Miggys First Goal Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 Quote Eddie Howe has revealed that he had a 'really good conversation' with Kevin Keegan after getting the Newcastle United job and the Magpies' head coach plans to tap into the club legend's 'knowledge' again in the future. Howe, like Keegan, in 1992, took over a side in serious danger but the 44-year-old has since overseen a remarkable turnaround. Just as Keegan kept Newcastle up against the odds in the old Second Division, Howe has become the first manager ever to lead a team who had failed to win any of their opening 14 top-flight fixtures to Premier League safety. January may have been a game changer for Newcastle, but Howe, like Keegan, has united the fan base and dressing room, and that togetherness has been crucial to the club's transformation. The electric atmosphere at St James' Park during the 2-0 win against Arsenal on Monday night even brought back memories of the Entertainers' era, which left its mark on Howe in his late teens. All these years later, you can be sure that Keegan was watching on from afar earlier this week. Keegan has not been spotted back at St James' since Mike Ashley sold the club last October, but the former Newcastle boss was in attendance for the Magpies' game against Man City at the Etihad earlier this month with friend Sir Brendan Foster after making the relatively short trip from his home in Hale. Although Keegan has been linked with a return to the club, as an ambassador, the 71-year-old is simply enjoying spending time with his grandchildren. That has not stopped Keegan passing on some valuable advice to Howe, though. "I spoke to Kevin when I first got the job," Howe told reporters. "He was one of my first calls. We had a really good conversation. "He's someone I'll be speaking to again. He's someone I respect. With his association with the club, it would be foolish of me not to tap into his knowledge." Keegan used to liken managing Newcastle to riding a 'black and white tiger' and you suspect it did not take Howe long to realise what he meant. However, rather than being daunted by that prospect, Howe has embraced it and not only kept Newcastle up but, also, achieved the Magpies' best points total in eight years. A host of players that Howe inherited have played their part in that turnaround and Martin Dubravka, Emil Krafth, Fabian Schar, Joelinton, Jonjo Shelvey, Joe Willock and Ryan Fraser have been among those who have improved under the head coach. Howe, like Keegan, has also made use of the transfer market and spent £93m in his first window in charge to bring in Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Bruno Guimaraes and Dan Burn, and sign Matt Targett on loan. Further changes will be made in the coming months, but evolution rather than revolution has been the message coming from the club as the owners look to comply with the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules. So will the summer be as intense as that manic 31-day mid-season window was earlier this year? "Better off asking that after in retrospect because it's very difficult to predict," Howe added. "January was very difficult for a whole host of reasons. It was very intense and I think linked to our league position to be honest. "It created a necessity to act and to do things and, thankfully, it was very successful but this is a different window. Now we start again, we start afresh, but we have work to do so it will be interesting to see how it pans out." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paullow Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Miggys First Goal said: Currently 6/1 to finish top 4 for next season on Sky Bet. https://m.skybet.com/football/competitions They're obviously just numbers, and much will depend on what happens over the next 2 months, but it's glorious looking at some of the odds. Along with the 'big 6' not included in the relegation odds, 1/4 to finish in the top half - we've not seen stuff like this for around 20 years, but so much better than being the 5th or 6th favourite for relegation like we have for the past 10 years or so. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPERTOON Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbers Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloGeordio Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 10 minutes ago, SUPERTOON said: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
toon25 Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 50 minutes ago, Numbers said: Should have hooked that fat cunt and put us out of our misery Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazarus Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 (edited) 5 minutes ago, toon25 said: Should have hooked that fat cunt and put us out of our misery Manatees have too much padding in their faces for it to hurt. Ever seen them hit a glass wall? Edited May 20, 2022 by Lazarus Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeyt Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
54 Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack j Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 Only counts towards 5% of the vote Seems pointless to me Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodneyCisse Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 3 hours ago, jack j said: Only counts towards 5% of the vote Seems pointless to me I wish I’d known as I’ve voted on almost all platforms available. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danh1 Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 I didn’t know that either. Theres no way he’s winning it sadly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bintang Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 4 minutes ago, Danh1 said: I didn’t know that either. Theres no way he’s winning it sadly. Probably not, he wasn't here for the entirety of the season. Had be been I would say it would have been probable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodneyCisse Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 4 minutes ago, Bintang said: Probably not, he wasn't here for the entirety of the season. Had be been I would say it would have been probable. He can win it next season when he guides us to Europe. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
duo Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 Klopp will win sadly. But Howe is the only manager to make history this season so bias aside he deserves to win it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prophet Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 Interesting that we're 4th in the 2022 points table, but 11th in the expected points table. I guess we edged a lot of fairly even games early on in the run. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STM Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 Or XP is bollocks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 25 minutes ago, STM said: Or XP is bollocks. Nah, XP>>>Vista. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 We won games with 3 free-kicks at one stage, guess the xG is low for those. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 Problem with xG and xG tables in particular is that they don't take into account what the actual score of the game is. Football is a very low scoring game, so when a team (especially a bottom half one like we've been) is ahead, we're not likely to create much more while also allowing more shots due to sitting back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Butcher Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 My manager. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloGeordio Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 “Captain, my captain” Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 Some boy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicane Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 Mad to think how awful everything looked 6(?) months ago. Winless, cabbagehead in charge, what a turnaround. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallowgate Toon Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 Bloody fantastic job. Gutted the season is over, tbh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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