Although Howe has spent a lot of money in an attempt to turn a relegation candidate into a club capable of competing with the top half of the table, right now it's not working.
However, just like last season where Joelinton and Pope's absence meant the high-line, hard pressing style wasn't viable, we've got issues due to having a thin squad again.
Botman's absence and Schar's increasing age means while we want to play out from the back, we lack the pace at CB, or the experience/quality at fullback.
That was obviously an area of weakness that was identified in the summer, but it wasn't resolved. And that's a pretty damning failure, but it's not on Howe. We need to sign someone in January, someone who can pass the ball around and who has pace and all that good stuff too.
But look at how far back from the established elite we were, look at how quickly the gap we closed has grown once more. Man Utd drop €214m on players for a manager they know they'll need to get rid of, Chelsea spend €238m and have the most bloated squad in the league, Brighton, Villa, Tottenham, Arsenal.. all spent more than we did in the summer.
Not because we haven't got the funds available, but chiefly because the PSR rules stop us from enjoying the same freedoms as the established elite. So, given that a lot of the reasons we are underperforming are, in fact, away from the training ground I'm not sure we can blame Eddie enough to fire him.
He deserves criticism, not the sack.
