Eddie Howe

[The College Dropout]

1 minute ago, Nine said:

And it’s obviously by design at this point, he’s trying to manage fitness levels in games like these. Unfortunately today we went 1 up and then didn’t push the game to tip it our way, and we got killed off by a desperate team. Byproduct of being passive. 
 

But as we know minutes and fitness need to managed with this schedule, I feel we did get it a bit wrong today though and became to passive. We allowed them that game, when it got on top of us we were done. 
 

Need some better, more confident ball retention to adapt to a slower kill the game type of game. More technical feet in there.

 

 

 

It’s press or sit deep and fight for us away from home. The passive shit isn’t a tactic and doesn’t work 

[RobsonsWonderland]

Something doesn't sit right with games like this.

 

How can a team collectively underperform, not find a pass, look so lost from one game to the next?

 

Were they thinking about Wednesday's game, is their a sickness bug in camp or do we not have the fight away from home?

 

So frustrating, so Newcastle 

 

 

[Lucky]

Just now, Whitley mag said:

Howe is at his best when he can prep his team all week and they largely remain unchanged each week. It’s no coincidence that in 2 European seasons now he appears to be struggling in the league.

 

I can see us getting something against Bilbao midweek but then Brentford away could be rinse and repeat.

 

We need results in the league or pressure will build on him. I enjoyed our performance against Spurs midweek but I’ve got to say since he went 5 at the back against Everton on the last day, I haven’t enjoyed his football one bit this season.

 

I’m no fan of tippy tap football but we need some composure in the final third and he’s neglected this massively in the summer.

Catch 22 though isn’t it.

 

If we do better in the league we get Europe. We can’t complain about the schedule when it’s what we played for.

 

But honestly I think in the 4 years since he’s been here the standard in the PL has improved so much in terms of the rest of the league.

 

We don’t get time on the ball anymore and most concerning is how we physically look so off it in all of those battles in the middle of the pitch. We lose all the second balls, we get caught in possession too often.

 

What we are doesn’t work anymore. It’s Howe’s job to fix that.

 

If he can’t then what are we doing?

 

Those players we really want to stay long term, you think they’ll settle for life at a mid table PL club?

[Keegans Export]

Clearly our away form extends beyond European fixtures, injuries etc. It's a chronic issue;

 

We're a good side but we will never be elite unless we work out how to play & win away from home. As it stands even a slight dip in results at home and we're midtable. 

 

 

[Sibierski]

3 minutes ago, Andy said:

 

How he handles Dan Burn when everyone is fit is going to be the decisive one for me. He's escaped having to make that decision so far for the most part. 

If we beat Fulham in League Cup, we will be playing every 3-4 days after this international break all way up to Spurs away on 11th Feb. 
 

So I can see Burn playing loads at LB in truth up to then. 

[Froggy]

25 minutes ago, Vinny Green Balls said:

I was referring to wyn Davies, who literally called for his replacement right after the Cup win. Honestly haven’t seen anyone else since last year. Hence why I contradicted Froggy about him claiming that half the forum have called for Howe’s sacking after the Chelsea game

 

I'll admit to hyperbole when saying half the forum, but there was a strong Howe out contingent. I pointed to the forum after the Chelsea game, but it was running a lot longer than that. It did of course change when he won the cup. 

 

Some people get their backs up when people suggest that Howe was under scrutiny and I'm not sure why but it's an undeniable fact and the evidence is all here in black and white. It's hardly some sort of attack from me as well, as I have always rated Howe very highly. 

[Andy]

2 minutes ago, joeyt said:

 

I haven;t seen any of the game today so can't comment but hasn't Burn been pretty flawless at centre back all year?

 

Sounds like Botman didn't play well today

 

He has but surely at some point you have to start looking to the future. Botman and Thiaw have to remain the first choice partnership for me. If it's Burn and Thiaw fair enough but what I don't want to see is Burn shoehorned in by going to 3 centre halves for example.  

