Eddie Howe

[Gallowgate Toon]

I expected 2 more wins in the league - today and Norwich. We're playing kinda how I expected though. 

 

I think the biggest problem we have is the mentality of the squad - a fair chunk of this lot have been grinding out staying in the division for years. While final positions have looked comfortable, we know that most of the season has been tough work each year. That's not healthy for high performance and players become harder to motivate for the slog each passing year. We've been a fine margins team for a long time.

 

The last few seasons, it's been a slight shot of fresh blood that has got things moving in the right direction again - Almiron, Willock, Rondon coming into fitness etc. Theoretically, we have the means for a massive dose of quality this time. 

[et tu brute]

2 minutes ago, ManDoon said:

I think for me personally I would feel

much more harshly towards him if he wasn’t such an affable and intelligent guy. The results are the results though and it’s not working out atm 

 

It's not only the results it's quite obvious he's not motivating the players. I didn't want him by any stretch, but I was expecting an increased fight today for such an important 6 pointer, especially after last week's game. What we got, was pretty much a damp squib repeat of last week, with very little creativity or game management throughout. From the moment we scored, it only looked a matter of time before Watford got back into it. The first half was not much better either despite having more possession.  Main reason I didn't want him was his devensive record which was poor and also his record of signing players was also in the main questionable. I also remembered a 'Bruce' team containing Longstaff, Bentaleb, Joelington, Gayle and Shelvey totally dominate his team which was supposedly fighting for survival. I hoped to god I was wrong when he was appointed, but I have seen nothing to suggest I am.  

[MarkyMark]

5 minutes ago, Geordie Ahmed said:

Midfield is key, ours is shit

 

You can give Longstaff and Shelvey to Pep, Klopp and they'll not be able to polish them

 

If Howe had better alternatives and he was persisting with them then I'd give him stick but we literally have no one else, it's a dire situation 

 

However what Howe should be doing is demanding 2 new CM's because the current lot will relegate us comfortably, if he can't see how crucial that is then I do worry long term

 

I think some of the comments are mad and very knee jerk, I thought us of all fanbases around would be the most patient, we put up with 14 years of Ashley and I thought resilience is just a given but I'm seeing far too many people slagging Howe off and writing him off, despite the main issues with the side/squad not of his doing 

Perfectly reasonable to question a record of one win in ten, particularly when several were winnable home games.  The performances haven’t improved either - that could easily have been a Steve Bruce NUFC out there today. 

 

Impatience would be booing and banners in the ground at this point.  Questioning the manager, his decisions or ultimately his suitability on an Internet forum is hardly a lack of patience.

 

We didn’t put up with Ashley - most wanted him gone around a year after he took over the club - it was that there was nothing we could do to remove him.  Passivity rather resilience.   

[duo]

31 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

Pretty disappointed with Howe at this point tbh. I know we're shit but he's not giving us any edge whatsoever. We're utterly incapable at holding a lead and he's extremely accountable for that; the team mentality, the way they're drilled, in-game decisions... its all lacking. Absolute pisstake that we didn't see that out today. 

 

I'm desperate for him to do well cos I love the way he carries himself. But ergh. Worried at this point that it's not really going very well. 

 

If he's the key decision-maker re recruitment and he isn't identifying CM as priority one or at the very least two, I think that's a concern. That's where we lost the points on the pitch today. Aye we need CBs. We need everything. But CM would make the biggest difference. 

The most worrying thing is since he's come I don't feel much has changed.  He's had time now to implement things but I am struggling to see it.  He looks totally out of his depth - devoid of ideas - throwing £25Mil on the likes of Wood just shout desperation.  We've known for months that the club needed to strengthen in Jan but it feels like they've no plan in place - where Rafa would have a list of 10 players for each position, they seem to only have a couple.  Throw bid after bid after bid for the same player when it's clear the club doesn't want to sell.  You could argue his hands are tied with the players he got, which is true - the bench today was laughable.  But I do think another more competent manager could set us up better, make us harder to beat. 

