Before Eddie Howe arrived in Newcastle to lead the club and the city into a new era, he was often referred to as one of football’s ‘nice guys’.
It is, admittedly, a label that can raise a few eyebrows, especially among fanbases of clubs who typically want to see a full-blooded approach from their team on matchdays.
Needless to say, Howe’s fresh-faced appearance and reputation for being agreeable meant that he had a significant way to go in order to win over the St James’ faithful.
Cha-Cha-Changes
Since his appointment in early November 2021, however, Howe has done just that and a closer look at the latest football bets as far as the odds on a top six finish go proves as much.
Remarkably, Howe has Newcastle, as of early September, at just 2/1 to finish in the top six which would, of course, mean a return to European football for the club.
🗣️ “𝗢𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝗘𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲.”
— The Chronicle (@ChronicleNUFC) August 30, 2022
👏 Jurgen Klopp believes Newcastle United will break the top six if they stick with Eddie Howe#NUFC // #LIVNEW pic.twitter.com/iuYAD8rjbl
There is still a long way to go but the one certainty is that Howe has played an integral role in helping turn the club around after a decade and a half of merely existing.
Yes, the 44-year-old has had significant help from the club’s new owners but he has also demonstrated an ability to be ruthless, a trait that he confesses in a recent interview with Alan Shearer that he probably didn’t have whilst on the south coast during his time as Bournemouth boss.
At least Howe refers to not being as nice as he was when he first took over at the Vitality Stadium owing to his personality changes due to the demands of managing at a club like Newcastle.
Crucially, this new uncompromising approach doesn’t affect his relationship with the players given that his main focus is still on giving them what they need. You can suddenly see how effective Howe’s man management is and why his players respect him so much. However, there has been a noticeable change in Howe’s temperament that can be seen during interactions with the media and other managers.
In many respects, you get the sense that Howe is trying to lead from the front by creating ‘us against the world’ mindset within the club. It goes without saying but this would have been impossible to develop had the 44-year-old’s nice guy persona had an influence on how his team played or conducted themselves.
There is, of course, an argument to be made about the benefits of Howe’s agreeable nature and how it ultimately earned him the job at Newcastle after an impressive spell with Bournemouth. The critical difference here is that Newcastle are perhaps the most scrutinized club in world football at the moment. Put another way, there are an extraordinary amount of people who want to see his team fail after Newcastle became the richest club on the planet. Tellingly, Howe was wise to the outside feeling towards Newcastle and has set about using that animosity to drive his players on.
Eddie Howe on Wednesday:
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) September 2, 2022
“I don’t have any emotion about being boo’d off. Certainly we don’t want to be clapped off by the opposition in a sympathetic sense. We’re here to compete and no part of me thinks differently. How that’s perceived by other people has no relevance to me.” pic.twitter.com/QYKyxwd5pz
Indeed, this is a man who is at peace with being the leader of a club that currently divides opinion. It may have cost him his old reputation of being one of the game’s nicer managers, but times change, and Howe has made sure that he has moved with the times