AFC Bournemouth 1-1 Newcastle United (25/08/24)

[Armchair Pundit]

1 hour ago, Matt1892 said:

I agree with him.

 

I remember in the build up to Keegan walking out under Ashley that there was a similar feeling to how things are now.

 

 

Gods, let's hope it's nothing that drastic happening at the club behind the scenes... there does seem to an air of uncertainty floating around though, that momentum from the club being bought from Ashley and the whole 'We are United' thing seems to have fizzled out at last recently, along with the departure of Mehrdad and Amanda.

 

Edit: We ARE only two games in to the new season though and the transfer bollocks can't be helping.

 

 

Edited August 26 by Armchair Pundit

[Turnbull2000]

1 hour ago, SUPERTOON said:

 

 

Don't think it's particularly happy camp right now. Losing Staveley and Ghodoussi seems to have been a bit of a blow to Howe and has left a hole in the club, we don't seem particularly organised on the FFP and transfer front, and a couple of key players don't seem in the right state of mind - either itching for a move or suffering personal turmoil. Isak must be getting sick of having average at best players such as Longstaff and Murphy behind him. And then you realise City, Arse and Pool look nailed on for 1st, 2nd and 3rd - leaving a strong looking Villa, Spurs, Chelsea, Brighton and still possibly Man Utd knocking us down the pecking order once again.

 

 

Edited August 26 by Turnbull2000

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I really need to stop coming on here

[Ronaldo]

8 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

I really need to stop coming on here

To be fair Shearer’s words are as bad as anything on here. I understand people expressing that something feels a bit off. It doesn’t help that a vacuum seems to have opened up again between ownership and management.

[Beren]

The Champions League qualification season indicated we were somewhere between the dominance of the "big 3" and the increasingly competitive middle of the pack.

 

Last year indicated, NUFC were closer to the latter than the former - with the disclaimer that prolonged periods of crippling injuries had something to do with this. There's a few absences to start this season, but nothing to convince me that Newcastle are closer to Liverpool than Bournemouth.

 

A generous appraisal would point to four points from six being a decent start, but results ultimately follow performances so I think it's a bit deceptive (albeit with a few minor extenuating circumstances). Bournemouth should have been out of sight yesterday but for some casual finishing.

 

Recruitment and coaching needs to focus on controlling games IMO, rather than improving as a shootout team in basketball-style contests, which feels like low-probability stuff over the course of 38 games when you have some great midtable counterattacking teams. Someone pointed to Newcastle scoring a buttload of goals last year, but I think that overstates our attacking prowess if that's achieved through being as open as we were defensively. Desperately hoping there is an intention from Howe to shift the team dynamic, and Tonali is instrumental in effecting this. We're due a bit of an evolution in style of play.

 

I'd persist with Hall while he learns to defend. Play Big Jo, Tonali and Bruno in the middle, with Barnes and Gordon wide - as our main starters.  Barnes deserves a run of games now he's healthy.

 

Hope we can get a new keeper, CB, and RW when financial constraints permit.

[huss9]

2 hours ago, SUPERTOON said:

 

i know he's paid to be a pundit, but thats unneccessary and unhelp to the club he "loves".

[Erikse]

9 minutes ago, huss9 said:

i know he's paid to be a pundit, but thats unneccessary and unhelp to the club he "loves".

 

In that case I feel sorry for Man Utd fans constanly having to listen to Keane and Neville allways being critical about Man Utd. This is nothing compared to that. PS: I will never actually feel sorry for Man Utd fans.

 

 

Edited August 26 by Erikse

[LFEE]

25 minutes ago, huss9 said:

i know he's paid to be a pundit, but thats unneccessary and unhelp to the club he "loves".

Exactly. We get a winner (which we could’ve easily) and the narrative is completely different. 
 

Sunday’s performance wasn’t any different to last season’s down there or the season before. I’d actually argue it was the best of the three possibly.

 

Good end to the window and the narrative will change quickly enough.

[Gawalls]

1 hour ago, Ronaldo said:

To be fair Shearer’s words are as bad as anything on here. I understand people expressing that something feels a bit off. It doesn’t help that a vacuum seems to have opened up again between ownership and management.

They really aren’t like “I get the feeling somethings not quite right at the club at the moment” isn’t on par with the worst things that’s been said on here.

[Pancrate1892]

1 hour ago, Beren said:

The Champions League qualification season indicated we were somewhere between the dominance of the "big 3" and the increasingly competitive middle of the pack.

 

Last year indicated, NUFC were closer to the latter than the former - with the disclaimer that prolonged periods of crippling injuries had something to do with this. There's a few absences to start this season, but nothing to convince me that Newcastle are closer to Liverpool than Bournemouth.

 

A generous appraisal would point to four points from six being a decent start, but results ultimately follow performances so I think it's a bit deceptive (albeit with a few minor extenuating circumstances). Bournemouth should have been out of sight yesterday but for some casual finishing.

