Eddie Howe

[Cronky]

1 hour ago, DC Magpie said:

After letting the disappointment of Sunday's shitshow percolate for a day, I am still Eddie Out. And here's why:

 

1) Injuries played a part this season to be sure, especially with Bruno, but if your only answer is "hey, let's play the 6'7" guy there", then your roster is ill constructed or (my hunch) you are so blindly wedded to your 4-3-3 that you can't adjust your scheme to the players you have available. Even after all the excuses were gone ("we have too many games, no time on the practice pitch, etc, etc, etc"), he came out with the same shit that hadn't been working all year. He didn't adjust until the last few games, and we saw one flash of brilliance v WHam and then reverted to crap against Fulham (where his team selection was once again maddening), which raises my second concern with Eddie:

 

2) The lack of effort against Fulham reinforces for me that Eddie has very much lost the team. Bruno literally laid down and quit. There comes a point when even a great coach's message gets stale if the message and tactics never change even after those tactics stop working. And once you've lost confidence, you can't get it back. He had a chance to implement a change after the international break, but didn't until the very end. Which leads to my next concern: 

 

3) I'd argue nobody who fancies themselves a technically gifted player wants to play exclusively in a 4-3-3 high press. The 4-3-3 has its place, but I'm not confident Eddie has it in him to truly embrace the change in approach we need to attract those players, who will look elsewhere if they have options. It would be malpractice for an agent to turn a gifted player into a track athlete running around in circles like Usain Bolt. In my view, this is why we whiffed on our top six striker targets last summer, many of whom chose to be backups elsewhere. This leads to my doomsday scenario:

 

4) If we allow Eddie to have a voice in constructing the roster this summer and he is then out by Christmas, we are rightly, completely and truly fucked. Better to move on now and let a new manager construct a strategy around the key players we have (assuming they all aren't already on the phone with their agents to get them the hell out of here), and to add / subtract from the roster in furtherance of that strategy. Erect a statue for Eddie next to Shearer's if you like, but if we aspire to be consistently more than we are today, we cannot be afraid to change.

 

Fin.

 

I don't agree with your analysis, but I've already posted at some length on what I see as the causes of our problems this season, so I won't repeat myself.

 

I have to take issue with you on this idea that our top targets chose to join other clubs because they disliked Eddie's tactics. Cunha, Mbeuno and Sesko went to Man United. Joao Pedro went to Chelsea and Ekitike went to Liverpool. They all went to clubs who would pay higher wages and who had a better overall record of success. Even since the Saudis arrived, we have yet to win a transfer battle with any of the 'big six'. People sometimes cite Bruno, but we put in an offer and Arsenal didn't. Maybe they'd have put in an offer in the summer, maybe not. Whatever, I think your theory is fanciful.

 

I do also wonder about the effect that Gordon has had on morale in these latter stages. It looks like he has already agreed terms with Bayern and we will be stuck with a fait accompli in the same way as Isak. For whatever reason, Eddie has kept him on the bench for several games. Gordon has already decided, it seems quite brazenly, that he can do better than us. That can't have been a help to team morale. And let's not pretend that he's choosing Bayern for anything other than the usual reasons of money and success.

[DC Magpie]

2 minutes ago, Cronky said:

 

I don't agree with your analysis, but I've already posted at some length on what I see as the causes of our problems this season, so I won't repeat myself.

 

I have to take issue with you on this idea that our top targets chose to join other clubs because they disliked Eddie's tactics. Cunha, Mbeuno and Sesko went to Man United. Joao Pedro went to Chelsea and Ekitike went to Liverpool. They all went to clubs who would pay higher wages and who had a better overall record of success. Even since the Saudis arrived, we have yet to win a transfer battle with any of the 'big six'. People sometimes cite Bruno, but we put in an offer and Arsenal didn't. Maybe they'd have put in an offer in the summer, maybe not. Whatever, I think your theory is fanciful.

 

I do also wonder about the effect that Gordon has had on morale in these latter stages. It looks like he has already agreed terms with Bayern and we will be stuck with a fait accompli in the same way as Isak. For whatever reason, Eddie has kept him on the bench for several games. Gordon has already decided, it seems quite brazenly, that he can do better than us. That can't have been a help to team morale. And let's not pretend that he's choosing Bayern for anything other than the usual reasons of money and success.

 

Fair points all. Cheers. I'll go back and find your prior post(s) on the matter. 

