Eddie Howe

[SUPERTOON]

Just now, Andy84 said:

We’re shite again 

We never stopped away from home tbf 

[JoeyBartoon]

Really needs to be doing better with what’s been spent, there’s was about 200m worth of signings used from the bench tonight. 

[Vinny Green Balls]

Just now, J7 said:

Not sure what people were seeing in that first half to say we played well. Pass completion was about 75% and they had us camped in our own area desperately defending. They wasted a few good chances. Granted we had some too, but let’s be honest, Marseille aren’t great. 17 defeats in a row against clubs from top 4 leagues, until we turn up with our horrendous away record.

 

If Burn starts left back again on Saturday, Howe will deserve all the criticism coming his way.

he absolutely will if he does.

[Colos Short and Curlies]

4 minutes ago, Vinny Green Balls said:

What evidence do we have that he'd be better up front as a kid? I think it's fairly clear that every option beyond Woltemade and Osula is fucking abysmal. We didn't lose the game because Gordon started there today.

 

He knows the role. We saw it when Wood signed, just having a striker playing as a striker helps the rest of the team.

 

You can also point to his lack of challenge when Thiaws header was cleared off the line and that 'whatever the fuck that was' just before half time as moments which would have won us the game.

 

But yes overall Pope cost us the game, not Gordon. Gordon just didn't do anything to positively influence it, which you need and should expect from your attacking players

[Doctor Zaius]

Thought we set up fine tonight. Questions need to be asked why we cannot keep the ball though. There's so much incoherence to our play. So disjointed. We've got players who can play and who should be able to dictate yet we constantly lose the ball. Thats fine if we can counter press, but we don't seem to be very good at that away from home and teams cut us apart. 

[BlazeT44]

I'm not sure he knows what his best XI is right now.

 

That's not necessarily a criticism (as some players are so inconsistent it would be hard to say), but it is a problem

 

 

Edited November 25, 2025 by BlazeT44

[Shays Given Tim Flowers]

2 minutes ago, J7 said:

Not sure what people were seeing in that first half to say we played well. Pass completion was about 75% and they had us camped in our own area desperately defending. They wasted a few good chances. Granted we had some too, but let’s be honest, Marseille aren’t great. 17 defeats in a row against clubs from top 4 leagues, until we turn up with our horrendous away record.

 

If Burn starts left back again on Saturday, Howe will deserve all the criticism coming his way.

Unless we win 

[janpawel]

1 minute ago, Optimistic Nut said:

I know they're out of form and fitness, but I think he needs to make:

 

Ramsdale

Tino

Hall

Thiaw

Botman

Bruno

Tonali

Ramsey

Elanga

Barnes

Woltemade 

 

his core XI, with changes for genuine rotation. I don't think our home results would be worse, our away results definitely can't get any worse. That on paper is our best team imo. Run with it. He's spent £100m on Ramsey & Elanga, he must have had a plan for them? Granted form hasn't been great but he needs to start backing them and himself a bit more. Getting the best out of players is meant to be his thing. Needs to start proving it again for me. 

 

Murphy + Burn > Elanga + Botman 

 

Although we've seen Botman at a high level for us before

 

Also, would like to see Ramsey have a game as good for us as Willock tonight 

[Whitley mag]

I’ll reserve judgement until after Saturday but it’s becoming a real issue now that he needs to fix quickly.

 

You cant legislate for individual errors but if you keep picking said player it ultimately falls on the manager.

[Andy]

6 minutes ago, RobS said:

we dont have enough full backs to play another 90 minutes with that formation, its obvious.

No Krafth, or Trips. Hall and Tino literally back 1 game, everyone hating on Burn as LB.

5 at the back allowed Murphy to cover for 60 minutes. 

Its squad management, its Howe trying to learn from the last campaign where running the same 11 into the ground ruined our season.

 

It's not exactly the first time we've lined up with five at the back though, it's been a semi-consistent feature away from home this season and hasn't worked once over 90 minutes. It's only really ever worked for us against a toothless Arsenal side last season in the cup. 

 

Don't think we'd have lost much tonight by Thiaw shuffling to right back and Murphy playing his natural position tbh. He's pretty terrible at wing back anyway and gives the ball away relentlessly in that position.

 

I just have no faith in us seeing the full game out when I see that system at all, regardless of whether I can see the general reason for doing it.

[Matt1892]

The performance wasn’t that bad tonight to be fair.

 

I know it is frustrating with it being more points dropped on the road but if we had been in a good run of form going in to that performance we would think we were unlucky, and that individual mistakes had cost us.