 

Recruitment and coaching needs to focus on controlling games IMO, rather than improving as a shootout team in basketball-style contests, which feels like low-probability stuff over the course of 38 games when you have some great midtable counterattacking teams. Someone pointed to Newcastle scoring a buttload of goals last year, but I think that overstates our attacking prowess if that's achieved through being as open as we were defensively. Desperately hoping there is an intention from Howe to shift the team dynamic, and Tonali is instrumental in effecting this. We're due a bit of an evolution in style of play.

 

I'd persist with Hall while he learns to defend. Play Big Jo, Tonali and Bruno in the middle, with Barnes and Gordon wide - as our main starters.  Barnes deserves a run of games now he's healthy.

 

Hope we can get a new keeper, CB, and RW when financial constraints permit.

I also think Barnes compliments the front 3 better. That 4-4-2 didn't work l, if it was meant to be that 

[Holloway]

2 hours ago, Turnbull2000 said:

 

Don't think it's particularly happy camp right now. Losing Staveley and Ghodoussi seems to have been a bit of a blow to Howe and has left a hole in the club, we don't seem particularly organised on the FFP and transfer front, and a couple of key players don't seem in the right state of mind - either itching for a move or suffering personal turmoil. Isak must be getting sick of having average at best players such as Longstaff and Murphy behind him. And then you realise City, Arse and Pool look nailed on for 1st, 2nd and 3rd - leaving a strong looking Villa, Spurs, Chelsea, Brighton and still possibly Man Utd knocking us down the pecking order once again.

 

 

 

[HaydnNUFC]

1 hour ago, HaydnNUFC said:

 

There's still time for that to change as the window isn't shut yet. I'm glad the footy's back but I don't feel excited about this season at this current moment in time.

 

I could write/vent a very long post on how I feel about our prospects this season but I'll just probably be airing shite judgements clouded by transfer inactivity.

 

Going to write that vent. @Kanji  This is just my own personal view, not claiming these are the thoughts of others and if others think I'm talking utter garbage feel free to call it as such and we can debate it. May even cheer me up a bit.  But I can’t shake this feeling at this current moment in time. Sign someone and I’ll probably change, such is the fickle nature of football fandom. It’s negative unfortunately though I do think that many of my feelings are based on decent(ish) foundations. Here we go, HTT-esque.

 

 

I don’t think that this current window or the 2 previous to it have been very good. I think we’ve lacked boldness for want of a better word; summer 2023 we tried to reinforce what worked in 2022/23 rather than look to augment what we had and give us something different to allow us to play and win matches in different ways. Whether that was an attacker to allow us to play between the lines, a more designated defensive midfielder to give us more control especially away from home and allow Bruno further up the pitch more often etc - numerous options that we chose not to go for. 

 

In January we were stretched for injuries admittedly, though we didn’t sell Trippier for a fee that we just won’t get the chance to take again for a soon-to-be 34 year old. We also chose not to sign a goalkeeper despite the clear hindrance Dubravka was to our defensive play last season. Almiron this season as well, we'd do incredibly well to get north of £10m for him.

 

This summer window still has time before the deadline, but we had the PSR issues sorted at the end of June. We are now at the end of August and still have not made a signing that improves the first XI. All the while the teams expected to be around us: Chelsea, Spurs, West Ham, Villa, Brighton have all improved their XIs from last season and look better for it. If we don’t sign anyone else this window has been a failure; no first XI additions/upgrades for 2 windows would be pure stagnation. Sign a CB, fine. Sign a RW, good. Sign both, fantastic. It doesn’t look like the latter will happen despite how imperative it looked once the FT whistle went at Brentford in May. In addition, regarding Marc Guehi, £65m+ is totally over paying imo and when we’ve been notoriously hamstrung by PSR recently I’ve been puzzled as to why there has been no reliable rumours of us chasing players overseas outside of Thiaw and the total non starter of Tapsoba. European markets have more value for money and don’t have their chairmen hopping onto TalkSport to talk about how their players are superstars, so I don’t understand why there’d be a reluctance to explore that market. Tosin signed for Chelsea on 1 July so we’d have had since then to look elsewhere if CB is where we’ll spend our money this window and we still don’t have one 4 and a half days before the deadline. And the RW issue has been talked about many times before; that Murphy and Almiron are still our only options there in the 2024-25 season is genuinely vexing.

 

I don’t think it's unreasonable to say that these windows backfired last season and threatens to this as well. A big part of it was sheer bad luck last season with a number of injuries and in the case of Tonali. But we have largely an inability to change it up or find other ways to win matches and that leads to a vicious spiral, definitely in last season’s case: we run players into the ground and make injuries worse, which increasingly makes our style of play ineffective and it makes Howe look naive. That problem persists now, we look to play the same way and when that doesn’t work we look like we have no semblance of a tactical plan. That has remained in matches away from home for over 12 months. As has Barnes being unable to get starts ahead of Jacob Murphy when he has been fit since February/March.

