Who has had the better start to the season – Nuno Espirito Santo or Eddie Howe? | OneFootball

The question is – Nuno Espirito Santo or Eddie Howe?

Who has had the better start to the season?

In the red corner, Nuno Espirito Santo.

In the black and white corner, Eddie Howe.

I am sure many of you will be saying what a bloody stupid question, the answer is obvious.

I am not so sure.

I know for absolutely sure, the media would overwhelmingly say Nuno Espirito Santo and Nottingham Forest have done better.

Meanwhile, they will also be keen to say how badly Eddie Howe and Newcastle United have done.

Is this true though?

As Newcastle United fans, I would like you to examine the evidence below.

Then at the end, feel free in the comments section to honestly, hand on heart, say whether you would rather have had Newcastle United’s set of results so far this season, or Nottingham Forest’s.

First of all, these are the results (all competitions) under Nuno Espirito Santo and Eddie Howe so far this season:

Forest: Played 11 Won 5 Drawn 4 Lost 2

Newcastle: Played 13 Won 7 Drawn 3 Lost 3

So who have the two teams/managers defeated so far this season?

Nottingham Forest victories under Nuno Espirito Santo in this 2024/25 season:

Southampton 0 Forest 1

Liverpool 0 Forest 1

Forest 1 Palace 0

Leicester 1 Forest 3

Forest 3 West Ham 0

Newcastle United victories under Eddie Howe in this 2024/25 season:

Newcastle 1 Southampton 0

Forest 1 Newcastle 1 (NUFC won 4-3 on pens)

Newcastle 2 Spurs 1

Wolves 1 Newcastle 2

Newcastle 1 AFC Wimbledon 0

Newcastle 2 Chelsea 0

Newcastle 1 Arsenal 0

This is how the Premier League table currently looks (Saturday 9 November 2024):

As you can see:

Forest have won matches against the teams currently 1st, 14th, 15th, 17th and 20th.

Newcastle have won matches against the teams currently 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 19th and 20th (plus AFC Wimbledon who are currently 13th in League Two).

As Newcastle United fans, would you rather have had Newcastle United’s set of results so far this season, or Nottingham Forest’s.

Put very simply, would you rather:

Have 19 points after 10 Premier League matches and be out of the Carabao Cup, having won five of eleven games overall?

OR….

Have 15 points after 10 Premier League matches and be in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, knowing a home win over Brentford would take NUFC into the semi-finals, having won seven of thirteen games overall so far?