If not Howe, then who?

[andycap]

4 minutes ago, Robster said:

I am not quite sure what you are asking.

Are you referring to him taking Bournemouth from -17 points of the fourth division, all the way up to the premier league ?

The key difference is that NUFC when he joined was quite different to where we are how.

Not really we had just been taken over the club had money and where ambitious to then pick howe at the time was underwhelming to say the least. 

[Wolfcastle]

27 minutes ago, Cristov said:

Marco Silva anyone?

I like him but not enough to justify replacing Eddie.  One of the better options if Eddie wrapped in.

[vexred]

13 minutes ago, TRC said:

I think that was just because a lot of teams wanted Tuchel, so they get a higher buy out? 

 

Possibly, but if he has a bad WC they'll have to buy out his contract. Would've waited to see what Pep is saying. 

[Asprilla]

Has anyone said Carrick yet?

[PCW1983]

I think any new manager should be someone who can craft a team to rely less on intensive, pressing play. 
 

if we are going to try and compete across multiple fronts then IMO we need a style of play that can sustain the number of games we will play.  
 

I’m not sure who that manager is tbh, AI says Edin Terzic but I know very little about him tbf. 

[relámpago blanco]

On 13/04/2026 at 19:31, relámpago blanco said:

Would take Iraola. Emery is the one though. No chance we get him.

 

I love Eddie but I do wonder where we would be now with our spend with Emery

No tin opener, no prolific striker. What world is this.

[Wallsendmag]

7 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

 

Emery has had a pretty decent spend at Villa like. 

 

Obviously not as much as Howe, but higher starting point and bigger wage bill too.

 

 

 

 

Emery's net spend at Villa is £40m. Howe's net spend at Newcastle is £450m. They had a higher wage bill than us last season but that may not be the case tbis season when you take into account last summers transfer business.

[The Prophet]

9 minutes ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

Emery's net spend at Villa is £40m. Howe's net spend at Newcastle is £450m. They had a higher wage bill than us last season but that may not be the case tbis season when you take into account last summers transfer business.

 

I just took this down to rephrase it.

 

Our squad cost is around £100 million more than Villa's but they have the higher wage bill. It's much of a much really.

 

Both clubs have punched above their weight and both managers have done a cracking job, we do have the added addition of a trophy though.

 

I know the forum loves to praise Villa's achievements and downplay our own, but there's no guarantee Emery would have outperformed Howe. Especially when you look at his track record.

[Wallsendmag]

3 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

 

I just took this down to rephrase it.

 

Our squad cost is around £100 million more than Villa's but they have the higher wage bill. It's much of a much really.

 

Both clubs have punched above their weight and both managers have done a cracking job, we do have the added addition of a trophy though.

 

I know the forum loves to praise Villa's achievements and downplay our own, but there's no guarantee Emery would have outperformed Howe. Especially when you look at his track record.

 

Our net spend is over £400m more than theirs since both managers joined the clubs. They were spending around £500,000 per week more than us on wages last season. I don't think that'll be the case for this season though.

[LFEE]

Get behind your manager. He’s the best we’ve had. The End.

[The Prophet]

1 minute ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

Our net spend is over £400m more than theirs since both managers joined the clubs. They were spending around £500,000 per week more than us on wages last season. I don't think that'll be the case for this season though.

 

My point is that Emery had a better squad to begin with and has still spent a decent amount. Even if our wage bill overtakes there's, the clubs have been on similar trajectories while they had a higher wage bill.

 

When you look at the financial constraints both clubs are working under, both managers have done a cracking job, but I wouldn't say there's anything to suggest Emery would have done loads better than Howe.

[Antipode23]

At this point I'd take almost anyone who's proactive and flexible tactically and in the transfer market.

 

With all due respect to Eddie I'm quite sick of his "it must be a high press 433" and "we must sign PL-ready!" approach. It's like he's actually quite risk averse deep down.

 

I want someone in who's willing to take risks and has the ability to make change when things aren't working. If that doesn't work out, at least we know they tried.

[r0cafella]

The Athletic. 

