You know what, just maybe Eddie Howe knows what he is doing here… | OneFootball

Eddie Howe had us all puzzled.

Just why was he not taking notice of all this expert advice?

When Newcastle United not quite clicking, performances not idea at times, results not ideal at other times.

With all these experts queuing up to help him out, what was Eddie Howe playing at, when stubbornly refusing to accept these wise pointers on where he was going wrong?

Tactics, team selections, roles for certain players, the set-up of the NUFC side.

All of it plain to see, if only pride wasn’t getting in the way, if only Eddie Howe could accept and admit how wrong he was getting it.

Returning to the real world….

Some of these Newcastle United ‘experts’ now almost doing themselves a mischief with their contortions, as they furiously attempt to backtrack on the embarrassing stuff they were coming out with, so very recently.

Some of them even claiming the credit for these three latest excellent performances and wins in a week and a half against Chelsea, Arsenal and Forest.

Apparently, Eddie Howe ‘finally listening’ to them.

These Newcastle United YouTubers and other online experts, whose coaching qualifications are limited to getting Newcastle United to finish fifth on Football Manager and/or a masters degree in playing FIFA.

Yet they all thought they knew better than Eddie Howe.

This is Eddie Howe who took Bournemouth from looking certain to drop into non-league, all the way through the divisions to the Premier League.

As opposed to the Eddie Who that ‘won’ the FA Cup with Brazil online.

This is Eddie Howe who took Newcastle United from looking certain to drop into the second tier, all the way to Champions League qualifications the following season.

As opposed to the Eddie Who that has never played or managed a football match in real life.

These ‘experts’ screaming at Eddie Howe for not playing Sandro Tonali every match alongside the two Brazilians. Then once he did do this for a few matches in a row, the self-same ‘experts’ screaming at Eddie Howe for playing that trio together.

These ‘experts’ saying how clueless Eddie Howe was and what a waste of money Gordon, Hall and Livramento were, paying all that money and then not starting them.

These ‘experts’ now revelling in all three young Newcastle United players becoming starters for England, after such a short period of time at St James’ Park (under Eddie Howe…).

These ‘experts’ not accepting that real life isn’t quite the same as something online. Where there are so many different factors contributing to any Newcastle United match and at times you can do everything right and yet still the fine margins and luck can go against you, when it comes to the final result.

Eddie Howe works with these players day in day out and for each given match, he has a wealth of data and information to guide him, both on the physical state of his players and what he has seen on the training pitch, in terms of how they fit together.

Of course he doesn’t get every decision correct and Eddie Howe is the first to hold his hands up when this happens, such as when he admitted he shouldn’t have played Joe Willock as a starter at Fulham, because clearly the former Arsenal player hadn’t been at the right physical level, maybe mentally as well, in order to start again in the Premier League.

However, these are few and far between, these Eddie Howe obvious errors.

Time after time he has proved that he knows what he is doing at Newcastle United.

As in the case of the 18, 20 and 21 year olds who arrived at NUFC in 2023 and already in 2024 they are all starting together for England.

Look at how Eddie Howe handled Bruno Guimaraes. Bruno had already played for Brazil and had shown great form in Ligue 1, yet the NUFC Head Coach didn’t start him in a game for six weeks and he had to wait over two months to start a game at SJP. Even with the threat of relegation at the time, Eddie Howe was brave enough to do what he thought (knew!) was the right approach.

I have no doubt that Sandro Tonali will be a great asset to Newcastle United under Eddie Howe. The same as pretty much all of Howe’s signings have proved to be.

So many people are so reactive, a vocal minority of Newcastle United fans who based on one or two matches can change their opinion on an individual, the team, or even Eddie Howe.

Eddie Howe has been brilliant for Newcastle United over the course of more than three years, why would you suddenly have such a downer on him after a few below par performances, or when a few results go against you?

Of course, no manager is immune to pressure of results and Eddie Howe is no exception.

However, against all odds and competing with a lot of clubs who have far more expensive squads, bigger wage bills, more freedom to spend in the transfer market, Eddie Howe has performed minor miracles in achieving what he has done so far.

Intelligently run clubs will anyway only look to replace any manager (unless you inherit a Bruce, McClaren, Carver etc etc) in the close season, making a properly informed decision, rather than a snap judgement mid-season. Between seasons you have a far biggest choice of replacements, as another club can then have time to get a replacement, if you attract their current manager away.

Not that I am in any way suggesting Eddie Howe is replaced next summer.

However, if/when that does happen, you do it in the close season when you can get the best possible replacement, not a crazy mid-season disaster such as bringing in Jose Mourinho.