Eddie Howe

[Lush Vlad]

Just now, Heron said:

Agreed.

 

Was more in reference to @Stifler comments tbh.

 

I don't like saying folks opinions are simply rubbish tbh, but I just feel it in this instance. The whole league excluding maybe half a dozen sides is inconsistent and actually we're one of the more consistent ones ironically. 12 wins in the last 15 is it?

To slightly play devil’s advocate. It is also 3 defeats in the league in the last 4. Two of those we were totally dominated and the other was throwing a lead away playing at home against Fulham. So there is some concern there for me with how we are looking. 
 

I think we will see a response against Forest, personally. I think we’ll see Miley, Tino and maybe Pope come in. Botman too, if he is fit. But that sounds doubtful.  
 

Liverpool away is a write off every season. A bit like us at the Etihad. 

[Myleftboot]

3 minutes ago, Kid Icarus said:

Yeah but Players also have more responsibility than anyone to be up for games.

So they don’t listen to the manager?

[Heron]

14 minutes ago, J7 said:

Don’t agree with that. There’s big games like today, then there’s big games like Cup Finals and end of season games to achieve something. We’ve been pretty poor in a lot of the big games for me. Milan (h), Man Utd at Wembley, Man Utd (a) last season, draw with Leicester in a frightened performance to qualify for the CL which thankfully was just enough. 
 

You can point at a few outliers like Arsenal a couple weeks back, but I still think there’s a concern about the mentality in the big games.

Outliers like PSG? Arsenal in two Cup semi finals? The cup semi finals we played against Southampton? The Big games we played for Premier League survival like every other week for the second half of Howes first season? The derby game? Man United away in the cup? Chelsea & Forest this year in the cup? Smashing Spurs within 22mins or something to be 5 up? PSG away where we we cheated? Milan away where we battled hard, and scraped a draw.

 

A lot of this is subjective I guess. Define a big game. Define playing well. Etc. I just don't agree that we don't turn up in big games and there is plenty of evidence to suggest we do, just not all them.

[Myleftboot]

4 minutes ago, Joe1984 said:

Still up to the players to, well, play isn't it?

So they don’t do what Eddie says?

[Kid Icarus]

1 minute ago, Myleftboot said:

So they don’t listen to the manager?

I don't know how else to phrase what I mean tbh mate.

[Heron]

5 minutes ago, Lush Vlad said:

To slightly play devil’s advocate. It is also 3 defeats in the league in the last 4. Two of those we were totally dominated and the other was throwing a lead away playing at home against Fulham. So there is some concern there for me with how we are looking. 
 

I think we will see a response against Forest, personally. I think we’ll see Miley, Tino and maybe Pope come in. Botman too, if he is fit. But that sounds doubtful.  
 

Liverpool away is a write off every season. A bit like us at the Etihad. 

It is and we were. The issue for me with NUFC on the whole is mentality and whilst we have a paper thing squad that will remain. There isn't enough competition to make players fight for their place in the side and so, when semis or finals come along players want to be available for them instead of simply playing so well they have to be played in them.

 

Confidence, fearlessness and attitude are huge to us and when we don't have one of those components we collapse like a house of cards. We gain in these when we have a squad capable of pressuring players and knowing that when someone is having an off day they can be easily replaced.

 

 

Edited Saturday at 17:23 by Heron

[Myleftboot]

1 minute ago, Kid Icarus said:

I don't know how else to phrase what I mean tbh mate.

But surely you would have to respect the manager enough to be up for games. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Pilko]

It's the nature of the performance and the approach today that's most disappointing for me, rather than the result. Would have expected us to get right into them early and be intense as fuck and it couldn't have been further from the truth. The players seemingly had an off-day and the approach seemed wrong too.

 

Said it in the match thread but today was never going to make or break our season, neither will Anfield. It was really, really shit from players and from manager but I'd rather we threw one like that in away at City than say next weekend vs Forest at home.

[Joe1984]

7 minutes ago, Myleftboot said:

So they don’t do what Eddie says?

