Eddie Howe

[Cronky]

41 minutes ago, Cronky said:

 

This sort of post does worry me. I think the club has got as far as it can with its previous strategy, which left us with a strong first team but not much in reserve. We had our successes but it was difficult to sustain. The constant pressure of two games a week had its toll on the first team, and they were knackered mentally and physically by the final run-in.

 

I think the transfer policy will now be changing under Wilson to take more account of the long-term. There will be more of an emphasis on developing youth, building a squad and a more versatile way of playing. If you're expecting the team to be challenging straight away for the top five, then I think you and many others are going to be disappointed. I can then see Eddie getting the blame and unhelpful pressure being brought to bear. It'll be Sir Bobby over again, with the same long-term result.

 

Eddie has proven himself time and again with two different clubs that he is excellent as both a motivator and a tactician. Stop panicking and give the guy a break.

 

15 minutes ago, TRon said:

 

 

Yeah I could see it being a difficult transition to a more versatile way of playing given how all in Howe has been on his Plan A for the last few years. 

 

What would you consider a reasonable expectation for next season given we are moving away from ready made stars?

 

 

 

It would all depend on what players we bring in. I'd just be happy seeing some progress in the course of the season.

 

What we're trying to do is very difficult. Nobody has been able to break into this 'Big Six' elite group. The likes of ourselves and Villa have made the occasional dent in the Champions League places, mainly due to our excellent managers, but firmly establishing ourselves is tough because the Big Six have financial advantages which the regulations help them to sustain. It's likely to take a few successful seasons to achieve.

 

Villa's first team is as good as any on their day, but I'm not sure their squad will be up to the challenge of the tough extra fixtures. We'll see.

[STM]

If Howe doesnt win any of the first 6 games and we get knocked out of the league cup, we should definitely sack him.

[sanyi75]

12 minutes ago, Cronky said:

 

 

It would all depend on what players we bring in. I'd just be happy seeing some progress in the course of the season.

 

What we're trying to do is very difficult. Nobody has been able to break into this 'Big Six' elite group. The likes of ourselves and Villa have made the occasional dent in the Champions League places, mainly due to our excellent managers, but firmly establishing ourselves is tough because the Big Six have financial advantages which the regulations help them to sustain. It's likely to take a few successful seasons to achieve.

 

Villa's first team is as good as any on their day, but I'm not sure their squad will be up to the challenge of the tough extra fixtures. We'll see.

I think Aston Villa can stay in the top 6, now Emery can significantly strengthen the team as he pleases

[Mills and Boon]

6 minutes ago, STM said:

If Howe doesnt win any of the first 6 games and we get knocked out of the league cup, we should definitely sack him.

 

This post will fly right over the heads of the Howe Outers

 

[STM]

5 minutes ago, Mills and Boon said:

 

This post will fly right over the heads of the Howe Outers

 

 

It was tongue in cheek. Even i dont think Eddie can survive a bad start.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

9 minutes ago, sanyi75 said:

I think Aston Villa can stay in the top 6, now Emery can significantly strengthen the team as he pleases

Can he? Sounds like Rogers is on his way out. 

[Robster]

8 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

Can he? Sounds like Rogers is on his way out. 

Plus, Chelsea will inevitably improve.

[Turnbull2000]

People need to get over their expectations of top 5 mainstay. We may have hoped for that in the year after takeover, but we're throttled by the rules and the owners have no interest in challenging or breaking them. As it is, our sustainable revenue and commercial strength places us around 7th. If Eddie can get us 7th and Europa League next season I'll be very pleased.

[sanyi75]

18 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

Can he? Sounds like Rogers is on his way out. 

I think he knows that there will be plenty of money now, and knowing Emery's abilities, even if there are people leaving, he will still be able to make them stronger.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I think only Man Blue and Arsenal are a lock for the top group at the moment, it's pretty much up for grabs again. Although obviously certain clubs have an advantage due to their budgets, they have a recent record of underperforming them and the league is getting very competitive. 

 

 

Edited 7 hours ago by AyeDubbleYoo

[TRon]

7 minutes ago, Turnbull2000 said:

People need to get over their expectations of top 5 mainstay. We may have hoped for that in the year after takeover, but we're throttled by the rules and the owners have no interest in challenging or breaking them. As it is, our sustainable revenue and commercial strength places us around 7th. If Eddie can get us 7th and Europa League next season I'll be very pleased.

