Eddie Howe

[J7]

14 minutes ago, Stifler said:

I don’t think Howe lacks support, in fact I think he has too much. Like you said he had a public spat with the DOF, and the DOF left less than a year in, I.E. he won that.

Last year he wouldn’t move away from Guéhi which meant that we missed out on not only getting a CB, but doing well in other areas.

We kept players like Ritchie around because ‘he’s nice to have around’ when we could have used those wages elsewhere.

His loyalty to former players he had at Bournemouth is bizarre, Ritchie obviously, we also offered a contract to Wilson, and should have pushed him out of the door last summer. Now we are getting in a keeper who used to play with him at Bournemouth who most people agree is no upgrade on our first team keeper, and are debating if he’s as good as our 2nd keeper. Again we have 5 goalkeepers on our books already and are crying out for depth in the squad elsewhere.

When we do sign players, he fucks them off for a year in anyway.

 

Now we have a situation where they are trying to find a DOF who works with him, rather than the other way around. Don’t get me started on how his nephew is a key part of our recruiting staff.

Howe has too much control over transfers, and there’s going to be a day when someone like Liverpool come knocking and he’s going either fuck us off and take everything with him, or use it against us to manipulate a move away.

 

 

 

Brilliant post and is exactly my thinking. I don’t even blame Howe for it. You’d expect a manager to try and have as much control as possible, but we shouldn’t have allowed it to get to this stage. 

[OverThere]

6 minutes ago, joeyt said:

We didn't overpay for Bruno though

Agree. Most players we underpaid for in the long run

[AyeDubbleYoo]

13 minutes ago, J7 said:

Brilliant post and is exactly my thinking. I don’t even blame Howe for it. You’d expect a manager to try and have as much control as possible, but we shouldn’t have allowed it to get to this stage. 

Are we saying Howe caused the system to fail then? Because we tried to have a proper system with a DOF/CEO and I’m sure that’s the plan again in future. 

[Doctor Zaius]

Mitchell said our transfer policy wasn't fit for purpose. He said our list of targets was inflexible. 

 

Weve managed one player through the door and it's the end of July. We seem to be only considering PL experience and it's led to us missing out on players for various reasons. 

 

We'll never really know who is to blame but there was plenty of talk about Howe winning the power struggle, unfortunately it very much looks like Mitchell was spot on in his assesment. 

[Theregulars]

Missed the bit where ekitike, Khusanov and sesko had PL experience

 

 

Edited July 30, 2025 by Theregulars

[Hanshithispantz]

Would people be happy with us signing 'Brighton' players this window? Like that greek lad for £40m?

 

I'd prefer to go for Wissa and Watkins personally.

[Holmesy]

8 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

Are we saying Howe caused the system to fail then? Because we tried to have a proper system with a DOF/CEO and I’m sure that’s the plan again in future. 

I definitely think some of that can be levelled at him if we take our Howe-tinted specs off but at the same time, he's earned enough grace to have a big say in who we sign. But this transfer window has highlighted that maybe there was some truth in what Mitchell said - our transfer policy hasn't been fit for purpose. We're 3 weeks away from the season start and we're beginning to panic. 18 months of opportunity to do the pre-work on our transfer target and we've sat around with our dicks in our hands. Such a waste!

[Doctor Zaius]

9 minutes ago, Theregulars said:

Missed the bit where ekitike, Khusanov and sesko had PL experience

 

 

 

 

Okay then. PL Players or players weve tracked for years. We didn't actually sign any of those players, any supposed interest is conjecture really. 

 

[J7]

16 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

Are we saying Howe caused the system to fail then? Because we tried to have a proper system with a DOF/CEO and I’m sure that’s the plan again in future. 

I think the blame comes from the top. I think they had an idea on what they wanted to do and executed it quite well early on with Ashworth coming in after the first window or two.
 

Howe obviously did far better than they expected which gave him more power. I suspect that frustrated Ashworth a bit, as did the involvement of Staveley. There were reports he left because he didn’t have the control he thought he’d have. 
 

Mitchell then came in like a bull in a china shop, and although he had some valid points about transfer business, went about it the wrong way. Howe made a power move and then I don’t think Mitchell had the control he was expecting, partly due to his own idiocy. 
 

Given the target list, it feels like all power has been with Howe over the past few months and our search for a new DoF seems to be for someone willing to work with him. The wrong way round. 
 

I think PIF/Eales took their eye off the ball a while ago and things have snowballed to where we are. I don’t blame Howe. It’s natural he’d want that power, but I think this is why we are where we are.

[TRon]

12 minutes ago, Doctor Zaius said:

Mitchell said our transfer policy wasn't fit for purpose. He said our list of targets was inflexible. 