 

Didn't think Botman was particularly bad today apart from the OG, which actually came from Burn's error at fullback. 

[Nine]

1 minute ago, The College Dropout said:

It’s press or sit deep and fight for us away from home. The passive shit isn’t a tactic and doesn’t work 

Yep exactly, we don’t have the other options with the current selection. Just makes for shit like performances like today, it also just feels so dead when it goes wrong. 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2025 by Nine

[Mattoon]

No real excuse for today but the lack of decent options at wing back is definitely affecting our style, seems like we're always waiting for the next international break to get going again. I do think Wissa, Hall and Livramento are huge misses for us, especially Wissa, I love Woltemade but hes not a 9.

 

Having said that, watch us demolish Bilbao midweek and look a completely different team again.

[Andy84]

If we don’t fix this away form we’re in for a very disappointing season that’s for sure. Very concerning 

[Smal]

I'm not having that we haven't been pressing well prior to this game. It's the one thing we've been consistently good at this season.

 

The below shows that we've won the ball back near the opponent's goal more than any other team in the league, and that we're 4th for disrupting the opponent's pass completion n their first two thirds of the pitch.

 

 

Our issues are entirely with the ball at the moment. 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2025 by Smal

[toon25]

Feels like we forget how to play the opposition sometimes. Sticking to your own game is all well and good, but on more than one occasion this season we've played into the hands of the likes of Leeds, Brighton etc

[TRC]

3 minutes ago, Mattoon said:

No real excuse for today but the lack of decent options at wing back is definitely affecting our style, seems like we're always waiting for the next international break to get going again. I do think Wissa, Hall and Livramento are huge misses for us, especially Wissa, I love Woltemade but hes not a 9.

 

Having said that, watch us demolish Bilbao midweek and look a completely different team again.

I fully expect us to put in great performances against Bilbao, City and Spurs then the games in between utter shite. It’s not sustainable to win vs big teams a lose shit teams

[Kid Icarus]

37 minutes ago, Menace said:

Christ man, this constant "you want him out" after rightfully discussing a shocking result is nauseating. 

 

No one in their right mind wants him out, people are just frustrated with the shite being served up and he doesn't look to have the answers to resolve it just yet.

Tbf it's nauseating seeing this thread bumped when we lose and barely a murmur when we win. Only natural probably, but still annoying. It's a tale as old as time on here that certain posters are only activated into posting Manchurian Candidate style when things aren't going well. 

[Ronaldo]

1 minute ago, TRC said:

I fully expect us to put in great performances against Bilbao, City and Spurs then the games in between utter shite. It’s not sustainable to win vs big teams a lose shit teams

We’ve beaten only Wolves, Fulham and Forest at home in the league. We’re only winning the absolute easiest ones. Beating Farmers in Belgium, Spurs’ second team and Benfica means nothing, in spite of the hyperbole after the games. 

[Kanj]

We didnt have our first choice team playing vs Spurs either and when they brought theirs on we still comfortably beat them. 

[TRC]

6 minutes ago, Ronaldo said:

We’ve beaten only Wolves, Fulham and Forest at home in the league. We’re only winning the absolute easiest ones. Beating Farmers in Belgium, Spurs’ second team and Benfica means nothing, in spite of the hyperbole after the games. 

Yeah I mean our best performances have been against the better teams.

[Andy]

8 minutes ago, Kid Icarus said:

Tbf it's nauseating seeing this thread bumped when we lose and barely a murmur when we win. Only natural probably, but still annoying. It's a tale as old as time on here that certain posters are only activated into posting Manchurian Candidate style when things aren't going well. 

 

You're right but it would be a surprise if the thread wasn't active today mind, this was easily our worst performance under Howe and also his own worst performance with the subs/tactical mess he made as the game went on, almost every decision was bizarre. 

 

This wasn't just another loss that people are jumping on, there was legitimate cause for criticism and discussion today. 