If I told you NOT to jump off the Tyne bridge, and you chose to do it anyway, would be that my fault or yours?

 

An extreme example but it makes my point.

 

 

Edited Saturday at 17:27 by Joe1984

[Lush Vlad]

2 minutes ago, Heron said:

It is and we were. The issue for me with NUFC on the whole is mentality and whilst we have a paper thing squad that will remain. There isn't enough competition to make players fight for their place in the side and so, when semis or finals come along players want to be available for them instead of simply playing so well they have to be played in them.

 

Confidence, fearlessness and attitude are huge to us and when we don't have one of those components we collapse like a house of cards. We gain in these when we have a squad capable of pressuring players and knowing that when someone is having an off day they can be easily replaced.

 

 

 

I hear ya. Krafth, Barnes, Osula, Wilson and Longstaff all to start against Forest. That’ll wake a few of them up  

[Heron]

1 minute ago, Pilko said:

It's the nature of the performance and the approach today that's most disappointing for me, rather than the result. Would have expected us to get right into them early and be intense as fuck and it couldn't have been further from the truth. The players seemingly had an off-day and the approach seemed wrong too.

 

Said it in the match thread but today was never going to make or break our season, neither will Anfield. It was really, really shit from players and from manager but I'd rather we threw one like that in away at City than say next weekend vs Forest at home.

Yeah, this is bang on for me.

 

Howe has to take some blame for today as dk the players, it seems.

[Kid Icarus]

2 minutes ago, Myleftboot said:

But surely you would have to respect the manager enough to be up for games. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Seems a leap tbh. There are loads of other possible factors.

[Myleftboot]

1 minute ago, Joe1984 said:

If you told you NOT to jump off the Tyne bridge, and you chose to do it anyway, would be that my fault or yours?

 

An extreme example but it makes my point.

[Heron]

Just now, Lush Vlad said:

I hear ya. Krafth, Barnes, Osula, Wilson and Longstaff all to start against Forest. That’ll wake a few of them up  

If it means we win the final when those 'first teamers' come back in then so be it

[Stifler]

6 minutes ago, Heron said:

Agreed.

 

Was more in reference to @Stifler comments tbh.

 

I don't like saying folks opinions are simply rubbish tbh, but I just feel it is in this instance (sorry @Stiflerbud).

 

On the subject of consistency; the whole league excluding maybe half a dozen sides is inconsistent and actually we're one of the more consistent ones ironically. 12 wins in the last 15 is it?

I mean my point is that so far, when it really matters against good teams where we need a result to go to the next level, we have faltered.

 

In his first season it was the cup final.

Last season it was against Man Utd in the League, and AC Milan in the Champions League, and I think we should include the Chelsea League Cup match as I believe a result there would have too us to the final again, and Man Utd when we were battle for Europe.

 

In all of those cases we lost the game. With Man Utd we beat them twice in mid season games that were not ‘crunch’ games in regards to our season, then went on to lose to them when it mattered again, @Froggy actually pointed this out, albeit in the manner he does say it in.

 

I’m not discounting what Howe has done. When he came in we were down, we were fucking out and gone, and our new owners were realistically looking at having to start to project as a Championship club. He came in and we very nearly got in to the top 10 never mind stayed up. In the space of about 18 months he has taken us from relegated without even a whimper, to a team finishing in the European places. We have elevated up levels. I can’t deny that, and I commend him for it.

 

However, there have been some people questioning if he is the man to take us to the next and final step and that would be to win a cup or at the very least challenge for the title. So far he has yet to do that, we have yet to just finish off games where the real pressure is on us.

[STM]

Yeah im really annoyed that our manager that keeps getting us in Europe and into finals is letting us down.

 

Make it make sense.

[Menace]

I get what Stiffler is saying but his execution is pure Raoul Moat 

[Joe1984]

2 minutes ago, STM said:

Yeah im really annoyed that our manager that keeps getting us in Europe and into finals is letting us down.

