Eddie Howe

[AJ9]

Fucking sort it out Eddie man. We need you.

[Decky]

Just now, dcmk said:

With fixtures so quick and so fast.  Can he even prepare the team?  He can barely rotate nor train with any intensity.  Since we have been thread bare for so long.

 

We can probably write Liverpool off but thankfully the schedule is a lot better from there onwards so we can get back to a bit of normality. 

[Sean]

I do think it's fair to question whether there was anything that could have been done, especially earlier in the season, to manage minutes better, rotate the squad etc. 

 

Maybe he also needed this year to adjust to preparing his team for so many games, lack of training time between games etc. It's his first experience of a European campaign, after all.

[r0cafella]

Has to improve his squad management which has been poor this season. Losing games and running players into the ground is just stupid and he keeps doing it. 

[Beth]

He'll be off to be England manager when Southgate leaves after the EC. I'd imagine the owners are already putting feelers out for the next manager.

 

That is not a criticism, he's far exceeded my expectations since he came and injuries have ruined us this season, but he is not faultless. No real plan B if it's not working and playing the same players who are clearly half fit or knackered.

 

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Beth

[Tiotes Witch Doctor]

Love him and still behind him, shouldn't be under any immediate pressure but if he comes out and says he thinks we played well I'll sack him myself.

[samptime29]

Plenty of credit in bank for me. Away form is worrying tho. Forest is a big match. Need to win that.

 

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by samptime29

[Paulinho]

Ignoring how thick a good 75% of our fan base is for a second, I have been surprised by how many people think an unprecedented level of fatigue isn’t the primary explanation for this. We’ve had a) the most intense fixture list of any team in Europe and b) more first team players missing for longer than any other team in Europe.

 

Will be unfortunate if social media freaks create so much noise the club eventually feels the need to act. 
 

It would be what most of you deserve though. 

[SiLvOR]

Glad he made the tactical switch early, and there were certainly some positives to take from an otherwise dreadful day. What's killing us right now is lack of options in the wide areas. Barnes, Murphy, Willock in and we can be more flexible with our approach. Think it's worth giving Joelinton/Willock rotating mid game on the left another go, and shift Gordon to the right. Once the Joes are back, ofc.

[Ronson333]

2 minutes ago, r0cafella said:

Has to improve his squad management which has been poor this season. Losing games and running players into the ground is just stupid and he keeps doing it. 

Hall should have been on much sooner that the 85th minute. Gordon looked knackered from the first minute and still wasn’t given a break.

[Dyeyzzon]

He tried the Brentford away trick last season. 1-0 down and hammered then unleashed Isak and Wilson up front at half time. Unfortunately by the end of the game it was apparent we were still shaped like we always have been - 4-3-3.

[dcmk]

Just now, Beth said:

He'll be off to be England manager when Southgate leaves after the WC. I'd imagine the owners are already putting feelers out for the next manager.

 

That is not a criticism, he's far exceeded my expectations since he came and injuries have ruined us this season, but he is not faultless. No real plan B if it's not working and playing the same players who are clearly half fit or knackered.

With any game plan you need to have players who are pressing/counter pressing.  We haven't been able to do that for a long time now, since players don't have any legs, so can't imagine any plan would change much.

 

I think we would be the first to admit he could have rotated players more, especially earlier on in the season.

 

He's very critical of everything that doesn't work out, his work ethic is common knowledge, sure it will turn around.  

[Whitley mag]

Apart from Bruno and he can be hitty miss when we start chasing the game, who actually out of our midfield and wide players is good at passing and looking up ? 
 

If Howe wants a quick, pressing, power based running team, it’s just not going to cut it unless we get a clever player slotted in somewhere.

 

We are massively missing St Maximum’s unpredictability and creativity, he got this massively wrong in the summer and has left us very predictable and pedestrian.

[thomas]

IMO we can keep a fresher and rotated midfield if Tonali uses a burner phone to pop bets on. Can we all agree that once again, it's Italy's fault?

[sempuki]

He looks as knackered as his team. It's been a long season already.

[Lotus]

1 minute ago, Whitley mag said:

Apart from Bruno and he can be hitty miss when we start chasing the game, who actually out of our midfield and wide players is good at passing and looking up ? 
 

If Howe wants a quick, pressing, power based running team, it’s just not going to cut it unless we get a clever player slotted in somewhere.

 

We are massively missing St Maximum’s unpredictability and creativity, he got this massively wrong in the summer and has left us very predictable and pedestrian.

