The unofficial line is that Newcastle United will review Eddie Howe‘s position at the end of the season.
A warts-and-all review, overseen by chief executive David Hopkinson and director of football Ross Wilson, was always planned at the end of the season but given the paucity of Premier League performances it suddenly feels make-or-break for under-fire Howe.
The i Paper was told recently that Newcastle “simply don’t have enough information” to make a definitive call right now. Hopkinson’s recent remarks at an accounts briefing raised eyebrows but, all told, were an accurate reflection of his position.
Howe retains plenty of support at St James’ Park but questions are being asked – and past achievements are “no free pass” for the current underachievement. A board meeting in two weeks, with PIF governer and Newcastle chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, may quicken things but no one really knows. In short: this is a moment of genuine peril for Howe, and suddenly no one is talking in absolutes about him being in charge in August.
But it is also a moment of real danger for Newcastle, too. Slipping out of European contention – barring an unexpected shift in momentum at Arsenal next weekend – will be financially costly but not nearly as damaging as letting the season drift into toxicity.
The club is begging for change and it is coming. Recruitment is already pivoting under Wilson, whose relationship with Howe and conviction in the manager is his best protection against flat-lining form. I hear optimistic noises about the profile of player they are attempting to sign this summer, even if there will be painful sales to absorb. An optimistic take is that Howe comes along on that journey, chastened by poor form and convinced by Wilson that a part-data, part-global recruitment policy will arm his team better.
The version of events that lays the blame for Newcastle’s problems at the feet of the players negates to mention that Howe has had more influence than almost any manager over the composition of the squad. The chaos that saw a director of football quit and a chief executive out of action wasn’t his fault but Anthony Elanga, Aaron Ramsdale and Yoane Wissa were his picks.
Howe’s tendency to opt for tried and tested in the transfer market brought Newcastle to Ramsdale, who isn’t good enough. Sunderland plucked Robin Roefs from the Eredivise while Manchester United took Senne Lammens from the Belgian Pro League. Newcastle should have been shopping in those sort of markets.
One Premier League rival summed Newcastle up in one word this weekend: tired. Making a decision on Howe’s future now is the first step to re-energising a club on the brink of crisis.
