Eddie Howe

[Curva Sud Milano]

20 minutes ago, r0cafella said:

If we were to change coach we actually need a unicorn in charge because the challenges we face in the short to medium term are very tough. 

 

A manager run the show type is probably the opposite of what we need though as we will have to player trade and having someone resign because a key system player was sold would be a disaster in this circumstance. 

 

I ask you sincerely and without malice...which of last summer's purchases were expressly chosen by Howe ? (in your opinion, obviously we will never know the truth).

 

[TRon]

1 hour ago, Curva Sud Milano said:

 

In my opinion this is exactly what you need (Fabregas, Conte, a coach who decides everything... especially the transfer market) or alternatively you can stay with Howe but you have to change the club's management.

 

Clubs don't run like that any more. If it was up to a head coach, they would prefer experience over youth in many positions, but that leads to a devaluing squad. If you aren't one of the cartel clubs, you need a coach who can work with promising young players, and be prepared for his own best players being sold from under him. That is just how football is designed these days. 

[r0cafella]

1 minute ago, Curva Sud Milano said:

 

I ask you sincerely and without malice...which of last summer's purchases were expressly chosen by Howe ? (in your opinion, obviously we will never know the truth).

 

Chosen... That's tricky to answer because I doubt Eddie is doing the scouting himself. 

 

But ignoring the nuance, I'd say Elanga, Ramsey, Wissa and Thiaw. 

 

I imagine Woltemade was more a club choice as he's a poor fit for our style of play. 

[TRon]

4 minutes ago, Curva Sud Milano said:

 

I ask you sincerely and without malice...which of last summer's purchases were expressly chosen by Howe ? (in your opinion, obviously we will never know the truth).

 

 

 

Pretty much all of them surely? 

[Curva Sud Milano]

13 minutes ago, TRon said:

 

Clubs don't run like that any more. If it was up to a head coach, they would prefer experience over youth in many positions, but that leads to a devaluing squad. If you aren't one of the cartel clubs, you need a coach who can work with promising young players, and be prepared for his own best players being sold from under him. That is just how football is designed these days. 

 

But you have the financial power to be part of that cartel and what your owners say points in that direction.

What's the difference between City and United? One has a management team that has made very few missteps over the years (including the crucial choice of coaches), while the other has made one mistake after another throwing away millions of pounds.

[Curva Sud Milano]

16 minutes ago, r0cafella said:

Chosen... That's tricky to answer because I doubt Eddie is doing the scouting himself. 

 

But ignoring the nuance, I'd say Elanga, Ramsey, Wissa and Thiaw. 

 

I imagine Woltemade was more a club choice as he's a poor fit for our style of play. 

 

Okay, the only one of the four who's played often/always is Thiaw.

The others, especially Wissa and Ramsey, have been used very little especially considering you've had a very busy season.

Do you think that if I sign a player of my own choosing I'll use him sparingly or not at all like with Wissa ?

[r0cafella]

Just now, Curva Sud Milano said:

 

Okay, the only one of the four who's played often/always is Thiaw.

The others, especially Wissa and Ramsey, have been used very little especially considering you've had a very busy season.

Do you think that if I sign a player of my own choosing I'll use him sparingly or not at all like with Wissa ?

Wissa was injured and probably the one who id be most certainly being manager led. Imo a lot of credit was burnt by Eddie bringing in Wissa given the cost and age profile. 

[AyeDubbleYoo]

1 hour ago, Curva Sud Milano said:

Before January or am I wrong? I hope they do better than last summer.

I see many similarities between our management in the 2010s and yours.

 

Before January but I never expect much in Jan windows anyway. 

 

What did you mean by needing to change though? Just to do better than before? I agree with that but surely that would need to happen even if we changed Howe?

[Curva Sud Milano]

7 minutes ago, r0cafella said:

Wissa was injured and probably the one who id be most certainly being manager led. Imo a lot of credit was burnt by Eddie bringing in Wissa given the cost and age profile. 

He's been OK since December but he's still played very little and I agree with that because he's not the striker I'd want at my club, but the question is: did Howe want him? I don't think so, unless Howe is a masochist in choosing a player and not using him.

I don't know, the only thing I agree with you on is that Wolte was the club's choice.

[r0cafella]

1 minute ago, Curva Sud Milano said:

He's been OK since December but he's still played very little and I agree with that because he's not the striker I'd want at my club, but the question is: did Howe want him? I don't think so, unless Howe is a masochist in choosing a player and not using him.

