who were bottom of the league - Pope, Vlachodimas; Trippier, Livramento, Burn, Botman, Hall, Targett, Kelly, Murphy; Bruno, Tonali, Miley; Isak, Gordon, Barnes, Osula, all were bought by Howe (other than Miley, who came through the youth set up).  That's the majority of the squad, comfortably.  We're three years in - this is the manager's squad.  

Murphy was Rafa (but agree)

[Jordan]

13 minutes ago, ExiledGeordie said:

I wouldn’t be that bothered if Bruno was sold next summer, he’s replaceable 

I think we signed Tonali as his replacement last summer for this summer but obviously his ban fucked those plans as he didn’t get the year to bed in. 

[TRon]

1 hour ago, Ben said:

The next 5 games are all winnable, see where we are after them.

 

I imagine there will be more bad luck stories about missed chances and shock lapses in defending. But for that we'd have won comfortably etc. 

 

The reality is, that is the norm this season, and the good performances are the exception. We rarely put in a good 90 mins.

[lovejoy]

This slump is on Howe. It’s impossible to say otherwise. 
 

As I’ve said a few times, I love him, he’s been absolutely fantastic for us but this season so far is largely a shit show and that’s on him, there’s nowhere else for the buck to stop.

 

I’d love to see him fix it, I genuinely would , but I don’t think he will. I actually hope we move him on sooner rather than later to protect his reputation (which has undoubtedly risen massively since he took our job), as I think this will get worse.

 

Performing against the Liverpool’s and Arsenal’s and not against the likes of West Ham &, Fulham & Wolves (yes I know we won there, but it was poor) is an alarming sign from a coaching/management perspective.

 

its not so much the squad that’s gone stale (yes we need a rw and a centre half), it’s the coaching style and approach imo.

[Shearergol]

13 minutes ago, ExiledGeordie said:

I wouldn’t be that bothered if Bruno was sold next summer, he’s replaceable 

As a footballer I don’t disagree, but he’s the reason my love for the club came back so strongly. He’s the reason my son is obsessed with the club. I adore him, his passion, his energy, it looks like he bleeds black and white. In the modern game it’s really hard to find that, most players are at their club for their paycheck.

[The College Dropout]

12 hours ago, TRon said:

 

Howe's not going to get sacked this season, and I have said enough times that shouldn't happen. Even the CL spots are still up for grabs at this stage so in theory it can still all turn around.

 

But in my opinion with every shit team we drop points to, it becomes harder and harder to make Europe. We had a relatively easy start to the season, but we've performed badly. I expected us to be competing with Villa and Spurs for those European places, at this moment it looks like we are competing with Brentford, Bournemouth, Fulham and Brighton as well. Then to make matters worse, when we play them we don't look better either.

Agreed.  I would add - we are fairly close to both Villa and Spurs who have both been inconsistent. 

[TheBrownBottle]

16 minutes ago, Superior Acuña said:

Murphy was Rafa (but agree)

I meant Robocop  

[TRon]

1 minute ago, The College Dropout said:

Agreed.  I would add - we are fairly close to both Villa and Spurs who have both been inconsistent. 

 

 

Both are in Europe with all the demands that brings on a squad. It was used as an excuse for our patchy form last season so we have to give them the same leeway. Even then, Spurs are becoming a bit of a joke and their manager is under real pressure.

 

But my point was that it's not even them I'm worried about now, it's not that clear we are better than teams like Brentford or Fulham and the rest who are currently above us.

[TheBrownBottle]

17 minutes ago, Shearergol said:

As a footballer I don’t disagree, but he’s the reason my love for the club came back so strongly. He’s the reason my son is obsessed with the club. I adore him, his passion, his energy, it looks like he bleeds black and white. In the modern game it’s really hard to find that, most players are at their club for their paycheck.

Bruno's here for the pay cheque too - he didn't grow up dreaming of playing for NUFC and wouldn't likely have signed for us a transfer window earlier than he did.  I don't mean that as a criticism of him (he's not 'mercenary' in that he is passionate), he clearly enjoys it both at the club and in the region generally.  He's a hard person to dislike, and I don't doubt that he'll have an affection for the club and fans.

 

He'd be difficult to replace as a character as much as his talent.  But pretty much all footballers are replacable.

[The College Dropout]

40 minutes ago, TRon said:

 

 

Both are in Europe with all the demands that brings on a squad. It was used as an excuse for our patchy form last season so we have to give them the same leeway. Even then, Spurs are becoming a bit of a joke and their manager is under real pressure.

 

But my point was that it's not even them I'm worried about now, it's not that clear we are better than teams like Brentford or Fulham and the rest who are currently above us.

We aren’t comparable to Spurs in terms of squad cost and wages.  Competing with Spurs is punching above our weight. 
 

We’ll see how Villa get on.  Although I think their squad building and dealing with PSR has been better than ours.  They don’t have this cloud of discontent like we do which is costing us points.  I concede that they might just also have a better manager. But the manager isn’t the only one at Villa doing a better job (DoF + Owner + academy).  Villa are 6 years into their ownership we are 3.  Villa only started getting it really right from leadership 3 years ago. We are paying now for our ownership getting things wrong more than anything Howe is doing. 
 

I don’t expect Howe to keep his job if we finish below Fulham and Brentford.

[The College Dropout]

13 hours ago, KaKa said:

 

The squad we have built over the last two years is very much his. He has said he is happy with the business they have done regarding transfers. I find it strange the idea he's been let down in this area.

 

Ultimately, the way the squad has been put together has ended up causing him big problems. For the last two years at least there have been numerous complaints on here regarding not addressing the right wing, and also not addressing how open our midfield looks defensively. Neither of these issues have been addressed with adequate signings, or tactical adjustments.

