Eddie Howe’s obsessive, emotional and exhaustive management is powering a Newcastle revolution
Howe’s man-management style and meticulous approach has brought on and off-field success, and their run on the Champions League places is opening up opportunities for Newcastle that were not previously available to them
Howe’s work on the training ground and his relationships with the players has helped build a solid base at Newcastle
By Mark Douglas
Northern Football Correspondent
October 28, 2022 12:07 pm(Updated 12:13 pm)
If things had worked out differently it could have been Unai Emery in the Newcastle dugout on Saturday, rather than leading Aston Villa on the other side of the tunnel.
But Emery’s decision to turn down their offer has been Newcastle’s gain, with Eddie Howe having overseen a remarkable transformation at St James’ Park.
They have spent big – £200m plus at the last count – but they were building from a subterranean base (Newcastle were rock bottom when he took over, short on everything).
Here’s how Howe has been able to turn Newcastle into top four contenders in short order.
Training and tactics
i spoke to players and officials who have worked with Howe and among the descriptions fed back were “meticulous”, “ultra-professional”, “obsessed with details” and “tireless”. This is, after all, a man who spent part of his 15-month hiatus digitising his colour-coded log of more than 500 training sessions.
He almost never repeats a session and works one-on-one with players. Among his pet projects have been Joelinton, turned from a misfiring striker into a combative ball-winning midfielder, and Miguel Almiron, who has been encouraged to add purpose and directness to his game (as well as intensive shooting practice).
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Howe’s detailed presentation when he interviewed for the job centred around in-depth analysis of the squad he would inherit and how he would improve players left to plateau under Steve Bruce. He has done just that: Sean Longstaff, Fabian Schar and Joe Willock are all players signed or promoted under previous managers but who have come on hugely.
Defensively he has proved the critics wrong, tightening up a back four that has conceded only 10 goals, and the club have become a front-foot side made up of players technically and physically able to win the ball back at the earliest opportunity. Howe believes sustained success in the Premier League can only be achieved by playing pressing, attacking football with risk ingrained in it. He is close to achieving it.
Man-management
Howe is tough – expecting high standards of his team – but also an excellent man-manager. He’s encouraged his players to share details of their private life, opening up on his own in turn.
Early on he set out his expectations of every member of the squad, promising them individual improvement plans. Those who he did not expect to feature much were told that, but promised they would be respected. It’s why even those who have left like Isaac Hayden speak in glowing terms about Howe.
Over the last few weeks he’s helped iron out a plan for Guimaraes to cope with becoming a new father and the demands of the Premier League. The little things are why the players love him.
Cool under pressure
Howe is no rent-a-quote but has been baring his teeth recently.
Behind the scenes he laughed off the controversy that followed his strident defence of Newcastle after Jurgen Klopp’s thinly-veiled criticism of the club’s ownership. He wasn’t much bothered either that his subsequent comments on manager etiquette further ignited the tinderbox.
Fans love that and he has encouraged them to “dream”. But he won’t be drawn on their top four chances just yet, telling his players “you have to earn the right to win all over again” as soon as the final whistle goes.
Razor-sharp recruitment
The idea that the club’s vast resources are solely responsible for Newcastle’s renaissance isn’t a reflection of reality at Tyneside. They have money but also a plan, which is possibly even scarier to a top six shaken up by the Magpies’ swift progress.
In the early days they were seen as easy meat for opportunistic agents hawking big-name players with glittering CVs. But they never wanted Hollywood signings and still don’t – to the extent that it was no surprise when senior sources laughed off a link with Cristiano Ronaldo this week. They would prefer players yet to hit their peak who can train on under their astute coaching staff.
Their recruitment hit rate has been high, with “buy-in” from coaches, ownership group, recruitment team and boardroom on targets. The success of midfielder Bruno Guimaraes has swiped headlines but the recruitment of Kieran Trippier was the early game changer and Howe was pivotal in that signing.
Chief executive Darren Eales admitted earlier this month the club “are not in a situation with our revenues where we can afford to get a major signing wrong” and sustaining their hit rate is going to be difficult. The more ambitious the targets, the harder it is to maintain the “no dickheads” recruitment policy that places a premium on personality checks rather than blank cheques.
But it is understood that their excellent form is opening doors. According to one senior source, a couple of opportunities “have opened up” that weren’t there over the summer when it was assumed they would not be flirting with the Champions League places.
Backroom staff
We all know Howe and most will have seen his influential assistant Jason Tindall, a tanned Duracell bunny of energy by his side.
But Howe has a growing team of loyal lieutenants who he trusts implicitly and credits with many of the incremental improvements which have added up to success. Stephen Purches is the coach with responsibility for set pieces – which have improved markedly under Howe – while analyst Mark Leyland, recruited from Liverpool, helps Howe to review his own work while providing insight into opposition which has enabled the team to target rivals’ weaknesses. “He’s so sharp,” one insider said of Leyland’s work.
Howe has added a first-team nutritionist Andreas Kaspar, medical staff and an overhauled goalkeeper department led by Adam Bartlett, who was promoted from within. It is a tight-knit group.
After every win the club post a photo of the entire group – from kit man to front man – and the club’s owners have even been known to feature