I don't know, the only thing I agree with you on is that Wolte was the club's choice.

So you think the club (well in the summer nobody was around  ) bought Eddie a 55m 29 year old against his will? 

 

Wissa shouldnt be a sick to beat Eddie with but was without much doubt a manger led signing. 

 

He doesn't play because he isn't very good, it was a text book panic buy. 

[nufcjmc]

2 minutes ago, r0cafella said:

Wissa was injured and probably the one who id be most certainly being manager led. Imo a lot of credit was burnt by Eddie bringing in Wissa given the cost and age profile. 

When wissa was first linked it was media suggestions of gentleman's agreements and  30/35m to let him go for all hes done etc. At that point hes more versatile than wilson, younger than Wilson and scored more than Wilson the season just gone so seemed like a no brainer. 

 

All seemed a bargin the issue is we waited and waited and waited and if it was a game of who blinks first we lost. They got a massive fee for an older player who hadn't been  prolific scoring wise up till last season and got every penny they likely originally quoted us. We got a half or quarter fit player who while media duty wise seemed excited and motivated the injury killed all momentum for him.

 

It was and has turned out to be a disaster. 

 

Suggestions of clubs willing to take him on loan is like the greek keeper overspend (for different reasons granted) on steroids.

 

Saying all that I get Eddie thinking wilson and rat gone osula not or never will be ready we need a sure thing for one of the  forward line spots. 

[Curva Sud Milano]

11 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

 

Before January but I never expect much in Jan windows anyway. 

 

What did you mean by needing to change though? Just to do better than before? I agree with that but surely that would need to happen even if we changed Howe?

 

I mean... if your owners' statements are truthful and sincere, then Howe isn't the right coach for you... if, on the other hand, you want to be the team that occasionally has a great season and gets into the Champions League and then the following year has a disappointing season, then you can stick with Eddie.

However the greatness of a club, and unfortunately we AC Milan fans know this well, is built by the management not by owners...especially if they're Americans or Arabs.

 

 

Edited April 7 by Curva Sud Milano

[Curva Sud Milano]

7 minutes ago, r0cafella said:

So you think the club (well in the summer nobody was around  ) bought Eddie a 55m 29 year old against his will? 

 

Wissa shouldnt be a sick to beat Eddie with but was without much doubt a manger led signing. 

 

He doesn't play because he isn't very good, it was a text book panic buy. 

 

They did it with Wolte...

Howe's only real problem is that he's too much of a nice guy ...You need someone who can turn the tables when he gets pissed off.

[r0cafella]

Just now, Curva Sud Milano said:

 

They did it with Wolte...

Howe's only real problem is that he's too much of a nice guy ...You need someone who can turn the tables when he gets pissed off.

Wolt was obviously a panic buy but at least somewhat logical. We can sell him and not make a massive accounting loss so actually he's much lower risk than Wissa in that regard. 

 

Rumours are Eddie can be very nasty when needed, I think our troubled are a bit more nuanced than him being too nice. 

 

 

[Barnes23]

The thing with Wissa is that he did look like a good player at Brentford, even a very good one. You don't hit 19 PL goals in a season without having something about you. 

 

It may well be the case that the injury screwed over both us and him and totally diverted the course of what may have proved to have been a very astute signing. No way to know for sure.

[TRon]

1 hour ago, Curva Sud Milano said:

 

But you have the financial power to be part of that cartel and what your owners say points in that direction.

What's the difference between City and United? One has a management team that has made very few missteps over the years (including the crucial choice of coaches), while the other has made one mistake after another throwing away millions of pounds.

 

 

The only way to gain power in the world of football is to buy the best players and win trophies. We have wealthy owners, but they are prevented from building a winning team by the cartel clubs and the rules designed to stop us spending it. 

[TRon]

1 hour ago, Curva Sud Milano said:

He's been OK since December but he's still played very little and I agree with that because he's not the striker I'd want at my club, but the question is: did Howe want him? I don't think so, unless Howe is a masochist in choosing a player and not using him.

I don't know, the only thing I agree with you on is that Wolte was the club's choice.

 

 

If Howe didn't want him, he wouldn't be here. The club mantra is to buy young players who are not depreciating assets. Howe has the final say on transfer targets, there is no way he would accept a player he didn't approve of. Especially in a summer there was no DOF above him and he was in charge of incomings. 