With you until the 3rd paragraph. 

[SUPERTOON]

Still think what we are seeing currently is a result of the summer window. Obviously not the clubs fault not having Tonali and Barnes for the majority of the season, but I’d still argue we didn’t do enough to strengthen the starting 11. I’d imagine it’s a lesson they have learned and it won’t be repeated.

[GeordieT]

Faith that he’ll turn it around and performances need to be considered in the context in the quantum of unavailable players that gives new meaning to ‘injury crisis’. Need to be pushing the button on incomings January 1st. 
 

But we absolutely have to beat Forest or it could be 1 win in 7; with unenviable trips to Liverpool and Villa, a banana skin of a third round tie, and the only home comforts to count on a game against Man City. At which stage any manager is going to be under pressure.

 

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by GeordieT

[TheBrownBottle]

6 minutes ago, Paulinho said:

Ignoring how thick a good 75% of our fan base is for a second, I have been surprised by how many people think an unprecedented level of fatigue isn’t the primary explanation for this. We’ve had a) the most intense fixture list of any team in Europe and b) more first team players missing for longer than any other team in Europe.

 

Will be unfortunate if social media freaks create so much noise the club eventually feels the need to act. 
 

It would be what most of you deserve though. 

‘Below average intelligence’, ‘thick’

 

You need to stop throwing the abuse about for me.

 

Part of the reason for so many players being missing could well be the manager failing to make changes to a style of play which is likely to cause burnouts and injuries when you’re playing two games per week for months.  That doesn’t mean he should be sacked or under pressure, but it would be hoped that next season - if we’re in Europe - the lessons will be learned. 

[Lotus]

Think our whole 'a good press is better than a good 10' approach has come completely undone due to injuries and fatigue. Probably impossible to develop a new style or system on the fly. 

We need different types of players than just runners. FFP has hindered that so we'll just have to tough it out until we can recruit more along the lines of what we need for the new challenges.

[ExiledGeordie]

1 minute ago, GeordieT said:

Faith that he’ll turn it around and performances need to be considered in the context in the quantum of unavailable players that gives new meaning to ‘injury crisis’.
 

But we absolutely have to beat Forest or it could be 1 win in 7; with unenviable trips to Liverpool and Villa, a banana skin of a third round tie, and the only home comforts to count on a game against Man City. At which stage any manager is going to be under pressure.

The weird thing is as much as I was lacking confidence in a really today I’m really confident we’ll beat Forest at home. 
 

The combination of injuries and being awful away from home is really effecting us though.

[Pilko]

He's definitely a manager who sticks to his core system and his principles even when things aren't going our way, which is light years better than a tit like Bruce or someone clueless chopping and changing things constantly with no discernable pattern.

 

But... away from home this season and particularly lately it is starting to feel a little bit like flogging a dead horse. The wide players and the forwards particularly look absolutely beat, yet the system depends on them hugely to have lots of energy. We're starting to get players back now but the core team isn't getting a rest - how long does he keep going away from home in similar vein? It's a real test of his mettle but I wonder if he reverts to something with something less dependency on that energy, narrower, more compact that grinds out results whilst we're in this away form rut.

 

Today wasn't good enough, players and manager. He'll know that, and he'll also know everyone watching is giving him at very least a partial pardon because of the injuries and the schedule. I just hope we don't go to Sunderland and play like that today or we'll be buried.

 

Can't help but think that surely next season he won't have as much shit go against him either - rock hard cup draws, Tonali, injury crisis, narrow margins in the CL (woodwork several times, PSG pen farce) - there's definitely an element of shit luck this year that can't continue for ever.

 

 

[Jordan]

Should be under no pressure at all this season. We do however need to look at tactics/shape away from home. If we can’t press due to squad availability then we need to work on a low block and being able to pass the ball to players on our own team. 

[jonny1403]

9 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

‘Below average intelligence’, ‘thick’

 

You need to stop throwing the abuse about for me.

 

Part of the reason for so many players being missing could well be the manager failing to make changes to a style of play which is likely to cause burnouts and injuries when you’re playing two games per week for months.  That doesn’t mean he should be sacked or under pressure, but it would be hoped that next season - if we’re in Europe - the lessons will be learned. 

He’s completely right though. You’d have to be incredibly thick to be calling for the managers head at this stage.

[andycap]

I have faith in him shouldn't be sacked under the injury crisis we've had. But he went 4-4-2 but kept miggy and flash on the same wings it drives me mad. could've went tino and hall swap for the two of them and played more orthodox wing play.