 

Spoiler

There is a cloud that hangs over Newcastle United.

They might only be five points from seventh place, but Eddie Howe’s side sit 14th in the Premier League table and are 17 points worse off after 32 games compared to this time last season.

That cloud could be lifted by their head coach, but The Athletic reported this week that Howe and Newcastle’s owners will evaluate the situation at the end of the season.
Catch Up On The Story
Newcastle ownership support Eddie Howe with all parties to review situation this summer
Newcastle ownership support Eddie Howe with all parties to review situation this summer
The 48-year-old commands a great deal of respect among the Newcastle hierarchy and is expected to be part of the evaluation process.

The review and any contingency work that comes with it are considered by those involved to be standard procedure in such circumstances. But if the club do need to look at who else could step in if Howe were to depart, where should they begin?

Here, The Athletic’s senior data analyst Mark Carey looks at the coaches who would be most suited to Newcastle.

Few head coaches are more in demand than Xabi Alonso.

The 44-year-old has been out of work since leaving Real Madrid in January, but has the skill set to take a team to the top of European football with his possession-dominant, high-tempo style.
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After taking Bayer Leverkusen from 17th place in the 18-club Bundesliga to an invincible domestic season, a cup win and a European final in little more than 18 months, Alonso has shown that he can make an impact when he has the resources and trust to implement his style.

Alonso was known for his dynamic 3-4-2-1 system in Germany, but was more inclined to tweak things during his time at Madrid to get the best out of his players.

Nevertheless, the structure would often still look the same in possession, asking midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni to drop between the centre-backs — with advanced full-backs and a box-midfield resembling a similar shape to Leverkusen’s.

Greater patience in possession will suit Newcastle, especially in their need to control games. Last weekend’s 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace came after William Osula put them ahead in the first half, meaning they have now lost 25 points from winning positions. No Premier League side has dropped more this season.

Former international team-mate Cesc Fabregas is another advocate of a slick, possession-dominant style — and is a name on the lips of many sporting directors across European football.

With an ever-increasing focus on physical intensity, possession with purpose is at the heart of the 38-year-old’s ideas, adding unpredictability to his attacking intent.

“The main objective is to attack (the final third) as soon as possible,” Fabregas told The Coaches’ Voice in 2023. “I don’t like to have the ball just to have it. The most important thing is to have an idea of how to get there the best way possible.”

“My obsession is to play forward. As a midfielder, this is what I have always loved, because I love to attack and have the ball in the final third, which is where you win games.”

After promotion to Serie A in 2024, Como are knocking on the door for a European spot with a style modelled in Fabregas’s image. Looking at the teams whose playing style is most similar shows that the Spaniard’s approach is befitting of some of Europe’s top sides.

While his on-ball ideas might be at the forefront of his approach, Como’s intensity off the ball are a hallmark of Fabregas’s side. No Serie A team has a lower PPDA (passes allowed per defensive action) than Como’s 9.1 this season, which denotes a higher pressing intensity to regain the ball.

Intensity has been the foundation of Newcastle’s style in recent years, but the execution has not always been perfect under Howe. As shown in their second-leg knockout clash with Barcelona, their aggressive man-for-man pressing can be dismantled emphatically if things are not coordinated, while their 4-5-1(or 5-4-1) mid-block can often be too rigid and easy to play through.

An injection of versatility off the ball is not to be underestimated in a Premier League that is seeing greater focus on defensive work rate. Fabregas looks to be striking the right balance in his early managerial career.
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The cultural resistance to Fabregas and the project of his club, Como, is intensifying with every win

That blend of dominance in and out of possession is a characteristic that Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness has found success with.

Having been appointed at the end of the 2022-23 season, the 43-year-old guided Stuttgart into the Champions League. Last season’s German Cup (DFB Pokal) victory came after Hoeness led them to a second-place finish in 2023-24, with his side currently sitting third in the Bundesliga.

Hoeness has transformed the German side from a low-possession, counter-attacking team to a dominant, progressive side that can suffocate teams in their own defensive third while quickly regaining possession when they lose it to sustain attacks.

