Newcastle United’s derby defeat to Sunderland has intensified scrutiny on Eddie Howe.
Sadly for those calling for Howe’s firing or resignation, The Daily Mail’s Craig Hope reported on Monday that internal support for the head coach remains strong and the gaffer is not expected to leave the club any time soon.
“What do those on the inside think (about Howe’s job)? The new executive team, certainly, would share that view (that Howe’s the best manager in club history and the best option going forward),”
Hope wrote. “Howe will get support from chief executive David Hopkinson, sporting director Ross Wilson and performance director James Bunce. Everything I’m told is that they, with Howe, remain aligned and united.”
Hope thinks that despite the backlash following 7-2 and 2-1 defeats to Barcelona and Sunderland, respectively, Howe “deserves at least one fractured season as well as the summer to manage the repairs.”
Hope describes the current period in Tyneside as feeling like “an end-of-cycle moment,” but made it very clear that Howe remains central to Newcastle’s long-term plans.
“Howe remains the best manager in the club’s recent history and best man to take them forward again,” Hope wrote.
However, Hope noted that the stance of the Saudi ownership remains less clear on whether or not PIF wants to keep Howe as the man in charge. While contact between Riyadh and Tyneside is described by Hope as taking place daily, there has been no public statement of outright backing, which is concerning for Howe’s future.
FIP still wants Newcastle to be part of an European competition next season, which is possible but unlikely given Howe’s late managing of the team and their results, and that might put the gaffer on a track to leave Newcastle.
According to Hope, there are also concerns over NUFC’s last summer’s transfer window, led by Howe, with the pundit describing it as marked by “indecision, confusion and subsequent panic.”
Despite the current turbulence, Hope concludes that Newcastle’s hierarchy should resist making decisions driven by short-term anger, arguing that Howe remains the club’s strongest managerial appointment of the modern era.
