It took only a few days, but after arriving on Tyneside and approaching diplomacy the same way a bull does china, the writing was on the wall for Paul Mitchell.
He was shocked and disappointed when Mail Sport revealed that his opening addresses to players and staff were not well received.
Maybe he did intend well. And maybe, it was hoped back then, he would soften his abrasive manner in light of the early feedback.
That, it is said, did not happen, and his exit after less than a year as sporting director will not be mourned by the majority at St James’ Park. Some very quickly suspected he wanted his own manager at the expense of Eddie Howe.
Players spoke of Mauricio Pochettino, who Mitchell worked with at Tottenham, being that man, not that they welcomed the thought of losing Howe.
Rather, they and many inside the training ground were concerned about the content and delivery of Mitchell’s initial meetings and what it could mean for the future of Howe and the club. He walked into those introductions not with a blueprint, but sandpaper
He spoke of being ‘elite’. Players and staff thought their work in taking the team from 19th to the Champions League already fitted that description.
He spoke about playing style. They thought that was Howe’s domain.
He spoke about going on a journey with him. They thought the journey was well underway and that he was joining them.
He spoke about his work ethic, first in, last out. When one staff member later remarked, ‘Haven’t seen you in a while’, it did not go down well.
But, by then, many had given up on having a relationship with Mitchell. Some felt he never knew their names. There was, it is said, a lot of ‘big man’ and ‘mate’. He probably could have got away with that, if his relationship with the one colleague who really mattered was better.
Mitchell and Howe did not get on. So much so, insiders feared the head coach could be forced to walk away after his work, and that of others, was clumsily picked apart by this brash outsider. And this was long before the sporting director went public with what he had been saying in private.
We understand he made no secret of his belief that the club overpaid for Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento, two players who would win England caps before the season was out. Instead of embracing Howe’s strengths, it was as if Mitchell felt intimidated by them, like the supply teacher who realises the smart kid could take the lesson.
It is claimed he would often use the phrase ‘I don’t care who I upset’. He should have done. It showed a lack of self-awareness that would prove his undoing. Never was that more apparent than in the Sir Bobby Robson suite inside St James’ on September 4.
There, during a 90-minute briefing with journalists, he said that the club’s transfer strategy was ‘not fit for purpose’. He said it several times. As one source said: ‘It went down like the Titanic. Talk about aggravating the staff you’re supposed to be leading.’
In his defence, some of what he said that day made sense. He was right to say the club had to operate smarter when it came to recruitment in a PSR world. In fact, some walked away believing him to be a visionary.
But tunnel vision was Mitchell’s problem. It was his way or the highway and he did not have the smarts to look in his rear-view mirror and realise that the bumpy road travelled by others had been negotiated with skill, feeling and care. Indeed, his words that afternoon were careless. For the best part of a fortnight after, he and Howe did not speak.
Belatedly, there was a peacemaking envoy by chief executive Darren Eales, who appointed Mitchell without Howe’s prior knowledge having worked with him at Tottenham. By this point, those close to him say, Howe had resolved to win. Not to win the civil war that had needlessly been allowed to develop, but to concentrate on winning football matches. On winning a trophy. On winning qualification to the Champions League. He did all of that.
There was whispered suspicion among some insiders that, during the early weeks of the season, defeats were strengthening Mitchell’s position. What does that say for the harmony of the club?
As one source said: ‘The training ground culture changed during that time. Everyone was on eggshells. There did not need to be this friction. It was baffling what the club did by creating that situation.’
To think, Newcastle risked losing Howe by an act of self-sabotage. Mitchell should never have been appointed. There was no due diligence, bar previous acquaintance. When the new transfer chief promised he would deliver the signing of Marc Guehi and failed, he offered up a book of alternatives akin to second-class stamps.
‘Bad players, good money,’ said one source. In January, Mitchell did negotiate a couple of decent sales. But, again, there were no incomings. Howe’s hand was weakened, but he and his players came back stronger. Between December 14 and April 16 there were 19 wins from 24 games, including the Carabao Cup final.
One image from the victory parade, carried in giant form in the Mail on Sunday, shows a beaming Howe waving to the crowd aboard the open-top bus. Next to him, Mitchell looks like he’s dropped a pound and found a penny. Club sources say he has been considering his future for a while.
When Howe then delivered on the £100million-plus transfer kitty that comes with the Champions League, perhaps it was only right that he would oversee its investment. He has shown his approach to be fit for purpose, after all.
There was no real surprise when learning that Mitchell would be leaving this week – the club say it was a mutual decision – but there was more surprise at the timing, on the eve of the summer window. Then again, it’s better for all parties to admit a mistake now than to go shopping for a king size bed when you are sleeping in separate rooms.
All of this is not to say Mitchell will not and cannot be a very good sporting director elsewhere. He clearly has ideas and self-belief. But if he learns one lesson from his brief time at Newcastle, it should be that a little humility can go a long way.
