Eddie Howe at Newcastle: how is the manager faring three years into job?

Results

Eddie Howe’s record is not too shabby at all. After rescuing Newcastle from seemingly near-certain relegation in his first season, a fourth-placed finish in 2022-23 secured Champions League qualification at the end of a campaign when the club lost the Carabao Cup final to Manchester United. If multiple injuries proved largely responsible for last term’s mildly disappointing seventh place, fears the former Bournemouth manager could be approaching the end of his St James’ Park shelf life have surfaced after five Premier League games without a win, a slide to 12th and the scoring of only nine goals in nine league games. Tellingly, Howe looked hugely relieved after Wednesday’s Carabao Cup victory against Chelsea but will be back under scrutiny when Arsenal visit on Saturday.

Supporter approval rating

Howe recently implored fans to abandon a new habit of booing his substitutions but the supporter behind the home dugout who hollered “I love you Eddie” during the Chelsea win almost certainly reflected a majority consensus. For the moment at least, those whispering about whether Rafa Benítez, a much-loved former Newcastle manager, would be doing better with this squad remain outliers.

Tactics

Having weaned Newcastle off the back three that served the team well under Benítez but foundered on Steve Bruce’s watch, Howe has stuck largely to a flexible 4-3-3 featuring plenty of in-game positional interchanging. After informing his squad that “intensity is our identity” he introduced a high, hard press that over the past two seasons has stunned several leading teams, Paris Saint-Germain included. Strugglers under Bruce such as Fabian Schär and Sean Longstaff flourished and Joelinton’s relocation from centre-forward to midfield proved a masterstroke.

The downside was the litany of injuries, often soft tissue, that prompted James Bunce’s appointment as performance director this summer. His modification of Howe’s training methods is arguably responsible for Newcastle’s slow start. Howe, unlike Benítez, is not a fan of rotation and refreshes his XI sparingly. Players are sometimes awarded mini-rests when Newcastle indulge in the dark arts, principally time-wasting tactics to protect leads. Watch out for Nick Pope going down, apparently injured, or Schär suggesting he might be concussed. Howe’s assistant, Jason Tindall, adores winding up inhabitants of opposition technical areas.

Man-management

Pretty flawless, at least until fairly recently. Powerful unity was initially forged as Howe sat down in front of Newcastle’s squad and detailed his life story with soul-baring candour before asking players to exhibit similar frankness. New signings, notably the England winger Anthony Gordon, have reported that tactical drills described by Howe as “very complex and difficult” took several months to fathom out, but the manager’s door is always open. The midfielder Joe Willock says he had never previously felt able to “confide” in a head coach but that Howe’s willingness to listen made “all the difference”. The manager’s concern for players extends to buying parenting manuals for new fathers.

Missteps seem rare but with key players, notably Alexander Isak, seeking lucrative contract extensions and Kieran Trippier contentiously losing the captaincy to the sometimes overly emotional Bruno Guimarães Howe has admitted he has struggled to recapture the squad’s “harmony” this season. With Trippier unsettled, he has, significantly, lost his former dressing-room “first lieutenant”.

Moreover there is an underlying sense that Howe’s desire to keep Guimarães happy has resulted in the Brazil international retaining the central, string-pulling midfield position to which Italy’s Sandro Tonali is possibly better suited. Similarly with Gordon coveting a left-wing role the manager struggles to accommodate the gifted Harvey Barnes.

Political nous

Howe was appointed by Newcastle’s then minority co-owner and director Amanda Staveley and had a close working relationship with the financier until her sudden departure in July. That abrupt exit hit him hard, removing a helpful conduit with the Riyadh-based majority ownership while also placing Howe on a collision course with Newcastle’s new sporting director, Paul Mitchell. A manager who enjoyed a high degree of autonomy over all areas at Bournemouth and demands a big say in recruitment failed to appreciate Mitchell’s endeavours to clip his wings. A turf war ensued with Howe, unusually, inviting reporters to a pre-season training camp near Nuremberg where, reprising the former Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan’s “It’s not like it says in the brochure” moment, he hinted he could easily leave, possibly to take the then vacant England job, if he were not kept happy.

Since then an uneasy truce has been declared. Although Howe appears to have the upper hand it is thought his Bavarian outburst did not go down too well in Saudi Arabia. Matters are further complicated by Newcastle’s struggles to meet Premier League profitability and sustainability rules after spending about £400m on players since the takeover. Howe dislikes compromise but with no major signings recruited during the past two transfer windows he will almost certainly need to sell a key player before refreshing a slightly stale squad.

Media relations

Safe, sanitised and super-controlled. Howe is highly articulate but, unlike many managers, never briefs off the record, avoids small talk and is perhaps a little paranoid about protecting tactical secrets. Press conferences are staged away from Newcastle’s training ground, with journalists barred from even glimpsing players being put through their paces and discussion of tactical nuance taboo. Apparently allergic to controversy, Howe has consistently refused to address Saudi Arabia’s atrocious human rights record.