Eddie Howe

[Ikon]

Just now, SUPERTOON said:

No I don’t think he was for  the bench, I’m not saying that, I said imo we needed a top class DM and top class RW and neither Tonali or Barnes are because that isn’t their position. 
 

It’s alright saying we would have moved Gordon but he isn’t a RW either. 

None of them offer any proper flair/creativity either. 

[The College Dropout]

1 minute ago, Sima said:

Xabi Alonso’s Liverpool links will stop that happening.

Nah it won't.

 

But there's going to be a Madrid opening in the summer. He had a good spell over there - won the league and La Decima. Carlo is leaving. It's 1+1 IMO. Don Flo will love that he's ex-Madridista and big name.

[WideopenMag]

Just now, SUPERTOON said:

No I don’t think he was for  the bench, I’m not saying that, I said imo we needed a top class DM and top class RW and neither Tonali or Barnes are because that isn’t their position. 
 

It’s alright saying we would have moved Gordon but he isn’t a RW either. 

He played games for Everton at RW Howe has consistently moved him to RW throughout this season, it's clear he thinks he can play there he kicks with both feet. Tonalis position is Dm/CM for Milan so yeah I don't yet your point.

[The College Dropout]

I still don't like Barnes & Gordon as our wide players. It limits Barnes as a goal scorer and neither are creative.

[Sempiternal]

1 minute ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

No he wasn’t, that’s not my point. He’s proven to be a top player and he had just signed. 

Yeah but also very good players have proven unable to play together plenty. I think they take up too many of the same positions. Our mid is very weird at times, just seemingly hybrid 8s everywhere 

[SUPERTOON]

Just now, WideopenMag said:

He played games for Everton at RW Howe has consistently moved him to RW throughout this season, it's clear he thinks he can play there he kicks with both feet. Tonalis position is Dm/CM for Milan so yeah I don't yet your point.

Yeah let’s move on, think I made a simple point to be honest, they may be able to play those positions but it isn’t their strongest position. Tonali isn’t a DM at all btw, that’s pretty clear. He’s basically a longstaff upgrade.

[The College Dropout]

1 minute ago, WideopenMag said:

He played games for Everton at RW Howe has consistently moved him to RW throughout this season, it's clear he thinks he can play there he kicks with both feet. Tonalis position is Dm/CM for Milan so yeah I don't yet your point.

Tonali wasn't a DM for Milan and from what I've seen - he's not a DM at all. Not that he couldn't play there - it's just not his game. He was definitely signed to replace Longstaff.

 

[WideopenMag]

Just now, SUPERTOON said:

Yeah let’s move on, think I made a simple point to be honest, they may be able to play those positions but it isn’t their strongest position. Tonali isn’t a DM at all btw, that’s pretty clear. He’s basically a longstaff upgrade.

Longstaff upgrade ?? complete utter nonsense. 

[HaydnNUFC]

Howe has more than enough credit in the bank to avoid serious talk about him losing his job. (even if there is any) What he did here not just last season but in 2021-22 when he kept us up should give him plenty of time to navigate this sticky patch. And it is a sticky patch; 6 defeats in 7, the only win in the last 7 being against 10 men, out of Europe altogether before Christmas and running on fumes.

 

The one thing that is troubling me however is there doesn’t seem to be a coherent tactical plan or pattern in our play defensively or offensively. I remember back in January 2022 when we just drew 1-1 at home to Watford and had 1 win in 21 games or something but I still was fully behind Howe even as the shadow of Benitez loomed. The reason for that is you could see clear improvements in individuals and clear tactical plans and patterns being implemented but the playing staff he had at his disposal then were simply just not good enough hence the constant individual howlers and lapses in concentration that cost us back then. Alas, we signed improvements in January and the team improved exponentially. I can’t see those patterns or improvements this time however. And I think this leads onto the next point.

 

To put it bluntly, imo the summer window was a failure. Really easy to say now with 20-20 hindsight but we did not sign the personnel required to improve the first XI; the way Howe tries to get us playing is intense, pressing football that baits the opposition into a game of chaos in which we can kill teams, even the top ones, on transitions. But that can’t be the way a team plays over 38 league games plus 6 European games on top of the already existing cup games due to the physical exertion it demands and the schedule that comes with it. Our pressing game papers/papered over the fact that many of our players do not possess great individual quality that is required for a top 6 side; players like Longstaff, Almiron, Burn. So when the team is tired, the level of quality seeps through and shows and it either gets you through gritty matches or costs you as seen today. The players we should have went for in the summer were players that possess similar levels of quality that Isak, Bruno and Botman have. Tonali potentially was/is one, but we have a large outlay on 2 young full backs that so far have only got game time because of injuries and despite performing better than the players they are replacing (certainly in Livramento’s case) they are dropped as soon as the injured players they replaced have returned. ~£40m on Barnes despite us needing a right sided wide man since imo even before the takeover. The sides around us improved their first choice XIs, we didn't.

