Ruud Gullit was interviewed towards the end of last season about Eddie Howe and the Newcastle United owners.
That interview followed meetings on Tyneside between the Newcastle United owners and senior staff, including Eddie Howe.
It was widely reported after those April 2026 meetings at Matfen Hall, that Howe still had the full backing of the owners and would continue into the 2026/27 season.
The comments come with just over a week remaining of this 2025/26 season.
Back in early May 2026, Ruud Gullit was asked if he thought Eddie Howe was lucky to be keeping his job and replied: “Look, I think Eddie Howe has done well. I think he also expected certain players to come in — they didn’t, because of PSR.”
PSR of course also deprived Eddie Howe of the burgeoning talents of Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh and Ruud Gullit going on to explain: “Going up the mountain is easy. Staying on the mountain is the most difficult part. The expectations are bigger. And in order to stay competitive, you need to bring in players who push the existing ones to give 100%. That didn’t happen. Now there’s a danger they lose Anthony Gordon in the summer because of it. You can’t blame Eddie Howe for that, though. I think he’s a great coach. He’s done very good things at that club.”
Ruud Gullit resigned of course as Newcastle United manager back in the day, Eddie Howe has now done the same.
A huge summer seeing not only the manager leave but also so many key players, the likes of Anthony Gordon, Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali.
Ruud Gullit now interviewed again and asked by NY Sports Day ‘Have Newcastle’s owners had a dose of reality after their dreams? Did they force Eddie Howe out?’: “I think they have had a reality check and it’s the fans of the club who I have the greatest sympathy with. There are constant rumours about whether the owners want to re-evaluate their investment, and key figures involved in the original takeover are looking elsewhere. The fans and players are left wondering what the actual long-term plan is. It depends on whether you’re given the backing and resources to replace the players you’ve sold. If you’re forced to sell without the capacity to rebuild, that’s a completely different situation. You must have the tools to recruit quality replacements. Perhaps Eddie knew he wouldn’t be able to replace those big players with top names, and that was part of the reason why he decided to resign.”