After an underwhelming start to the 2024/25 season, the pressure is growing on Eddie Howe to win a trophy with Newcastle.
It’s officially been three years since the Saudi-backed takeover of Newcastle and arrival of Eddie Howe. During this time, Howe has transformed the Magpies, taking them to a Carabao Cup final — the club’s first major final since 1999 — while also securing long-awaited Champions League qualification. Despite heavy financial backing from the club’s Saudi owners, it’s fair to say that Howe has been a relative success at St. James’ Park, with many believing that the English manager is ahead of schedule. However, now that it’s been three years since Howe took over, the pressure is starting to mount on him to finally win a trophy — but will it actually happen? Here’s a look at Newcastle’s current trophy prospects and whether Howe will still be in charge come the start of next season.
Will Eddie Howe Win a Trophy with Newcastle?
The overriding belief is that Eddie Howe will eventually win a trophy with Newcastle. However, a lot of this will come down to how much time he is given. It’s no secret that Newcastle have bags of money to spend since the Saudi takeover and are technically one of the richest football clubs in the world, but the club has so far had to hold back on spending due to FFP rules. This has essentially stopped Newcastle from achieving instant success similar to that of Manchester City from the early 2010s, which is why the Newcastle board (and fans) are being patient with Howe.
When it comes to potential trophies on the table for the 2024/25 season, Newcastle are still in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup. Before the start of the season, there were also some whispers that Newcastle might be able to enter a Premier League title race, but the club’s poor start to the Premier League season means that this isn’t going to happen. Instead, the best Howe and his players can hope for is a top four finish, although even this might be too much to ask considering the likes of Aston Villa and Chelsea look much more likely to grab that all-important fourth place spot.
The current Newcastle trophy odds across most major low deposit betting sites are:
🏆 Carabao Cup: 9/2
🏆 FA Cup: 14/1
The best chance Newcastle have of picking up silverware is the Carabao Cup, which they recently just progressed to the quarter-finals in after an excellent 2-0 victory over Chelsea. Newcastle will face Brentford next, which Eddie Howe will be desperate to win. If Newcastle can get past Brentford and make it to the semi-finals, they could face the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, or Spurs, so it certainly won’t be an easy road to the final. However, you can expect Howe to have learnt some strong lessons from Newcastle’s previous Carabao Cup run back in 2023 — which saw them reach the final against Manchester United — so don’t be surprised to see Newcastle make the final again come next year.
When it comes to winning a trophy with Newcastle, Eddie Howe has shared his thoughts on this before, commenting:
“I genuinely think about Newcastle and trying to lift a trophy here would be my goal and I immerse myself with what I’m in currently, so no other thoughts have entered my head. I just try to do the best I can”
Clearly, Howe’s ultimate ambition remains to win a trophy with the Magpies. And following a poor start to the 2024/25 season, which currently sees Newcastle sitting outside the top half of the table, you can expect Howe to push hard for a trophy this campaign. Not only would it bring joy to Newcastle supporters, but it would also relieve some of the pressure on his shoulders, as Howe is not immune to the sack if Newcastle finish the season trophyless and also finish outside of the top 4. What will be key is whether or not Newcastle can pick up form during the Christmas period, which would give them some much-needed momentum for the second half of the season.
PSR Rules Set to Change — Which Could Lead to a Huge Newcastle Spending Spree
Since Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF) took control of Newcastle back in 2021, the club has been restricted with the amount of money it can spend on players. Naturally, Newcastle have splashed out on some big players, including record-signing Alexander Isak for €70 million, but the club hasn’t even got close to showcasing its new financial power. However, there’s good news: this could soon be about to change.
The profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) that stop clubs from spending crazy amounts of money are set to be removed from the start of the 2025/26 season. Instead, they will be replaced by a UEFA ‘squad cost ratio’, which means clubs will still be limited with what they can spend on wages and transfers, but it likely won’t be as harsh as before. As a result, Newcastle and Howe can keep building a squad that will eventually be primed to challenge the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal, who have been the Premier League’s two leading challengers over the past few years.
If Newcastle are allowed to start spending more money, the odds of them winning a trophy will drastically improve. After all, Newcastle already have an excellent squad, but three or four big money signings thrown on top would almost certainly give them what they need to get over the finish line and finally grab a major trophy, which is what fans want more than anything.
Final Thoughts
Will Eddie Howe lead Newcastle to their first major trophy since 1955? With a huge amount of talent to pick from, including the likes of Anthony Gordan, Alexander Isak, and Sandro Tonali, it’s reasonable for fans to expect Howe to deliver them a trophy this season, so the pressure will continue to grow. Whether Howe can deliver silverware remains to be seen, with the English manager having never won a trophy before. He certainly has the squad foundation to do it, though, and loosening of FFP rules in the future would also allow Newcastle to spend much bigger amounts of money and edge even close to adding some new trophies to their cabinet.
