What Newcastle United need under PIF when it comes to Eddie Howe’s future is decisive action.
What PIF have constantly failed to deliver is, unfortunately, decisive action.
Indeed, PIF have allowed Newcastle United to drift into limbo. Though there’s an executive structure in place now, the owners overlooked it for so long.
Plans in the immediate term are unclear, never mind what may or may not happen with a new stadium or training ground.
With that in mind, it’s difficult to see how they give Newcastle United what they so desperately need right now.
PIF’s track record suggests Howe decision will drag on
Last summer, doubts about Newcastle’s ambitions under PIF emerged for the first real time, just as Alexander Isak was pushing to leave the club.
The Isak saga does not look like it happened in isolation because, sadly, several key players are expected to leave Newcastle this summer.
That would be much easier to swallow if the club had shown anything like being able to replace key players, or if the team were playing well.
Howe is under a huge amount of pressure after a dreadful season. Things are going stale, and they are turning toxic.
Some degree of clarity over his future in charge would be most welcome. What on earth are they going to learn from the final five games of the season?
Whether you or I think Howe is the right man to lead the rebuild does not matter. If the club do, then it’s time to come out and say that so everyone knows where they stand.
If they don’t, waiting to make a decision until the end of the season is laced with risk. After the World Cup, there will almost certainly be a lot of managerial moves as teams come to an end of a cycle, and Newcastle risk being left behind.
All this uncertainty is helping no one, yet PIF have done little to inspire faith they can come to a quick and decisive decision.
Change – to at least some degree – should be embraced. By these owners right now, however, it is simply ignored.