 

This season we have largely continued to play the same formation with Bruno playing most often in front of the defence in a single pivot. I find that extraordinary to be honest. 

Who let him build this lopsided and ageing squad? Like I’ve said it’s the previous regimes fault for over indulging Eddie.  They are the business and numbers ppl who are responsible for the club in the medium and long term.  They shouldn’t have spent so much money on the players that they did.  Should’ve let players go earlier.  
 

Eddie is largely making the same mistakes he’s always made.  With the squad getting stale and the atmosphere changing the results are worse. 

[TheBrownBottle]

6 minutes ago, The College Dropout said:

We aren’t comparable to Spurs in terms of squad cost and wages.  Competing with Spurs is punching above our weight. 
 

We’ll see how Villa get on.  Although I think their squad building and dealing with PSR has been better than ours.  They don’t have this cloud of discontent like we do which is costing us points.  I concede that they might just also have a better manager. But the manager isn’t the only one at Villa doing a better job (DoF + Owner + academy).  Villa are 6 years into their ownership we are 3.  Villa only started getting it really right from leadership 3 years ago. We are paying now for our ownership getting things wrong more than anything Howe is doing. 
 

I don’t expect Howe to keep his job if we finish below Fulham and Brentford.

This is true.  It is easy to forget, but Spurs have an income which is bigger than Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool.  In fact, it is not just above Arsenal's - it is above Arsenal's to the roughly the same amount as our last year of Ashley-era income(!).  Spurs massively punch under their weight, financially speaking.  

[The College Dropout]

1 minute ago, TheBrownBottle said:

This is true.  It is easy to forget, but Spurs have an income which is bigger than Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool.  In fact, it is not just above Arsenal's - it is above Arsenal's to the roughly the same amount as our last year of Ashley-era income(!).  Spurs massively punch under their weight, financially speaking.  

They don’t actually spend it though.  Their wage bill and squad cost will be much closer to Arsenals. But the revenues have been much higher. 
 

This is why I don’t believe the ‘we can catch spurs soon’ talk.  Spurs can go on spending sprees to regain their position at the top table if under threat. 
 

They are doing it now with the fees are keeping wages low. 

[TheBrownBottle]

4 minutes ago, The College Dropout said:

They don’t actually spend it though.  Their wage bill and squad cost will be much closer to Arsenals. But the revenues have been much higher. 
 

This is why I don’t believe the ‘we can catch spurs soon’ talk.  Spurs can go on spending sprees to regain their position at the top table if under threat. 
 

They are doing it now with the fees are keeping wages low. 

Yep.  It is their ownership's miserly running of the club which appears to keep them within reach.  They're miles ahead of us - I honestly don't really see how we get near them, never mind catch them.  If I was a Spurs fan I'd be spitting blood about the way the club is managed.

[TRon]

32 minutes ago, The College Dropout said:

We aren’t comparable to Spurs in terms of squad cost and wages.  Competing with Spurs is punching above our weight. 
 

We’ll see how Villa get on.  Although I think their squad building and dealing with PSR has been better than ours.  They don’t have this cloud of discontent like we do which is costing us points.  I concede that they might just also have a better manager. But the manager isn’t the only one at Villa doing a better job (DoF + Owner + academy).  Villa are 6 years into their ownership we are 3.  Villa only started getting it really right from leadership 3 years ago. We are paying now for our ownership getting things wrong more than anything Howe is doing. 
 

I don’t expect Howe to keep his job if we finish below Fulham and Brentford.

 

Well like I said, I don't really have any issues if we finish 7th or 8th. But now I am starting to get concerned we might finish below other teams like Brentford or Fulham because we don't particularly look any better than them this season.

[Newcastle Fan]

Its very frustrating that he seems to always struggle to find a good balance to the team, when he fixes the attack the defense goes shit and when he fixes the defense the attack goes shit, our midfield was finally looking good and he then rotated it.

 

He has a few easier games coming up now and its a big chance to turn things around, if we don't improve this month i think his days are numbered.

[The College Dropout]

Just now, TRon said:

 

Well like I said, I don't really have any issues if we finish 7th or 8th. But now I am starting to get concerned we might finish below other teams like Brentford or Fulham because we don't particularly look any better than them this season.

Yeh I think we are on the same page.  Howe won’t survive finishing below Fulham Brentford and Brighton.  Bur he should get the season to try. 
 

I don’t think the squad is good enough that a change in manager will have us fighting for 5th/6th. 

[TheBrownBottle]

1 minute ago, TRon said:

 

Well like I said, I don't really have any issues if we finish 7th or 8th. But now I am starting to get concerned we might finish below other teams like Brentford or Fulham because we don't particularly look any better than them this season.

I think this is the key to whether or not Howe deserves criticism.  Expecting CL qualification etc is unreasonable levels of expectations - that should be more hope than expectation.  Par based upon our squad (both talent and cost) should be around 7th.  8th-9th would be underperformance (in the same way anything above 7th is overperformance).  Form has us comfortably below par - performances as well as results.  That doesn't necessarily mean Howe should be sacked, nor that he can't turn it around.  But he isn't being criticised unreasonably at the moment, in the same way that the effusive praise in 22/23 was well-deserved.

 

We're still in both cups, and I want him to have the chance to break our duck, even if he isn't the long-term manager.  I really like him as a gadgie, and it would be great if he was the man to do it.  He'd forever be a legend here. But if we're out of both cups by the time the 4th round of the FA Cup concludes in late January and our league form hasn't improved drastically then for me he probably needs to go.