If backing the greatest ever Newcastle United Manager makes me a happy clapper then so be it

Eddie Howe recently celebrated his fourth anniversary since becoming Newcastle United Head Coach.

The 8 November 2021 saw the new boss starting work and taking stock of what he had inherited.

It wasn’t pretty.

Eddie Howe walking into a complete mess, utter chaos, a shambles inherited thanks to the combined efforts of Mike Ashley and Steve Bruce.

As Newcastle United fans we all know what has happened since.

Or do we???

It appears that ‘all Newcastle United fans’ isn’t really true.

A very vocal minority behaving quite shamefully in my opinion.

Continuing to back the greatest Newcastle United manager, certainly in my lifetime, makes me a ‘Happy Clapper’, apparently.

Searching online, ‘Happy Clapper’ is described as…’A derogatory term for someone overly enthusiastic, often used for fans supporting a team unconditionally, or for evangelical Christians in services with lots of clapping and singing.’

Well, I haven’t seen the inside of a church for many a day, so that place me for sure in the first target group.

Apparently, when I continue to back Eddie Howe and appreciate everything he has done for us AND continues to do, that makes me a Happy Clapper.

I find it beyond ridiculous to be put in this position.

Some of the lunatic fringe amongst the United fanbase, would be happy to see Eddie Howe leave St James’ Park. Indeed, some of them appear to be desperate to see that day arrive.

I know that a lot of these are sad and desperate characters who lurk on social media, on YouTube, supposed Newcastle United fans who are willing to say quite literally anything, if it gets them attention and in plenty of cases, that equalling cash.

The route to getting attention these days is going as extreme as possible, extreme negativity equals lots of attention, drawing in also the fans of rival clubs who are desperate to see Newcastle United fail. They absolutely love it when they see Newcastle United ‘fans’ slagging off their own manager, players and club, in the most public way possible.

Continuing to back Eddie Howe isn’t a case of saying that because he brought us a a first trophy in 56 years he is untouchable.

The reality is that like every other manager, at every other football club, results on the pitch determine their future, how long they remain in the job.

There are plenty of instances in the past of a manager at a club fluking a trophy win. Whereby an otherwise struggling team (and manager) carries so much luck in a cup competition, kind draws and fine margins falling their way. Even examples in the past of teams getting relegated AND winning a trophy.

The thing is, this was and is, absolutely NOT the case with Eddie Howe. The 16 March 2025 was anything but a fluke, it was simply the silverware that had been threatened due to the manager making Newcastle United so competitive.

Eddie Howe inherited an ugly shambles and turned it into a thing of beauty.

Quite incredible that some people on Saturday reacted to the Chelsea match as further ‘proof’ that Eddie Howe should be replaced.

Eddie Howe set his team and tactics up perfectly, would them up to get at Chelsea from the first whistle and we saw the best half of football we have enjoyed for many a day.

It wasn’t Eddie Howe’s fault that chance after chance went begging, other than the two taken, or that the match officials were beyond belief in their decision making, or that two soft goals were then conceded due to poor goalkeeping and defending thanks to individual mistakes, nor that then loads more great chances weren’t finished off that would have still seen United deservedly win the match.

Saturday left me desperate to see more of this from Eddie Howe and his players, not let’s get rid of the greatest Newcastle United manager any of us have ever seen and blindly bring in a replacement based on nothing but…wishful thinking. I even see some of these who are against Eddie Howe putting forward Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez. Both great managers in their day BUT that day is now gone. This is the day of Eddie Howe and hopefully many more of them (days) are still to come at Newcastle United.

I am not a Happy Clapper who thinks everything is currently perfect and can’t be improved, far from it.

However, to be sitting here one step away from our third cup final in four years, all but certainly as a minimum getting into the play-off stage to get into the Champions League last 16, plus reality is only six points between Newcastle United and the top four in the Premier League, all to a backdrop of currently seven or eight players currently out injured.

If you think Eddie Howe is not worth backing, based on more than four years (so far) of brilliance, then what would be needed to convince you that the biggest own goal possible for Newcastle United, would be to lose this talented top man mid-season?