Incredible from Eddie Howe – Newcastle’s calm in the storm

In amongst the chaos of another summer of turmoil at St James’ Park, one man has again demonstrated the characteristics that make him such a good fit to lead this bipolar football club.

If we thought Alexander Isak was important to Newcastle United, he is not a patch on Eddie Howe.

There is a strong argument for football clubs not concentrating too much power in the hands of one individual, but over the last four years, Howe has become utterly indispensable and intrinsically linked to Newcastle’s fortunes – not only through his elite skill as a football coach, but equally by virtue of his calm personality and ability to neutralise the noise. He is a great football manager in every respect.

Ordinarily a head coach would be selected by a Director of Football, who was in turn chosen by a Chief Executive Officer. This happened back-to-front at Newcastle, which may have contributed to some of the friction Howe experienced with Ashworth and Mitchell. Throw in the departures of Staveley and Ghodoussi (who were Howe’s biggest supporters) and it has not been smooth sailing.

But the fact is that any new executive appointments will have to work with Howe’s methods and opinions, and given his track record there is no reason why they shouldn’t. Newcastle can worry about the structural impact of losing Howe in the (hopefully very far) future, but for now they must realise what they have and provide him the environment and resources to succeed.

For the second year in a row, Howe has been the only club employee available to answer macro level questions about the overall strategy and status of the project – matters he has limited influence over and enquiries about which would be better directed to people who have either left employment or are not yet in their executive positions. Howe never complains or bemoans his situation. He answers as honestly and clearly as he can, knowing the thirst for news and importance of communicating with the fanbase. Howe has instinctively understood and embraced what it means to be Newcastle United manager from day one.

As he did in January 2022, Howe has had to devote a significant portion of his time in this current transfer window to acting as de-facto Director of Football. Although supported by his nephew, Andy, and Steve Nickson, this has been an enormous workload for a manager whose passion and expertise lies on the training ground. Howe’s Bournemouth experience equips him well to take on these extra responsibilities, but it shouldn’t be necessary at a club the size of Newcastle almost four years post-takeover.

On the other hand, Howe is a self-confessed control freak, and all four of the current summer signings have either worked with Howe before or have been tracked for multiple years. This is why, despite the issues in the transfer market, he will have clear ideas of where his reinforcements fit into the system and will be as sure as he can be that their characters will fit into the culture he has fostered at St James’ Park. This may make the extra work worth it in the long run, albeit he will recognise he needs support moving forward.

Newcastle have overachieved since the moment Howe walked through the door, routinely finishing above where their wage bill (a reliable long-term indicator of league finishing position) suggests they should. The Carabao Cup win and Champions League finish last season came in the context of losing squad players and the inability to refresh the team due to financial constraints. Howe dealt with a tumultuous pre-season in which he was strongly linked with the England job and the abrasive Mitchell was parachuted in above him without his knowledge. He had to re-motivate and re-focus a squad where every player knew they were effectively up for sale, and manage the loss of two of his best young talents. To top it all off, he ended up in hospital in the spring, seriously ill, suffering with pneumonia.

Twelve months on, there are parallels – boardroom upheaval, recruitment challenges and unsettled players. It will take all of Howe’s man-management skills to re-integrate Isak if he remains at the club, but he has skilfully left the door open to a return because he knows it might be the only option, and ultimately the interests of Newcastle United have to come first.

Howe has not shied away from the Isak situation and has admitted how difficult it has been, but he has also been diplomatic and conciliatory. The fact Isak is not currently deemed suitable to train with the team, much less play football matches, shows that Howe will not allow any player to threaten the team morale and togetherness no matter how talented they are. Behind his intelligent and caring demeanour there is a resilience and a steel. Eddie Howe is nobody’s fool or doormat, and accusations that he is not ruthless or tough enough are laughably wide of the mark.

In the immediate aftermath of that cup final victory, Howe welled up with emotion when talking about his mother and her influence on his life. She passed away when he was managing at Burnley, and it is clear he carries the values of hard-work and integrity that were instilled in his upbringing. He also talks often about his own three sons and their assimilation into life on Tyneside. He has always been in it for the long haul and demonstrated that commitment by moving his family north at a time when there were no guarantees that he would be at Newcastle for the long-term.

Any lingering doubts about his job-security should be shattered now. Eddie Howe did the unthinkable in bringing home that trophy – a feat that he will probably only reflect on when he has finished his career and has time and space to think back.

For now he is focussed on the future and the relentless pursuit of success. We are so lucky and proud to have him representing our club. Hopefully he knows how much he is respected and loved.

HWTL!