 

Top 5 was always performing above our station tbh. Top 7 is around where we should be. 

[sanyi75]

10 minutes ago, Turnbull2000 said:

People need to get over their expectations of top 5 mainstay. We may have hoped for that in the year after takeover, but we're throttled by the rules and the owners have no interest in challenging or breaking them. As it is, our sustainable revenue and commercial strength places us around 7th. If Eddie can get us 7th and Europa League next season I'll be very pleased.

I agree, the reality is around 7th-8th place, with the current squad at best. By some miracle, if we manage to sign a few excellent players, we could be in the top 6, but we need reinforcements in almost every position.

[sanyi75]

19 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

I think only Man Blue and Arsenal are a lock for the top group at the moment, it's pretty much up for grabs again. Although obviously certain clubs have an advantage due to their budgets, they have a recent record of underperforming them and the league is getting very competitive. 

 

 

 

If we take into account the value of the team's squad and the number of players, realistically there are about 5 teams ahead of us. Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, MU, and Mcity. Tottenham and Aston Villa are questionable, I expect Villa and Emery to strengthen, and Tottenham could even cause a surprise. So if we get 6-7 places, that would be a good result.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

1 minute ago, sanyi75 said:

If we take into account the value of the team's squad and the number of players, realistically there are about 5 teams ahead of us. Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, MU, and Mcity. Tottenham and Aston Villa are questionable, I expect Villa and Emery to strengthen, and Tottenham could even cause a surprise. So if we get 6-7 places, that would be a good result.

 

Yeah of course, I agree. But ahead of us doesn't necessarily mean any guarantees. They still have to make the right decisions and perform well. 

 

I just mean that there's not necessarily a guarantee of CL football for anyone but the very top 2-3 clubs. 

[sanyi75]

14 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

 

Yeah of course, I agree. But ahead of us doesn't necessarily mean any guarantees. They still have to make the right decisions and perform well. 

 

I just mean that there's not necessarily a guarantee of CL football for anyone but the very top 2-3 clubs. 

That's right, and if we find a good striker, a creative midfielder, and the defense works well, we might even have a CL place. Ramsey's game has improved a lot, Miley is very talented, but there are some question marks. For example, Elanga and Wissa. I expect much more from them.

[Cronky]

1 hour ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

The decision to sack SBR was the correct one. He'd lost certain players in the dressing room (the brat pack) and the team was starting to decline. We'd only won 2 out of our final 9 games in the 03/04 season and performance levels had dropped off massively. We then started the following season in similar form and won 0 of our first 4 and he was gone. This is what can't happen next season.

 

The problem was who they brought in to replace him. They went for someone who would rule with an iron fist to get the aforementioned brat pack under control, ignoring the fact that he was a very poor coach and we were entering into an era in which you couldn't control the dressing room in that way unless you were Alex Ferguson.

 

I probably shouldn't have raised the subject of Sir Bob, because analogies are never exact and the debate then often diverts on to the analogy rather than the current issue.

 

I've dug up one of my old posts, when there was a debate about what went wrong at the time. I think the issue of Shearer's retirement was badly bungled. There was a rift between Sir Bob and Shearer and Shepherd backed the wrong horse. Shearer's legs were going and we needed to plan for a successor.

 

I'm optimistic that our current regime are far more professional than Shepherd and will back their man through the tricky period that probably lies ahead. Here's my old post - 

 

The problem with Shearer was that he'd made it clear that if he wasn't going to be a first-team regular, he'd rather move on. Sir Bob knew, after the season we finished 3rd, that it was time to blood Shearer's successor. You don't wait until you have a problem - you read the early warning signs and act accordingly.

 

The crucial point came in that meeting between Shepherd and Sir Bob at the start of the season, which is detailed in Sir Bob's autobio. Liverpool had got wind of the rift, and put in a bid for Shearer. Shepherd rejected it, and didn't tell his manager. Sir Bob found out, and met up with Shepherd, saying that if Shearer was sold, he'd be able to buy his replacement - Mpenza was the one he had in mind. Shepherd rejected the idea, because he said the supporters wouldn't stand for losing Shearer, though I suspect as well he was nurturing the dream that Shearer would take over from Sir Bob seamlessly in time. With hindsight, it's doubtful whether Shearer ever seriously had that in mind, though he was clever enough to keep the idea going, and use it to exercise some influence behind the scenes.

