Brighton (h) (FAC)

[Mick]

[GhostfaceKillah]

Uninspired performance so far, not a whole lot different to a lot of what we have seen at times this season. Gordon and Barnes are not pressing, with Joelinton moving forward to support Isak in a 4-4-1-1 at times, clearly a tactical decision to try and counter the pace Brighton have on the break, but it also takes away one of our main attacking threats as a result.

Our defence is getting so painfully exposed by pace these days, which I know is the main challenge for most teams, but we must have one of, if not the slowest center back pairing in the league. Howe is still relcutant to bring Krafth in which is no real surprise, I suspect if Schar was responsible for the next 10 goals we concede that Howe wouldn't drop him. The drop off in Schar's performances is such a massive concern as each week I wince watching him both in and out of possession. Out of possession he is constantly trying to win the ball when he doesn't stand a chance, allowing teams to easily take him out of the game with a quick 1-2 around the corner, and in possession you just know that he is going to more than likely give the ball away with a cross field ball that is intercepted.

No idea what the 2nd half holds other than hoping for a bit of Isak brilliance, I still feel that Howe is restricting our better players from being able to influence the game in a positive way, which probably goes to show how concerned he is about how poor our back 4 is.

[Eeeeen]

The Gordon sending off, as much Howe's fault as Gordon's. Gordon wasn't terrible, but he was very ineffective and it was obvious that he was getting frustrated. However, because of the bizarre decision to play Barnes on the right - which he clearly hates doing and as a consequence leads him to produce fuck all over there - we had no replacement for Gordon. Why the fuck didn't Osula start on the right?

[Eeeeen]

Will somebody please just get a fucking shot on goal. Please.

[GhostfaceKillah]

What a fucking shambles.

Oh well, an absolute dicking in the Cup final and a Europa Conference League place to fight for.

This squad of players with this manager will probably be landing about par if we finish 7th again. We have established a squad of players who can't consistently compete at the top end of the league, but we are slightly better than mid table, just not by much.

Wouldn't be too disappointed to see an overhaul in the summer as I don't think we play a sustainable brand of football, which means when those moments of magic or fast transitions are not possible, we are a bit of a nothing side. I'd honestly be surprised if Howe was still here next season if we finish outside of Europe again, which is a distinct possibility.

These aren't knee jerk comments, we haven't been good to watch for a while now, we play in odd moments which means we rely on bits of magic, usually from Isak, and when we don't get them, I honestly couldn't tell you what Howe is trying to do with this group of players.

[Eeeeen]

It's worth noting that apart from Tonali, none of our midfield/forward players played the entirety of that match. Not a single one of them in sight when Brighton scored the winner.

[GhostfaceKillah]

Our midfield struggles to function most matches.

Bruno, coveted by Pep and Man City, also linked with Real Madrid.
Tonali, coveted by top Italian clubs and Real Madrid.
Joelinton, lauded as one of the best box to box midfielders in the league for his energy and strength.

We should be able to get away with two of those plus a Miley or Willock if one of the above 3 is injured, but we can't. Every game I look at the opposition who on paper, don't have anyone I would trade our midfield for, and yet more often than not I come away from the game wondering why our midfield was ran all over.

What gives?

Our defence is an aging shambles and is suffering from Botman missing and years of zero investment. Our midfield should not be struggling though, I don't think Howe has a clue how to get the best from them, evidenced by nearly every game we watch them in, bar the odd few performances during our recent winning run. We have players who should be dominating the opposition and controlling games of football, yet most of the time comes off second best.

[Eeeeen]

The way we play is not effective anymore, at least not with the players we have at our disposal.  We have absolutely no pace whatsoever in the centre of our defence, no 'bite' in our midfield and two forward players who have become a bit 'powder puff' in front of goal.  Why does nobody apart from Isak want to take responsibility for having a shot on goal?  Apart from Isak, as the season has gone on our players have become shrinking violets anywhere near the opposition's penalty area and I don't just mean Gordon and Murphy, when the fuck is Bruno going to start scoring regularly and when will somebody take Joelinton and Willock aside and train them to at least get their shots on target?  This is a team that has been treading water for the best part of two seasons and is now in danger of drowning.  If Eddie Howe and his team can't fashion some kind of life-raft very quickly, this team will break apart and he'll be out of a job.

We will NOT win the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool because they are a better team with a better manager.

[GhostfaceKillah]

Agreed.

This group of players with this head coach have reached the end of the road together. We have amassed a group of players who played their best football out of possession, high up the pitch and trying to win the ball back to then play on the transition. It has been evident for some time now we have huge technical limitations throughout the squad whereby when they are asked/forced to sit deeper, the ball becomes a hot potato when we win it back, no consistent ability to keep the ball and play through the lines, we just look to go back to front as quickly as possible, and sometimes it can be a coin toss as to whether or not the ball being played will make it to one of our own players or one of the opposition. It's simply not sustainable, especially when you now have the likes of Brighton, Bournemouth, Fulham and even Brentford who are all playing a more sustainable style of football than we are. The quality of the so called lesser teams has/is improving, and less teams at the top end are becoming able to just be a counter attacking side, you need to be able to play in both transitions and also in possession, Forest being what I believe the anomaly this season.

I think it's a rebuild in the summer, how big or small will be subjective to opinion, but I believe quite large. When you look at the players out of contract, the players who have aged beyond their usefulness to the squad, the players not good enough as a squad player anymore and the likelyhood that at least one of Bruno, Tonali, Isak or the ego inflated Gordon will want to move on, and I think this would be a good time to take stock of what we want to be as a club from next season onwards, and make the changes we desperately need. We absolutely need to change the style of our play and we can't do it with this crop of players, we need more than a smattering of technically capable footballers, not just pace burners, both in the starting 11 and coming off the bench if we are to progress as a club.

Regarding Howe, rightly or wrongly as we will all have our own opinion, if we lose the Cup final, which is expected, we have to qualify for Europe otherwise I can see the Saudi's genuinely looking elsewhere in the summer. Yes, he has been abysmally supported in the transfer window and can rightly point a finger at the club for this, but fundamentally the worrying sign is that the more time we have off and the more time he has with them on the training ground, the worse we look, and I am not even convinced if Howe had a squad of 16 genuine quality players to rotate, that he would even use them, instead sticking to his beloved favourites, which has become a real problem. I do think given a decent transfer window we would look better under Howe, I am just not convinced that would be in the form of a new style of football. I said it last season, but we are Bournemouth (under Howe) 1.5, capable of winning big, losing big and ultimately not able to sustain any consistency.

This summer is going to be a huge turning point for the club. There is no point building the best training facilities in the country and one of the best stadiums in world football, if the way you play is going to drag you down to consistently fighting for a Europe Conference League place, and constantly having to face losing your better players to Champions League clubs. Something has to give, starting with an overhaul of this squad.