Nedders

Not necessarily Howe related, but what's the story on Graeme Jones, has he left?

Sure. Or could it be the signings.

Go back and check the results. He didn’t turn anything around until the signings came in.

They MUST finish this now. Surely the PL is bad enough that they now need to draw a line under it to try and get some integrity back?

I am certain Howe shot down rumours of Rayan at the time. So agreed it’s bs, and irritating that the media feel the need to spin a “poor Eddie” narrative.

The season we finished 7th was disappointing too, right? So there’s previous. Particularly in over-playing trusted players and a refusal to adapt. In game management has been a theme throughout. There’s been a lot of good, and the trophy was unreal, but we are saying we can overlook 14 months of poor football, poor decisions, poor squad balance, etc. I think on balance it’s hard to argue how he turns it around. That he doesn’t have European matches is, for me, an indictment of failure rather than something to look forward to as many have framed it!! The beige comment is my opinion. These last few months he has been incredibly uninspiring to listen to. Again for me I just can’t quite see what others get so defensive about. He’s achieved less than Ranieri, Glasner, Martinez did with Leicester, Palace and Wigan on a vastly larger budget. There was a comment about being destined for relegation but Howe saved us - sorry that’s garbage, the club spent a large amount of money on Trippier, Wood, Burn, Guimares to get out of trouble. We were never going down regardless of manager. However to be clear that doesn’t diminish what Howe did achieve in getting UCL twice and a league cup. We’ll all be forever grateful but the last year has been dreadful.

We peaked.

When we finished 7th and failed to qualify for Europe, that was his free pass. That he demonstrated a second time an inability to manage a heavier calendar that was it for me. I was more or less done when he picked the strongest XI for the second leg against CarrierBag, given the way the season was going, and after that it’s just been downhill. However as has been pointed out there’s little point going over it, the club are sticking with him so we’ve all got to accept that.

Some kindly demonstrating my point! It’s weird how invested some seem to be in a guy who has contributed to an awful season, who has been instrumental in building a fairly uninspiring squad, and who honestly seems to be just a bit beige. Surely it’s enjoyment of Newcastle and our football ahead of everything else? The season has been absolutely turgid and it’s hard to see how its not mostly on the manager, no?

The most puzzling thing is why people seem so bothered about Howe? It is genuinely baffling. He’s a multi millionaire who’s had a great run but I just cannot work out for the life of me why people are so steadfastly defiant about whether he should stay.

In my opinion this is sympathetic crap and I don’t follow why anyone subscribes to the view. I don’t quite get why Howe has such deep reserves of sympathy. Hes central to the worst window we’ve ever had, has underperformed to an almost absurd level and failed to achieve on every marker the club should have. For over a year. It’s frankly bizarre - there should be a clamour for his head, because what we are left with is abject. Wissa, Elanga, Ramsdale, Murphy, even Barnes then you have Gordon giving up, Tonali same, I just think it’s a horror show. It we were genuinely aspirational he’d be gone but I don’t think we are; I think instead this is a profiteering exercise from Saudi and as such real success isn’t on the table. Howe looks like the cat with the cream , utterly bulletproof, no threat. Its going to get worse, all.

Hoeness, Inzaghi, Motta, Terzic, Iraola.

You are aware of what the score was, yes? It did not flatter them, in the end we were embarrassed with a horrid aggregate score reflecting the gulf between the sides. Nothing was more apparent than the small tactical tweak Flick made in the second game, with Howe clueless in response. It's really difficult to understand what I've written that is 'nonsense' unless you're one of the Howe-first, Newcastle United-second crowd? I'll be honest, I really struggle with fans who put sentiment to Howe above the needs of the club and similarly would question anyone's judgement in not seeing that we're at the end of the road. I can't ask the owners, weirdly enough they're not looking for my opinion - which is all this is, by the way, just my opinion. I think what I struggle with is when these 'real fans' get behind the 'team the tries' ideology, they seem weirdly forgiving about two season of failure out of five, don't put any emphasis on the £250m spent and seem to forget that 'team the tries' meant constantly aspiring for more. 12th, insipid football, a crap squad and Wissa as a number 9 is all very Mike Ashley, I'm afraid.

This is a great point - Howe said "I'm now looking at next season with my player selection". Erm, sorry - so we're expecting to play with Burn, with Hall out of position, with Murphy and - worst of all - Willock starting? I just thought his words were implying a shift but it's been the same insipid rubbish we've suffered all season. But I suppose these comments are meaningless. Those in charge are sticking with him. I genuinely don't understand - how do you have a CEO and a Sporting Director subservient to your manager?! It's an odd set up. And let's be honest - it's not as if Hopkinson and Wilson were ever elite appointments in the first place, they're both very mid and we still have an exec setup that's eclipsed by most of the Premier League, unfortunately.

Seems fairly safe to say a large portion of the support recognise where we are, from the replies on there - but unfortunately the glacial pace at which Saudi's operate is going to see the club persevere with Howe and I think a Summer of the club chasing relegated players is going to set us back even further. I'd ask a genuine question - if you look back at squads and players over the years, think about the likes of Cole, Beardo, Shearer, Les, Daveed, Bellamy, Batty, Lee, Cabaye, Tiote, Colo, Given and more - how do you feel about this manager and these players? I really struggle to have a connection with a lot of them aside from maybe Bruno and the younger lads like Miley, Thiaw and Hall. The entire front '6' are poor ambassadors for the club and the shirt they wear. It's just not a very likeable squad Howe's pulled together.

Been awful for a while. Not a left back. No idea why he's at the World Cup and Maguire's at home. Proud of what he's achieved given his obvious limitations, but his football this season has been at best bizarre marauding up the flank and whilst I love his attitude surely Newcastle United in 2026 is about more than this. Caveat that - under Howe, it'll be more Burn, more Pope, more Murphy. Sad, but true.

Sometimes I think in football it just is what it is. Like games where you just know in your bones we're not going to score, or in the case of Wissa where you just know the No9 is completely wrong. We've all experienced that among us over the years, good and bad, it's more of just a sense than reasoned or rational. We're there with Howe. It's - to my mind - blatantly obvious we've reached the end of the road. The Barca battering was it. He'd made stupid, unfathomable decisions in the build-up (playing a 1st eleven vs CarrierBag in the 2nd leg was absolutely absurd) and it was long apparent that we needed to freshen up the approach but once we got completely humbled, the answers, the application, the fabric that made us who we are evaporated completely. What followed was players just not buying what Howe was selling and it's fairly easy to see the likes of Gordon, Tonali and others just downing tools. This is not a team that needs new Howe players; this is a team that needs a new direction. Howe has demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that he cannot influence that. And he's had an incredible run, over 5 years is a lifetime in football management but that we have repeated the issues of two years ago cannot be overlooked and we're now saddled with a squad 7th at everything (value, wages, revenue) but finishing 12th, its miles away from good enough. Sunderland in the Europa is a sickener. As I said at the start of this, you just 'know'. Most should surely realise Howe's not coming back from this. Sadly, I don't know that our owners get it. If it were me, I'd have been asking him to step down and giving him the right send off long before now and planning for a future with Iraola, Seb Hoeness or going big like Insaghi or Motta. It's the end of the road, but unfortunately those in power haven't worked that out yet.

Seems really strange that there’s no inclination whatsoever to change the management. We’ve all watched football long enough to know when change is simply needed, it’s just the nature of the sport. So for all Howe will be very fondly regarded and rightly so, it’s really, really hard to understand what the owners are seeing that’s leaving him so safe.