Brentford (a)

[Eeeeen]

I'm not sure Eeeeen, I can see what you are saying, but I think there are big question marks which may be largely resolved in the transfer window, around the way Howe has struggled to keep players fit, struggled with making changes mid game and struggled with favouritsm at times during the season, picking out of form players, which has cost us valuable points. Adding in Europe again, I can't see anything other than another drab, excuse ridden domestic campaign.

We have the biggest point differential per game for Home vs Away than any other team in the league, and by some margin, and this is where I begin to question the excuses, are we really led to believe that all of the bad luck has been away from home and all of the luck has been at home?! For me there has been a unsolved problem away from home all season. Our bigger players haven't turned up away from St James', we have look pathetically soft defensively, shockingly organised and have started so many games looking like a team in the 96th minute of the final game in 3 game week. We have also been terrible after having longer on the training ground, at times when there has been a 10 day gap to prepare, and literally from the kick off in some games you could see what performance we were going to get, and more often than not this was away from home.

Is the answer to this just spending money? Sure, better players obviously help, players with a stronger mentality, winners, players like Bruno who play for pride every single game and are willing to run through a brick wall. We have too many soft touches, and this for me is as important this summer as anything, we need players willing to fight. For comparison, last season we were 3rd in the away form table for the season, this season, 11th. Away from home we have been awful and money alone won't solve this, blame has to be apportioned, not just solely blamed on injuries.

Howe did a couple of telling interviews this season post Champions League, and both have made me question the long term future. He singled out a lack of time working with the players in training and how this was preventing the coaches from working on the vulnerabilities based on the Champions League games and fixture congestion, Tuesday/Wednesday to Saturday/Sunday. Europa Conference League is Thursday/Sunday, even less time to fix problems between games, especially if you have a domestic cup run to go with it. The other worrying aspect from this comment is that when he did get more time to work with them, it made absolutely no difference to what we got to see, I'd argue we even looked worse with the longer layoffs.

One final point, the coffers were bone dry in January, and this is a squad that needs 4, arguably 5 new faces who can make an impact in the starting 11 and from the bench. I can't see the turn around required happening this summer, leaving us with another squad thin on quality, but with more games than ever before, as we won't go out in the early stages of the ECL. I fear for a really poor domestic campaign, and one that will cost us our better quality players the summer after, when the likes of Isak and Bruno (the latter I still think will go this window, sadly) look to play for a club which can match their ambition.

I hope to be proved massively wrong.

I think I was being too subtle.  I'll be more direct:  ECL will either make or break Eddie Howe next season.  If he cannot make a better fist of that far less taxing European adventure then he will get the boot that he richly deserves, in that case.  If he can show that he has learned not to be such a precious prick about favourites and can grasp the essentials of the notion of squad rotation (something many fans seem incapable of grasping "How do you play Gordon and Barnes together?" duh - You don't - you rotate them!), then he might just be the manager to cope with us playing in the CL.  Make no mistake, ECL or not, if he pulls another below fourth place finish - regardless of injuries - out of the bag, then he is, rightly, on his bike.

If Howe is going to fuck it up, we are going to lose our best players anyway.  The only way to stop that is to boot Howe out of the club early.  I don't think he's fucked it up enough for that to happen.  Yet.  So we take ECL football (if it happens), next season and hope that Howe learns to be a bit more grown-up about managing our club.  He can start by getting rid of Dummett and Ritchie.  WTF are those two still doing at our club?  (Much as I love their younger, Championship, selves).

[cg40k]

I'm not sure Eeeeen, I can see what you are saying, but I think there are big question marks which may be largely resolved in the transfer window, around the way Howe has struggled to keep players fit, struggled with making changes mid game and struggled with favouritsm at times during the season, picking out of form players, which has cost us valuable points. Adding in Europe again, I can't see anything other than another drab, excuse ridden domestic campaign.

We have the biggest point differential per game for Home vs Away than any other team in the league, and by some margin, and this is where I begin to question the excuses, are we really led to believe that all of the bad luck has been away from home and all of the luck has been at home?! For me there has been a unsolved problem away from home all season. Our bigger players haven't turned up away from St James', we have look pathetically soft defensively, shockingly organised and have started so many games looking like a team in the 96th minute of the final game in 3 game week. We have also been terrible after having longer on the training ground, at times when there has been a 10 day gap to prepare, and literally from the kick off in some games you could see what performance we were going to get, and more often than not this was away from home.

Is the answer to this just spending money? Sure, better players obviously help, players with a stronger mentality, winners, players like Bruno who play for pride every single game and are willing to run through a brick wall. We have too many soft touches, and this for me is as important this summer as anything, we need players willing to fight. For comparison, last season we were 3rd in the away form table for the season, this season, 11th. Away from home we have been awful and money alone won't solve this, blame has to be apportioned, not just solely blamed on injuries.

Howe did a couple of telling interviews this season post Champions League, and both have made me question the long term future. He singled out a lack of time working with the players in training and how this was preventing the coaches from working on the vulnerabilities based on the Champions League games and fixture congestion, Tuesday/Wednesday to Saturday/Sunday. Europa Conference League is Thursday/Sunday, even less time to fix problems between games, especially if you have a domestic cup run to go with it. The other worrying aspect from this comment is that when he did get more time to work with them, it made absolutely no difference to what we got to see, I'd argue we even looked worse with the longer layoffs.

One final point, the coffers were bone dry in January, and this is a squad that needs 4, arguably 5 new faces who can make an impact in the starting 11 and from the bench. I can't see the turn around required happening this summer, leaving us with another squad thin on quality, but with more games than ever before, as we won't go out in the early stages of the ECL. I fear for a really poor domestic campaign, and one that will cost us our better quality players the summer after, when the likes of Isak and Bruno (the latter I still think will go this window, sadly) look to play for a club which can match their ambition.

I hope to be proved massively wrong.

I think I was being too subtle.  I'll be more direct:  ECL will either make or break Eddie Howe next season.  If he cannot make a better fist of that far less taxing European adventure then he will get the boot that he richly deserves, in that case.  If he can show that he has learned not to be such a precious prick about favourites and can grasp the essentials of the notion of squad rotation (something many fans seem incapable of grasping "How do you play Gordon and Barnes together?" duh - You don't - you rotate them!), then he might just be the manager to cope with us playing in the CL.  Make no mistake, ECL or not, if he pulls another below fourth place finish - regardless of injuries - out of the bag, then he is, rightly, on his bike.

If Howe is going to fuck it up, we are going to lose our best players anyway.  The only way to stop that is to boot Howe out of the club early.  I don't think he's fucked it up enough for that to happen.  Yet.  So we take ECL football (if it happens), next season and hope that Howe learns to be a bit more grown-up about managing our club.  He can start by getting rid of Dummett and Ritchie.  WTF are those two still doing at our club?  (Much as I love their younger, Championship, selves).

Agreed. This year was a step backwards and I think next year he will have to have improved results. ECL football or not.