Only Bayern Munich (63) have generated more shot-ending high turnovers than Stuttgart (42) this season. As shown below, the impact he has had on their style is palpable.

One of Hoeness’s key strengths is his ability to raise the ceiling of the squad he has. Newcastle have invested in plenty of talent in recent years, but elite coaching is just as crucial in narrowing the gap to the Premier League’s heavyweights as spending power alone.

“I think no one else could have achieved what he has achieved, taking the club from 18th place to the top, winning the DFB Cup, and qualifying for Europe,” Stuttgart midfielder Angelo Stiller recently told the Bundesliga website.

“He has also improved every single player and given everyone confidence. Not many coaches can do that.”

Staying in the Bundesliga, Christian Ilzer has been another overachiever in helping Hoffenheim develop an aggressive identity that has similarly seen them soar from last season’s relegation zone to European contention.
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The 48-year-old Austrian has worked wonders since taking charge at Hoffenheim with a breathless style

The foundation of Hoffenheim’s success lies in their relentless, “Red Bull-esque” work rate. Using data from SkillCorner, no Bundesliga side averages more sprints, high-intensity runs, or distance covered per 90 minutes than Ilzer’s.

An example of their tireless counterpressing is shown below, with multiple bodies swarming around the ball upon losing possession. Using this as an attacking tool as well as a defensive one is a crucial component of the Austrian’s approach.

Alternating between 4-2-3-1, 4-2-2-2 and back-three formations, Ilzer does possess the ability to be versatile in his setup, with plenty of off-ball movement to shift the opposition and create space.

That intensity on and off the ball is reflected in Hoffenheim’s playing style below — alongside the teams who profile most similarly to Ilzer’s side this season.

The most similar is Paulo Fonseca at Lyon, who is known for his cultured tactical approach that attracted Premier League clubs towards his services before and after verbally agreeing to join Tottenham Hotspur in 2021.

Another option could be Monaco’s former boss, Adi Hutter, who is currently out of work since parting ways with the Ligue 1 side in October. The Austrian led Monaco to second place last season, with a proactive style that can shift between 4-2-3-1 and 3-4-2-1, with the 56-year-old favouring a box midfield to overload the pitch in central areas.

Staying with Austrian coaches, Oliver Glasner has shown he can handle the rigours of the Premier League. Not only did he win the FA Cup with Crystal Palace, but he has consistently shown he can set up a team to punch above its weight within his 3-4-2-1 setup.

In Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento, Newcastle do have the pacey, attack-minded full-back profiles who could operate as wing-backs, although Glasner has shown within his wider managerial career that he is not overly wedded to a specific setup, with his principles of aggressive, vertical football being of higher importance.

Glasner has confirmed he will part ways with Palace in the summer.

Elsewhere on the continent, Francesco Farioli offers experience beyond his years, having managed in four countries at just 37.

Farioli’s teams are often built on solid defensive foundations, and this has never been clearer at Primeira Liga-leading Porto this season. His side have conceded just 14 goals at a rate of 0.45 per 90 minutes, which is comfortably the best defensive record in Europe’s top seven leagues.

As The Athletic recently analysed, this strength out of possession comes from a disciplined, coordinated press high up the pitch, but Farioli has coached a style that will also see his side drop into a compact shape when the initial press does not bear fruit.

The Italian’s connections with compatriot Roberto De Zerbi mean that there are similarities in his on-ball approach to bait the opposition towards them before springing forward, but Porto’s dominance also means they are often challenged with breaking down a deeper block.

Positional rotations are often used to pull opposition defences apart, but low, driven crosses will also see Farioli’s side go around the block if needed, with wingers locking off the back post for simple tap-ins after Porto have broken through in wide areas.

This has been a lucrative method of scoring goals in recent weeks, with multiple examples below highlighting a similar pattern from both sides of the pitch.

Newcastle have strength in depth themselves in wide areas, with different profiles of runners, crossers and finishers providing different attacking options in the shape of Anthony Gordon, Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy and Anthony Elanga.

