With so much talk about Eddie Howe and what the Newcastle United owners may or might not do (should or should not do…), I wanted to give some proper context to the debate.
Well, what I consider the proper context to be.
Down below, I have detailed a timeline of how the Newcastle United owners have operated the club.
How the NUFC hierarchy has looked from day one, from when the Newcastle United takeover happened four and a half years ago, right up to the present day.
The people that the Newcastle United owners have had in place in the paid key positions at the top of the club…
Newcastle United Takeover – 7 October 2021
Amanda Staveley put in place running the club on behalf of the owners.
Eddie Howe appointed – 8 November 2021
Amanda Staveley running the club, Eddie Howe manager
Nick Hammond appointed – November 2021
Amanda Staveley running the club, Nick Hammond appointed as Interim Transfer Consultant on short-term deal until end of January 2022,no CEO, no Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Nick Hammond leaves – February 2022
Amanda Staveley running the club, no CEO, no Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Dan Ashworth appointed – May 2022
Amanda Staveley running the club, no CEO, Dan Ashworth as Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Darren Eales appointed – 15 July 2022
Amanda Staveley employed to help run the club on a management contract, Darren Eales as CEO, Dan Ashworth as Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Dan Ashworth put on gardening leave as tells the club he wants to join Man U – 19 February 2024
Amanda Staveley employed to help run the club on a management contract, Darren Eales as CEO, no Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Amanda Staveley leaves as club owners end her management contract to help run the club – July 2024
Darren Eales as CEO, no Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Paul Mitchell appointed – 4 July 2024
Darren Eales as CEO, Paul Mitchell as Sporting Director (Dan Ashworth officially leaves as Man U agree compensation), Eddie Howe manager
Announced Darren Eales will be leaving ASAP due to ill health, once new Sporting Director appointed – 27 September 2024
Darren Eales as CEO, Paul Mitchell as Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Announced Paul Mitchell is leaving – 27 May 2025
Effectively no CEO, Effectively no Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Announced Darren Eales has now officially left – 4 September 2025
No CEO, no Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
David Hopkinson appointed – 5 September 2025
David Hopkinson as CEO, no Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
Ross Wilson appointed – 11 October 2025
David Hopkinson as CEO, Ross Wilson as Sporting Director, Eddie Howe manager
My conclusions
As the title at the very top of this article sums up, it is my opinion that this has been an absolutely chaotic four and a half years AND it is Eddie Howe who has been the one constant, the key person who has held this club together.
Everybody is entitled to their own opinion but I find it beyond belief that a section of the fanbase are wanting to blame Eddie Howe, as though he is the one holding Newcastle United back!
As I say above, the reality is the exact opposite of this, Eddie Howe is the one who has stopped the club becoming a total shambles. In my opinion.
It has been a constant churn at the top of the club, as those in the key positions running the club on the business side, separate from Eddie Howe and the football side, has been a story of chaos and change. So much uncertainty and lack of proper leadership in those key positions.
My belief is that there have been some less than ideal appointments and that hopefully with David Hopkinson and Ross Wilson in place, the Newcastle United owners finally have the right people to run the club on their behalf.
With distant owners, especially the Saudi Arabia PIF majority owners, it is even more vitally important that those they appoint are the right people. Also, that they give them the proper authority and freedom to run the club in the best possible and ambitious way. Far too often the more credible journalists covering Newcastle United have pointed to how slowly decisions get made, so many signings missed out on as a decision is awaited from the Saudi Arabia PIF majority ownership, never mind the lack of movement and confusion when it comes to key major infrastructure projects, such as the new training ground and plans regarding the stadium.
When Darren Eales and Amanda Staveley were in charge, we had the PSR crisis develop that ended up with Eddie Howe losing his two most promising young players, Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh.
Summer 2025, the most important transfer window yet, ahead of the most challenging of seasons so far, yet the Newcastle United owners allowed a situation where there was no Sporting Director at the club and effectively no CEO. In September 2024 the club had announced the sad news that Darren Eales had a chronic form of blood cancer and due to ill health he would be replaced ASAP, with Eales to do what he could in the meantime, yet it took fully a year before David Hopkinson was appointed.
As has been mentioned so many times, Eddie Howe came out at the end of last season and went public with the reality of the situation. That it was essential the Newcastle United owners ensured the manager’s key transfer targets were signed ASAP, to allow proper preparation time for a new look squad to be ready for the most challenging season so far. Instead we had an absolute shambles, with senior staff not in place, preferred signings not secured, only one of the eventual six summer 2025 signings having a pre-season with their new NUFC teammates. Plus of course the total failure of the Newcastle United owners to deal with the Alexander Isak situation, meaning Eddie Howe ended up with most of his signings from way down his preferred list AND delivered far too late.
Yet some Newcastle United fans want to believe that if Eddie Howe leaves, the club will be in a far better place, that he is supposedly the one who will hold us back if he stays.
We have had four and a half years to judge Eddie Howe and I find it bizarre that anybody would not see him as a high quality manager.
Some people want to dismiss it as a minor factor that Newcastle United have had to play more matches (51) so far than any other club in the major European leagues. When you then add in the really bad injury situation this season,, so many key players missing for often long periods of time, it has been a case of far too many matches to play (every midweek as well as weekends) and too few available quality players to cope with the workload. Then you add in the shambles of summer 2025, how badly the Newcastle United owners let Eddie Howe down…
Anyway, almost five years on, here’s hoping that valuable lessons have been learnt by the Newcastle United owners. That they now have the right people in charge to run the club AND that the lines of communication with the majority Saudi Arabia PIF are now agreed, so that decision making can take place decisively and trusted professionals given the authority to do what they are employed for.
The club’s relative success these past four and a half years is undoubtedly down to one factor, to one person. That person is Eddie Howe and he has delivered so much, both on the pitch AND off it, especially in terms of the growth in revenues thanks to league positions, Champions League qualifications, Wembley finals and a trophy. Not to mention so many brilliant signings, so many of who have hugely increased in value during their time at Newcastle United (Isak, Gordon, Hall, Gordon, Livramento, Kelly, Minteh, Tonali…). More mature signings who have given incredible value for money (Trippier, Pope, Burn…). Whilst also getting so much more out of players he inherited (Joelinton, Wilson, Willock, Longstaff, Murphy, Schar…).
As outlined above, the summer 2025 transfer window was a shambles, due mainly to so many factors beyond Eddie Howe’s control.
Newcastle United had to sign players last summer, positions had to be filled, and with so many of his preferred targets missed out on, it was a case of making the best of it. Newcastle United, even with everybody fit, still weren’t going to have a squad that had enough strength in depth compared to certain other clubs. That is the financial reality and with PSR/SCR, until United’s revenues are competitive with the usual suspects then wages and spending on the squad overall is going to be below what is ideal. It is also fact that summer 2025 transfer spending was only possible due to two years without a single first team signing coming in, so many first team squad players having left and that including the sales of Minteh, Longstaff, Anderson, Almiron, Kelly and Isak.
No well run club would choose to have those two years of no first team players signed and then trying to bring six in at the same time, with in reality more needed as well.
Hopefully we will now see what Eddie Howe can achieve, at a well run club that has the full professional set-up that is essential if there is to be long-term success on and off the pitch.