Eddie Howe to be sacked by Newcastle United?

Eddie Howe is now under extreme focus.

It obviously comes with the territory when you are the Newcastle United boss.

Especially when things aren’t going so well…

The defeat at Manchester United seeing some Newcastle United fans demanding Eddie Howe should be sacked.

Everybody has the right to express their view BUT do the sack claims have any the necessary substance to back them up?

In my opinion, these are the only reasons why Eddie Howe should be potentially sacked by Newcastle United…

The players have stopped playing (trying) for the manager

Whatever else you might want to say about Eddie Howe, I don’t accept for one minute any claims that these Newcastle United players are now doing anything other than giving it everything for the manager.

These are the total distances ran by the players of the two teams in total, in the last six Premier League matches:

Newcastle United players 116.83km and Manchester United players 113.10km

Newcastle United players 116.91km and Chelsea players 108.91km

Newcastle United players 109.91km and Sunderland players 106.52km

Newcastle United players 114.04km and Burnley players 108.91km

Newcastle United players 112.30km and Spurs players 110.05km

Newcastle United players 116.39km and Everton players 111.74km

All of these matches seeing the Newcastle United players working harder, running further, than their opponents. That includes these recent defeats to Man U and the Mackems.

I think for sure, especially against Man U, it was a case of lacking inspiration (especially when getting near the Man U penalty area, not lacking perspiration.

A run of poor results over a long period of time with no apparent reasons as to why that form has gone so downhill

A few observations here.

What counts as a ‘long period of time’ with results?

If we are just talking about the Premier League, Newcastle United were fifth top in the PL form table over the last half dozen matches, ahead of this Man U game.

After the Man U match, the last eight games in all competitions now reads, Newcastle losing two, with three wins and three draws.

Stretching back further, the last 19 games in all competitions, Newcastle winning 10, drawing three and losing six.

Whilst the full season now shows played 27, won 12, drawn six, lost nine.

A case of not great but not terrible, at least in my opinion.

A very up and down season that has seen Newcastle United reach the Carabao Cup semis for a fourth year in a row under Eddie Howe, now with a great chance of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League, but struggling to put together a consistent run of results in the Premier League.

A new manager would clearly have done significantly better in the same circumstances

Alexander Isak and the Newcastle United owners conspired to totally wreck pre-season preparations.

Eddie Howe came out and publicly said that it was essential that summer signings were made as early as possible. The reality ended up with only one (Elanga) of the eventual six signings having a pre-season with their new teammates.

The club’s owners failed miserably to deal properly with the Alexander Isak situation and left Eddie Howe totally out on a limb, the shambles included having no CEO or Sporting Director working during this key summer period.

That doesn’t mean a manager then has a free pass to escape any criticism for what follows BUT it would be shameless to not accept the new season preparations were sabotaged due to factors beyond Eddie Howe’s control.

All of pre-season and the first month of the new season, then had Eddie Howe without a single senior striker available.

Then when the two strikers were signed, the one who was brought in to be Isak’s direct replacement, then got a long-term injury before kicking a ball for NUFC, this after having missed only three Premier League matches die to injury in his last three seasons at Brentford.

There has then followed so many injuries and suspensions and against Man U, by my reckoning there were around double figures in terms of those players unavailable and those like Joelinton and Wissa who couldn’t do a full 90 minutes due to recovery from injury, plus Pope back in the squad for the first time after his injury.

A new manager is available who can definitely be expected to do a better job than the current one

Who knows for sure if any new manager is going to do better than the last one.

However, what I do know is that far far less high quality managers are available during a season.

In the summer, clubs are usually accepting if a manager wants to leave, as they then have the time and best choice themselves of a replacement. During a season, which club is going to happily let their manager go, especially if he is doing a great job high up in one of the top European leagues?

We already experienced this with Unai Emery, turning Newcastle down because of his position with Villarreal at the time. He had just led them to their first ever trophy (Europa League) and was in the middle of their first ever Champions League run, a run that almost took them to the final, unlucky against Liverpool in the semis.

So basically you are looking at out of work managers, who are usually that for a very good reason. We had incredible luck that the other candidate identified by the NUFC owners after sacking Steve Bruce, was Eddie Howe. He was almost unique amongst those out of work, having resigned (not sacked) at Bournemouth and then deciding to take a year or more out of management, to travel around and spending time with managers / clubs in the UK and on the continent, expanding his experience, knowledge and skill set.

As I say, Eddie Howe was pretty unique, I struggle to name any current out of work managers who I’d put in that same bracket.

As for believing that if Eddie Howe was moved out, Newcastle United will be able to march in during mid-season and take away any top performing manager currently working at a very high level, well, good luck with that one.

High profile clubs who repeatedly sack managers mid-season, end up creating an ever bigger mess. Just look at the likes of Man Utd, Tottenham and Chelsea in recent years.

If you are thinking about changing managers and you believe your club will be attractive to high quality candidates, then you are almost always far better off waiting until the summer, when you are then far more able to get managers to move AND their clubs to accept that fact.

Also, two years of not being allowed to buy any first team challenging players, plus being forced to sell Anderson and Minteh due to the Newcastle United owners and senior staff allowing a nightmare PSR situation to develop that needed more than £50m of profit added to the accounts to avoid breaking those rules.

Eddie Howe then finally, at the very end of the summer 2026 transfer window, able to bring in some transfer targets to compete for first team places, though at the same time losing star striker Alexander Isak.

At the very very least, you give a manager at least a year after such major expenditure, to see how his signings turn out. Bringing in a new manager mid-season who might have very different ideas on those new(ish) signings and indeed the squad in general, is just total madness. Unless there really has been a point of no return reached, where you have nothing to lose.

An up and down mid-table Premier League season but in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup AND potentially on the brink of a last 16 place in the Champions League, that is not the point of no return, nowhere near it.

Whilst to me there is EVERYTHING to lose by getting rid of Eddie Howe at this point.

This isn’t a manager who was appointed four months ago for this new season, he is a manager who has consistently delivered these past four years and more.

If you honestly think that without Eddie Howe, these last four years would have seen Newcastle United achieve third best form of all Premier League teams in the second half of the 2021/22 season, then two cup finals (could be three very soon…), two Champions League qualifications and a TROPHY, then I think you you are kidding yourself.

Eddie Howe has been a miracle worker with what he has achieved and what he has earned at the very least across his time at St James’ Park, is the rest of this season to show whether or not performing NUFC miracles is now finally deserting him.