Harnessing the skill set of the existing attacking line with greater tactical options is a task that Farioli would likely be able to accomplish, as well as defensive improvement.
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Other managers might be tempted by a return to European football.

Simone Inzaghi (Al Hilal) offers experience of European football from his time at Lazio and Inter, leading the latter to two Champions League finals in his four seasons at the Italian side. Inzaghi typically favoured a 3-5-2 system at Inter, but has been more inclined to employ a 4-1-4-1 set-up in Saudi Arabia with a dominant style that looks to pin the opposition back for long periods.

Meanwhile, Matthias Jaissle’s (Al Ahli) style falls more in the “Red Bull” camp, having won two Austrian league titles with Red Bull Salzburg (2021-22 and 2022-23).
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Typically setting up in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-2-2-2, Jaissle unsurprisingly focuses on verticality and forward-passing in possession, with pacey wingers used to exploit opponents’ structure in transitional moments. Unlike Inzaghi, Jaissle is yet to manage in a top-five major league, although the German is only at the start of his coaching journey at just 38 years old.

While these options may suit Newcastle if Howe were to leave, replacing the man who secured their first domestic trophy in 70 years will be a difficult task.

 

[Antipode23]

One thing that concerns me in that extremely wordy Athletic article is talk of the ownership AND Eddie getting together to talk about things - including Eddie's future - at the end of the season.

 

If you're truly committed to becoming an elite club (are you, ownership?), and your manager grossly underperforms, you should be deciding among yourselves, and yourselves only, whether the manager stays on - and applying a bloody high standard when making that decision. You don't ask the underperforming manager whose neck is on the line, whether he should be retained. How many turkeys vote for Christmas?

 

Eddie needs to know he doesn't get a say in every decision. Maybe he knows that already, sure, but he has form for wanting his hand in many pies.

[Keegans Export]

2 minutes ago, Antipode23 said:

One thing that concerns me in that extremely wordy Athletic article is talk of the ownership AND Eddie getting together to talk about things - including Eddie's future - at the end of the season.

 

If you're truly committed to becoming an elite club (are you, ownership?), and your manager grossly underperforms, you should be deciding among yourselves, and yourselves only, whether the manager stays on - and applying a bloody high standard when making that decision. You don't ask the underperforming manager whose neck is on the line, whether he should be retained. How many turkeys vote for Christmas?

 

Eddie needs to know he doesn't get a say in every decision. Maybe he knows that already, sure, but he has form for wanting his hand in many pies.

I don't think that's what it means tbf

 

I think it's reasonable that there is a discussion about what has gone wrong this season that includes Eddie. If he has plans, solutions, answers then that helps his case to stay on. 

 

There's also not a 0% chance that he walks, especially if he feels the players are no longer responding to him.

[500bhp]

The sit down at the end of the season has to include Howe as the board need to hear his views and plans. He looks broken at the moment and shattered and full of self doubt. He doesn't deserve to feel like that as he's such a decent and honorable bloke.

 

I've thought for a while he might resign especially if the club is looking to operate differently going forward around recruitment, playing philosophy, etc. This is a great breakout opportunity for both parties. Ideally it will be a genuine 'mutual decision' announced before the West Ham game so he gets the send off he deserves and the appreciation of the crowd. 

[Wallsendmag]

31 minutes ago, 500bhp said:

The sit down at the end of the season has to include Howe as the board need to hear his views and plans. He looks broken at the moment and shattered and full of self doubt. He doesn't deserve to feel like that as he's such a decent and honorable bloke.

 

I've thought for a while he might resign especially if the club is looking to operate differently going forward around recruitment, playing philosophy, etc. This is a great breakout opportunity for both parties. Ideally it will be a genuine 'mutual decision' announced before the West Ham game so he gets the send off he deserves and the appreciation of the crowd. 

 

The trend is for Premier League managers not to resign and sit around for their pay off but I could see Howe bucking that trend if we finish the season in the same vein and end up 13th/14th.