 

However, "choosing success" seems a pretty fundamental motivator. Chasing money is also understandable (to a lesser extent once you're already filthy rich), but who among us hasn't left a job where we felt incapable of success? One hopes to leave on good terms and having done the right and honorable things, but staying in a situation where you can never hope to be successful (however you define it) is counter to millions of years of evolution. 

 

Never underestimate any individual's capacity to act in their own self-interest, and you'll never go far wrong. 

[andycap]

We shopped in the wrong markets these players we where after cost too much money for us as a club and our psr limits. 

Soon as other clubs came in we never stood a chance with wages. 

We should've looked at 20-30 million pound players range.

Try and unearth a gem rather than pay over the odds for players like wissa Elanga and woltemade to an extent. 

[Mahoneys Tache]

36 minutes ago, andycap said:

We shopped in the wrong markets these players we where after cost too much money for us as a club and our psr limits. 

Soon as other clubs came in we never stood a chance with wages. 

We should've looked at 20-30 million pound players range.

Try and unearth a gem rather than pay over the odds for players like wissa Elanga and woltemade to an extent. 

people would have pissed and moaned about an obvious lack of ambition and whined about the Saudis not giving a fuck anymore if we’d done that though . They wanted to go big and gave a tilt at the league and the champions league. We got fucked in the market but fair play for trying. 

[oldtype]

55 minutes ago, andycap said:

We shopped in the wrong markets these players we where after cost too much money for us as a club and our psr limits. 

Soon as other clubs came in we never stood a chance with wages. 

We should've looked at 20-30 million pound players range.

Try and unearth a gem rather than pay over the odds for players like wissa Elanga and woltemade to an extent. 

 

The thing is that "20-30 million pound" players stop being 20-30 million pound players when you don't have a professional recruitment staff with extensive personal networks, leveraging their relationships with peers and agents to get a better deal.

 

I suspect the likes of Woltemade and Wissa would have come a lot cheaper if we had a real recruitment team who could manage the situation better. The unforgivable sin was going into a 200m summer with no recruitment team, and once that decision was made the damage was already done.

[TheBrownBottle]

1 hour ago, Cronky said:

Gordon has already decided, it seems quite brazenly, that he can do better than us.

If he’s off to Bayern, then he isn’t wrong in that assessment 

[Fenham Mag]

14 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

If he’s off to Bayern, then he isn’t wrong in that assessment 

Whether he’s actually worthy of that level, we shall see!

[TheBrownBottle]

1 minute ago, Fenham Mag said:

Whether he’s actually worthy of that level, we shall see!

Yep  - though I suspect he’d absolutely rip teams apart in the Bundesliga, and we’ve seen what he can do vs the ridiculously weak teams which compete in the CL these days.  He’ll do nowt in the latter stages of the competition, but he’ll do enough before then. 

[oldtype]

I do think he's a very good player, I just think he's no longer sufficiently motivated to be very good for us, which is a shame. 

[Carlito]

His reckless spending last summer (£34m+ per signing) on players he's refused to give a consistent run in the team has set us back five years. We're back to square one. No European football, no star striker, no attacking creative outlet, no ability to spend without selling first and a manager who doesn't look like he's able to stop the downturn in form. It'll be a disaster if he's allowed to spend even more money to fix the problems he caused due to panic buying and tactical stubbornness. Quarter of a billion spent in one window to lose the same number of games as relegation-threatened Spurs and more than relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest, who had 4 different managers this season. This won't just magically fix itself next season, especially with us having to sell to buy.

He has to go if we want to grow into a bigger club. Any new manager coming in has their work cut out for them.

 

 

Edited May 26 by Carlito

[Mattoon]

20 minutes ago, Carlito said:

His reckless spending last summer (£34m+ per signing) on players he's refused to give a consistent run in the team has set us back five years. We're back to square one. No European football, no star striker, no attacking creative outlet, no ability to spend without selling first and a manager who doesn't look like he's able to stop the downturn in form. It'll be a disaster if he's allowed to spend even more money to fix the problems he caused due to panic buying and tactical stubbornness. Quarter of a billion spent in one window to lose the same number of games as relegation-threatened Spurs and more than relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest, who had 4 different managers this season. This won't just magically fix itself next season, especially with us having to sell to buy.

He has to go if we want to grow into a bigger club. Any new manager coming in has their work cut out for them.