 

Make it make sense.

Deluded entitled Geordies...

 

 

Or something.

[The Prophet]

I'd say by qualifying for the Champions League and reaching two Cup finals in three years, Howe has taken us to the next level and then some.

 

With more time and cash I see no reason why we can't take the next step.

 

The only pressure games I can think of where we haven't turned up were both against Man United.

 

 

[Wolfcastle]

He's par for the course.

Were not getting to the echelon were top4 and winning things is likely under these new rules under anyone. That's the point of the rules.

All we can do is what the manager has done - get to the occasional cup final, cup runs and occasional qualification for the champions league - all by out performing teams with advantages over us. Anybody else would have to do at least that.

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 17:37 by Wolfcastle

[Nucasol]

4 minutes ago, Menace said:

I get what Stiffler is saying but his execution is pure Raoul Moat 

[TRon]

Think it was just a tactical car crash tbh. We know we can give teams a chasing when we play at 100%, but you have to know how to win when everything isn't perfect. This was Man City away. Felt like we forgot that they have been the best side in England for the last few years.

[Heron]

6 minutes ago, Stifler said:

I mean my point is that so far, when it really matters against good teams where we need a result to go to the next level, we have faltered.

 

In his first season it was the cup final.

Last season it was against Man Utd in the League, and AC Milan in the Champions League, and I think we should include the Chelsea League Cup match as I believe a result there would have too us to the final again, and Man Utd when we were battle for Europe.

 

In all of those cases we lost the game. With Man Utd we beat them twice in mid season games that were not ‘crunch’ games in regards to our season, then went on to lose to them when it mattered again, @Froggy actually pointed this out, albeit in the manner he does say it in.

 

I’m not discounting what Howe has done. When he came in we were down, we were fucking out and gone, and our new owners were realistically looking at having to start to project as a Championship club. He came in and we very nearly got in to the top 10 never mind stayed up. In the space of about 18 months he has taken us from relegated without even a whimper, to a team finishing in the European places. We have elevated up levels. I can’t deny that, and I commend him for it.

 

However, there have been some people questioning if he is the man to take us to the next and final step and that would be to win a cup or at the very least challenge for the title. So far he has yet to do that, we have yet to just finish off games where the real pressure is on us.

Okay, I see your point more here to be fair.

 

However, I don't really see why that would be under question at this stage. We're almost in essence saying we're 90mins from being "next level". He's only been here like 3 years or sumit...

 

Gotta be reasonable, and with all the FFP constraints etc. I think it's unfair to suggest he is incapable of being the person to take us to silverware. That's opinion though.

[Kid Icarus]

22 minutes ago, STM said:

Yeah im really annoyed that our manager that keeps getting us in Europe and into finals is letting us down.

 

Make it make sense.

The rationale seems to be there were no big clutch matches along the road to Europe and those 2 Cup finals (or escaping relegation for that matter), only the ones in Europe and finals count.

 

 

Edited Saturday at 17:53 by Kid Icarus

[Keggy_Keagal]

We're a side that unless the vast majority of the starting 11 is playing at the top of their game is dogged by inconsistentcy. It's why some of those players are here.

 

When the switch was made to bring Tonali into the three with Bruno and Joelinton everything clicked and we went on a great run. Then teams got wise and Joe and Botman have got injured again and we've regressed to where we prior to the run.  Howe's not beyond criticism but he's brought us far more good days than bad with a squad that hasn't been significantly strengthened for three windows. 

 

I also agree when we have the opportunity to kick on in the league we've blown it several times this season and barring today that's been with poor results against teams that it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect to beat (Brentford, West Ham, Bournemouth, Palace,Everton, Fulham). When you do that it means you have to get results against the supposed bigger teams or those around you and when those teams click like they did today you're really up against it.

 

I don't know if the problem is mentality or attitude but several of the "big" players underperformed the day and some against the teams mentioned above. Needs sorting or the best manager we've had since Sir Bobby will be under real pressure.