Eddie Howe

[gbandit]

I’d be extremely worried if that’s what every game looked like for us and I know we got battered off Brighton and Man City outplayed us but we made Liverpool shit themselves for over half the game and they’re a very good side. We beat Villa 5-1 and played very well second half. We’ve drawn a game away in the champions league against the incumbent semi-finalists. We had our backs to the wall for large sections of the match and created fuck all. It’s all going to change against Sheffield United. Even Brentford are a very difficult side to play against, very organised, extremely good defensively with lots of physical beasts in their defence and midfield. We’ll be playing good stuff very soon 

[Jagten]

You can be happy with the result without reverse-engineering the performance, or giving anyone grief for discussing our issues in the game. It wasn't particularly close tonight and we should have been comfortably beaten. 

[Whitley mag]

Simple fact is apart from Isak we haven’t been able to sign a really intelligent world class attacker.

 

We’ve signed potential in Gordon but we got rid of the one other player we had who is unpredictable and can unlock a team.

 

We look one paced and predictable in midfield and we need Willocks pace and goal scoring from midfield desperately.

 

We’ve had a tough start and we won’t have a problem retaining possession, but creating is different and I think it’ll be a major issue throughout the season with the personnel we currently have.

[Wilson]

2 minutes ago, Jagten said:

should have been comfortably beaten. 

 

Tell us why

[Infatuation Junkie]

Well I loved it. Over the moon with a point away.

 

let’s judge after a home game with the crowd behind us.

 

that intimidation is not something most of this squad have ever been part of. Even I was nervous man. Imagine longstaff and burn.

 

5 or 50 shots. We held them. That’s what counts right now.

 

Yeah. A few players looked off the mark. But they put everything into that defending man. Credit where credit is due.

[Bellis80]

1 hour ago, Bellis80 said:

Not a knock on his managerial abilities but a Premier League manager never bothering to go to a Champions League game and calling the San Siro “just a pitch” when there is so little european experience in the squad makes me think he’s a weirdo.

I know I might seem the weirdo here but i’m on the train back to Verona and i’m going again ?

 

90% of the pitches in the top standard of football across europe are the same size but you’ll still hear players talk about somewhere being a big pitch. No one says St James’ is a big pitch but Wembley or Old Trafford are despite being exactly the same. Players talk about angles being different, harder to judge length of long passes etc because of how close or far the stands are away from the pitch. The opposition can make it big as well, but every pitch is different despite being the same.

 

And the San Siro is a Holy Shit ground when you walk into it even with no one it it, presume Dortmund will be the same. So why you wouldn’t go and train there or at least have a look when you have the opportunity doesn’t make sense to me. Different story for teams used to going to these type of places.

[Pata]

48 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

The fact that that's weapons-grade horseshit is the main issue.

 

I just can't agree here. Bookies had this as a really close match and we were absolutely crushed in xG (2.98-0.36), scoring attempts (25-6), shots on target (8-1) etc. I'm sure Howe (and fans) are happy with the point in the end but if we play like that for the rest of the group stages we have no chance of advancing. Milan are a traditional huge club but the fact we were favourites (or even close to it) at San Siro shows that they are quite far from the powerhouse days of 90s and 00s. Yet we made them look amazing in this game.

 

There are still positives to take from this match though besides the away point. Firstly the second half was a lot better and we seemed to be better prepared for it defensively. They had a ton of shots but we kept them away decently from really good chances and thought some individual performances were good. We were also alright in keeping possession but Milan don't really press tbf. Just a really messy performance overall and I'm certain Howe won't be happy with that when the cameras aren't rolling. I really hope the nerviness is gone now for the rest of the group matches.

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Pata

[Heron]

Got caught out first half tactically and second half seemingly addressed it with us looking a lot more comfortable. Seriously, folk need to remember where we (and he) has come from and take faith in where we are and he is and apply fisth into the learning process. We are stronger together. No doubts. Fuck the world. Eddie Howes Black and White Army.

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Heron

[Jagten]

24 minutes ago, Wilson said:

 

Tell us why

They created a lot more good chances. We created none. 

[Vinny Green Balls]

10 minutes ago, Bellis80 said:

I know I might seem the weirdo here but i’m on the train back to Verona and i’m going again ?

 

90% of the pitches in the top standard of football across europe are the same size but you’ll still hear players talk about somewhere being a big pitch. No one says St James’ is a big pitch but Wembley or Old Trafford are despite being exactly the same. Players talk about angles being different, harder to judge length of long passes etc because of how close or far the stands are away from the pitch. The opposition can make it big as well, but every pitch is different despite being the same.