 

 

 

 

[Geordie Ahmed]

47 minutes ago, Carlito said:

His reckless spending last summer (£34m+ per signing) on players he's refused to give a consistent run in the team has set us back five years. We're back to square one. No European football, no star striker, no attacking creative outlet, no ability to spend without selling first and a manager who doesn't look like he's able to stop the downturn in form. It'll be a disaster if he's allowed to spend even more money to fix the problems he caused due to panic buying and tactical stubbornness. Quarter of a billion spent in one window to lose the same number of games as relegation-threatened Spurs and more than relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest, who had 4 different managers this season. This won't just magically fix itself next season, especially with us having to sell to buy.

He has to go if we want to grow into a bigger club. Any new manager coming in has their work cut out for them.

 

 

 

 

Where have you plucked this 5 years figure from?

[cubaricho]

52 minutes ago, Geordie Ahmed said:

 

Where have you plucked this 5 years figure from?

From his ass just like his dogshit opinion.  

[Skeletor]

There's nothing to feel positive about at the minute and that's a big problem. Without a quick start in the transfer window with signings that bring a feel good factor the malaise will continue into the next season as well.

[macphisto]

I'm quite positive as we've done well in the transfer market since Howe has been here and I would take one bad window every few years (never going to get it right every time).

 

My main reason for being confident is that I don't think the league is that great and it won't take much to get back up there. Yes, we'll have holes in the squad, but then so does everyone else. 

 

All this talk of £20-£30 million pound players, you can get one or two of those players but to base your recruitment around that price range is not going to get you Champions League football.

[TheBrownBottle]

2 hours ago, Geordie Ahmed said:

 

Where have you plucked this 5 years figure from?

 

1 hour ago, cubaricho said:

From his ass just like his dogshit opinion.  

Amortisation is capped at five years, so it could be that.  Too many people seem to think that a really bad summer recruitment  can be corrected the following season, but the impact can rumble on for years with the way football finances work

 

Five years is an overstatement, but we’ve likely fucked ourselves for at least another season, maybe two. 

[Weezertron]

2 hours ago, macphisto said:

I'm quite positive as we've done well in the transfer market since Howe has been here and I would take one bad window every few years (never going to get it right every time).

 

My main reason for being confident is that I don't think the league is that great and it won't take much to get back up there. Yes, we'll have holes in the squad, but then so does everyone else. 

 

All this talk of £20-£30 million pound players, you can get one or two of those players but to base your recruitment around that price range is not going to get you Champions League football.

I wouldn't call it a bad window, like. It was abysmal 

[NUFC91]

4 hours ago, macphisto said:

I'm quite positive as we've done well in the transfer market since Howe has been here and I would take one bad window every few years (never going to get it right every time).

 

My main reason for being confident is that I don't think the league is that great and it won't take much to get back up there. Yes, we'll have holes in the squad, but then so does everyone else. 

 

All this talk of £20-£30 million pound players, you can get one or two of those players but to base your recruitment around that price range is not going to get you Champions League football.

 

Trouble is the league wasn't great this year, Sunderland getting Europa league with 54 points proves that, we missed out in Europe 2 years back with 60 points.

 

My biggest worry our run of fixtures should of been easy enough to get European football. Even if we had beaten forest we would of went to final day knowing win would get Europe. Next season will be a lot harder than this year.

 

 

 

[Wallsendmag]

6 hours ago, Carlito said:

His reckless spending last summer (£34m+ per signing) on players he's refused to give a consistent run in the team has set us back five years. We're back to square one. No European football, no star striker, no attacking creative outlet, no ability to spend without selling first and a manager who doesn't look like he's able to stop the downturn in form. It'll be a disaster if he's allowed to spend even more money to fix the problems he caused due to panic buying and tactical stubbornness. Quarter of a billion spent in one window to lose the same number of games as relegation-threatened Spurs and more than relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest, who had 4 different managers this season. This won't just magically fix itself next season, especially with us having to sell to buy.

He has to go if we want to grow into a bigger club. Any new manager coming in has their work cut out for them.

 

 

 

 

You can't say that like. Ludicrous trying to put a timescale on things like that. We went from relegation certainties to qualifying for the CL from 1 season to the next. Mackems were in Division 3 five years ago, now they've just qualified for Europa League. Things can turn around in a very short space of time. We can't afford to make any mistakes this summer though.

[El Hozzo]

2 hours ago, Weezertron said:

I wouldn't call it a bad window, like. It was abysmal 

in hindsight, yes ...

 

Wasn't last seasons Wissa (pre-injury) a good bet to immediately knock in the goals we were gonna miss with Isak gone?

Wasn't (last season's) Elanga a good upgrade on Murphy? Wasn't Ramsey an upgrade on Longstaff ? 

