#Eddie out

[Gemmill 45252]

 

I assume this is the website it's come from (transfermarkt).

 

Squad wise we are over £200m and £300m behind the clubs referenced. Which at current rate, and factoring in player trading ins and outs, is probably knocking on 3 to 5 years for us to catch up. 

 

And that assumes those clubs just chill out and stand still while we do it. Which they obviously won't. 

[PaddockLad 17356]

1 hour ago, Kid Dynamite said:

Maresca, Amorim (early days granted), Ineola, Frank, Slot etc. have all improved the teams they've gone into. 
 

There are options out there if we look beyond the usual suspects 

 

52 minutes ago, Gemmill said:

Aye the new Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United managers have all improved their incredibly expensively assembled squads, backed by decades of investment in their academies, and incredibly successful recent histories. 

 

Why can't we go from 19th place in the PL to that within 3 years of the takeover whilst being bound by the rules of PSR? 

 

I genuinely don't believe what I'm reading at times. Have you been radicalised by NUFC twitter? 

 

You're talking as if Howe hasn't improved us since he arrived. I wouldn't swap Howe for either of Areola or Frank btw. 

Am going to suggest that both of these points are correct. Could a more tactically flexible manager get a better tune out of the players we have?… I’d say quite possibly….. they’d have to try anyway, because we can’t spend due to fuckin PSR  

[Gemmill 45252]

I just added up the following first 11 from this season:

 

Pope

Hall

Burn

Schar

Tino

Bruno

Joelinton

Tonali

Gordon 

Barnes 

Isak

 

424m euros according to them. But 220m of that is 3 players (Bruno, Isak, and Gordon), which speaks to the massive imbalance in the squad. 

 

Our central defensive pairing has a total market value of 18m euros. I bet Chelsea don't have a single centre half valued at less than the combined cost of our current starting pair. And they've got a load to choose from. 

 

And given they think we've got a total squad value of 650m, we've got another 12 players worth only 225m or so in aggregate. 

[ewerk 30753]

51 minutes ago, aimaad22 said:

We've stagnated over the last 18 months because the squad has barely been improved. Simple. 

It isn’t just that simple. Tactically we’ve failed to progress.

 

Much of our early success was based on having on not having much of the ball and hitting teams on the break. If you look at our best results this season, against the likes of Spurs, City, Arsenal and Forest, they’ve all set up to have a go at us and as a result we’ve had chances.

 

Our worst results have come against sides happy to sit deep and give us possession. We can’t seem to find a way to break these teams down. It’s a combination of not having the players capable of doing it and a manager unable to find a system that allows us to score against these ‘lesser’ sides.

[Renton 21746]

11 hours ago, LongTimeAdmirer said:

First off, to those posters dismissing any criticism of Eddie Howe as trolling or attention-seeking—give it a rest. I’ve probably got more football knowledge in my clit than your collective brains, which happen to have the IQ of room temperature. If you can’t comprehend the concept that other people might think differently, that’s a you problem. And before you act like I’m the only one saying this, feel free to check Reddit, R/NUFC, Twitter, or any other NUFC forums—there are plenty of fans who’ve run out of patience with Eddie too.
 

Now, onto the actual issues. (FOR THE REAL ONES)

It’s undeniable that performances have gone downhill. For the last 18 months, things have gotten worse instead of better. It’s been a year now where we’ve failed to string together consistent good performances. Compare that to the 18 months before, and it’s night and day. And don’t even try to tell me he hasn’t been backed in the transfer market—he’s had hundreds of millions.

 

This summer, the club spun some nonsense about how “only a few players can improve us.” Yet we wasted the entire window chasing Marc Guéhi at a ridiculous price, refused to budge, and ended up with nothing. That’s on Howe. His refusal to compromise and adapt hurt us in the market. The squad has gaps, and that’s directly tied to his decision-making.

 

Then there are the internal issues. Bust-ups with Dan Ashworth and Darren Mitchell? It’s like he doesn’t understand that this isn’t Bournemouth anymore. Newcastle is trying to operate like a top club, and he needs to get on board with that. Add in the rumored England job threats—it’s disgraceful behavior from someone who should be focused on the club. Howe’s ego and power plays this summer were embarrassing, and they cost us when we needed reinforcements most.
 

Now let’s talk tactics;

 

• Howe’s Tactical Blueprint Is Too Predictable

Eddie’s system has always been built around pressing high, winning the ball back quickly, and transitioning into attack with pace. For a while, it worked brilliantly. Teams couldn’t handle our energy, and we thrived off chaos. But here’s the problem: it’s a one-trick pony.