[Lotus]

Just now, Doctor Zaius said:

Thought we set up fine tonight. Questions need to be asked why we cannot keep the ball though. There's so much incoherence to our play. So disjointed. We've got players who can play and who should be able to dictate yet we constantly lose the ball. Thats fine if we can counter press, but we don't seem to be very good at that away from home and teams cut us apart. 

If we have 25% possession, did we setup fine? We had a very very good start to the game and then fell away.

[nufc4eva]

2 minutes ago, Colos Short and Curlies said:

 

He knows the role. We saw it when Wood signed, just having a striker playing as a striker helps the rest of the team.

 

You can also point to his lack of challenge when Thiaws header was cleared off the line and that 'whatever the fuck that was' just before half time as moments which would have won us the game.

 

But yes overall Pope cost us the game, not Gordon. Gordon just didn't do anything to positively influence it, which you need and should expect from your attacking players

Gordon did nothing to try and grab a hold of it either. Find space, help the team or whatever but he literally just runs fast and doesn't do anything special. 

[Danh1]

6 minutes ago, JoeyBartoon said:

Really needs to be doing better with what’s been spent, there’s was about 200m worth of signings used from the bench tonight. 

Prem proven. 

[J7]

3 minutes ago, Shays Given Tim Flowers said:

Unless we win 

True, but I expect more of the same away from home. Not taking him off on the booking at Brentford, then his comments afterwards had me baffled. City then showed the best of his management again including Tino/Hall at full back. 

[timeEd32]

Two new votes for him to be sacked because we lost a CL game away from home 

 

If I liked him just a little bit less I'd actually be wanting him to get sacked just so we could all watch how fast things would unravel.

[Vinny Green Balls]

Just now, timeEd32 said:

Two new votes for him to be sacked because we lost a CL game away from home 

 

If I liked him just a little bit less I'd actually be wanting him to get sacked just so we could all watch how fast things would unravel.

a few toddlers on here.

[nufc4eva]

The problem isnt even with back 4, it's with midfield and front 3 not being able to attack effectively or get good shots away probably other than Barnes.

 

Movement shit, passing shit, attacking like they have never played before, shooting weak as piss and then pressure on our defence because they lose it so often and don't rattle teams anymore. Needs a rethink on the type of players we need and technical ability as having fast wingers than run then lose the ball is just a little bit shit as is having a midfield/front 3 with fuck all dynamic movement

[Heron]

Still the king.

[Yorkie]

15 minutes ago, The Butcher said:

Barnes, Elanga, even Neave. 

 

 

 never seen the pitch at any level higher than the academy but aye chuck him in at the Velodrome.

 

Almost as daft as the suggestion that we should remove our in-form, goal-scoring winner from his current position.

[Big Geordie]

We don't seem to be evolving as a team this season - maybe it's the extra games so we have to reduce our intensity - more mistakes being made, poor ball retention, etc - particularly away from home. Also being hamstrung by the Isak business in the summer and the Wissa injury. 

 

Eddie has a job on this season. 

 

 

Edited November 25, 2025 by Big Geordie

[nufc4eva]

Just now, Heron said:

Still the king.

He is for what he's delivered but how is he evolving the team and squad. He likely wanted Ramsey and Elanga, keeps trying to play same way and isn't working, our levels have dropped and our style isn't working so what has he done to address it.

 

I think it's fine to ask questions given how much spent and the players he signed and yet the football is reaching Bruce levels right now.

[Whitley mag]

Just now, Big Geordie said:

We don't seem to be evolving as a team this season - maybe it's the extra games to we have to reduce our intensity - more mistakes being played, poor ball retention, etc - particularly away from home. Also being hamstrung by the Isak business in the summer and the Wissa injury. 

 

Eddie has a job on this season. 

Not helped by his transfer business either and he’s saddled the club with 2 very average players in Elanga and Ramsey for big money.

[Displayname]

Dont think he did any glaring errors with the team selection tbh. Only thing I reacted too was Willock, but he turned out to be one of our best.

 

Disagree with those who thought we were decent though. So little control and such poor passing, Marseille was there for the taking, wasn't impressed by them at all.

[Heron]

A win this evening would have been perfect for us that's what is frustrating. It would leave Leverkusen as the kind of allowable outcome that we had tonight ahead of a pressured derby day and to rotate a tad more across this busy 6 or 7 weeks.

 

Pope cost us that. I am sure Eddie knows that too.

 

However, let's say we get a win at PSV and losses in both our remaining CL away games, we likely still go through, if not automatically, to the qualifiers for sure.

 

We are capable of going on long winning runs as a squad, as has been proven before. So no doubt that Eddie remains the king for me.

 

 

Edited November 25, 2025 by Heron