[tom1988]

Out of curiosity I asked Claude the followng:

 

"Without any particular geographic bias, over the last 5 years, which football managers have objectively been the most successful using the following 3 metrics: 1. Trophies won 2. Tangible improvement to team/club standing (league position, reputation etc) and 3. Best financial performance in terms of player development and trading. Please rank the managers in 3 brackets, 1. Elite, 2. Hot right now and 3. Up and coming."

 

For those that are Howe out, who would you want from this list? Who do you think we could realistically get? And do you genuinely thing they could do a better job than Eddie is/ has? (spoiler alert: He's on this list)

 

Below are the results along with the inane AI bs that accompanies the names:

 

Best Football Managers 2021–2026 — Ranked

Scored across three metrics: trophies, club improvement, and player development/financial performance. Global scope, all managers included.

 

🏆 ELITE

Pep Guardiola — 4 PL titles, UCL, treble. The era's benchmark, simple as.

Carlo Ancelotti — Two La Liga/UCL doubles at Real Madrid. Record 5 UCL titles as a manager. Now with Brazil.

Lionel Scaloni — Copa América 2021, World Cup 2022, Copa América 2024. Only manager ever to win three consecutive major international tournaments. Massively underrated.

Luis Enrique — Won PSG's first ever Champions League after losing Mbappé. One of the managerial performances of the decade.

Jürgen Klopp ⏸ (retired) — Modest trophy haul in this window but left Liverpool as a world-class institution. Legacy speaks for itself.

 

🔥 HOT RIGHT NOW

Arne Slot — Won the PL in year one at Liverpool with barely any signings. Seamless.

Hansi Flick — Domestic treble in his first Barça season. Great redemption story.

Xabi Alonso — Ended Bayern's Bundesliga monopoly with an unbeaten Leverkusen season. Now unemployed following short time at Real Madrid.

Simone Inzaghi — Two UCL finals and a Serie A title with a squad outspent by everyone. Underappreciated.

Unai Emery — Took Villa from relegation fodder to UCL QF. Best overperformer in world football right now.

Antonio Conte — Won Serie A with a Napoli side that finished 10th the year before. Does it wherever he goes.

 

🌱 UP AND COMING

Mikel Arteta — Rebuilt Arsenal entirely. One big trophy away from the top tier. (editors note - lol)

Vincent Kompany — Relegated with Burnley, hired by Bayern, won the Bundesliga. Mad story.

Julian Nagelsmann — Most tactically innovative young coach alive. 2026 WC is his moment.

Luis de la Fuente — Won Euro 2024 and the Nations League quietly. Serious record.

Eddie Howe — Newcastle's first trophy in 70 years. Built real players on a real budget.

Fabian Hürzeler — Youngest PL manager ever. Way too early to judge but the ceiling looks massive.

 

🃏 The Wildcards — Names Outside the Mainstream Conversation

Gian Piero Gasperini (AS Roma, prev. Atalanta) — The most criminally overlooked manager in European football. Spent nine years turning Atalanta from a near-relegation club into a Champions League regular, then crowned it by beating an unbeaten Leverkusen side 3-0 in the 2024 Europa League final — becoming the oldest manager to win a major European final on debut. The financial case is extraordinary too: his approach generated over €521 million in player sales for Atalanta since 2019–20, developing players like Teun Koopmeiners and Ademola Lookman into elite assets from almost nothing. Now at Roma. If he replicates even half of what he did in Bergamo, the wider world will finally take notice.

Filipe Luís (currently without a club) — This one is remarkable. Luís took charge of Flamengo in September 2024 as his first senior management role and won 63 of his 100 games — including the Brasileirão, Brazil Cup and Copa Libertadores — all within two seasons. Flamengo then topped their group at the 2025 Club World Cup ahead of Chelsea, dismantling the Premier League side 3-1 in a performance that had Filipe Luís's fingerprints all over it. He was then sacked in bizarre circumstances over a reported contact with Strasbourg. He is currently one of the most in-demand free agents in world football and almost certain to land in Europe soon.

Ralf Rangnick (Austria national team) — The "godfather of gegenpressing" whose coaching philosophy essentially spawned Klopp, Guardiola's pressing adaptations, and an entire generation of modern managers. He rarely gets credit as a manager in his own right, but Austria were one of the star turns at Euro 2024, playing club-style pressing football and topping their group ahead of France and the Netherlands. Managing a small nation to those heights is genuinely elite work. Almost zero mainstream recognition.