 

Weve managed one player through the door and it's the end of July. We seem to be only considering PL experience and it's led to us missing out on players for various reasons. 

 

We'll never really know who is to blame but there was plenty of talk about Howe winning the power struggle, unfortunately it very much looks like Mitchell was spot on in his assesment. 

 

On the flip side, we could still end up with a really good window, it hasn't closed yet, so can't really judge it properly as it stands. 

 

But I do keep seeing this view expressed that the club hasn't supported him, and he's been left high and dry. Not really sure what else could have been done with the targets we've gone for though. We can't blame the clubs for not being able to outgun the cartel clubs. They've got canons, we've got water pistols. 

[El Prontonise]

Poor Eddie, going to be struggling for numbers on the touchline soon.

 

[Theregulars]

7 minutes ago, Doctor Zaius said:

 

Okay then. PL Players or players weve tracked for years. We didn't actually sign any of those players, any supposed interest is conjecture really. 

 

To me it looks like he’s well prepared to consider players based abroad, but values proven PL track record if he can get it. I find the stuff about him having some bias towards PL-based players inaccurate and tedious when it’s repeated as fact.

[TheBrownBottle]

4 hours ago, Stifler said:

I don’t think Howe lacks support, in fact I think he has too much. Like you said he had a public spat with the DOF, and the DOF left less than a year in, I.E. he won that.

Last year he wouldn’t move away from Guéhi which meant that we missed out on not only getting a CB, but doing well in other areas.

We kept players like Ritchie around because ‘he’s nice to have around’ when we could have used those wages elsewhere.

His loyalty to former players he had at Bournemouth is bizarre, Ritchie obviously, we also offered a contract to Wilson, and should have pushed him out of the door last summer. Now we are getting in a keeper who used to play with him at Bournemouth who most people agree is no upgrade on our first team keeper, and are debating if he’s as good as our 2nd keeper. Again we have 5 goalkeepers on our books already and are crying out for depth in the squad elsewhere.

When we do sign players, he fucks them off for a year in anyway.

 

Now we have a situation where they are trying to find a DOF who works with him, rather than the other way around. Don’t get me started on how his nephew is a key part of our recruiting staff.

Howe has too much control over transfers, and there’s going to be a day when someone like Liverpool come knocking and he’s going either fuck us off and take everything with him, or use it against us to manipulate a move away.

 

 

 

Completely agree 

[oldtype]

Look, it's perfectly natural for the manager to be demanding more say in transfers. And it's the fault of the owners/executive team if they can't talk him out of it and save him from himself.

[Kanj]

its up the executive team to find a happy medium, it never should be 1 sided - disagreements are part of the business, acting like a fucking prick like Mitch did early doors wasn't smart. It was ultimately his job to get everyone rowing in the right direction. Eddie has always liked a sporting director, he made it work with Ashworth - who only left because Man United came calling (a friend + the draw of Man United's finances). Eddie doesn't deserve to be doing this on his own, he needs to be preparing us for 4 chances to win a trophy. He doesn't need his #1 striker, who he personally developed downing tools and disrupting an already turbulent summer window. 

 

And yes, Eddie went after those #1 targets becauses we're in the champions league and were in a whisker of finishing 2nd with 2 matches to go and ultimately finished 5. We're not playing stage 1 of money ball and he doesn't have the luxury of time to develop a 18 year old wonderkid when we're due to play CL football this season. 

[AyeDubbleYoo]

4 hours ago, TRon said:

Don't know who wrote the article but the one about Liverpool only moving forward once they moved beyond a manager deciding everything on signings was a good one. Brendan Rogers kept vetoing all the players lined up by Liverpool's recruitment team, and they only really progressed once they bombed him out and let the specialists do their job. 

 

Now I get Howe is a class above, and we do need to back him, but we also need a system which isn't reliant on one person. Hopefully the next appointments won't be too tied in to the manager where they can't make their own decisions. That was the problem with Eales and Mitchell as well, both came as a package. 

I agree but we did already decide to go to that system, didn’t we? I think we picked the wrong individuals for the jobs. 

[Kid Icarus]

4 hours ago, TRon said:

Don't know who wrote the article but the one about Liverpool only moving forward once they moved beyond a manager deciding everything on signings was a good one. Brendan Rogers kept vetoing all the players lined up by Liverpool's recruitment team, and they only really progressed once they bombed him out and let the specialists do their job. 

 

Now I get Howe is a class above, and we do need to back him, but we also need a system which isn't reliant on one person. Hopefully the next appointments won't be too tied in to the manager where they can't make their own decisions. That was the problem with Eales and Mitchell as well, both came as a package. 

Klopp did the same a lot I believe? Sometimes winning and sometimes not.

[Heron]

Mitchell was a tit. Not sure why folk are defending him tbh.