 

He knows it's not working and his demeanour in his interviews suggests he might not have the confidence in himself to fix it. I've actually found his recent post match interviews to be quite difficult viewing.

 

If he thinks he's come to the end of the road I do think he would make the decision to step down himself. He's not a Steve Bruce. He has pride, honour and integrity. If we finish the season where we are now I do think he'll be away one way or the other.

[Asprilla]

I do hope he figures out a way to turn it around. He’s such a decent bloke and has given us all what we spent decades dreaming of.

 

There are some fairly obvious areas for improvement so at least let’s hope he can start with those.

[bobbydazzla]

For all the people saying "Who's better than Howe out there ?"

 

The lad with hardly any managerial experience who got Burnley relegated, has turned out to be very good at Bayern and this article explains why.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cn4vvm0pmkjo

 

Sometimes you've got to look beyond the end of your nose to find the best solution to a problem.

 

I'd hope that if Howe did exit stage right, then we'd try and be creative about where his successor could come from.

 

 

 

Edited April 15 by bobbydazzla

[Myleftboot]

Ottmar hitzfeld.

[Ben]

3 hours ago, Antipode23 said:

One thing that concerns me in that extremely wordy Athletic article is talk of the ownership AND Eddie getting together to talk about things - including Eddie's future - at the end of the season.

 

If you're truly committed to becoming an elite club (are you, ownership?), and your manager grossly underperforms, you should be deciding among yourselves, and yourselves only, whether the manager stays on - and applying a bloody high standard when making that decision. You don't ask the underperforming manager whose neck is on the line, whether he should be retained. How many turkeys vote for Christmas?

 

Eddie needs to know he doesn't get a say in every decision. Maybe he knows that already, sure, but he has form for wanting his hand in many pies.

 

Don't they normally have a big meeting at Alnwick Castle at the end of the season ?

[Minhosa]

15 minutes ago, Ben said:

 

Don't they normally have a big meeting at Alnwick Castle at the end of the season ?

Matfen Hall. 

[NUFC91]

13 hours ago, LFEE said:

Get behind your manager. He’s the best we’ve had. The End.

 

People are getting behind him, I love Eddie but some people seem to think anyone worried or showing concerns about being 14th in the league is this fickle, post takeover fan etc.

 

The response after the Sunderland game was a defeat to a 2nd string Palace side who only won 1 home league game in 10. You can still be rooting for Eddie but worried about that performance.

[TheBrownBottle]

14 hours ago, The Prophet said:

 

I just took this down to rephrase it.

 

Our squad cost is around £100 million more than Villa's but they have the higher wage bill. It's much of a much really.

 

Both clubs have punched above their weight and both managers have done a cracking job, we do have the added addition of a trophy though.

 

I know the forum loves to praise Villa's achievements and downplay our own, but there's no guarantee Emery would have outperformed Howe. Especially when you look at his track record.

They don’t have a higher wage bill - we do.  The higher wage bill is from previous seasons’ accounts.  We’ve outspent them in the transfer market by an order of magnitude and have a higher wage bill.  
 

Emery had to manage CL and PL last season - and they finished level on points with us last year despite this.  I’m not sure we’ll be matching their tally this season.  And I wouldn’t be ruling out Emery winning a trophy this season. 

[The Prophet]

10 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

They don’t have a higher wage bill - we do.  The higher wage bill is from previous seasons’ accounts.  We’ve outspent them in the transfer market by an order of magnitude and have a higher wage bill.  
 

Emery had to manage CL and PL last season - and they finished level on points with us last year despite this.  I’m not sure we’ll be matching their tally this season.  And I wouldn’t be ruling out Emery winning a trophy this season. 

 

Up until last summer they did, that may now have changed, but still doesn't really alter the point.

 

Again though, it's much of a muchness. Both working under financial restrictions for four sessons, similar squad costs, similar wage bill, two CL qualifications each and potentially a trophy each. Both have done very well, but I don't think there's a convincing case to say Emery would have done a better job here. That's the only point I'm making really.

 

 

Edited April 15 by The Prophet