 

On Howe himself, I love the bloke and has given me my best and favourite ever days following this club. But if I’m being brutally honest I’m a lot less confident now than I was 12 months ago that he’s going to be an elite manager that consistently has us in the top 6. I absolutely pray I’m wrong about that but the way we played yesterday, continuing our largely crap away performances from last season into this and the general lack of excitement about the season gave me an ominous feeling personally. 

 

All of that has blended into how I feel at this current moment in time: I feel like we’re stagnating. I also think it’s been understated just how important of a season this is for the club: this season will dictate where the project under PIF/Howe is going. If we don’t achieve European football I think then we’ll see the likes of Isak, Gordon and Bruno wanting to move on. They’re far better than a club that isn’t in Europe. And in Isak’s case particularly, he is quite literally irreplaceable. If come this season’s end we fail to achieve Europe or we’re at a point where we look adrift from it, as sacrilegious as it feels to type out, I think I’ll want a change of manager. And I think the club will too. I’m praying that it doesn’t come to that.

 

TLDR; I feel deflated. Sign a player or players and I likely won’t be.

[Groundhog63]

4 hours ago, Coffee_Johnny said:

For what it is worth @Groundhog63 I was shocked nothing was given/looked at. In real time looked like upper arm to chest with no attempt to play the ball, which was live/would have been reached. 

He just barged straight into him. I can totally understand the view that Sean seems to have developed a knack for keeling over, unnecessarily, like a poor man's Bruno BUT that defender had no chance of getting the ball. 

Anywhere else on the pitch that's a foul. 

 

Imho ffs 🙄😉😂

 

 

[Rod]

5 hours ago, huss9 said:

i know he's paid to be a pundit, but thats unneccessary and unhelp to the club he "loves".

Couldn't agree more.  Getting pig sick of Shearer if I'm honest.

[Ikon]

Just made HTT look fingerless. 

[Holmesy]

Just watched the highlights of this having missed the game. Looks like they battered us? 
We don’t look like a well oiled machine at the moment.

[Rod]

Just now, Holmesy said:

Just watched the highlights of this having missed the game. Looks like they battered us? 
We don’t look like a well oiled machine at the moment.

Battered us?

[Ghandis Flip-Flop]

8 hours ago, Groundhog63 said:

Longstaff races into the box, pushes the ball into space. Defender shoulder charges him because he's got zero chance of getting the ball. 

Anywhere else on the pitch it's a foul. 

 

Just me? 😂

Nah I felt they were getting away with that all game. Was quite of a lot of obvious barges as the ball was being played too. Seemed as if the ref was ball watching and missing what was happening. Happened to Bruno quite a few times resulting in the pass being a touch wayward. I think they were cute enough to make it not look like an obvious off the ball hit. Obviously just in my opinion like

[Lush Vlad]

5 minutes ago, Holmesy said:

Just watched the highlights of this having missed the game. Looks like they battered us? 
We don’t look like a well oiled machine at the moment.

They were the better side between 20 and 65-70 mins, I thought. Despite us getting lucky not to concede another when playing badly and of course the last minute ‘handball’ goal. We were the better team and looked like we might nick it the last 20 minutes or so. 
 

I thought a point was fair. 

 

 

Edited August 26 by Lush Vlad

[Lush Vlad]

1 minute ago, Ghandis Flip-Flop said:

Nah I felt they were getting away with that all game. Was quite of a lot of obvious barges as the ball was being played too. Seemed as if the ref was ball watching and missing what was happening. Happened to Bruno quite a few times resulting in the pass being a touch wayward. I think they were cute enough to make it not look like an obvious off the ball hit. Obviously just in my opinion like

Was saying in the pub. They were getting a couple of freebies when pressing. Just go flying in, deliberately play the man, usually from behind and no attempt to play the ball. 
 

Like someone was saying in the football pet hates thread. Seems like you can commit cynical as fuck fouls 2, 3, maybe even 4 times a game. So long as it’s in the middle of the pitch and isn’t too blatant in stopping a counter. 

[Ghandis Flip-Flop]

12 minutes ago, Rod said:

Couldn't agree more.  Getting pig sick of Shearer if I'm honest.

I think he is trying extra hard to appear not partisan in our favour. His comments about Schar last week and both incidents from yesterday, seem a bit compensatory to me. I mean I get the fact there’s elements of interpretation to all of these, but he states he's certain that Schar was the instigator and that it hits the shoulder despite all of the video evidence to the contrary.

 

 

Edited August 26 by Ghandis Flip-Flop
Bloody iPad autocorrect

[Holloway]

it was a scrappy, fairly even forgettable game

[midds]

It's not perfect but it does kind of tell the story of the game. We started and finished the game well and the subs had an immediate impact 

[Holmesy]

49 minutes ago, Rod said:

Battered us?

From the highlights I watched, it looked like they were all over us, yeah. I didn’t watch the game so I can’t judge, hence the question mark at the end of ‘battered us’

[huss9]

we missed some decent chances.