KaKa

None of that was even rumoured? One factor in the equation is that his period at Newcastle has not been entirely smooth behind the scenes, with moments of friction coming from Eddie Howe’s already-established authority, a blurring of responsibilities, plus managing the high expectations of owners in Saudi Arabia’s PIF, although Ashworth strengthened relations with chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan during the trip to Riyadh at the start of this year. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5275694/2024/02/15/why-manchester-united-want-dan-ashworth/ Toon talent spotter set for promotion in wake of Dan Ashworth's exit, new stadium plans suffer a blow... and former winger misses out on academy role https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13146825/NEWCASTLE-NOTEBOOK-Toon-talent-spotter-set-promotion-wake-Dan-Ashworths-exit-new-stadium-plans-suffer-blow-former-winger-misses-academy-role.html

I'm still not certain how much of an issue there really is. It's the international break, and hypotheticals are being discussed with every new doomsday article from 'Hope'. IF there is an issue I'm just not really wanting a manager that doesn't seem to want to work with a DOF, again, IF Hope's speil is accurate. It's not about backing Mitchell specifically. It's about wanting a DOF and structure that gives us a better chance of success IMO.

When Ashworth left there were reports he was being marginalised by Howe. Easy to dismiss at the time because Ashworth was a snake, but looks like that was indeed an issue that may have even influenced Ashworth's move. After Ashworth left, there was talk of Nickson getting promoted to DOF, but it didn't happen. And so someone higher up didn't seem to want that, and opted for someone of a higher calibre. That decision probably means they are not prioritising Howe over everyone else. It was also reported Howe wasn't consulted in the hiring of the new DOF, which seemed to get his back up, hence the interview shortly after Mitchell came in.

Well I think that minority would include PIF. They have hired two top DOFs now and clearly want a really good one in place. Don't think they'll keep putting up with the manager falling out with them.

Yeah, he has been, but for me personally, not wanting to work in this structure is a deal breaker. I can't see any real future success without it.

Really?! So Ashworth out, then Mitchell too? And so I presume Howe would be DOF and manager then? Or we do without a DOF?! No thanks!

Exactly! He was bang on regarding our recruitment.

That's awesome man. Very glad to hear that Genuinely think if Howe is bought in it is only going to make him a better manager. Really encouraging.

No one is buying him at his age, with his fitness record and with his contract up in the summer. His contract is going to run down and he'll be leaving on a free I think.

Interesting ... are you Hope?! Not even sure how to frame any question to get an idea of the validity of any tension behind the scenes, or how you'd know if he was being straight up about things. Maybe ask why there seems to be such a difference between his view on things as opposed to the others?

Yes, true. And I'm really looking for all this to die down and prove to be nonsense. If he's really just doing all this to stir up the fans then there's something seriously wrong with that guy.

No idea man. Barcelona are a mess.

Which is why I said IF it turns out any of what he is saying is true. Oh and for what it's worth ... 1. The Bournemouth fan mentioned this being a potential issue years ago. 2. There have already been issues with him and Ashworth. 3. We already all saw the interview he gave before the new DOF had even got his feet under the desk, which kick started all of this negative reporting in the first place! So yeah ... there's all that as well.

My God

That's why I added the caveat I did about if the reporting is true. I've backed Howe to the hilt during his time here, but that doesn't mean he's beyond reproach. This is a potentially major blind spot he might have and the impact is too great to overlook. Yes, he might have delivered the goods and nurtured the club up until now, but if reports are true, it appears he was going about things in a way that overstepped his boundaries. Ultimately that is then not going to work in accordance with what the ownership wants to put in place, and so it is going to be damaging in the long run anyway. You guys all want to compete at the top and they are trying to put in place the kind of full scale operation with top level individuals in place in important roles that helps achieve this. We cannot under any circumstances have a manager that feels he has to have his hand over everything, or only have people he knows alongside him. Important to note that just after we hired Howe, @cherryred the Bournemouth guy, raised this need for control as a potential issue, and so this is not something new.