Opposition teams have figured out how to neutralize us by sitting deep, staying compact, and forcing us to break them down. And when that happens, we’re completely toothless.

• No Plan B

We’ve seen it time and time again this season: teams park the bus, we dominate possession, but we lack the tools to break them down. There’s no creativity, no movement in the final third, and no alternative approach. Eddie has failed to adapt the system to give us a Plan B. Always the same farken subs too man. right on the 60th minute.

• Lack of a Creative Playmaker

Our midfield is flat and functional, but it lacks a proper #10. There’s nobody playing cute passes behind Isak or Wilson, who can operate in tight spaces, spot a pass, or pull defenders out of position. Without that creativity, our attacks are predictable and easy to defend against.

• Ineffective Wingers

Our wingers—Gordon, Barnes, Joelinton—are not the kind of players who can consistently beat defenders one-on-one or create moments of magic out wide. They’re players who need space to run into, and when teams sit deep, they’re ineffective. We’ve seen this repeatedly against teams who defend in low blocks.

• Predictable Patterns of Play

Our attacking moves are overly rehearsed and predictable. The ball goes wide, a hopeful cross comes in, and the defenders clear it. Rinse and repeat. There’s no variety in our approach, and we rarely try anything unexpected to break teams down.

• Isak and Wilson Starved of Service

Whether it’s Isak or Wilson leading the line (Mainly Iasak this season) neither is getting the service they need. They’re left isolated up top, feeding off scraps because the midfield isn’t providing them with anything meaningful. This idea that were probably not going to see Osula until March or next season because Eddie wont budge on giving new players minutes, is wild.

How do we expect to break teams down when we’re so predictable and toothless in attack? Eddie is meant to be an attacking coach, this is on him and his staff over the last 18 months.  What are they working on in training? Why is there no progression in our attacking play? We’ve gone backwards. Eddie and his staff were hailed for their ability to develop players and make the team greater than the sum of its parts, but that’s just not happening anymore. The blame lies squarely with them. At this point, the "attacking coach" label feels more like a myth than a reality. If he can’t deliver on the one thing he’s supposed to specialize in, then serious questions need to be asked.


Lastly,

Eddie’s comments after the Palace game were the final straw for me. If he genuinely thinks that performance was “decent,” we’re in big trouble. He sounds like a manager trying to cling to his job, and it’s not working.

At this point, it’s hard to see him lasting beyond Christmas. The decline is obvious, the squad isn’t being utilized properly, and his approach is alienating key people at the club. He did a great job stabilizing us and taking us to the next level initially, but he’s not the man to push us forward anymore.

 

 

See I think there are some good points raised here. Points about the predictability of the team, the lack of dynamic tactics, the lack of quality in key positions (RW, number 10) are essentially correct imo. But at the same time, there are plenty of mitigating reasons for the above and Howe is not responsible for all the transfer woes. He's clearly working with one hand tied behind his back and I don't personally trust the leadership above him. 

So really it feels to me that you have an agenda against Howe and are fitting data without nuance or context to justify this. 

We were 1 minute yesterday from securing 7th place going into the midweek matches. 1 fucking minute. The league is crazy at the moment. Howe has earned a lot longer than you suggest. Most of us are old and wise enough to know, unless you have a proper masterplan lined up, changing managers at this stage will not improve things. 

Edited Sunday at 18:17 by Renton

[RobElliott 1506]

I remember Ranieri being sacked 10 months after winning the Premier League with Leicester City. That worked out well in the medium term!

[Dazzler 9853]

54 minutes ago, Renton said:

 

See I think there are some good points raised here. Points about the predictability of the team, the lack of dynamic tactics, the lack of quality in key positions (RW, number 10) are essentially correct imo. But at the same time, there are plenty of mitigating reasons for the above and Howe is not responsible for all the transfer woes. He's clearly working with one hand tied behind his back and I don't personally trust the leadership above him. 

So really it feels to me that you have an agenda against Howe and are fitting data without nuance or context to justify this. 

We were 1 minute yesterday from securing 7th place going into the midweek matches. 1 fucking minute. The league is crazy at the moment. Howe has earned a lot longer than you suggest. Most of us are old and wise enough to know, unless you have a proper masterplan lined up, changing managers at this stage will not improve things. 

LTA is old enough, they just pretend they aren’t tbf… 

[Dougle 3346]

9 hours ago, Kid Dynamite said:

We are going in circles. My response was in reply to the assertion that the reason we are playing poorly is because we haven't been able to improve the squad sufficiently. My point being, how long does that excuse last? £1/2bil into improving the squad? £1bil into improving the squad? 

