According to Daily Mail journalist Craig Hope, Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe still has a future at St James’ Park despite speculation that the board is assessing their options.
Newcastle United are not performing at the high standard they set for themselves last season, and as a result, it has started to chip away at supporters, causing a conversation about the manager’s future.
After qualifying comfortably for Champions League football, reaching a Carabao Cup final, and finishing fourth in the Premier League, the expectations have not been higher in a long time on Tyneside, but they have failed to maintain them.
The Magpies are currently 15 points adrift from the fourth spot inside the top four of the Premier League table where they finished last season, have been knocked out of the Champions League, but have progressed to the FA Cup quarter-finals after penalties against Blackburn Rovers this week.
The inconsistency in performances, team selection, and in-game management has placed the spotlight on Howe and provoked the question as to whether he is the right man to lead Newcastle to glory and success.
German journalist Christian Falk reported this week that Julian Nagelsmann was being considered as a potential replacement for the former Bournemouth boss, should he not be able to turn things around in the coming weeks and months remaining this season.
Now Daily Mail journalist Craig Hope has weighed in on the debate about Howe’s future and took to X to reveal what he had heard from the club on the situation:
“Reiterated today that Eddie Howe is the man Newcastle are invested in & believe in for the long term. Plans in the making for a busy summer.”
“This comes after reports of interest in Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann in the German press earlier #nufc”
Should Newcastle sack Eddie Howe?
There is no doubt that supporters will be feeling frustrated with the anti-climax that the season has provided so far after such dizzying highs last season, however, it does not necessarily mean that Howe isn’t fit for purpose.
When the Saudi-led takeover went through back in 2021, it was considered a long-term project to make Newcastle one of the most successful clubs in the Premier League and Europe.
Though considering the state that the club was inherited in, the quick qualification of Champions League football may have somewhat skewed the reality of the magnitude of the task at hand.
Indeed, it was incredibly impressive to see Newcastle have the instant rise from relegation battles to rubbing shoulders with Europe’s very elite, but with Financial Fair Play restrictions as well as a squad thin of talent and experience, the momentum was bound to burn out at some point.
On the other hand, there is a sense of loyalty to a point fault with the way that Howe selects his teams, with Dan Burn retaining his role while youthful talent Valentino Livramento waits patiently on the bench to deliver energetic and direct cameos in the full-back role on a handful of opportunities.
With that being said, the jury is out on whether Howe should or will be the man to lead Newcastle to greatness, but it will be important for supporters the media alike to recognise the many obstacles there has been and will be to overcome before it is possible to achieve that.
