Sport

Eddie Howe’s Bittersweet Tyneside Legacy

Every manager who walked into Newcastle United since 1969 did so with the aim of ending the club’s trophy drought.

Only Eddie Howe, who left his post on Thursday, can say he succeeded.

While it has been a turbulent time over the past year and fan sentiment towards Howe had begun to shift, making the news of his departure perhaps less surprising than it seemed, he cemented his legendary status long before that.

Winning the Carabao Cup was the highlight of his reign; by the time he achieved it, the wait had reached reached 56 years for any silverware and 70 domestically. But Howe was also instrumental in establishing Newcastle as a force in English football, reaching the Champions League twice in three seasons. Even those who accepted his time was up would never disregard his work on Tyneside.

Howe arrived shortly after the Saudi Arabian-backed takeover was confirmed, in November 2021. It hasn’t been an easy near five-year tenure, with financial restrictions capping how much of their newfound wealth the club could flaunt. Howe did a brilliant job against a difficult backdrop, which also included near-annual boardroom upheaval. Three sporting directors and two CEOs were there to work alongside him.

Last summer perhaps signalled the beginning of the end. With neither board position filled heading into the summer, Howe took a more central role in recruitment. Star striker Alexander Isak left in a very protracted and damaging way, while of the six players who arrived for north of £250m, only defender Malick Thiaw could be certified a definite success.

The club went on to finish 12th in the Premier League, missing out on European qualification, said to be their minimum expectation and lost twice to bitter rivals Sunderland. With a new sporting director and CEO in place, a new approach was likely; a breach of UEFA’s squad cost rules would also force the sale of key players like Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali.

Howe seemed on board with this and was set to help with the rebuild. Gordon joined Barcelona and Tonali signed for Spurs, which Howe later called “frustrating” while the policy on incomings switched from established names to raw talent from abroad with a high ceiling. The manager didn’t have much of a say on that.

It turned weeks ago when Arsenal first intimated interest in Newcastle’s captain, Bruno Guimaraes, who in turn said he would like to join the Premier League champions. Losing Guimaraes would be an even greater blow than Isak, Tonali and Gordon; he is the heartbeat of the team and, like Howe himself, harboured a great relationship with supporters and understood what the club meant.

But given Newcastle’s need to reset, Guimaraes, at the age of 28, realises he needs to leave to make the most of the years he has left at the top. There is nothing he can achieve at St James’ Park that he hasn’t already; it is no surprise, given the new mandate he has at the club, that Howe now feels he has taken Newcastle as far as he can too.

Looking back, the fact he arrived before any structure was in place – out of necessity because Newcastle were in the relegation zone at the time – hamstrung the club.

This fresh, youthful approach will get a fresh, youthful coach. German Mathias Jaissle, currently at Saudi club Al-Ahli, where he has won successive Asian Champions Leagues, and formerly of Red Bull Salzburg. The 38-year-old German is a disciple of Ralf Rangnick and favours an intense, pressing style of play.

It all went a bit stale in the end for Howe and Newcastle, but their mutual fondness will prevail. In truth, with one chapter closing, it is a good stepping off point, but he leaves having achieved more than most in one of English football’s most volatile jobs.