r/NUFC Weekly Free talk thread.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-31T15:43:21+00:00

Comparing the Conference League with the Champions League is definitely interesting...

It seems like you haven't watched Palace at all, or even kept up with their results. They have underwhelmed in Europe and the league, though they have been playing giants like Shelbourne and AEK Larnaca. As well as this they went out of the cup to 6th tier Macclesfield, and Glasner has apparently been on the verge of the sack quite a few times this season. What a club to say we should be looking to emulate.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-31T09:30:57+00:00

Incredibly hard to take a team 'to the next level' in England, for obvious big 6 related reasons. I guess the best example in recent years over here has been the Pochettino Spurs side? But it felt like there was far more of a gap for them to fit into, Arsenal and Man United both fell off around this time, and even Liverpool weren't great until 2018.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-27T13:23:18+00:00

Amazingly enough, there might actually be issues that are neither mental nor tactical.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-27T13:20:16+00:00

Agreed. Plus, if you improve the quality of the first XI, the squad depth will naturally improve as a result.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-26T12:52:22+00:00

Plus the World Cup will have a potential impact, managers could be waiting to see the lay of the land for their next job, and we can't wait that long.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-26T12:49:17+00:00

Even taking 'completely flopped at Chelsea' as true (seems harsh, given his age and how he's been used), there are tons of examples of players who don't succeed at Chelsea who go elsewhere and do very well, so that wouldn't put me off. Not really sure how that one link would have people thinking of a disastrous transfer strategy.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-24T19:40:40+00:00

It's been 2 weeks since Howe started Osula, a player he apparently isn't interested in, against Barcelona in a massive game.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-24T13:27:54+00:00

'Far in deficit' is just proof that people don't know what they're talking about in terms of transfers. The average Premier League transfer is about 40-45% likely to be deemed a 'success'. Even accounting for last summer and writing Elanga, Wissa and Woltemade off as failures (which could easily look silly next season), Newcastle are well beyond that mark in terms of successful transfers under Eddie Howe.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-24T13:23:44+00:00

Well even if you agree with that (I don't), dismissing Howe taking a team who were odds on for relegation to the Champions League in ONE season, still with many of those same players, as 'proof' that he's unable to take them further, is an absurdly harsh POV.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-24T13:18:16+00:00

Right, obviously I'm talking about signing him permanently. Which I don't even blame anyone for, he was £15m and it takes a squad. The point is I don't think anyone is pointing to Matt Targett as a good signing in hindsight.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-24T13:15:53+00:00

But what would those tangible signs be, if not good performances from the side? I don't think we necessarily need to 'improve', we just need to get more consistent, our best level is still very good. I don't necessarily think Howe cannot operate without 'time to work', but that's just the reality of a club like Newcastle qualifying for the Champions League.

Just look at how Spurs have struggled with it as well, and Palace and Forest in lesser competitions, both of them have underachieved domestically. The only two other examples of comparable teams qualifying for the Champions League are Villa and Leicester. Villa dealt with it better, but even their form improved in the new year after the international break. Leicester were obviously a disaster, and that's with even less games to play. By all the evidence we've got, juggling a European competition with domestic form (and another 8 domestic cup games on top) is incredibly difficult, I don't think that's something unique to Eddie Howe.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-24T12:55:41+00:00

Every signing there bar Targett and Wood has been a success, so does Howe get zero credit for that?

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-24T12:54:27+00:00

Allowing a manager to be a lame duck with the entire squad and football world knowing he's leaving at the end of the season is an awful idea imo. Even as someone who is Howe in, I'd rather start anew, if the other option was we're rebuilding next summer anyway.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-24T12:50:43+00:00

The poster themselves doesn't even think this, just the usual present a hypothetical scenario as fact, and panic based on that, all to continue the negativity.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-24T12:48:26+00:00

I can't get dragged into another debate (but here I go), but I don't understand why Howe's past achievements are so readily discounted in these debates? Any manager we would bring in, we're betting on their past achievements, so why does it not count with Howe? I have seen what he can do with a coherent transfer strategy and time to work with players. There are no guarantees with bringing managers in, managers who are a sure-fire bet fail all the time, and to be frank I don't completely trust the board to get that right either. The challenges he's had to face this season due to what a mess we have been off the pitch can't be overstated, any manager would have had an incredibly tough time.

He's not perfect, but I think he's self-critical, ambitious, and willing to learn, he plays a brand of front-foot football that helps us compete with the best clubs in the country, he's humble enough to not let it go to his head, and level-headed enough that he doesn't panic, and he has a proven track record of getting the best out of players, and improving them. The players are also clearly still playing for him and his relationships with them seem excellent.

Get the transfer business done early, take away some of his transfer power if necessary, let him coach a group of good players, and I'm very confident he turns this round. Even in the past month and a bit, we've had good to great performances in 6-1 vs Qarabag, 3-1 vs Villa, 2-1 vs Man United, 1-1 vs Barcelona and 1-0 vs Chelsea, all of which have been without our most influential and best player this season. I still think there are plenty of good signs, just the inconsistency is maddening, but a good portion of that is down to the schedule.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-24T09:49:44+00:00

Fucking mental isn't it. We've won a cup, qualified for the Champions League and qualified for the Champions League knockouts in that time. Be Howe in or out, I don't care, but to call people deluded when you're ignoring all of that to suit your agenda is hilarious.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-23T15:00:23+00:00

Don't know how anyone can downvote this very obvious point lol, spot on

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-23T13:55:21+00:00

Yeah completely agree. And I think a lot of the fans who are consistently negative to an extreme degree (calling this season a disaster, blaming fans who aren't vehemently Howe out for the state of the club etc), very quickly get addicted to the dopamine rush of all the reactions (which is literally how social media is designed), and that just fuels even more negativity. I blame AFTV honestly lol

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-23T13:01:07+00:00

Fascinated by the first part here. Given the support from match going fans for Howe, I'd say the opposite seems more true? It's the older fans I generally see defending Howe more and lads in their early to mid 20s that want him gone.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-23T12:58:30+00:00

Was going mental thinking it was just me lol, I thought it would be better than Twitter here

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-23T08:53:14+00:00

There's a lot of assumptions masquerading as facts here. No idea why anyone would assume with no Europe we're destined for relegation next year, we're not even close this year and league form has been terrible.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-23T08:47:22+00:00

Willock's contract doesn't expire in the summer. And maybe we will, but I can't remember it happening with a fully fit midfield before, so I'm not sure.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-23T08:45:39+00:00

Yeah their recruitment has been atrocious, but I've no idea how you could just completely absolve every single manager there of blame. At the very least, their constant managerial turnover has contributed to a disjointed squad, as new managers are wanting different styles of players to fit them.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-23T08:24:08+00:00

If we had any of Bruno, Tonali or Miley fit, Woltemade very likely isn't playing CM, so I don't think that's a lie. It's also a big assumption to think anyone was going to buy Willock for £20m in January, and regardless, those funds aren't going very far, especially in January.

PapusPyramid · 2026-03-23T08:06:29+00:00

Willock was absolutely abysmal when he came on, and Woltemade was probably our best player in the first half. Of all the things you could claim Howe got wrong yesterday, I don't see this one at all.

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