 

We run the risk of Isak, Bruno and Gordon agitating to leave in the Summer if we finish mid table, and if they leave, even if PSR weren't a issue, where do you find their replacements? 
 

We were bang average for most of the 2nd half of last season. It was put down to injuries. We've been bang average for most of the 1st half of this season without the injuries. Howe has had a year's grace and is still largely living off his impressive first 18months in post. How long does he get before people stop with the excuses and consider that maybe he just isn't the man to take us to the next level? 
 

 

 

 

Had you heard of Isak or Bruno? And what was your opinion of Gordon before he came here? My point being that we will no doubt find similar or Howe will spot others that he believes will fit the his team/the club.

[Dr Gloom 22020]

3 hours ago, aimaad22 said:

We've stagnated over the last 18 months because the squad has barely been improved. Simple. 

 

I agree that it's disappointing and that we've generally been poor to watch for some time. But that doesn't change the fact that this league will punish you if you stand still. If anything Howe has done well to ensure we've remained competitive for European places. 

 

Dreams of a CL finish this season were fanciful. We'll do well to finish 7th again. 

I’m still optimistic Howe can turn it around and we can compete for European spots if he’s backed in January. He’s shown already that he’s capable of getting this team to go on a run. This is his first really inconsistent season 

[ewerk 30753]

51 minutes ago, Dazzler said:

LTA is old enough, they just pretend they aren’t tbf… 

[Dr Gloom 22020]

1 hour ago, Renton said:

 

See I think there are some good points raised here. Points about the predictability of the team, the lack of dynamic tactics, the lack of quality in key positions (RW, number 10) are essentially correct imo. But at the same time, there are plenty of mitigating reasons for the above and Howe is not responsible for all the transfer woes. He's clearly working with one hand tied behind his back and I don't personally trust the leadership above him. 

So really it feels to me that you have an agenda against Howe and are fitting data without nuance or context to justify this. 

We were 1 minute yesterday from securing 7th place going into the midweek matches. 1 fucking minute. The league is crazy at the moment. Howe has earned a lot longer than you suggest. Most of us are old and wise enough to know, unless you have a proper masterplan lined up, changing managers at this stage will not improve things. 

Exactly. We’re still in contention despite our stuttering form. Be careful what you wish for. 

[Ayatollah Hermione 13915]

Also, not being called middle aged, I’m 34. Just wanted to address that before we go any further. The rest of you might be middle aged but I’m not taking that slander.

[Renton 21746]

1 hour ago, ewerk said:

 

Come on, at least give them the benefit of the doubt and ozzify your post. 

 

Edited Sunday at 21:05 by Renton

[Toondog 4]

4 hours ago, aimaad22 said:

We've stagnated over the last 18 months because the squad has barely been improved. Simple. 

 

I agree that it's disappointing and that we've generally been poor to watch for some time. But that doesn't change the fact that this league will punish you if you stand still. If anything Howe has done well to ensure we've remained competitive for European places. 

 

Dreams of a CL finish this season were fanciful. We'll do well to finish 7th again. 

Spot on. Far too many players in the squad who just aren’t at the level needed to challenge for top 4 consistently. The worst of it is not only are those players in the squad, they’re playing a significant role in the season. Murphy, Longstaff, Almiron for example. If you’re asking them to play 20-30 games a season, you’re not going to challenge consistently. You might get one magical season where they play out of their skin (like 2022/2023), but because they’re not top players replicating that form over a number of years just isn’t going to happen.

[RobinRobin 11358]

11 hours ago, thebrokendoll said:

 

CUNT

Now he finds the shift key  

[RobinRobin 11358]

14 hours ago, thebrokendoll said:

 

can early 60s (very early) still be middle aged?

oh I do hope so.

Sorry, no.  Downhill now.  

[Alex 35165]

14 hours ago, Ayatollah Hermione said:

Also, not being called middle aged, I’m 34. Just wanted to address that before we go any further. The rest of you might be middle aged but I’m not taking that slander.

I think you’ll find some of us are old

[BobHopeandNoHope 624]

