Saturday evening’s post-match press convention at Newcastle felt like a giant second for Eddie Howe. It felt emotional – and he picked his phrases very rigorously after the defeat to Brentford.
It was the primary time Newcastle have been booed off at each at half-time and full-time in a protracted, very long time. It represented the bottom level for the reason that Saudi Arabia takeover of the membership almost 5 years in the past. They’re sitting twelfth within the Premier League after three straight losses, and had been knocked out of the League Cup final week.
Howe is somebody who commits his life, his coronary heart and his soul to Newcastle and has carried out that since he arrived again in November 2021. Nobody can query that. However he clearly is questioning how he can do his job higher – whether or not that be ways, staff choice and coaching.
The issue for Newcastle proper now could be that they cannot actually practice. The schedule is totally brutal for the time being – they’re in the course of six video games in 17 days.
They’ve not had a free midweek for the reason that worldwide break in November. That’s, after all, the identical for Man Metropolis, Liverpool and Arsenal. Nevertheless it feels that these three groups’ squads are higher outfitted to cope with the schedule.
Newcastle had a chance final summer season to enhance the squad by way of recruitment. They signed 5 outfield gamers.
However solely actually a kind of 5 have labored out to date in Malick Thiaw. 4 of them – Yoane Wissa, Nick Woltemade, Jacob Ramsey and Anthony Elanga – the jury remains to be out on – at greatest.
And once you’re spending £250m and you have all these video games, you are taking part in a sport each three days, you want nearly all of these gamers to work. So it now feels that the problems from final summer season are actually coming residence to roost.
Howe’s recruitment at Newcastle has been unbelievable up till now. Gamers like Tino Livramento, Lewis Corridor, Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, and Dan Burn have all are available and grow to be large characters on Tyneside – and so they’ve all improved as gamers. They’re the heartbeat of the staff.
There’s nonetheless time for these 4 summer season signings to work, however they’re working out of time.
What now for Howe?
Howe is a generational supervisor who’s introduced so many wonderful occasions, a lot pleasure, a lot like to the membership – and has constructed a connection between town and that soccer membership. He is proper up there alongside Kevin Keegan by way of what he is carried out for the soccer membership.
The excessive ranges of disrespect he has been proven on social media feels completely different from the match-going followers, who’re determined for Howe to have time and for him to show it round.
And Howe, after all, will nonetheless assume he can flip it round. He is been within the trenches a few occasions already with Newcastle, and turned it round.
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Eddie Howe took accountability for Newcastle’s poor kind after their loss to Brentford
Howe has the total backing of the hierarchy at Newcastle. However as any supervisor will let you know, he recognises that should you preserve dropping video games and preserve struggling, in some unspecified time in the future there may be going to be a change.
And have a look at the fixtures arising: Spurs away on Tuesday, Aston Villa away within the cup on Saturday, they’re straight again from that – after which off to a 5,000-mile spherical journey to Baku within the Champions League, then Man Metropolis away the next Saturday. It is completely brutal proper now. There is no time to recuperate.
What Howe was doing in his press convention in opposition to Brentford was an try to take the strain away from his gamers and blaming himself. As he stated final week, what Newcastle must do at this second in time is defend the arrogance of the gamers in any respect prices.
And Newcastle want a spark from somebody, whether or not it’s an Elanga, whether or not it is Woltemade, or somebody to go on a goalscoring spree. They should discover one thing.
These gamers aren’t simply low in vitality proper now with the quantity of video games, they’re actually low in confidence as properly. And it is a actually, actually troublesome factor to get again.
Newcastle’s February fixtures
February 10: Tottenham vs Newcastle – Premier League, kick-off 7.30pm
February 14: Aston Villa vs Newcastle – FA Cup fourth spherical, kick-off 5.45pm
February 18: Qarabag vs Newcastle – Champions League play-off first leg, kick-off 5.45pm
February 21: Man Metropolis vs Newcastle – Premier League, kick-off 8pm
February 24: Newcastle vs Qarabag – Champions League play-off second leg, kick-off 8pm
February 28: Newcastle vs Everton – Premier League, kick-off 3pm