 

I think the worse thing I can say from probably a selfish POV is I’m just not enjoying watching us this season. We’re incredibly easy to play through and hit on the break plus there’s no real pattern in our attacking play. I don’t think Howe has done himself favours these last few games but he absolutely deserves the time to see this sticky patch through. Time for him to earn his salt, and for the owners to give him and the team the help they need in the transfer market.

[Jackie Broon]

1 minute ago, SUPERTOON said:

No I don’t think he was for  the bench, I’m not saying that, I said imo we needed a top class DM and top class RW and neither Tonali or Barnes are because that isn’t their position. 
 

It’s alright saying we would have moved Gordon but he isn’t a RW either. 

 

I think the plan is to rotate our wide players, taking advantage of the 5 subs for them to run themselves into the ground for 45-60 minutes and then bring fresh legs on.

[Sempiternal]

Just now, WideopenMag said:

Longstaff upgrade ?? complete utter nonsense. 

He’s not a DM

[Ikon]

Just now, WideopenMag said:

Longstaff upgrade ?? complete utter nonsense. 

He is right though. 

[SUPERTOON]

1 minute ago, WideopenMag said:

Longstaff upgrade ?? complete utter nonsense. 

You calling Tonali a DM is nonsense 

[The Prophet]

This run of form has been in the post since November time, there's players who have been visibly running on fumes, not fully fit or playing through the pain barrier for weeks.

 

"Intensity is our identity" but our press is utterly shot to pieces, with a midfield and wingers who look out on their feet. The midfield trio are easy to play through, exposing the back four, whilst looking blunt in attack.

 

Could Howe change it up? We could play Dummett, Krafth and Hall, but that has a shuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic kind of feel to it. It looks like we've tried (and failed) to be more passive and compact on the road, while changing shape at Luton had a marginal improvement.

 

I'm fairly certain we'll see an improvement when the fixture list eases and we can rest and rotate, but for me Howe shouldn't be under any pressure at all and has earned ample time to turn things around. 

[The Butcher]

Feels like he's been digging his own grave for a while.

 

Hope he can turn it around.

 

 

 

 

 

[The College Dropout]

I agree that the squad building has been weird.

 

Our best 2 wingers both prefer to play LW. 

 

Barnes I think was an opportunistic signing. But we didn't end up getting him for cheap. For similar money we could've got Kudus or Palmer to play off the right.

 

The money we've committed to Hall.. surely gets you a better LB than Burn for this season.

 

The Tonali transfer has been a nightmare. But it's the most logical.

[WideopenMag]

Just now, Sempiternal said:

He’s not a DM

"Sandro Tonali (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsandro toˈnaːli]; born 8 May 2000) is an Italian professional footballer who plays mainly as a defensive-midfielder or central-midfield" 

 

Not in the makele role no but in a way a modern midfield works yes.

[nemtizz]

A DM that can't tackle, sick.

[madras]

1 minute ago, HaydnNUFC said:

Howe has more than enough credit in the bank to avoid serious talk about him losing his job. (even if there is any) What he did here not just last season but in 2021-22 when he kept us up should give him plenty of time to navigate this sticky patch. And it is a sticky patch; 6 defeats in 7, the only win in the last 7 being against 10 men, out of Europe altogether before Christmas and running on fumes.

 

The one thing that is troubling me however is there doesn’t seem to be a coherent tactical plan or pattern in our play defensively or offensively. I remember back in January 2022 when we just drew 1-1 at home to Watford and had 1 win in 21 games or something but I still was fully behind Howe even as the shadow of Benitez loomed. The reason for that is you could see clear improvements in individuals and clear tactical plans and patterns being implemented but the playing staff he had at his disposal then were simply just not good enough hence the constant individual howlers and lapses in concentration that cost us back then. Alas, we signed improvements in January and the team improved exponentially. I can’t see those patterns or improvements this time however. And I think this leads onto the next point.

 

To put it bluntly, imo the summer window was a failure. Really easy to say now with 20-20 hindsight but we did not sign the personnel required to improve the first XI; the way Howe tries to get us playing is intense, pressing football that baits the opposition into a game of chaos in which we can kill teams, even the top ones, on transitions. But that can’t be the way a team plays over 38 league games plus 6 European games on top of the already existing cup games due to the physical exertion it demands and the schedule that comes with it. Our pressing game papers/papered over the fact that many of our players do not possess great individual quality that is required for a top 6 side; players like Longstaff, Almiron, Burn. So when the team is tired, the level of quality seeps through and shows and it either gets you through gritty matches or costs you as seen today. The players we should have went for in the summer were players that possess similar levels of quality that Isak, Bruno and Botman have. Tonali potentially was/is one, but we have a large outlay on 2 young full backs that so far have only got game time because of injuries and despite performing better than the players they are replacing (certainly in Livramento’s case) they are dropped as soon as the injured players they replaced have returned. ~£40m on Barnes despite us needing a right sided wide man since imo even before the takeover. The sides around us improved their first choice XIs, we didn't.