Will Still (currently seeking a club) — Will Still went viral for his unconventional path from analyst to continental coach, taking Reims from Ligue 2 obscurity to consistent European qualification in France on a shoestring. He is British-Belgian, data-obsessed, and looks tailor-made for a Premier League project. He has no playing career, no conventional coaching pathway, and yet quietly outperformed every expectation at every club. One of the more fascinating managerial stories of the period.

Marcelo Bielsa (Uruguay national team) — Still adored in Leeds, Bielsa's style of management has inspired several of today's leading club managers and he now has a talented Uruguay team at his disposal ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Guardiola, Klopp, Pochettino and Arteta have all cited him as a primary influence. He is football's great philosophical outlier — he has never won a major trophy but has arguably shaped the sport more than almost anyone on this list.

Marco Silva (Fulham) — Hiding in plain sight in mid-table. Silva stopped the yo-yoing at Fulham, built a solid squad that withstood losing a 25-goal-a-season striker and his next-best player, and has quietly made them a consistent, well-organised Premier League side. There is a strong case that he is one of the most underrated managers in European football right now, simply because Fulham don't generate headlines.

[jackyboy]

I think that Wissa and Wolt were pretty much the only 2 players available at the time and were more than desperate.  But, if we hadn't bought Wolt where would we be now?

[Fak]

21 minutes ago, tom1988 said:

Out of curiosity I asked Claude the followng:

 

"Without any particular geographic bias, over the last 5 years, which football managers have objectively been the most successful using the following 3 metrics: 1. Trophies won 2. Tangible improvement to team/club standing (league position, reputation etc) and 3. Best financial performance in terms of player development and trading. Please rank the managers in 3 brackets, 1. Elite, 2. Hot right now and 3. Up and coming."

 

For those that are Howe out, who would you want from this list? Who do you think we could realistically get? And do you genuinely thing they could do a better job than Eddie is/ has? (spoiler alert: He's on this list)

 

Below are the results along with the inane AI bs that accompanies the names:

 

Best Football Managers 2021–2026 — Ranked

Scored across three metrics: trophies, club improvement, and player development/financial performance. Global scope, all managers included.

 

🏆 ELITE

Pep Guardiola — 4 PL titles, UCL, treble. The era's benchmark, simple as.

Carlo Ancelotti — Two La Liga/UCL doubles at Real Madrid. Record 5 UCL titles as a manager. Now with Brazil.

Lionel Scaloni — Copa América 2021, World Cup 2022, Copa América 2024. Only manager ever to win three consecutive major international tournaments. Massively underrated.

Luis Enrique — Won PSG's first ever Champions League after losing Mbappé. One of the managerial performances of the decade.

Jürgen Klopp ⏸ (retired) — Modest trophy haul in this window but left Liverpool as a world-class institution. Legacy speaks for itself.

 

🔥 HOT RIGHT NOW

Arne Slot — Won the PL in year one at Liverpool with barely any signings. Seamless.

Hansi Flick — Domestic treble in his first Barça season. Great redemption story.

Xabi Alonso — Ended Bayern's Bundesliga monopoly with an unbeaten Leverkusen season. Now unemployed following short time at Real Madrid.

Simone Inzaghi — Two UCL finals and a Serie A title with a squad outspent by everyone. Underappreciated.

Unai Emery — Took Villa from relegation fodder to UCL QF. Best overperformer in world football right now.

Antonio Conte — Won Serie A with a Napoli side that finished 10th the year before. Does it wherever he goes.

 

🌱 UP AND COMING

Mikel Arteta — Rebuilt Arsenal entirely. One big trophy away from the top tier. (editors note - lol)

Vincent Kompany — Relegated with Burnley, hired by Bayern, won the Bundesliga. Mad story.

Julian Nagelsmann — Most tactically innovative young coach alive. 2026 WC is his moment.

Luis de la Fuente — Won Euro 2024 and the Nations League quietly. Serious record.

Eddie Howe — Newcastle's first trophy in 70 years. Built real players on a real budget.

Fabian Hürzeler — Youngest PL manager ever. Way too early to judge but the ceiling looks massive.