[Kid Icarus]

2 minutes ago, Andy said:

 

You're right but it would be a surprise if the thread wasn't active today mind, this was easily our worst performance under Howe and also his own worst performance with the subs/tactical mess he made as the game went on, almost every decision was bizarre. 

 

This wasn't just another loss that people are jumping on, there was legitimate cause for criticism and discussion today. 

And tbf this is always the reason given as well. That there are legitimate concerns that need addressing, which is fine like, no one's saying don't post and discuss etc, but it's really obvious when those situations are in play, because posters who barely post suddenly activate, and that part of it on its own is annoying.

[Ronaldo]

10 minutes ago, Kanj said:

We didnt have our first choice team playing vs Spurs either and when they brought theirs on we still comfortably beat them. 

We had at least 7 players in there you could argue should be starting for us, plus Dan Burn who always starts regardless.

 

 

Edited November 2, 2025 by Ronaldo

[Hanshithispantz]

48 minutes ago, SUPERTOON said:

Tired?

In comparison to West Ham aye, we played on Sunday - have played extra games in Europe - and have to keep some in the tank for Bilbao. We're literally all about outrunning and bullying the opposition, even if we're 10-15% short it makes a massive difference and we're still unable to control games effectively to nullify it.

[Smal]

I can't understand how bad we are from set pieces at the moment by the way. Look at how fucking massive the team is, they should be scoring from set pieces every game more or less - the main difference between us and Arsenal is that they are scoring goals from set pieces and we are not. Our defensive data is more or less the same as theirs this season.  

[Lucky]

4 minutes ago, Kid Icarus said:

Tbf it's nauseating seeing this thread bumped when we lose and barely a murmur when we win. Only natural probably, but still annoying. It's a tale as old as time on here that certain posters are only activated into posting Manchurian Candidate style when things aren't going well. 

The odd good win doesn’t mask the bigger picture anymore.

 

Injuries and fixture congestion have played their part, but there’s also a clear pattern now.. we look one-dimensional in possession, predictable going forward, and far too easy to play through when pressed.

The energy and intensity that defined us under Howe in earlier seasons seems to have dissipated, and that’s not just down to fatigue or bad luck.

 

It feels like the same problems keep resurfacing.. lack of adaptability, poor game management, and an over-reliance on the same tactical setup regardless of opponent. Those are deeper issues that point to a manager who might have run out of fresh ideas.

 

Sometimes when you’re in something it’s harder to objectively look and see what really needs to change.

[Kid Icarus]

1 minute ago, Lucky said:

The odd good win doesn’t mask the bigger picture anymore.

 

Injuries and fixture congestion have played their part, but there’s also a clear pattern now.. we look one-dimensional in possession, predictable going forward, and far too easy to play through when pressed.

The energy and intensity that defined us under Howe in earlier seasons seems to have dissipated, and that’s not just down to fatigue or bad luck.

 

It feels like the same problems keep resurfacing.. lack of adaptability, poor game management, and an over-reliance on the same tactical setup regardless of opponent. Those are deeper issues that point to a manager who might have run out of fresh ideas.

 

Sometimes when you’re in something it’s harder to objectively look and see what really needs to change.

Calling it the bigger picture says it all to me tbh, the bigger picture is positive, not negative. We're still a work in progress - particularly after selling the rat - still have to address the away form and the inconsistency, but what bigger picture you're seeing that's negative is beyond me.

[TRon]

18 minutes ago, Ronaldo said:

We’ve beaten only Wolves, Fulham and Forest at home in the league. We’re only winning the absolute easiest ones. Beating Farmers in Belgium, Spurs’ second team and Benfica means nothing, in spite of the hyperbole after the games. 

 

Made this point in another thread, we are hammering the crap teams where suddenly our football is flowing and effective. Teams that can hit back are a different story and they are exposing our players who are technically weak. 

 

Dan Burn at left back and Krafth always looked like a problem waiting to happen, then you add in the rubbish served up by Murphy, Joelinton and Bruno into the mix and we can't string two passes together.