 

And the San Siro is a Holy Shit ground when you walk into it even with no one it it, presume Dortmund will be the same. So why you wouldn’t go and train there or at least have a look when you have the opportunity doesn’t make sense to me. Different story for teams used to going to these type of places.

I'd seriously considering letting it go at this point. Plenty of other more sensible things regarding the state of our team to focus on.

[Wandy]

It’s a great point in the grand scheme of things. This team still has last season’s character in abundance, but the lack of any creativity is a real concern. Proud of them overall though, they gave it 100% effort, no doubt about that. Hopefully the performances will improve now that we have some easier-looking league fixtures coming up.

 

I’m really not sure why Eddie wanted Tonali so badly at this point though. It seems that him and Bruno are best suited to the exact same position so Tonali just looks awkward right now where he is currently played.

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Wandy

[Heron]

Also, good decision for me on choosing to train at home. Absolutely. Played down the occasion and retained focus on and off the field. We were played by the occasion at Wembley. Right move.

[TheBrownBottle]

17 minutes ago, Bellis80 said:

I know I might seem the weirdo here but i’m on the train back to Verona and i’m going again ?

 

90% of the pitches in the top standard of football across europe are the same size but you’ll still hear players talk about somewhere being a big pitch. No one says St James’ is a big pitch but Wembley or Old Trafford are despite being exactly the same.

Both Wembley and OT are bigger pitches than SJP…

[Miercoles]

17 minutes ago, Bellis80 said:

 

And the San Siro is a Holy Shit ground when you walk into it even with no one it it, presume Dortmund will be the same. So why you wouldn’t go and train there or at least have a look when you have the opportunity doesn’t make sense to me. Different story for teams used to going to these type of places.

 

Because then you're lending credence to the idea that you should be nervous about playing there. "Hey guys we need to go get used to this because otherwise you'll be scared shitless" then the players are thinking "shit, should I be scared?"

 

Totally understand the logic behind treating it like any other ground.

[Rod]

42 minutes ago, Jagten said:

You can be happy with the result without reverse-engineering the performance, or giving anyone grief for discussing our issues in the game. It wasn't particularly close tonight and we should have been comfortably beaten. 

Not at all.  Teams like Milan eke out draws away from home in Europe and it's classed as tactical.  We do it and presumably we should have been comfortably beaten.  Not having it.

[Danh1]

28 minutes ago, Bellis80 said:

I know I might seem the weirdo here but i’m on the train back to Verona and i’m going again ?

 

90% of the pitches in the top standard of football across europe are the same size but you’ll still hear players talk about somewhere being a big pitch. No one says St James’ is a big pitch but Wembley or Old Trafford are despite being exactly the same. Players talk about angles being different, harder to judge length of long passes etc because of how close or far the stands are away from the pitch. The opposition can make it big as well, but every pitch is different despite being the same.

 

And the San Siro is a Holy Shit ground when you walk into it even with no one it it, presume Dortmund will be the same. So why you wouldn’t go and train there or at least have a look when you have the opportunity doesn’t make sense to me. Different story for teams used to going to these type of places.

Not think he said “just a pitch” to down play the occasion? We made a big deal of Wembley, looking at the pitch the day before and it didn’t go well.

 

 

[Bellis80]

8 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

Both Wembley and OT are bigger pitches than SJP…

Total bollocks

[buzza]

I honestly think we are scrapping out results as best as we can at the moment because we have completely lost our "mojo" and look out of sorts.

Only way to get it back is training hard and pairing the right players. Some combinations just don't work as well as others...

We need time and patience until we start whacking teams again.

 

Good point tonight after a painful watch. I was lucky, there was nothing to cheer at all so my "incognito" presence went unnoticed!

 

[Bellis80]

1 minute ago, Danh1 said:

Not think he said “just a pitch” to down play the occasion? We made a big deal of Wembley, looking at the pitch the day before and it didn’t go well.

 

 

We got a bigger doing tonight than we did at Wembley despite the result.

[Heron]

We could have been beaten and perhaps should have been but you cannot underestimate our ability to prevent that tonight. Spirited.

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Heron

[Rod]

19 minutes ago, Jagten said:

They created a lot more good chances. We created none. 

Their good chances were about as threatening as our none.

[TheBrownBottle]

2 minutes ago, Bellis80 said:

Total bollocks

Literally true - and checkable on the internet, you daft sod

[Heron]

4 minutes ago, Bellis80 said:

Total bollocks

I mean not necessarily but maybe.

[Shearergol]

3 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

Literally true - and checkable on the internet, you daft sod

We have the same size pitch as man united. 

[Shearergol]

Wembley is 1m wider though