I hope you're right, and things are actually much different than he is claiming behind the scenes.

The way he's going on is so weird. The worry for me is that he is being fed this from Howe's side to make things difficult for Mitchell. This whole thing is really beginning to piss me off to be honest. If Howe really wants the level of control that is being reported he's going to have to find a club at the opposite end of the table, or in the Championship. At the end of the day, the ownership were aiming very high when they went for Emery first, and that tells you they aren't here to mess about. If not for how precarious our position was, we likely end up getting him. Things have changed a lot since then. We are in a much stronger position now, with some very good players that a lot of top managers will feel they can compete with, and with a highly rated DOF that will continue to bring talented players in. If this noise doesn't die down, it might be time to get a manager in that understands the structure the club is trying to put in place.

Last year there were so many complaints on here about the injuries. Centred mostly around not rotating players enough. For a while now, there have been complaints on here about the neglecting of getting better options for the right wing. There's certainly things that need sharpening up on, and sometimes that means bringing in new people with fresh ideas. You can't just surround yourself with people that think like you do all the time, it's just not realistic. The more I read about all this, the more I really think that this sort of thing is what led to the changes this past summer. When it all kicked off with Ashworth, we were already hearing that he was being marginalised by Howe, and this was being enabled by Amanda and Mehrdad. Don't think PIF liked that at all, and all the changes were made to put things in order, and make sure everyone was operating within the boundaries of their roles, as it should be.

This is what Hope is saying: Howe's power has been diluted, with Mitchell, Eales and new performance director James Bunce taking greater control across all aspects of the club's day-to-day running. Bunce is around training every day and, during pre-season in Germany, it was interesting to note Howe's body language - like a hedgehog raises its quills - as he prepared a session with the new man watching on. The volume of intensity in training, it is said, has been reduced compared to previous seasons, an instruction on the part of Bunce aimed at lowering the number of injuries and optimising performance. So far, Newcastle have taken seven points from nine, have picked up two injuries - neither is serious - and, by Howe's admission, have not played as well as he would have liked, with some key players still lacking fitness. There is, then, a balance to be found. If Bunce can increase player availability, that is good news for the club. If Mitchell can implement a recruitment strategy that gets ahead of Profit and Sustainability Rules, that is good news for the club. But to suggest that some of what went before was substandard - when Howe and others took the club from 19th to the Champions League in less than two seasons - was perhaps not the wisest ploy.

I really don't trust this guy at all. However, if anyone at the club really thinks no one should be able to question anything they do in their role, or suggest to them ways that things can be improved ... Then that kind of person, no matter who they are, absolutely has to go!

Love the sound of all of that. Our next big step forward will come off the back of this kind of approach. Very very promising stuff IMO.

If we get back into Europe and really need a viable experienced alternative to Isak with the added games we'll be playing, we will need to let Wilson leave. He is injured way too much now. Signing David as a replacement on a free would be great business.

Yeah, I was talking more about the role England were utilising him in, and how England fans would view him in that role. Pirlo was a very aggressive playmaker from deep positions, often looking for a long killer pass to forward players. I don't see that level of aggressive passing and risk taking from those areas with Gomes, when he sits deeper. He more facilitates things with passes through the lines. At Lille though, he usually featured in a double pivot when I saw him and would then have freedom to get further forward, where he does look much more dangerous as a playmaker, and he will thread passes through really well when more forward. Like you say, that's when his number 10 skills shine. I think the role he plays at Lille is better suited to him in actuality.

The coverage of the French league has been excellent on BT Sport/Discovery for a good few years now. So many players get talked about and hyped up from that league, and we get linked with so many that it's always intriguing to catch some of the games. Lille have David and Zhegrova that we've been linked with the last few years. Fonseca was also managing there after not getting the gig with us. Seen Gomes a fair bit because of wanting to see some of these lot. Think Fonseca was the one that started playing him deeper. He's the kind of midfielder that I think a lot of English fans will think is quite basic or ordinary, but he is really good for build up play because he's always in really good positions to get the ball and he then moves it on to players in better positions to then build attacks.