 

yes, it turned out a shitstorm, and Nick W seemed a last minute panic buy - but I think it was deeply unfortunate in hindsight rather than totally inadvised. 

 

mind, I do still believe most of them will come good next year, so ... what do I know?

 

 

[Ben]

18 minutes ago, El Hozzo said:

in hindsight, yes ...

 

Wasn't last seasons Wissa (pre-injury) a good bet to immediately knock in the goals we were gonna miss with Isak gone?

Wasn't (last season's) Elanga a good upgrade on Murphy? Wasn't Ramsey an upgrade on Longstaff ? 

 

yes, it turned out a shitstorm, and Nick W seemed a last minute panic buy - but I think it was deeply unfortunate in hindsight rather than totally inadvised. 

 

mind, I do still believe most of them will come good next year, so ... what do I know?

 

 

 

TBF with a game a week we should be targeting a top 6 finish 

[El Hozzo]

3 minutes ago, Ben said:

 

TBF with a game a week we should be targeting a top 6 finish 

absolutely! we saw what it did to Man Utd this season to have minimal games. 

I'd expect a 15-20 points gain 

[Nucasol]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c4g02jzjx38o
 

Spoiler

Will 'bruised' Howe and Newcastle address problems in one window?
 

Eddie Howe was alone as he set off on Newcastle United's lap of appreciation. But it did not seem like it.

 

Not after the home support rallied around the head coach and his side with repeated chants of 'Eddie Howe's black and white army' after the final home game of the season, against West Ham, on 17 May.

 

That same chorus had rung out when players, staff and their families walked around the pitch after qualifying for the Champions League in 2023 and 2025.

 

But this particular reception, and the number of supporters who stayed behind at St James' Park, stuck with the Newcastle head coach following his most difficult season yet at the club.

 

It felt as if Newcastle had rediscovered a semblance of momentum in the final throes of a draining campaign after picking up seven points from a possible nine.

However, there was still one match left to play.

 

There was still time for some curious changes and an all too familiar reversion to type at Fulham on the final day as the limp visitors suffered a 17th league defeat of the campaign.

 

No wonder a few heads were bowed when players and staff trudged towards the away end at full-time following a 2-0 loss. 

It felt like Groundhog Day.

 

"There have been a lot of bruises this season," Howe said.

 

That is an understatement.

 

'We need to address it very quickly'

 

It was hardly a surprise that, earlier in May, owners, executives and leading figures plotted how to bounce back during an annual summit in Northumberland.

 

"We are in a moment right now and they want to understand why, what we are doing about it and how to fix it," a senior source said.

 

Rather than reacting emotionally, though, those at the top have sought to address what has gone wrong with the help of thorough, dispassionate analysis.

 

Some big changes are coming and this squad will look different when next season kicks off.

 

There remains a gap in valuation between Bayern Munich and Newcastle, who will only sell on "our terms", but Anthony Gordon looks set to be among those to leave.

 

Factoring in potential outgoings, Newcastle could need a goalkeeper, full-back, midfielder and a couple of forwards as a bare minimum.

 

Having grown "frustrated" with recurring on-the-field issues he has been unable to solve, Howe said the club are "very clear" on what is required this summer after a disappointing 12th-placed finish.

 

It will take more than new faces alone, but Howe has pointed to examples of other clubs climbing the table following some smart recruitment in a single window.

 

As BBC Sport previously reported, the head coach has been viewed as part of the diagnosis and solution going into a crucial summer rebuild led by sporting director Ross Wilson.

 

In some ways that does not come as a huge shock.

 

This is the man who ended Newcastle's 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy only last season by winning the Carabao Cup.

 

But standards have fallen and there is a recognition internally that this season has not been good enough.

Just as you have never quite known what to expect from this team, the same is true of Howe, who has often been scrambling for a formula.

The bar needs to be reset following his worst domestic campaign yet at Newcastle.

 

"It's something we need to address and we need to address it very quickly," Howe said.

 

Leaky issues have to be solved

 

Newcastle have to rediscover their edge.

 

They were once notable for an ability to finish off the opposition. In 2024-25, no other team threw away fewer points than Newcastle (seven).

 

Howe could so often count on former striker Alexander Isak to open the scoring, net an equaliser or extend a lead, before his protracted £125m move to Liverpool, and fall back on a well-drilled group to see a game out.

 

By contrast, this season, leaky Newcastle have squandered the most points from winning positions (27) in the top flight and conceded the most goals (21) in the final 15 minutes of games.

 

A once fierce team have become flaky.