 

So we ended up with a captain and main striker in decline, a team in decline, and a manager who'd been undermined. Sir Bob has no support from the Board, his captain and the fans, and pays the price a year later. However, we find it very difficult to recruit a new manager because the candidates see what's happened to Sir Bob, and don't fancy being in the hotseat whilst the Chairman and supporters' blue-eyed boy is hovering in the background. We end up with Souness.

 

That was the big opportunity wasted, because Sir Bob could have handed a great legacy on to his successor.

 

 

[Cronky]

Further to the above post, it looks like Liverpool mishandled Salah's retirement in the same way. When he got dropped, he complained publicly, just like Shearer did. That should have been curtains for both players. Instead, because they were the local heroes, they were treated with kid gloves, to the cost of the team and the club as a whole.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I don't think Salah is retiring is he? 

[Ben]

5 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

I don't think Salah is retiring is he? 

 

Must mean from being a Scouse Cunt, I'm sure another team will make him their Cunt soon enough 

[TRon]

30 minutes ago, Cronky said:

 

I probably shouldn't have raised the subject of Sir Bob, because analogies are never exact and the debate then often diverts on to the analogy rather than the current issue.

 

I've dug up one of my old posts, when there was a debate about what went wrong at the time. I think the issue of Shearer's retirement was badly bungled. There was a rift between Sir Bob and Shearer and Shepherd backed the wrong horse. Shearer's legs were going and we needed to plan for a successor.

 

I'm optimistic that our current regime are far more professional than Shepherd and will back their man through the tricky period that probably lies ahead. Here's my old post - 

 

The problem with Shearer was that he'd made it clear that if he wasn't going to be a first-team regular, he'd rather move on. Sir Bob knew, after the season we finished 3rd, that it was time to blood Shearer's successor. You don't wait until you have a problem - you read the early warning signs and act accordingly.

 

The crucial point came in that meeting between Shepherd and Sir Bob at the start of the season, which is detailed in Sir Bob's autobio. Liverpool had got wind of the rift, and put in a bid for Shearer. Shepherd rejected it, and didn't tell his manager. Sir Bob found out, and met up with Shepherd, saying that if Shearer was sold, he'd be able to buy his replacement - Mpenza was the one he had in mind. Shepherd rejected the idea, because he said the supporters wouldn't stand for losing Shearer, though I suspect as well he was nurturing the dream that Shearer would take over from Sir Bob seamlessly in time. With hindsight, it's doubtful whether Shearer ever seriously had that in mind, though he was clever enough to keep the idea going, and use it to exercise some influence behind the scenes.

 

So we ended up with a captain and main striker in decline, a team in decline, and a manager who'd been undermined. Sir Bob has no support from the Board, his captain and the fans, and pays the price a year later. However, we find it very difficult to recruit a new manager because the candidates see what's happened to Sir Bob, and don't fancy being in the hotseat whilst the Chairman and supporters' blue-eyed boy is hovering in the background. We end up with Souness.

 

That was the big opportunity wasted, because Sir Bob could have handed a great legacy on to his successor.

 

 

 

 

I do agree with you there. SBR was supposedly losing his marbles, but I agreed with him at the time re Shearer. I always thought Shepherd was a huge fuckwit who should have spent less time in the boardroom, and more time hiring prostitutes in Spain. 

[The College Dropout]

Maintain the Barca result had massive echoing impact. 

[The College Dropout]

Shepherd was never going to hire better than SBR. And he didn’t. 

[Wallsendmag]

1 hour ago, sanyi75 said:

I agree, the reality is around 7th-8th place, with the current squad at best. By some miracle, if we manage to sign a few excellent players, we could be in the top 6, but we need reinforcements in almost every position.

 

Bournemouth just finished 6th. Sunderland were 7th, Brighton 8th and Brentford 9th. It should absolutely not take a miracle to finish above that lot.

[black_n_white]

1 hour ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

Bournemouth just finished 6th. Sunderland were 7th, Brighton 8th and Brentford 9th. It should absolutely not take a miracle to finish above that lot.

We should be aiming for 6th next season.

[Mills and Boon]

We should be aiming to win the league with a record points total, but expecting something more reasonable