Eddie Howe

[Erikse]

It was a bit of a freak season, but it's kind of wild to think about how far away we are now from the 22/23 team that would smash most team (except top sides) with some beautiful attacking football starting players like Longstaff, Willock, Almiron, and Burn also back then as a regular left back for the entire season. We were even fighting top 4 and a final before Isak came in and hit form. How did we do it? Just by having a team perfectly suited to high press, no Europe, Trippier as a cheat code, and Wilson on steroids? Was the cohesion in our squad simply better back then? Have teams sussed our style? Are we struggling to adapt to a more sustainable playstyle for balancing the extra games? Probably a mix of everything.

 

 

Edited November 9, 2025 by Erikse

[Whitley mag]

18 minutes ago, Erikse said:

It was a bit of a freak season, but it's kind of wild to think about how far away we are now from the 21/22 team that would smash most team (except top sides) with some beautiful attacking football starting players like Longstaff, Willock, Almiron, and Burn also back then as a regular left back for the entire season. We were even fighting top 4 and a final before Isak came in and hit form. How did we do it? Just by having a team perfectly suited to high press, no Europe, Trippier as a cheat code, and Wilson on steroids? Was the cohesion in our squad simply better back then? Have teams sussed our style? Are we struggling to adapt to a more sustainable playstyle for balancing the extra games? Probably a mix of everything.

 

 

 

We don’t press with the same intensity and haven’t evolved our game to pass the ball better.

 

Its very muddled and forgetting the new signings for a moment, some of our established pros like Bruno, Trippier and Joelinton now look miles off it.

 

 

Edited November 9, 2025 by Whitley mag

[Kid Icarus]

25 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

 

If you go into the how then you've got to go into the why, and that's where I apply a more forgiving outlook towards the club, as you know. 

Yeah the why is where we'll always fundamentally disagree. Despite that I would still think we'd agree that regardless of why, it was still shite though.

[midds]

Early days yet but this doesn't look particularly great

 

[TK-421]

Damn, when you see it like that, our only wins at home, and against some pretty ropey opposition, really.

CL nights really papering over some huge cracks.

[Vinny Green Balls]

9 minutes ago, Erikse said:

It was a bit of a freak season, but it's kind of wild to think about how far away we are now from the 22/23 team that would smash most team (except top sides) with some beautiful attacking football starting players like Longstaff, Willock, Almiron, and Burn also back then as a regular left back for the entire season. We were even fighting top 4 and a final before Isak came in and hit form. How did we do it? Just by having a team perfectly suited to high press, no Europe, Trippier as a cheat code, and Wilson on steroids? Was the cohesion in our squad simply better back then? Have teams sussed our style? Are we struggling to adapt to a more sustainable playstyle for balancing the extra games? Probably a mix of everything.

 

 

 

we were draw kings for the first 11 games or so in 22-23. Every season we've started out slow. That's been one of my bigger concerns.

 

 

Edited November 9, 2025 by Vinny Green Balls

[El Prontonise]

Just now, Vinny Green Balls said:

we were draw kings for the first 11 games or so in 22-23

 

I would see that as a worry, we look quite easy to beat away from home now.

[BUJ]

I'd lose no sleep if Eddie departed. He just can't get a tune out of them. 

[Vinny Green Balls]

1 minute ago, El Prontonise said:

 

I would see that as a worry, we look quite easy to beat away from home now.

we didn't at the beginning of the season. We were just utterly toothless. This shit has been since Brighton. We've been shockingly bad for a few weeks, but this has been the pattern. I think the worst we've looked under him was after the PSG away game in 23-24. We were getting walloped by shit teams.

 

At least with this, the games have been close until stoppage time. But our stoppage time form has been fucking abysmal.

 

 

Edited November 9, 2025 by Vinny Green Balls

[El Prontonise]

Just now, Vinny Green Balls said:

we didn't at the beginning of the season. We were just utterly toothless. This shit has been since Brighton.

 

Disagree, only at villa were we toothless.  Other games have been fair results.  Bournemouth and Leeds were fair draws.

[Heron]

1 minute ago, Vinny Green Balls said:

we didn't at the beginning of the season. We were just utterly toothless. This shit has been since Brighton.

I think it's psychological tbh. The outside noise has crept in.

[Vinny Green Balls]

2 minutes ago, El Prontonise said:

 

Disagree, only at villa were we toothless.  Other games have been fair results.  Bournemouth and Leeds were fair draws.

we could've played against Leeds for another 120 minutes, and no one would've scored. We were toothless when it came to scoring or creating chances. But we were difficult to break down.