 

I think the worse thing I can say from probably a selfish POV is I’m just not enjoying watching us this season. We’re incredibly easy to play through and hit on the break plus there’s no real pattern in our attacking play. I don’t think Howe has done himself favours these last few games but he absolutely deserves the time to see this sticky patch through. Time for him to earn his salt, and for the owners to give him and the team the help they need in the transfer market.

Do you think Barnes and Gordon were meant to battle for the one position ? Was Tonali merely meant to be a Longstaff upgrade ?

[gjohnson]

2 minutes ago, HaydnNUFC said:

Howe has more than enough credit in the bank to avoid serious talk about him losing his job. (even if there is any) What he did here not just last season but in 2021-22 when he kept us up should give him plenty of time to navigate this sticky patch. And it is a sticky patch; 6 defeats in 7, the only win in the last 7 being against 10 men, out of Europe altogether before Christmas and running on fumes.

 

The one thing that is troubling me however is there doesn’t seem to be a coherent tactical plan or pattern in our play defensively or offensively. I remember back in January 2022 when we just drew 1-1 at home to Watford and had 1 win in 21 games or something but I still was fully behind Howe even as the shadow of Benitez loomed. The reason for that is you could see clear improvements in individuals and clear tactical plans and patterns being implemented but the playing staff he had at his disposal then were simply just not good enough hence the constant individual howlers and lapses in concentration that cost us back then. Alas, we signed improvements in January and the team improved exponentially. I can’t see those patterns or improvements this time however. And I think this leads onto the next point.

 

To put it bluntly, imo the summer window was a failure. Really easy to say now with 20-20 hindsight but we did not sign the personnel required to improve the first XI; the way Howe tries to get us playing is intense, pressing football that baits the opposition into a game of chaos in which we can kill teams, even the top ones, on transitions. But that can’t be the way a team plays over 38 league games plus 6 European games on top of the already existing cup games due to the physical exertion it demands and the schedule that comes with it. Our pressing game papers/papered over the fact that many of our players do not possess great individual quality that is required for a top 6 side; players like Longstaff, Almiron, Burn. So when the team is tired, the level of quality seeps through and shows and it either gets you through gritty matches or costs you as seen today. The players we should have went for in the summer were players that possess similar levels of quality that Isak, Bruno and Botman have. Tonali potentially was/is one, but we have a large outlay on 2 young full backs that so far have only got game time because of injuries and despite performing better than the players they are replacing (certainly in Livramento’s case) they are dropped as soon as the injured players they replaced have returned. ~£40m on Barnes despite us needing a right sided wide man since imo even before the takeover. The sides around us improved their first choice XIs, we didn't.

 

I think the worse thing I can say from probably a selfish POV is I’m just not enjoying watching us this season. We’re incredibly easy to play through and hit on the break plus there’s no real pattern in our attacking play. I don’t think Howe has done himself favours these last few games but he absolutely deserves the time to see this sticky patch through. Time for him to earn his salt, and for the owners to give him and the team the help they need in the transfer market.

Well from our perspective he has credit. Unfortunately from an owners point of view credit runs out a lot quicker than it builds. Like it or not 5 defeats in 6 will have questions started to be asked. The January window will show if PIF actually have the same faith as most of us

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I don’t see what’s wrong about being a Longstaff upgrade, it’s exactly what we needed

[The Prophet]

It felt like the summer was just as much about squad planning to navigate the long season, as well as improving the first team.

 

As it's played out we've had a long term ban, a freak injury and a player who isn't perhaps as ready as we though, so we've only felt the benefit of Livramento.

 

 

Edited December 26, 2023 by The Prophet

[WideopenMag]

1 minute ago, madras said:

Do you think Barnes and Gordon were meant to battle for the one position ? Was Tonali merely meant to be a Longstaff upgrade ?

This. They'd have been starting and if all fit no one would have been questioning Howe on these signings. Easy to slate him after injuries.

[WideopenMag]

Just now, AyeDubbleYoo said:

I don’t see what’s wrong about being a Longstaff upgrade, it’s exactly what we needed

Insulting to a player of Tonalis quality tbh. Did you watch lonstaff today?

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Just now, WideopenMag said:

Insulting to a player of Tonalis quality tbh. Did you watch lonstaff today?

But the word upgrade means he’s better?