I've read numerous explanations for Monday on various platforms putting the performance down to simply being 'a bad day at the office'. I'm questioning the validity of this notion because we're currently mid table, we've won 5, lost 4 and drawn 3, so is the truth like I've been saying that we are what we are ? A mid table side ? Your thoughts?
My thought are you're trolling once again. The simple fact is it's way too early in the season and the table is too tightly grouped together to make any judgement. So we're a mid table side cos we're in 10th despite being one point off 6th? Are Man U a lower mid table side then? We've lost 4 league games and Man City have lost 3 are they a mid table side too then? Less than a third of the season gone and we're 1 point off 6th and in the quarter finals of the league cup, things are ok.
You're entitled to your opinion and so am I that's the nature of the site, but you shouldn't be so ignorant to put views you don't like down to trolling. You used the table to judge west Ham though, so you can't have it both ways surely. Aren't we judging the squads and the way they are playing then along with the table? I'm not seeing a great side or an awful once.. I'm seeing mid table and that's where they happen to be. Ok is essentially the same thing? Not great not awful.
We are a bit stale and inconsistent with an overall squad that isn't actually good enough to compete over an entire season. We have recruited poorly over the past window, we signed players who are essentially pointless and our scouts are just a bit ****. Howe is generally a bit out of his depth and has too much say in day to day running Newcastle United has a small club mentality and midtable is still seen as OK All these things contribute to a meh season.
Need to find some consistency in both results and performance. So far this season it’s been one or other or neither too often. table is too tight as others have said.
As has been said, we're one dimensional and so-called lesser teams find us relatively easy to play against. Similarly we do ok against so-called better teams and can't overlook that. Welshie summed it up very well. We have a proven mid-table manager, have struggled with recruitment and the sprinkling of stardust we have just isn't enough to drag our crap players into top-6 territory, understandably. I know some are frustrated, but I reckon we're actually only a small tweak ot tactics and three or four first team players from a fairly steady push towards top 6. With what we have, I'd go into more of a 4-2-3-1, playing Isak deeper and Joelinton up top, with Tonali/Bruno together. I'd have Gordon left, and Willock right. I reckon Willock's running and intelligence would work well as a right side attacker. However, that position is one of four we need to improve, alongside a new goalkeeper, right-sided centre back and probably someone who could do the number 10. Frustratingly, if we'd kept Minteh and Anderson, we'd probably only need a RCB and a goalkeeper. Which again then makes going for players like Kelly, Ruddy and Odysseas, keeping Trippier, Wilson and Almiron, look worse every passing day.
I was really hopeful that we had a chance to emerge as a top 4 contender, but too many crap results have meant that's just really not going to happen.
Just to add on the 4-2-3-1 vs 4-3-3 comment; if Howe is trying to get real control in games, then he needs to get a better holding pattern in midfield and a better option centrally, near Isak. It seems this is what he wants to do, and against the "other 13" it's how we should play, to dominate possession, and give us four attackers instead of 3. With 4-3-3, we have proven repeatedly this works well against the bigger teams as it offers a 4-5-1 in defence, then in transition it breaks lines, particularly through the channels. I just think if we really worked on TWO gameplans, instead of just repeatedly doing the same one over and over, we would get more success. This is why I always said Howe won't win anything; you have to adapt to what's in front of you. Even Ten Haag did this - won two cups by having a plan for the game in front of them. I feel like Howe has completely lost sight of that and thinks just more running, faster and for longer, will work. It does, sometimes, but the players don't look like they can or want to do that every, single time.