So a last minute goal goes in against us at Palace, but we don’t lose. After a disappointing home loss, and I’m as gutted as everyone else is, and it felt like a loss, yes we’ve struggled in some matches and usually against the low block, but fuck me, asking for Howe out?? Really? So ok we didn’t have a shot on goal at Palace, but the Brighton, Everton, West Ham games could easily have been wins, I don’t recall Eddie Howe being on the pitch and missing any of the numerous chances we created, yes lots of them, players lose form, are slightly off it, it happens. Howe performed a minor miracle navigating us through an injury crisis I’ve never witnessed before, and I’ve seen fuckin plenty! And just missed out on European qualification by default really, this season there’s been ups and downs, it happens, it’s the Premier League ffs, we’re still competing and can climb up the table again, but to shout for Howe to go, the bloke deserves loyalty from all of us (I know most of us do). People can spout tactics, money spent, that manager has got a bigger cock, etc, it’s no good pissin our knickers and throwing our toys out of the pram. Aye ok if we go on a horrendous run like Villa are on …don’t think I’ve heard any Emery oot stuff yet ? Maybe questions will be asked then. Players will miss chances, and make mistakes, the manager will too, but fuck me, we’re nowhere near a crisis, I’ve seen plenty of those too. And to bring in who?? A whole new upheaval…..Mourinho’s name keeps cropping up…..I just say to those wanting him, be careful what you wish for, bearing in mind the level of toxicity that fucker has been bringing to every club he’s managed over the last 10 years. I’ll stay behind Eddie Howe, it’s not blind loyalty, he deserves it.

[The Fish 10900]

Although Howe has spent a lot of money in an attempt to turn a relegation candidate into a club capable of competing with the top half of the table, right now it's not working. 

 

However, just like last season where Joelinton and Pope's absence meant the high-line, hard pressing style  wasn't viable, we've got issues due to having a thin squad again.

 

Botman's absence and Schar's increasing age means while we want to play out from the back, we lack the pace at CB, or the experience/quality at fullback. 

 

That was obviously an area of weakness that was identified in the summer, but it wasn't resolved. And that's a pretty damning failure, but it's not on Howe. We need to sign someone in January, someone who can pass the ball around and who has pace and all that good stuff too. 

 

But look at how far back from the established elite we were, look at how quickly the gap we closed has grown once more. Man Utd drop €214m on players for a manager they know they'll need to get rid of, Chelsea spend €238m and have the most bloated squad in the league, Brighton, Villa, Tottenham, Arsenal.. all spent more than we did in the summer. 

 

Not because we haven't got the funds available, but chiefly because the PSR rules stop us from enjoying the same freedoms as the established elite. So, given that a lot of the reasons we are underperforming are, in fact, away from the training ground I'm not sure we can blame Eddie enough to fire him. 

 

 

He deserves criticism, not the sack.

[Optimistic Nut 160]

No chance!

 

I think if it gets to March and we're still behind the likes of Brighton, Forest & Brentford the board might sack him, though. I reckon they'd reluctantly accept 8th as around our par if it's behind the Sky 6 and Villa. They'd at least give him the summer to rebuild a bit. 

[wykikitoon 20341]

 

 

 

[Isegrim 9819]

Prove me wrong

Gardening is boring and messy. Plus, it often results in despair

A storm will snap delicate trees and hot weather will wilt roses. Gardening is not worth it, argues Brigid Delaney. But Stephanie Convery tries to prove her wrong

Brigid Delaney and Stephanie Convery

Wed 23 Dec 2020 16.30 GMT

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via Email

 3 years old

BD: Steph, gardening is dull and awful before you even get to the gardening bit. There’s the boring Saturday afternoons at a nursery, the transporting of the plants (messy), the planting of the plants (also messy, plus you have to dig a hole). Then you have to look after them.

It’s not enough to hold a hose. You need stuff … fertiliser, potting mix, tools and special gloves. You have to prune! Even then gardens are not guaranteed to thrive – or even live.

A puppy will destroy a weekend’s work in minutes. A storm will snap delicate trees, hot weather will wilt roses, drought will dry once-lush lawns.

Even if it all does work as it should, Mother Nature doesn’t let us linger too long in our pleasure gardens. We get a season and then one day we wake up, and the branches are bare, the flowers are no longer in bloom and blossoms have fallen off the bough.

How to grow a verge garden: 'Since I've been doing my gardening, I know half the street'

Better never to have started gardening at all.

SC: Brig, were you tangled in blackberries as a child? Did a nettle sting you? I’m sorry to hear you think gardening can only result in despair, but I’m here to tell you it can bring you joy, peace, excitement, wonder and happiness – because that’s how I feel when I make plants grow.

It sounds like you think the only pleasure to be found in a garden is when it blooms with flowers. Have you never looked at a leafless, snow-covered tree – on one of your overseas jaunts perhaps – and thought about the beauty of the depths of winter?’

Have you ever eaten? Unless you’re subsisting solely on Soylent, you must know how good a fresh strawberry tastes. Imagine how it would feel to fill your plate with piles of something delicious (peaches! tomatoes! even potatoes!) that started out as a single tiny seed. The varieties of things you can grow to eat vastly outnumber the things capital has decided to make available to you at the supermarket. Do you love capitalism that much?