 

🃏 The Wildcards — Names Outside the Mainstream Conversation

Gian Piero Gasperini (AS Roma, prev. Atalanta) — The most criminally overlooked manager in European football. Spent nine years turning Atalanta from a near-relegation club into a Champions League regular, then crowned it by beating an unbeaten Leverkusen side 3-0 in the 2024 Europa League final — becoming the oldest manager to win a major European final on debut. The financial case is extraordinary too: his approach generated over €521 million in player sales for Atalanta since 2019–20, developing players like Teun Koopmeiners and Ademola Lookman into elite assets from almost nothing. Now at Roma. If he replicates even half of what he did in Bergamo, the wider world will finally take notice.

Filipe Luís (currently without a club) — This one is remarkable. Luís took charge of Flamengo in September 2024 as his first senior management role and won 63 of his 100 games — including the Brasileirão, Brazil Cup and Copa Libertadores — all within two seasons. Flamengo then topped their group at the 2025 Club World Cup ahead of Chelsea, dismantling the Premier League side 3-1 in a performance that had Filipe Luís's fingerprints all over it. He was then sacked in bizarre circumstances over a reported contact with Strasbourg. He is currently one of the most in-demand free agents in world football and almost certain to land in Europe soon.

Ralf Rangnick (Austria national team) — The "godfather of gegenpressing" whose coaching philosophy essentially spawned Klopp, Guardiola's pressing adaptations, and an entire generation of modern managers. He rarely gets credit as a manager in his own right, but Austria were one of the star turns at Euro 2024, playing club-style pressing football and topping their group ahead of France and the Netherlands. Managing a small nation to those heights is genuinely elite work. Almost zero mainstream recognition.

Will Still (currently seeking a club) — Will Still went viral for his unconventional path from analyst to continental coach, taking Reims from Ligue 2 obscurity to consistent European qualification in France on a shoestring. He is British-Belgian, data-obsessed, and looks tailor-made for a Premier League project. He has no playing career, no conventional coaching pathway, and yet quietly outperformed every expectation at every club. One of the more fascinating managerial stories of the period.

Marcelo Bielsa (Uruguay national team) — Still adored in Leeds, Bielsa's style of management has inspired several of today's leading club managers and he now has a talented Uruguay team at his disposal ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Guardiola, Klopp, Pochettino and Arteta have all cited him as a primary influence. He is football's great philosophical outlier — he has never won a major trophy but has arguably shaped the sport more than almost anyone on this list.

Marco Silva (Fulham) — Hiding in plain sight in mid-table. Silva stopped the yo-yoing at Fulham, built a solid squad that withstood losing a 25-goal-a-season striker and his next-best player, and has quietly made them a consistent, well-organised Premier League side. There is a strong case that he is one of the most underrated managers in European football right now, simply because Fulham don't generate headlines.

 

Don't ever do that again. 

[Myleftboot]

1 hour ago, jackyboy said:

I think that Wissa and Wolt were pretty much the only 2 players available at the time and were more than desperate.  But, if we hadn't bought Wolt where would we be now?

10 points worse off.

[Alberto2005]

My only worry with keeping Howe is it feels a little bit like when Brendan Rodgers finished 7th with Liverpool and then got sacked around 9 games into the season.

 

It just feels like as soon as we have another bad spell the fans will be on his back and it will just end in him going and it'll be another waste of a season.

 

 

Edited April 7 by Alberto2005

[DC Magpie]

4 hours ago, jackyboy said:

I think that Wissa and Wolt were pretty much the only 2 players available at the time and were more than desperate.  But, if we hadn't bought Wolt where would we be now?

 

Good point. He contributed mightily in September and into December. If you look back at how many goals (and assists) were critical in securing a win (+2 points over an otherwise draw) or in in our draws (+1 than if we'd lost) it's probably fair to say we'd be 6 or 8 points lower in the table. And we'd be shitting our pants along with Spurs, Forest and Leeds right now.

 

I understand this is simplistic. Maybe another striker would have scored in his place, etc. But given his recent struggles, it's easy to forget what he did for us in the Fall. 

 

[Andy84]

6 hours ago, Fak said:

 

Don't ever do that again. 

Tom1988 has things to say if people would listen but they won’t 

[Lush Vlad]

6 hours ago, Fak said:

 

Don't ever do that again. 

I’d rather he asked Claude Greengrass of Heartbeat.