[Mattoon]

2 minutes ago, Gallowgate Toon said:

I expected 2 more wins in the league - today and Norwich. We're playing kinda how I expected though. 

 

I think the biggest problem we have is the mentality of the squad - a fair chunk of this lot have been grinding out staying in the division for years. While final positions have looked comfortable, we know that most of the season has been tough work each year. That's not healthy for high performance and players become harder to motivate for the slog each passing year. We've been a fine margins team for a long time.

 

The last few seasons, it's been a slight shot of fresh blood that has got things moving in the right direction again - Almiron, Willock, Rondon coming into fitness etc. Theoretically, we have the means for a massive dose of quality this time. 

 

I mentioned this last week, most of this team need out as much as we need them out, they're brow beaten, shot to pieces, I don't think there's much left to motivate, as soon as they come under pressure they retreat and it inevitably leads to conceding. A blank cheque book is the only thing that can save us now but it's a massive risk that doesn't guarantee rewards.

[Gallowgate Toon]

We're not actually that easy to beat though. We've drawn a lot of games and are often 'competitive'.

[Gallowgate Toon]

Mad that Villa have lost more than us 

[duo]

5 minutes ago, Gallowgate Toon said:

We're not actually that easy to beat though. We've drawn a lot of games and are often 'competitive'.

What's cost us all season is throwing away the lead.  Got to see games out.

[TRon]

1 minute ago, duo said:

What's cost us all season is throwing away the lead.  Got to see games out.

 

Agreed, but those points for the draws might be the difference between staying up and going down at the end of the season. 

[Whitley mag]

6 minutes ago, TRon said:

 

Agreed, but those points for the draws might be the difference between staying up and going down at the end of the season. 

Yeah, despite the disappointment today it was always a must not lose for me. 
 

We can still turn it around, though Watford will undoubtedly now have a boost for their 2 games this week. 
 

The best we can hope for is a couple of draws to keep us in striking distance.

[Vinny Green Balls]

21 minutes ago, MarkyMark said:

Perfectly reasonable to question a record of one win in ten, particularly when several were winnable home games.  The performances haven’t improved either - that could easily have been a Steve Bruce NUFC out there today. 

 

Impatience would be booing and banners in the ground at this point.  Questioning the manager, his decisions or ultimately his suitability on an Internet forum is hardly a lack of patience.

 

We didn’t put up with Ashley - most wanted him gone around a year after he took over the club - it was that there was nothing we could do to remove him.  Passivity rather resilience.   

Once again, some of us are not getting on people for questioning the manager. And once again, in this context, it is of course reasonable to criticize Howe. that is not the issue. It's continued kneejerk responses from some of the same posters on a significant number of threads in this forum. whether people are right or not is NOT the issue. It reminds during the beginning of the pandemic, one of my exes claiming that she knew it was going to be serious. She's not a fucking epidemiologist. That she happened to be right was by pure chance, but not from her astute observations, as she believes that History Channel's Ancient Aliens is a good source of information. This is exactly how I feel with some on here. If they happen to be right, it doesn't change their very flawed processes in getting there. As a math teacher, I used to heavily mark off flawed steps even if the kid stumbled on the correct answer, because they clearly didn't know what they were doing.

[TRon]

One other thing which rankles with me slightly is Howe's reluctance to express disappointment with a performance. You don't have to name names, just watching Tuchel's interview, and he was saying that his forwards needed to step up, that there was nowhere to hide in a fight for the title. Conte has done similar when demanding more from his players, both have complained about the lack of quality in some areas. I get that you want to protect your players, but at some point you need to ask for more. 

[DJ_NUFC]

Still behind Howe, I like him as a person. However, agree with a lot of the valid criticism in this thread. 
 

For me, replacing the center of midfield was priority, even above ST or CB, and he’s not identified that as an urgent need. That to me has been shocking and confounding to see. We’ve sent bid after bid for CB’s but haven’t pursued a list of midfield targets from Jan 1st. That tells me he may not understand, or has not been able to diagnose the glaring issue at the heart of the team. We needed one or two midfielders in before Watford, the back 4 has desperately needed not only protection but someone who can energize the space in front of them, and drive the ball forwards, retain possession. We are still starting with Sean fucking Longstaff while chasing Botman and another CB. Mindboggling. 