The best gardening advice I ever received was from a dear friend of mine who told me: “Plants want to grow. If you pay attention, they usually do.”

I’m afraid I’ll have to diagnose you with terminal failure of attention.

Fortunately, Stephanie Alexander, a great enthusiast of gardens, has some advice on this. In a worksheet designed to help primary schoolchildren learn to garden, she advises getting in touch with your senses.

Here’s your task: find a neighbour who has an abundant, well-tended garden – if they have a kitchen garden, so much the better. Let them take you through it and tell you the stories of each plant: where it came from, how it grew, the different birds, animals and insects it attracts. Touch the plants. Taste them (not the poisonous ones – best to let the neighbour help you there). Use your senses. And, if they’ll let you, ask if you can take one of their potted plants home for a few days. Pay attention to the instructions they give you about sunlight, wind, water. And look after it.

BD: My friend Rohan also used to live in Sydney before he moved to the country. I wondered what his garden was like compared with mine.

At the back of his house were fruit trees, flower beds, vegetable patches and two beehives containing around 5,000 bees. Rohan agreed to give me a tour – and some clippings to take away with me.

For Rohan gardening is a time of quiet connection with nature but for others it’s just a messy and sometimes fruitless pursuit.Photograph: Brigid Delaney/The Guardian

First up is the butternut pumpkin. They were, for Rohan, a bit of an experiment.

“I was told to space these a metre apart but I put them 50cm and how wrong I was.”

Then there was a bed of silverbeet. “This just gets clipped every morning for my omelette and it’s beautiful.”

Rohan gives me a bundle of lemon sage – “beautiful for chicken”. (I used it cooking roast vegetables the next day and it was very tasty.)

'Free the leaves!' Costa Georgiadis on his three most useful objects

“Growing a garden in central Victoria – it’s all really good soil; good, forgiving soil,” he says. “It’s dry but we’ve had a wet year.”

Usually the seasons are quite distinct in central Victoria. “The summer is brutal. In winter the frost comes and this year it blasted the fig tree, but they are hardy. Avocados don’t go well here but hardy stuff such as plums, apricots and pears do.”

Rohan also has an apple tree, strawberry patch, thyme and flowers including sunflowers and lavender.

“It’s nice to put flowers near the bees – they’re attracted to flowers, a nectar and pollen source. Lavender is a staple of most bees.”

Rohan’s garden is lovely – but how much of a commitment is it?

“I’m in the garden for at least 30 to 40 minutes a day. I get joy from it – it’s non-competitive stuff, you can see a result – and you feel like you’re contributing to your own livelihood. You can see tangible results all the time, every time, every single day the fruit gets bigger and glossier,” Rohan says.

Does he have any tips for me?

“Go and get advice and just get on with it. Make all the mistakes you need to make because it’s about making mistakes. Pay attention to where the light’s coming from. Spend a lot of time trying to find the pattern of the sun.”

Is it worth putting the time in?

“Yes! You are literally eating your surroundings, you are part of your surroundings. You feel self-sufficient and proud,” he says.

Although I can tell Rohan gets a lot of joy from gardening, it’s just not for me. I don’t have the patience and I’m not home much. I’ll save gardening for retirement.

 

https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/dec/24/gardening-is-boring-and-messy-plus-it-often-results-in-despair

[wykikitoon 20341]

[David Kelly 1254]

3 hours ago, The Fish said:

 

He deserves criticism, not the sack.

Bang on.  Despite the area's of the squad in which we are still limited, we have enough quality in players like Bruno, Tonali, Joelinton, Gordon, Willock, Barnes and Isak to do better than no shots on target against a team in the bottom 3 who are missing a few of their own better players.  Howe has to take some criticism for this but it's not like we've not been able to create anything all season.  We should have beat Brighton and had Iask's goal against West Ham been allowed, we could have easily had the success that Arsenal had on Saturday.

I do have reservations about whether Howe is the right man to take us to the next level as it's obviously something he's never done before.  Do we need a different type of manager?  One who's got the ability and experience of managing teams to play to a consistent high level at the top of the league rather than just bringing out massive performances against the top teams.  Maybe, but without a full squad of players at that level rather than Burn, Longstaff, Murphy etc. I don't think they'd do any better.  The likes of Frank or Bournemouth's manager haven't done anything more than what Howe has here (remember where we were when he arrived FFS) so I can't see any reason to suggest we should be replacing him with one of them.  Howe has to show he can get us back playing better and I'm sure he will.  Longer term we might need to move on from him but he more than deserves the chance to improve on a bad week.

Edited Monday at 17:15 by David Kelly

[Dr Gloom 22020]