[Kanj]

Hardly some pat on the back for poor Slot having had the balls to not veto the likes of Frimpong, Kerkez, Wirtz, Ekiteke...tough fucking life man. 

[TheBrownBottle]

6 minutes ago, Heron said:

Mitchell was a tit. Not sure why folk are defending him tbh.

I don’t think anyone is - he is a tit.  And so is Ashworth.  But the point is that Howe chased the men who were appointed to sort this shit out for him; and now it’s on him and his nephew to negotiate.  So far they’re not exactly doing a bang-up job. 

[Heron]

7 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

I don’t think anyone is - he is a tit.  And so is Ashworth.  But the point is that Howe chased the men who were appointed to sort this shit out for him; and now it’s on him and his nephew to negotiate.  So far they’re not exactly doing a bang-up job. 

On what basis did Howe chase them? Have I missed something? Mitchell came in and criticised the whole transfer policy publicly. The same transfer policy that saw us go from rock bottom to a top 4 side?

 

What did Mitchell do in his time here?

 

People (to my knowledge) assume Howe doesn't like that model and is the one fighting it but I'm not really sure on what basis tbh. Surely the structure is set by the club and Howe would have known the intentions before taking the role?

 

 

Edited July 30, 2025 by Heron

[andycap]

20 minutes ago, Kid Icarus said:

Klopp did the same a lot I believe? Sometimes winning and sometimes not.

Yeah he didn't want salah from what I recall. 

[OoOGazOoO]

5 hours ago, Stifler said:

I don’t think Howe lacks support, in fact I think he has too much. Like you said he had a public spat with the DOF, and the DOF left less than a year in, I.E. he won that.

Last year he wouldn’t move away from Guéhi which meant that we missed out on not only getting a CB, but doing well in other areas.

We kept players like Ritchie around because ‘he’s nice to have around’ when we could have used those wages elsewhere.

His loyalty to former players he had at Bournemouth is bizarre, Ritchie obviously, we also offered a contract to Wilson, and should have pushed him out of the door last summer. Now we are getting in a keeper who used to play with him at Bournemouth who most people agree is no upgrade on our first team keeper, and are debating if he’s as good as our 2nd keeper. Again we have 5 goalkeepers on our books already and are crying out for depth in the squad elsewhere.

When we do sign players, he fucks them off for a year in anyway.

 

Now we have a situation where they are trying to find a DOF who works with him, rather than the other way around. Don’t get me started on how his nephew is a key part of our recruiting staff.

Howe has too much control over transfers, and there’s going to be a day when someone like Liverpool come knocking and he’s going either fuck us off and take everything with him, or use it against us to manipulate a move away.

 

 

 

 

I was going to say similar the other day but bottled it as thought I would get pelters 

I don't know what it is, maybe it is a bit of ego, or stubbornness, or something else, but I DO believe we could have and should have been looking at a wider pool of players, which potentially, rightly or wrongly, Howe doesn't 100% approve of. I do think there needs to be a tad more flexibility in general on the transfer front, and I'm not including signing 18 year old 'potential stars' as covering that flexibility.

There just doesn't seem to be much in the way of innovation or other potential routes taken with our 'scouting' approach (if you can even call it that).

 

 

Edited July 30, 2025 by OoOGazOoO

[andycap]

Two directors of football have been hired and two have left in a heartbeat, something doesn't feel right it surely can't all be down to the two individuals without howe having something to do with them wanting out. 

In my opinion I think Mitchell got overruled at seasons end on transfer strategy and thought fuck it I'm not needed here. 

[Heron]

4 minutes ago, andycap said:

Two directors of football have been hired and two have left in a heartbeat, something doesn't feel right it surely can't all be down to the two individuals without howe having something to do with them wanting out. 

In my opinion I think Mitchell got overruled at seasons end on transfer strategy and thought fuck it I'm not needed here. 

Maybe Ashworth felt the Man United job was a bigger, better opportunity and Mitchell just came in blabbing on about shit?

 

I'm not saying you chaps are wrong, for what it's worth, with regards to Howe "not wanting that model" but I am just curious as to what evidence there is of that and also as to what signings "Howe has made" that have been bad?

 

We signed Trippier, Burn and Bruno all without a DoF, as well as Chris Wood who we then later sold for more money. I don't get all this talk about poor transfer activity (from EH). It seems to me the transfer activity has gone backwards since having DoFs. The reasons for that of course returns us back to the speculation, but again nothing to suggest Howe picks out bad players or indeed that he only goes for proven PL footballers. Bruno and Joelinton being just two and the somewhat questionable (at the time) punts on Lewis Hall and Tino?

 

Apologies in advance if my timings are a bit out or whatever but don't really see anything suggesting Howe is the issue.

 

 

Edited July 30, 2025 by Heron