OPINION
Lee Clark would clearly love Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe to become Newcastle United’s next boss but the former Magpies midfielder’s remarks should put the 41-year-old off the job if anything.
Clark shared that he thought it would be massive for Newcastle if they could get Burnley’s Sean Dyche or Howe to succeed Rafa Benitez at St James Park and in particular raved about the Cherries boss.
The former Magpies ace shared that Howe would tick a lot of the boxes for him personally and raved about how the manager used young and exciting players who played with plenty of speed and tenacity.
“It would be massive for the club if they could get a manager like Sean Dyche or Eddie Howe. Those two are top draw and have done a fantastic job with their respective clubs,” added the former Magpies midfielder,” wrote Clark, in his column for Tribal Football.
“Eddie has brought Bournemouth from League One and established them as a Premier League club, showing how much of an affect he can have on his young and exciting players, who play with plenty of speed and tenacity. Sean’s also done a brilliant job on limited resources at Turf Moor.
“So both of those would be ticking a lot of the boxes for me personally in terms of recruiting a manager, without a doubt.”
It’s clear in an ideal world for Clark, the Magpies would appoint Howe to be their manager.
And who can blame him? The 41-year-old would be an inspired choice.
Howe has overseen 319 games as Bournemouth during his current spell as their manager, and has averaged 1.49 points per game; which is actually slightly better than Benitez during his Newcastle spell (he averaged 1.48 points per game). (Source: Transfermarkt)
The 41-year-old has proven himself to be a capable Premier League manager as he has led Bournemouth to several respectable finishes in the division in recent seasons, they finished 14th in the 2018/19 season, 12th in the 2017/18 season, 9th in their 2016/17 campaign and 16th in their 2015/16 season. (Source: Premier League)
However, Clark’s own remarks show why Howe should be discouraged from jumping ship especially with him in a stable job at Bournemouth.
The former Magpies manager correctly hinted that if a manager starts off bad, there would be more pressure instantly than usually put on him by supporters due to how popular Benitez was; and could see the axe fall quicker than normal.
“But if the results are positive, that could be changed and they’ll move on. If they don’t, there’ll be more pressure on that new manager than there normally is,” said Clark.
Howe is contracted to Bournemouth until 2020, as per Transfermarkt, and previously opted to return to the Cherries after a brief stint managing Burnley so he clearly loves his current club; so why take a risk of the Magpies when it could all quickly backfire?
So while Clark would love Howe, like many others, at St James Park; he has actually made a case for why the 41-year-old should be put off the idea of managing Newcastle United.
