Eddie Howe

[Stottie]

The other comment about Howe is we had less possession but allowed them far less in the second half. There is a huge difference between the first half and second half stats. Whatever adjustments were made worked and helped us get a result.

[The College Dropout]

8 hours ago, Wilson said:

 

Tell us why

We conceded lots of chances. They had An Xg of over 2+ goals and had 9 shots on target.  They also worked the ball into promising positions plenty of times. 
 

We didn’t offer much in return. Could barely pass it to each other. 

8 hours ago, Bellis80 said:

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

Aye.  Wembley we got done by the goals but Man U had less chances. And we played well.  We just lack quality in the final third. Today we lacked quality in build up. In midfield.  Everywhere.  LC final was an even game decided by moments of quality. 
 

 

I think we played the occasion tonight because we were so bad at the simple stuff. And granted we chased all game but everyone was knackered by 80 minutes.  

8 hours ago, Pata said:

 

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.

 

 

 

I don’t think Milan were good. We were just bad. I don’t think we were decent in possession.  Milan just didn’t press.  They are setup to counter so wanted us to attack. 
 

Ny biggest gripe is that if we don’t press well we are bad.  We didn’t press these and we struggled to stop them getting into dangerous positions. Without the press we can’t build up in possession.  This seems like a choice we’ve made to be more conservative in the press. But it’s not working at all. 
 

Some of the personnel weaknesses are by choice. 

[Nucasol]

I think there are going to be a lot of injury problems this season. Busy summer schedule, packed early start and Euro / WC qualifiers heating up. 

[Holmesy]

7 hours ago, Cornah said:

To all the sopping whinging vaginas twisting about an away point at the SanSiro and are disappointed’ Get a fuckin grip you bellends..

You're telling me you haven't seen anything concerning about the way we've been playing this season? The point is great but we had one shot on target the entire game and were lucky not to get battered. I'd love to be simple enough that I can just ignore the way we played and go 'wow, a draw away to Milan!' but there have been alarm bells ringing since the City game. Last season's Newcastle would've had a realistic chance of winning that game last night but we're a million miles away from that level.

 

Calling people whinging vaginas because they have working eyes and more than 50 brain cells says more about you than it does them pal

[r0cafella]

I’m yet to see anyone complain about getting a point, most of us are delighted with the point in isolation. 
 

People are expressing concern about a trend of disjointed and below par performances, why the discussion of this is so offensive to some I’m not sure. 

[Displayname]

Fantastic result and a great fighting spirit in defense. But we cant deny whats right infront of us. Quality on the ball is totally abstent, San Siro or not.

[Lotus]

It’s going to be interesting how having less time to prepare for games affects the team performances. 
Although our all round play hasn’t been good this season I do remember it took us a while to get going last season. I can’t really recall if the performances were off though or just the results.

Anyway, Sheffield Utd will be a good time to judge how we’re adapting. Playing Milan at the San Siro and PSG coming up after, Sheffield Utd in the middle, that’s a very different type of game and occasion.

If we’re improving we should see it this weekend. If it’s a slog and another disjointed performance then I think I’ll get a little worried. 
But let’s wait and see. 

[r0cafella]

I can’t help but feel we have put ourselves in this bind by our transfers this summer, (this isn’t a complaint before I’m jumped on, I understand why we did it). We essentially opted for long term planning at the expense of short term improvement. The fact we didn’t get a dedicated DM is pretty much at the heart of our tactical bind imo. 
 

Our midfield consists of 3, players who want to push forward and to compensate for that we are left playing with burn at fullback to cover the space left and to prevent us killed in transition. This is actually working effectively in the defensive phase but is causing us issues when we want to attack due our lopsided set up. 

To caveat the above, it’s obviously very early in the session and panic isn’t required but our lack of flexibility tactically will make it tricky imo. 

[Groundhog63]

Wise old head on young shoulders

 

 

[Displayname]

4 minutes ago, Groundhog63 said:

Wise old head on young shoulders

 

 

So nice to have a manager who just says what "everyone" sees. 

[The College Dropout]

31 minutes ago, r0cafella said:

I can’t help but feel we have put ourselves in this bind by our transfers this summer, (this isn’t a complaint before I’m jumped on, I understand why we did it). We essentially opted for long term planning at the expense of short term improvement. The fact we didn’t get a dedicated DM is pretty much at the heart of our tactical bind imo. 
 

Our midfield consists of 3, players who want to push forward and to compensate for that we are left playing with burn at fullback to cover the space left and to prevent us killed in transition. This is actually working effectively in the defensive phase but is causing us issues when we want to attack due our lopsided set up. 

To caveat the above, it’s obviously very early in the session and panic isn’t required but our lack of flexibility tactically will make it tricky imo. 

