Eddie and Mad Dog's still shite but slightly better, it was only Brentford FFS, Geordie Boys v Sandro Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Sandro Use To Room On The Second Floor, Meelan

[NJS 4568]

I think the main lesson from last year was we had a decent team but were a couple of injuries from Fraser and Manquillo. 

 

That's not the case now and I see the summer signings as overall strengthening but I'd still play both Joes when we can. 

[OTF 8420]

I only watched the extended highlights but geez did we look nervous and all over the place defensively. From the highlights 0-0 looks a great result from us, would have been incredible if Longstaff could have nicked it with that shot on target in added time. Is that summary fair?

[aimaad22 4691]

2 years on from dead on relegation, scrapping points at Milan with a couple of key players out. These are good times lads!  

 

Adding some context for the Twitter twats. 

[Dr Gloom 23649]

1 minute ago, OTF said:

I only watched the extended highlights but geez did we look nervous and all over the place defensively. From the highlights 0-0 looks a great result from us, would have been incredible if Longstaff could have nicked it with that shot on target in added time. Is that summary fair?

they had all the chances but we actually had long periods of controlled possesion so it didn’t feel like we were under loads of sustained pressure. Only the last 10 minutes and some brief spells in the first half were really uncomfortable viewing.

 

We ground out the point mainly because Milan couldn’t finish and we were poor with our final ball, but I can see how it would have looked worse than it was from the highlights 

[Christmas Tree 5106]

Cracking result, but last years team would have won that. I’m not sure what’s wrong with us lately but we are a shadow of the team that destroyed Spurs in 20 minutes. Hopefully Howe can get to the bottom of it soon.

 

[trophyshy 7333]

This is the result to kickstart our season. Bookmark this shiz. 

[Monkeys Fist 45163]

5 minutes ago, trophyshy said:

This is the result to kickstart our season. Bookmark this shiz. 

[Isegrim 10365]

49 minutes ago, thebrokendoll said:

 

nah.

nowt a matter without pointing out we've looked poor, particularly going forward in all but one game this season.

I hope howe sorts it out, I'm sure he will. doesn't alter the present reality though.

There is a difference as huge as CTs inflated egghead between pointing out obvious short comings and stating that we need a change of the manager.

 

Seriously, give your head a big shake if you think that a few unconvincing and poor performances warrant to jump to conclusions neglecting the progress of the last 24 months.

[Isegrim 10365]

Nevermind looking unconvincing but ww are only ten very poor minutes against Liverpool away fron being 7th in the table and drawing away against one of the biggest teams in Europe .

[Dr Gloom 23649]

16 minutes ago, Christmas Tree said:

Cracking result, but last years team would have won that. I’m not sure what’s wrong with us lately but we are a shadow of the team that destroyed Spurs in 20 minutes. Hopefully Howe can get to the bottom of it soon.

 

difficult second album syndrome for Howe. He galvanised these players once. He can do it again 

[aimaad22 4691]

Also, its completely natural for even top sides' form to drop off, happens to the best. Constantly adapting and refreshing is something the best teams learn to do over time. 

[Isegrim 10365]

We fucking lost against Man City, Liverpool  and überconfident Brighton away. We drew against AC Mackemsneverbeenseen. We also spanked Aston Villa.

 

Those are not games and performances that should alter the perspective tbh

[Gemmill 50011]

7 hours ago, PaddockLad said:

@Gemmill hiya Gemma special gift for you from Milan 😘

 

 

 

 this will complete my stamp collection, thank you. 

 

[Gemmill 50011]

 

 

[ewerk 33232]

10 hours ago, Chaser said:

Look at Ten Hag. Comes in, spends a small fortune and they still don't look any better than what they were under OGS. No one is calling for his head because they want the board out. 

 

Eddie came in when we were rock bottom and turned this club from Championship contenders to Champions league in less than 18 months. Thats an absolutely unfuckingreal turnaround. 

 

He's become the victim of his own success now as a result as it's now the 2nd sticky patch in all of that time. I remember only too well how there was too much criticism of Bobby before we pedalled him and after that the whole gig went to ratshit. Eddie has shown that he knows how to play superb high intensity football. He just needs to work out why we aren't doing it right at this moment. 

 

Has anyone criticised Howe?

