We unashamedly love Matthias Jaissle, his ‘stupid tight suit’ & Newcastle’s ‘biggest step backwards’ | OneFootball

We love Matthias Jaissle. Fully invested in his stock. Paid-up members of the fan club.

We liked Eddie Howe. But after a few years, the red flags became unignorable: the largely bland, non-committal media answers; the relentless insistence of trying to make Dan Burn and Jacob Murphy happen; the actual friendship with Luke Edwards; the Jason Tindall of it all.

That red flag, in all fairness, never could be forgotten.

But when it comes to Jaissle, we are willing at this stage to overlook the whole Saudi coaching crown jewel thing, and just appreciate the brilliance of an individual who feels destined to break Newcastle hearts when he leaves in three years’ time.

Yoane Wissa put it best.

“For sure, Eddie Howe has done a top job at the club so we need to respect that,” he told Sky Sports after following up a Liverpool creative masterclass with a goal to help beat Spurs. “But the new manager came with a new identity, and that is something we have been working on.

“Every part of the game is precise and, of course, he is a really dynamic manager so we need to give everything. But, yes, I think he is the best signing of Newcastle so far.”

It was no slight on new teammates Ewen Jaouen, Bazoumana Toure, Sean Steur, Aladji Bamba, Lukas Hornicek, Amar Dedic or Nico Gonzalez. It just reflected how seamlessly Jaissle has turned around the sinking ship he inherited.

What felt irretrievably broken suddenly seems to be thriving within a matter of weeks.

When Howe was appointed in 2021, caretaker manager Graeme Jones took pride in handing over “a healthy football club pulling in the same direction”. The opposite was true for Jaissle after a bruising summer headlined by three first-team sales left the remaining players and supporters disillusioned.

But already there is a congruity at St James’ Park which had not been present for at least the final season under Howe and, in truth, a little longer.

It is difficult not to be impressed with Jaissle’s start on a tactical level. His adaptability and specifically tailored game plans caused Liverpool problems in transition by targeting their midfield, with Spurs instead succumbing to long balls and switches down the flanks.

Two completely different approaches have rendered similarly impressive results against the two sides who have arguably humiliated Newcastle the most in the last couple of transfer markets.

But the most remarkable aspect of Jaissle’s Barclays beginnings is the short Keys and Peele sketch he put on at the final whistle in north London.

A chest bump for Sven Botman. Quick embraces for Lewis Hall and Anthony Elanga, the former patted on the back while the latter was caressed by the head. The cleanest of daps with Wissa.

That meticulous detail which goes into custom-made, purpose-built approaches for every opponent even extends to bespoke celebrations for every member of his squad.

Right now, that and his ‘stupid tight suit’ are endearing testaments to a charismatic, welcome addition to the Premier League. That might change with time.

But ‘Matthias Jaissle won’t cut it, not sure fans will take to him’ and ‘the biggest step backwards in the world’ currently look like really quite deranged, detached predictions.