 

Unlike Europa League winners Aston Villa, who admittedly exited both domestic cups earlier than Newcastle, Howe's men struggled with the challenge of fighting on multiple fronts for so much of the season.

 

Although there were brief glimpses of belated evolution far too late in the campaign, the easing of the schedule in recent weeks has not led to a lasting turnaround, despite the players having increased training and recovery time.

 

It has been a real slog, the first time many in the dressing room have experienced a mentally-draining 58-game season.

 

"Bloody hell, it's not easy," a source close to one regular said.

 

Even the coaching staff did not feel they could truly savour victories at the height of it, wary a defeat a few days later could swing the momentum the other way.

 

Newcastle were never quite able to go on the sort of defining run they had enjoyed in years gone by, in a campaign where 71% of their league defeats were by a single goal. Howe needs to swiftly find a way to get back on the right side of those margins. 

 

Season-ticket holder Liam Phillips feels a "reset" is required.

 

"He badly needs a good start next season," he said. "If Newcastle are not in the top six or seven in the first few games, I think the crowd will quickly turn.

 

"There has been a patience and understanding this season but if the team start badly after spending more money in the transfer market, I don't think people will be quite as forgiving."

 

'We will all try and come back a better team'

 

Newcastle have to get this summer right following a turbulent window a year ago.

 

The club missed out on a host of first-choice targets; the majority of signings arrived too late; there was no chief executive or sporting director in place; and they ultimately buckled and sold Isak on deadline day after previously holding firm for so long.

 

Clubs such as Brentford and Bournemouth have rebuilt smartly after selling key players, but Newcastle have not seen enough of a return from a £100m-plus net recruitment drive that Howe was heavily involved in last summer.

 

Only defender Malick Thiaw has been an unqualified success.

Because of the relentless schedule between September and March, such signings have mainly relied on analysis sessions rather than physical work to adapt to the intensity, detail and structure of life under Howe.

 

Jacob Ramsey only had a brief window into Howe's sessions before the fixtures piled up and the midfielder was understood to have found the level of high-intensity running within the drills a jolt at first after being used to a more relaxed way of training, even under the demanding Unai Emery at Aston Villa.

 

It was a snapshot of the adjustment period so many new signings go through before they find their feet at Newcastle.

 

Howe hopes last summer's arrivals will be better for the experience as Newcastle look to reverse a trend moving forward.

 

Although the head coach has outperformed teams with bigger wage bills in years gone by, his side ended up floundering in the bottom half this time around.

 

Unlike bitter rivals Sunderland, who beat Newcastle home and away, Howe's men failed to qualify for Europe in a season where eight qualification spots were up for grabs.

 

Such a boom-bust cycle is unsustainable, but Howe previously thrived when he had had the luxury of extended clear periods to prepare for Premier League games throughout the season.

 

He has to again.

 

"Every experience makes you stronger and makes you appreciate the good times," the head coach added. "We will all try and come back a better team."

 

[Colos Short and Curlies]

5 minutes ago, Ben said:

 

TBF with a game a week we should be targeting a top 6 finish 

 

We should be targeting top 4. Yes there are 5/6 other clubs who have that as their aim but of the club have anything less than champions League qualification as the goal on game day 1 then something has gone seriously wrong over the summer.

[Danh1]

24 minutes ago, El Hozzo said:

in hindsight, yes ...

 

Wasn't last seasons Wissa (pre-injury) a good bet to immediately knock in the goals we were gonna miss with Isak gone?

Wasn't (last season's) Elanga a good upgrade on Murphy? Wasn't Ramsey an upgrade on Longstaff ? 

 

yes, it turned out a shitstorm, and Nick W seemed a last minute panic buy - but I think it was deeply unfortunate in hindsight rather than totally inadvised. 

 

mind, I do still believe most of them will come good next year, so ... what do I know?

 

 

When we were first interested in Elanga in the summer of 2024, most people on here said it wasn’t what we needed. We needed a more technical player. When he signed he seemed hungry to do well so my mind was changed, however, initial concerns have come to fruition. 

 

Wissa was one you’d expect to come in and have an immediate impact but obviously he got injured which cannot be helped. Still though, 30 before the year is out so we won’t be getting anywhere near our money back for him. Looks lazy as fuck as well.

 

Ramsey looks good but again, a defensive midfielder to plug that gap in the midfield would have been better business.

 

Nick W - divided opinion. Had some good moments and some bad, played out of position but arguably when played up top not shown the instincts you’d expect. Hopefully stays and does well with a full summer.