[Dr Gloom 23649]

11 hours ago, MMXXVIII said:

I think we looked like bairns staring ate2 Cliff Richard with his cock out. Our form leading up to this reminded me of our form leading up to the League Cup Final. We didn't deliver then either.

 

I'm not a knee jerker but I do think Howe can't take it past the threshold he wants to. He's too nice and it's a shame cos I like him.

 

@ewerk aye 

[Kevin Carr's Gloves 4269]

It was a great result but we didn’t play our best. We seem to have lost our intensity in the press. This is magnifying our turn over rate. Last season when we gave the ball away our press worked so well we won it back very quickly. This season we have lost that completely.

[RobinRobin 12500]

12 hours ago, ewerk said:

Gordon will give 100% effort but I’m not sure he’s got the footballing intelligence for the top level.

 

10 hours ago, Dr Gloom said:

I think ASM would have been well up for that tonight. I understand why we flogged him but he would have been a good option off the bench tonight with 20-30 to go.

 

LTA has joined the conversation 

[spongebob toonpants 4366]

Willock Longstaff Almiron and Joelinton were the main reasons for the energy of the press last year. We've lost a load of gametime from them and the experience of the press that goes with it

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by spongebob toonpants

[Gemmill 50011]

Just by way of context...

 

17 April, 2022, we beat Leicester 2-1 at SJP which took us to 37 points, which would turn out to be enough to avoid relegation that season.

 

19 September, 2023, we leave the San Siro with a point in our first Champions League match for 20+ years.

 

Less than 18 months. That is fucking ludicrous. It's a Ted Lasso plotline.

 

Aye, our press doesn't seem anywhere near as intense as it did last season, and we seem to have lost something going forward, but that's maybe 100 steps forward, 7 steps back in terms of our progress.

 

It's not gonna be linear, we were that good last season, so we should be this good this season.

 

We need to chill out and actually enjoy what's going on a bit. It's absolute madness where we've got to so quickly.

[Dr Gloom 23649]

26 minutes ago, Kevin Carr's Gloves said:

It was a great result but we didn’t play our best. We seem to have lost our intensity in the press. This is magnifying our turn over rate. Last season when we gave the ball away our press worked so well we won it back very quickly. This season we have lost that completely.

It’s the lack of balance in the midfield. Bruno worked in the 6 role last season with longstaff, Willock and Joelinton helping him out. But it hasn’t clicked so far. 
 

hindsight is a wonderful thing but I can’t help but wonder if we should have signed Diaby and Alvarez instead of Livramento and Barnes. They cost about the same and would have better addressed the issues we have in the squad now.

 

I love Jacob Murphy and was buzzing for him last night. But should he be starting that game? We had £80m worth of full backs on the bench who can’t get a look in. 

[Dr Gloom 23649]

10 minutes ago, Gemmill said:

Just by way of context...

 

17 April, 2022, we beat Leicester 2-1 at SJP which took us to 37 points, which would turn out to be enough to avoid relegation that season.

 

19 September, 2023, we leave the San Siro with a point in our first Champions League match for 20+ years.

 

Less than 18 months. That is fucking ludicrous. It's a Ted Lasso plotline.

 

Aye, our press doesn't seem anywhere near as intense as it did last season, and we seem to have lost something going forward, but that's maybe 100 steps forward, 7 steps back in terms of our progress.

 

It's not gonna be linear, we were that good last season, so we should be this good this season.

 

We need to chill out and actually enjoy what's going on a bit. It's absolute madness where we've got to so quickly.

Spot on. anyone calling for Howe’s head after how far he’s taken us in less than 18 months need to give their head a wobble. 
 

I thought we played reasonably well in patches last night. We just missed the cutting edge in the final third and Milan had loads of chances but they mostly came in a 5-10 minute spell in the first half and the final ten minutes when we were hanging on a bit.
 

I was welling up watching them line up as they played the champions league music last night. It’s surreal that we’re even in the position to be critical about an away performance at the San Siro. 
 

Having said all that, we definitely haven’t gelled yet this season. The press that worked so well last season has spluttered. But it’s also worth remembering we’re only 6 games into the new season and we’ve played three of the toughest teams in Europe!
 

