Andy Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 6 minutes ago, Yorkie said: Just looking back at the thread from after the 32nd game in 2022/23. We were similarly confident then but inevitably it took another five games to secure it. Given the additional place it probably won't be like that this time but I'm not gonna count my chickens just yet. We need to see how we respond to a result we'd have expected to have done better in. Very confident obviously, but want Howe back asap so he can navigate that moment when it inevitably comes. Aye, it looks good at the moment but it can soon swing the other way with a couple of negative results or key injuries. We are capable of losing form. The benefit for us compared to 22/23 is that we've been in this position before and done it, with largely the same set of players. The other advantage we have is the traffic between us and 6th. I'd say we're favourites, but with a cautionary asterix to say that there's still a lot of work to be done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 btw with this new CL format, I think 90+ point seasons will be harder for even the cartel clubs until they can all get tremendous strength in-depth. The PL is too tough. The semi-perm 16 teams, are all pretty good. They can't give Darron Gibson's 15 pl games a season anymore Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 We’ve still got Villa (a) Chelsea and Arsenal (a) to come. I’m not assuming anything until 5th is mathematically certain. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
t00nt00n313 Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 2 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said: We’ve still got Villa (a) Chelsea and Arsenal (a) to come. I’m not assuming anything until 5th is mathematically certain. Would count Brighton away as another very difficult game, and tbh everton at home wont necessarily be a breeze either. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 4 minutes ago, t00nt00n313 said: Would count Brighton away as another very difficult game, and tbh everton at home wont necessarily be a breeze either. 100% Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 13 hours ago, Kanj said: The mentality in this team is growing, it’s really exciting lads. Switch has clicked. Winning silverware is the final piece. Anyone involved in the final, including players who have been rubbished previously now think of themselves as winners. Keegan always said that first trophy would have made all the difference to his teams. You can see the belief in all the players now, they trust each other as well, which is massive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prophet Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 Win our home games and we should be alright. Anything away from home is a bonus and takes the pressure off those matches. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
timeEd32 Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 It's not just that we won a trophy either. We thoroughly outplayed the top two teams in the country over three games to do it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 3 minutes ago, timeEd32 said: It's not just that we won a trophy either. We thoroughly outplayed the top two teams in the country over three games to do it. Yeah there wasn't much luck involved. We schooled them both. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STM Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 (edited) On our day we can match any team in the country, we've beaten Arsenal 3 times which is a fair basis to judge any side on. We've had consistency issues, which related firstly to finding the midfield balance and secondly our inability to rotate players when they needed a rest after a long spell in the side. The first part is already fixed, we know our best midfield and the chemistry is perfect. The second part requires two things, firstly a squad of sufficient depth to rotate players in and out. For example, we can't mount a title challenge when in order to give Bruno a rest we bring Longstaff on in his place. Secondly, Eddie has to bite the bullet at times and show he's willing to rest the odd player who is in a performing side before they get jaded. This isnt a criticism of Howe, it's just something new he's going to have to think about. If next season, we can come off a win and have the bravery to, let's say rest Gordon and bring Barnes in, rest Botman and bring Burn in or even rest a fundamental player like Isak/Tonali, only then will we have the capacity to mount a serious threat. Our first team players are going to have to quickly realise that they are going to have to sit on the bench and be rested from time to time. This will prevent injuries and allow us to keep our levels up. .... Anyway, I'd be shocked if we didn't get CL from this point. It would also be nice to get 3rd or 4th too. Edited April 17 by STM Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanj Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 (edited) I am making no assumptions or saying anything is a certain done deal until mathematically it is. I just truly have more confidence in this team now than I ever have. We have come away with max points or big results when its mattered the most this season more often than not, particularly in calendar yr 2025; so I am backing that form. I am truly gobsmacked by the well oiled machine of the coaching staff (JT + co) and the on-field leadership of Trippier, Burn, Bruno and the quiet leaders in Schar, Tonali, our beast Joelinton and our 3 attacking assassins in Isak, Barnes and Murphy front. You have Pope who is making key saves when needed and then Tino genuinely looks the best left back in the country right now. You could easily have given them a pass when Howe took ill, but instead 6 points, 9 goals scored and 1 conceded. Bring on Villa. Fucking bring on Villa. I can’t wait. Anything can happen, but that’s football. How great does it feel being a supporter of this football club at the moment? All the pain seems totally worth how it feels right now. Edited April 17 by Kanj Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fountain Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 5pts clear with 6 games remaining and people are still pissing themselves. As I'm 55 years old I can understand the worry, however this management and team are different. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STM Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 I've never trusted a team as much in my life. Even if we slip up against Villa, we will smash Ipswich. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cf Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 4 hours ago, Decky said: Imagine we were the runners up in the league this year. Been a great season this, and that's even with our huge dip in form earlier. Imagine we finish 2nd and all those posts in the Eddie Howe thread existing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 14 minutes ago, The Fountain said: 5pts clear with 6 games remaining and people are still pissing themselves. As I'm 55 years old I can understand the worry, however this management and team are different. I’m not pissing myself, no wet blankets here. I just don’t celebrate before we’ve crossed the finish line, and one of the best things about football is its unpredictability. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 6 minutes ago, Cf said: Imagine we finish 2nd and all those posts in the Eddie Howe thread existing. Yep. Especially the ones which pointed out that the team was far more capable than what it was showing during that period. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_n_white Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 Even if we finish 6th it would have been a fantastic season, arguably the best ever. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 40 minutes ago, The Fountain said: 5pts clear with 6 games remaining and people are still pissing themselves. As I'm 55 years old I can understand the worry, however this management and team are different. I don't think people are pissing themselves, it's reasonable to be cautious about getting overly carried away when half of our remaining games are against the current top 7. We're in the box seat, but it's by no means a foregone conclusion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1988 Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 Psychology is massive though. Yes over half of our remaining games are against the current top 7 but if you look at each match as a one off event, who in the top 7 looks at us at the moment and thinks a) I'm happy we're playing this lot or b) we'll have these - I doubt any of them do. Yes we're NUFC and yes we like to fuck things up but the way we're playing at the moment I think that we'll have an edge before the games even start. I can't wait for Arsenal away - our hardest game remaining? Probably. Another chance to rattle lego head and see Bruno shithouse all of them soft cunts? Absolutely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffee_Johnny Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 Thought we’d finish third back in pre-season, doubted it for a while, think it again now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffee_Johnny Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 15 minutes ago, tom1988 said: Psychology is massive though. Yes over half of our remaining games are against the current top 7 but if you look at each match as a one off event, who in the top 7 looks at us at the moment and thinks a) I'm happy we're playing this lot or b) we'll have these - I doubt any of them do. Yes we're NUFC and yes we like to fuck things up but the way we're playing at the moment I think that we'll have an edge before the games even start. I can't wait for Arsenal away - our hardest game remaining? Probably. Another chance to rattle lego head and see Bruno shithouse all of them soft cunts? Absolutely. We’re 5 goals to zero, three wins against them this season. Shall we beat the ‘European Champions’ (sic) four times? Oh! go on then. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 1 hour ago, STM said: On our day we can match any team in the country, we've beaten Arsenal 3 times which is a fair basis to judge any side on. We've had consistency issues, which related firstly to finding the midfield balance and secondly our inability to rotate players when they needed a rest after a long spell in the side. The first part is already fixed, we know our best midfield and the chemistry is perfect. The second part requires two things, firstly a squad of sufficient depth to rotate players in and out. For example, we can't mount a title challenge when in order to give Bruno a rest we bring Longstaff on in his place. Secondly, Eddie has to bite the bullet at times and show he's willing to rest the odd player who is in a performing side before they get jaded. This isnt a criticism of Howe, it's just something new he's going to have to think about. If next season, we can come off a win and have the bravery to, let's say rest Gordon and bring Barnes in, rest Botman and bring Burn in or even rest a fundamental player like Isak/Tonali, only then will we have the capacity to mount a serious threat. Our first team players are going to have to quickly realise that they are going to have to sit on the bench and be rested from time to time. This will prevent injuries and allow us to keep our levels up. .... Anyway, I'd be shocked if we didn't get CL from this point. It would also be nice to get 3rd or 4th too. Give him another £170m to sign 4 players. GK, CB, CM, attacker. He rotates players he trusts. He didn’t trust Tino or Hall back then. But he did rotate with Wilson and Barnes as he trusted them. My only issue with Howe is that he might not play young talents like Tino or Hall from the start (Osula isn’t that level). He was too quick to get Tino back on the bench and he essentially perma benched Hall after a few poor showings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prophet Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 The last thing we need to crack is our away record against the better sides. I have no doubt it'll come with time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiLvOR Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 1 minute ago, The Prophet said: The last thing we need to crack is our away record against the better sides. I have no doubt it'll come with time. Something else we need to get better at is those mid table sides like Fulham and Bournemouth (who have both had good seasons TBF). Brighton really are our bogey side as well, sick of losing to them. That's the one game in this run we've got where I can't see past a defeat Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPERTOON Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 Probably asked and answered, but if Arsenal win the champions league does that mean an extra spot in the league ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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