 

 

Edited November 9, 2025 by Vinny Green Balls

[El Prontonise]

1 minute ago, Vinny Green Balls said:

we could've played against Leeds for another 120 minutes, and no one would've scored. We were toothless when it came to scoring or creating chances. But we were difficult to break down.

 

 

 

 

Yeah I would agree with that, we didn't look anywhere near as vulnerable as we do now.

[janpawel]

14 minutes ago, Erikse said:

It was a bit of a freak season, but it's kind of wild to think about how far away we are now from the 22/23 team that would smash most team (except top sides) with some beautiful attacking football starting players like Longstaff, Willock, Almiron, and Burn also back then as a regular left back for the entire season. We were even fighting top 4 and a final before Isak came in and hit form. How did we do it? Just by having a team perfectly suited to high press, no Europe, Trippier as a cheat code, and Wilson on steroids? Was the cohesion in our squad simply better back then? Have teams sussed our style? Are we struggling to adapt to a more sustainable playstyle for balancing the extra games? Probably a mix of everything.

 

 

 

 

I deffo think the rest of the league is stronger now, I think if you took the 22/23 team and dropped it in the league now, I don't think we'd get 71 points 

[SUPERTOON]

17 minutes ago, Erikse said:

It was a bit of a freak season, but it's kind of wild to think about how far away we are now from the 22/23 team that would smash most team (except top sides) with some beautiful attacking football starting players like Longstaff, Willock, Almiron, and Burn also back then as a regular left back for the entire season. We were even fighting top 4 and a final before Isak came in and hit form. How did we do it? Just by having a team perfectly suited to high press, no Europe, Trippier as a cheat code, and Wilson on steroids? Was the cohesion in our squad simply better back then? Have teams sussed our style? Are we struggling to adapt to a more sustainable playstyle for balancing the extra games? Probably a mix of everything.

 

 

 

Take me back.

[Vinny Green Balls]

Just now, El Prontonise said:

 

Yeah I would agree with that, we didn't look anywhere near as vulnerable as we do now.

I think the Liverpool stoppage time goal was a bad sign, even though we put in our best performance with ten men. Now we regularly give away stoppage time goals. That is fucking deflating for everyone.

[Keggy_Keagal]

Things are far from perfect but the man's earned the right to make mistakes. By god he made them the day. Today was bad. The refusal to sub Burn was a woeful decision. I'm still fully behind Eddie. We've had so many great moments because of this man's management and I'm sure we'll have many more. These are the days when it's time to be a supporter. 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2025 by Keggy_Keagal

[Displayname]

14 minutes ago, midds said:

Early days yet but this doesn't look particularly great

 

Worrying.

[RUHRLYASLEEVESUP]

8 minutes ago, BUJ said:

I'd lose no sleep if Eddie departed. He just can't get a tune out of them. 

Honestly lad 

[Erikse]

12 minutes ago, Vinny Green Balls said:

we were draw kings for the first 11 games or so in 22-23. Every season we've started out slow. That's been one of my bigger concerns.

 

 

 

 

Until gameweek 7, then we started winning 5-1, 4-1 and 3-0 almost every game. We allways start slow, but yet we've never started this slow under Eddie. I even think it's the slowest by a margin now.

 

 

Edited November 9, 2025 by Erikse

[El Prontonise]

10 minutes ago, BUJ said:

I'd lose no sleep if Eddie departed. He just can't get a tune out of them. 

 

[mouldy_uk]

13 minutes ago, BUJ said:

I'd lose no sleep if Eddie departed. He just can't get a tune out of them. 

[SUPERTOON]

Still think a major part in our problems is not evolving/improving the starting 11 for two years now. 

[Vinny Green Balls]

9 minutes ago, Erikse said:

 

Until gameweek 7, then we started winning 5-1, 4-1 and 3-0 almost every game. We allways start slow, but yet we've never started this slow under Eddie. I even think it's the slowest by a margin now.

 

 

 

it certainly has been, but we went into our worst run of form under him in December-January in the 23-24 season. It was 2-0's and 4-1's to relegation threatened teams. This is coming close to that, but it was fucking abysmal then.

 

 

Edited November 9, 2025 by Vinny Green Balls

[El Prontonise]

1 minute ago, SUPERTOON said:

Still think a major part in our problems is not evolving/improving the starting 11 for two years now. 

 

Agreed, squads improved but not the starting 11.