It was always going to be a big test for Howe. This is all new for him. He’s a tracksuit manager and does all his work on the training pitch. Last season we had five days to prepare between games and he could play the same side week in week out. This season he gets one or two days with them between games  

[Kevin Carr's Gloves 4269]

6 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said:

It’s the lack of balance in the midfield. Bruno worked in the 6 role last season with longstaff, Willock and Joelinton helping him out. But it hasn’t clicked so far. 
 

hindsight is a wonderful thing but I can’t help but wonder if we should have signed Diaby and Alvarez instead of Livramento and Barnes. They cost about the same and would have better addressed the issues we have in the squad now.

 

I love Jacob Murphy and was buzzing for him last night. But should he be starting that game? We had £80m worth of full backs on the bench who can’t get a look in. 

They’ll get chances so I’m not worried about the fullbacks, as far as signings who’s to say they would come. Maybe we tried and they said no thanks. I agree I’m hopeful for the Joes to come back.

[The Fish 11323]

Seeing a lot of criticism of Gordon, or Isak, and Burn, but the issues are 100% the central midfield. Sort that out and everything else will fit into place nicely. Bruno's form is improving and yesterday he was closer to what we expect from him, calm under pressure, linking up with Longstaff, breaking their press with a pass or a move. Much better. However, him, Tonali and Longstaff just don't have the familiarity to play the way we di last season with Joe/Joe, Burno and Longstaff. Tonali is a different kind of player and that's taking a while to dovetail with the other profiles. I'm sure had Longstaff not been injured Tonali would have been eased into the side as is Howe's usual approach. 

 

The other issue is that teams are avoiding our high press by clipping the ball over it to the flanks. This is where we need a more front foot left back and a more cohesive central midfield. Last season, so many of our goals came from our wide men or striker putting pressure on their fullbacks and centre backs and forcing errors high up the field. So our creative play was beginning 25-30yds from their goal. We need a way to either lure them into playing to their fullbacks, or develop a creative pathway from deeper. Without a true blue number 6 I think we have to play Longstaff as his endeavour and understanding with Bruno makes Bruno + A.N. Other much much better. 

 

Our defence was solid last night, but our midfield and attack were misfiring. This is partly due to confidence, partly familiarity and partly due to injury disruptions. We'll be fine.

 

Anyone even suggesting that we should be considering peddling Howe is a fickle prick. We've pasted Villa, competed with Man City, were unlucky against Liverpool, got pasted by Brighton, put in a professional performance against Brentford and, most importantly, gone drew with Milan. In the club's first CL game in 20yrs. 5 players making their CL debut. Several players making their European debut. Without some key players available. Away from home. At a famous old club. To last season's semi finalists.

 

Yes they had 25 Shots but, of those, only 8 were on target, with an xG of 2.2 and a Post Shot xG of 1.2. In other words, they took a load of hit and hope shots, from not particularly optimal positions, and Pope didn't have to make any world class saves to keep us in it. Our best player was Trippier or Longstaff, their best player was Timori. By a mile. Leao was very ASM-like. Calabria didn't know what to do with Gordon and was hooked at half time because he 100% would have got another yellow if he wasn't. 

 

Once we get the midfield more confident, assured, and when we get players back from injury or out of poor form, we'll be a much better prospect. We'll do 'em in the return leg. 

[Renton 23706]

27 minutes ago, Gemmill said:

Just by way of context...

 

17 April, 2022, we beat Leicester 2-1 at SJP which took us to 37 points, which would turn out to be enough to avoid relegation that season.

 

19 September, 2023, we leave the San Siro with a point in our first Champions League match for 20+ years.

 

Less than 18 months. That is fucking ludicrous. It's a Ted Lasso plotline.

 

Aye, our press doesn't seem anywhere near as intense as it did last season, and we seem to have lost something going forward, but that's maybe 100 steps forward, 7 steps back in terms of our progress.

 

It's not gonna be linear, we were that good last season, so we should be this good this season.

 

We need to chill out and actually enjoy what's going on a bit. It's absolute madness where we've got to so quickly.

 

I'm wondering whether this intense press is always feasible going forward, with the number of games we have. It worked miracles last year, but I wonder if for the next step we need to make the next transmission to become a side that dominates and holds posession, and beats teams through shear skill and creativity rather than work rate. So we've gone from an ineffectual counter-attacking side, to a side that operates an intense press and punishes opposition into making mistakes, but now we need to evolve further in the model of the great teams of the recent past and present. A great manager can probably pick and mix these style depending on his opponents. I am 100% behind Howe to be this man. The issue is, to become a truly great team, you need world class players. FFP is going to make this very difficult.