Apart from His distribution I don’t think Burn is a massive issue in attack.  
 

The striker is isolated.  We don’t get our wingers in dangerous positions.  
 

The awful passing yesterday I can blame the occasion. 

[Displayname]

Just now, The College Dropout said:

Apart from His distribution I don’t think Burn is a massive issue in attack.  
 

The striker is isolated.  We don’t get our wingers in dangerous positions.  
 

The awful passing yesterday I can blame the occasion. 

Ofcourse he is, we are essentially lacking one player when we are attacking. Making it so much easier covering our wing and not letting them get in dangerous positions.

[AJ9]

I think for this group of players it’s a bloody great experience to bank and to call back upon in future. Gone to an absolute cauldron and came out unscathed. It’s a big step in terms of mentality. Think we will fancy ourselves at home against them.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

41 minutes ago, Groundhog63 said:

Wise old head on young shoulders

 

 

Think sometimes we forget that Eddie is a titan and knows everything. 

[The College Dropout]

9 minutes ago, Displayname said:

Ofcourse he is, we are essentially lacking one player when we are attacking. Making it so much easier covering our wing and not letting them get in dangerous positions.

Lots of teams build up with 3 back in defence - 2 in midfield.  
 

 

It’s not the main reason we had 1 shot on target. 
 

Schar Botman Burn

Longstaff Bruno 

Trippier Almiron Willock Joelinton

Isak

 

We often got ourselves into this type of shape last season. That works well. 
 

Yesterday Burn couldn’t pass. And when he did Gordon was super wide and not able to trouble Florenzi much. Tonali was pushed up but didn’t do anything and couldn’t connect meaningfully with Gordon or Isak.  That’s the main problem. 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by The College Dropout

[Displayname]

13 minutes ago, The College Dropout said:

Lots of teams build up with 3 back in defence - 2 in midfield.  
 

 

It’s not the main reason we had 1 shot on target. 

Agree with that, main reason is little attacking threat coming through central midfield.

 

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by Displayname

[NE27]

I love you, Eddie Howe.

[Groundhog63]

9 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

Think sometimes we forget that Eddie is a titan and knows everything. 

I think he does ?? Must be frustrating for him at times 

[Wilson]

11 hours ago, Jagten said:

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

 

That doesn't equate to 'should have been comfortably beaten' in my book.  Feel like you're doing the lads an injustice by suggesting it tbh. 

 

We were worth the point. 

 

 

[The College Dropout]

Just now, Wilson said:

 

That doesn't equate to 'should have been comfortably beaten' in my book.  Feel like you're doing the lads an injustice by suggesting it tbh. 

 

We were worth the point. 

 

 

Look at any Xg metric. It's a minimum of 2 goals for them and a maximum of 0.3 for us.

 

That's a  2-0 scoreline.

 

For comparison - our non-penalty Xg against Brentford was 0.6

[Mazzy]

Is he the only British manager in the UCL this season. Can't think of another.

 

In fact who was the last British manager to manage in Champions League? Was it Potter?

[The College Dropout]

4 minutes ago, Mazzy said:

Is he the only British manager in the UCL this season. Can't think of another.

 

In fact who was the last British manager to manage in Champions League? Was it Potter?

Yes but not the only manager from the UK.

[jigen]

Great tactician but a coach should never make the transfer market. He make it and this year your market is average at best and very expensive. 

[Myleftboot]

10 minutes ago, jigen said:

Great tactician but a coach should never make the transfer market. He make it and this year your market is average at best and very expensive. 

[KaKa]

4 hours ago, r0cafella said:

I’m yet to see anyone complain about getting a point, most of us are delighted with the point in isolation. 
 

People are expressing concern about a trend of disjointed and below par performances, why the discussion of this is so offensive to some I’m not sure. 

 

I think it's because it is completely overstated.

 

We have played some very good teams to start the season.

 

We are also integrating Gordon and Tonali into two key positions for us last season. The left sided Joelinton and Willock combination was key, as was the right sided Longstaff, Almiron and Trippier trio. These are now no more.

 

On top of this teams are now going to show us a lot more respect due to what we achieved last season and will be far more prepared and up for facing us.

 

We are also now missing key players from last year in Joelinton and Willock.

 

There is no acknowledgement of any of these factors and the impact they have had, or any understanding or patience for the fact that these can only be worked through with the team getting more reps to continue to build back up to where we were, along with getting missing players back as the squad depth is still not the strongest.

 

Instead now players are not good enough, the manager is not tactical enough, things will have to change or players will leave.

 

I don't even understand why some of you even bother following the team, as it seems so incredibly unenjoyable. Would be so much easier to just pick a team where everything is already perfect and enjoy following them instead.

 

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by KaKa