Newcastle United’s goalless draw at Bournemouth has sparked scrutiny of Eddie Howe’s management, with former England international and BBC analyst Theo Walcott questioning whether the head coach is capable
of making the tough selection calls that will be required this season.
The stalemate followed Newcastle’s 2-1 Champions League defeat to Barcelona three days earlier and left Howe’s side with just one win from their opening five Premier League matches.
Fabian Schar’s absence through injury compounded matters, while Howe rested Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes in a rotated lineup that featured seven changes from the XI deployed midweek.
Speaking on “BBC One’s Match of the Day” on Sunday, Walcott suggested the Newcastle boss may struggle to manage a bigger squad effectively throughout the season.
“I think this is going to test Eddie Howe’s management of a bigger squad, and I feel at times he’s going to have to make a really difficult decision and leave someone out in big games,” Walcott said. “I think he’s probably going to focus more on the Champions League than the League, however.
“But is he the right manager to make that hard, tough decision when a player you expect to start won’t start quite regularly? Because the connections, I feel at times, in their forward line is important. If you’re consistently changing it, it’s a problem for the forward line just to have those connections.”
Saying Newcastle have struggled for goals (three) this campaign would be falling short: only Aston Villa (one) has scored fewer in the Premier League. The Magpies’ attacking setup is still adjusting following the record sale of Alexander Isak to Liverpool and the delayed debut of Yoane Wissa through injury, and although fellow newcomer Nick Woltemade has already bagged one goal, the growing pains are still there.
For now, Howe’s immediate challenge will be to avoid an upset in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie against Bradford City before returning to Premier League action against Arsenal on September 28. Two more setbacks this week could definitely put Howe in a precarious position and, in Walcott’s eyes, perhaps have him on the outside looking in for the remainder of the season—as long as he lasts at the helm.
