I wish we had been able to beat Man City and Arsenal this season. But I suppose we can only dream about such things.
If we're doing comparisons Newcastle haven't beaten City in the league and are 9 points behind Aston villa. There's a strange reaction taking place here simply because I've said Aston Villa are brilliant and Emery is a world class manager... They are and he is.
He's looking like a good manager and Aston Villa a good team. It's not particularly impressive or interesting to recognise that. None of us know how freely he'd be changing things up if his team was as reduced as ours though.
That's fine Newcastle are close to being a very good squad themselves I'm just pointing out that Aston Villa have a better one and a better manager.
He rests and rotates to avoid our predicament mate.. he's far more experienced than our manager, but that's not to say Howe won't learn and do better. Howes doing great I never said otherwise. Emery has actually won things and he's managed in different countries in multiple competitions for years, so like any trade you learn via experience.
They are the real deal. He’s a very good manager. But we also spanked them 5-1. He’s just had the best two results of his career mind.
Our predicament is largely the result of numerous impact injuries. Resting and rotating doesn't prevent them. I do agree though that Howe, excellent though he has been overall, has appeared reluctant to rotate even when decent options have been available (Livramento for Burn for example).
More rotation reduces risk and then there's fatigue.. I accept luck plays a part, but a manager is ultimately responsible for this aspect of his job. I'm pleased we agree on Howe's reluctance to rotate and make changes mate so we'll have to see what happens moving fwd.... it's all theories atm including mine.
We're in a great position to have Eddie Howe as our boss. Unlike last season where the opposite was the case, he's been particularly unlucky with injuries. Two players with dislocated shoulders, both strikers out for significant periods, two with long term back injuries ... Yeah sure, Emery is doing very well. He's a top manager. But even he would struggle with half his first team out for months.
But he’s had the same number of games and doesn’t have the injuries. Because he changes things when needed. Emery is a better manager, Howe has a lot to learn.
So, you believe that impact injuries can be reduced by rotation? Muscle injuries, yes. Injuries from falling awkwardly or being on the end of a bad tackle won't be. Emery is more proven. Howe has been amazing for us.
So with that logic Nick Pope should have been subbed or rested. And Howe was at fault for that one due to him not having learned that gem. Fair enough.
It's the collective impact regarding fitness and injury.... it appears we all agree Howe doesnt rotate or rest players sufficiently and that he can learn through experience....nobody is saying Howe isnt doing a good job .. Regarding Pope interestingly enough he had the chance to rest Pope vs Liverpool with the cup final in mind last season. He chose not to rest him even though Dubravka was not available if something went wrong... Pope was sent off and we went into a up final with karius and lost. Managers cannot predict the future, but they are responsible for squad management as much as they are anything else, so they have to make changes and rotate to 'minimise' and 'reduce' risk whenever possible.
They don’t have to make changes though. What they have to do is assess the risk and make a decision in the light of that assessment as to how great that risk is. As by way of example we have to assess the risk to us of crossing roads. Simply because there is a risk in crossing the road of, for example, being struck by a car this doesn’t mean that you never cross a road. The risk of walking across the street outside your house/flat is much less than crossing the M25 at 8.30 am any Monday. The point bing we were playing Liverpool and needed our best players to have a chance to win. And how many times in his career had Pope been sent off in relation to the number of games he played. With that risk assessment Pope plays as per everyone on the Planet except one person. To clarify this comment is just in relation to the decision to play Pope. I agree he should bring his subs on more but fully accept at present he has one hand tied behind his back due to injuries and who is on the bench.
They don't have to no but our situation is precisely why the top managers do. These managers have experience that Howe doesn't sonl like any trade they've learned and become better at it. If we'd beaten Liverpool and pope wasnt sent off I'd say it was a good decision. Love is blind with many fans..... weirdly this conversation started because I happen to rate Emery higher than Howe and because I made reference to him making changes at half time and thoughtout the second half. I'll once again point out that at no point have I said Howe isn't doing well.. it would be madness to suggest otherwise.
Just on the Pope point. How many times has a goalkeeper from Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City and Man Utd been ‘rested’ the game before a Champions League Final? Similar situation for them. I don’t know but I would guess none.
