‘Retains The Backing’ – Eddie Howe Gets Newcastle United Boost | OneFootball

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Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe retains the backing of the club’s board, according to journalist Alex Crook, despite recent reversals.

At the weekend, Sunderland handed Newcastle a chastening defeat at St James Park, coming back from an Anthony Gordon opener to celebrate a league double over their sworn rivals for the first time in over a decade.

The result leaves Sunderland tied with Newcastle in the all-time head-to-head record in the Tyne-Wear Derby with 54 wins apiece in all competitions, as Howe becomes the first Newcastle manager to lose his first two games in the derby while Regis Le Bris becomes just the second Sunderland boss to win his first two in the derby.

Howe is coming under increasing scrutiny, with the loss shortly following the 7-2 humbling at the hands of Barcelona at the Camp Nou, which shocked former Premier League striker Dean Ashton.

The manager admitted that the Sunderland result was a ‘huge disappointment’, as Newcastle ‘would be looking at those fixtures as two games that we had to win for obvious reasons’ ahead of the season.

It has not only been the results that have been disappointing, but the manner of defeats, as the Magpies are now the team that have lost the most points, 22, from winning positions in the Premier League this season.

Howe also conceded that losing Alexander Isak in the summer was a ‘considerable blow’ for the side.

Isak’s replacements Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa were unused substitutes against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, despite goals being needed.

Another criticism has been that Howe’s high-octane style leaves the players exhausted in the second half of games, leaving the door open for other sides to come back, an argument supported by the points dropped from winning positions statistic.

Despite all the concerns, Howe still ‘retains the backing’ of the Magpies’ hierarchy, with the manager having ended the club’s seven-decade wait for a major trophy after clinching the EFL Cup last season.

The board will have undoubtedly looked at Isak’s present employers, Liverpool, and come to the conclusion that there are no easy fixes for Newcastle’s problems.

If Howe has been criticised for the energy-sapping style he deploys, Arne Slot has been derided for the passive, meandering football he has got the Reds to play, with the ensuing conclusion being obvious that finding middle ground can prove to be difficult.

It could be argued that if they made a mistake with the Isak sale, it was that they did not do it earlier in the summer, leaving a shadow on the beginning of the season, with Howe given little-to-no time to prepare for the season, especially with no sporting director in place.

Richard Keys argued that it is ‘fairly obvious’ that the Newcastle project is over, believing that Saudi Arabia no longer need the club to put themselves on the world sports stage.

With a sporting director in place now, Newcastle will hope they can have a good summer transfer window, identifying and recruiting players better suited to Howe’s system.