[Jinky Jim]

1 minute ago, DJ_NUFC said:

Still behind Howe, I like him as a person. However, agree with a lot of the valid criticism in this thread. 
 

For me, replacing the center of midfield was priority, even above ST or CB, and he’s not identified that as an urgent need. That to me has been shocking and confounding to see. We’ve sent bid after bid for CB’s but haven’t pursued a list of midfield targets from Jan 1st. That tells me he may not understand, or has not been able to diagnose the glaring issue at the heart of the team. We needed one or two midfielders in before Watford, the back 4 has desperately needed not only protection but someone who can energize the space in front of them, and drive the ball forwards, retain possession. We are still starting with Sean fucking Longstaff while chasing Botman and another CB. Mindboggling. 

Spot on…I’ve been saying for months that this area is our biggest weakness…we don’t need a new CM we need a new midfield…minimum of 3 players this month(doubt it will happen)….solve this area and the defence will have cover and the forwards will have support.

[DJ_NUFC]

Another thing… echoing what others have said about the lack of attacking nous. It’s been 3 months now and our main attacking tactic still seems to be: pass to ASM > hope for magic. 
 

What happened to all that pass and move we saw in early training videos? Why are none of our players capable of creating a single passing triangle? Why can’t we hold the ball? Why don’t we move as a unit? Really disappointing. 
 

edit: I get that he inherited garbage, who cannot change. But we are halfway through the transfer window and haven’t bid for a single CM or DM. 

 

 

Edited January 15, 2022 by DJ_NUFC

[RealGoneKid]

Face facts - theres been no new ownership bounce , no new manager bounce and so far no new players bounce - it seems as flat and flaccid as under Bruce . Todays result can only put potential signings off joining . Whatever Howe learnt in his recent sojourns needs to bear fruit asap - the fat lady is warming up

[Dr Jinx]

2 hours ago, Yelevats said:

Eddie Howe used the words “dust ourselves down” in his post match interview 😬🤣🤣

It’s the chair in the managers office, like Fr. Stack catching hairy hand syndrome off Jack.

[tinoasprilla]

Think he's shite speaks well apart from that what's the difference 

[Robster]

Howe (at the moment) isn't being successful at what he's trying to do.
Bruce never tried to do anything.

That's the difference.

[Yorkie]

2 minutes ago, Robster said:

Howe (at the moment) isn't being successful at what he's trying to do.
Bruce never tried to do anything.

That's the difference.

 

Perfect summary. 

[DMLeazesender]

I'm disappointed but not panicing yet. It's still 3 from 4 at the minute and Leeds & Everton could still get dragged into it.

 

Even based on the 3 from 4 I think we will buy our way out of it. It really depends on who we  get in.

[RealGoneKid]

8 minutes ago, Robster said:

Howe (at the moment) isn't being successful at what he's trying to do.
Bruce never tried to do anything.

That's the difference.

Kind of scary that hes doing no better than Bruce then ...

[Robster]

5 minutes ago, RealGoneKid said:

Kind of scary that hes doing no better than Bruce then ...

He is but not at the level we need him to be.

If only Eddie Howe had Joe Willock in ridiculously uncharacteristic goal scoring form.

[r0cafella]

5 minutes ago, ManDoon said:

Just out of interest do people think Emery would have done a better job (theoretically). 

Absolutely, Emory is good tactically for a start. 
 

Eddie is clearly a talented coach but I think it’s wrong place wrong time unfortunately. 

[duo]

19 minutes ago, Robster said:

Howe (at the moment) isn't being successful at what he's trying to do.
Bruce never tried to do anything.

That's the difference.

What is Howe 'trying' to do though?  I am not seeing it.  I am not defending Bruce - God No - but am struggling to see any tactical change under Howe.  We're as devoid of ideas as much we were under Bruce.  It's like it is a conundrum that neither are able to solve.