It seems quite obvious to me that one of the many impacts of the rat’s actions when moving to Liverpool in a PSR world, was to affect our previously pretty good record of gradually improving the age profile and contractual situation of the whole Newcastle United squad.
I recently listed all the players that played over 10 league games for Eddie Howe by the end of his first season here, and virtually all of them have since departed, in deals everyone agrees were good business. Are the Eddie out people even aware of such things? I fear not.
And in a PSR world, any team building from a position of weakness, gets their pants pulled down. Therefore making it even harder to get back to an even keel, if the supposed remedy is to buy for the sake of buying, or replacing a manager because of similar reasons.
In a PSR world, perhaps it’s better to bide your time, keep your already proven manager, resist the urge to panic buy and rip up expensively assembled squads for an immediate return to the glory days, and instead just go again in due course.
Perhaps when you have had the benefit of playing fewer games over a whole season and you have a better picture of where your gaps really are, or even rethink the whole fighting on four fronts mentality.
What’s the alternative? We don’t need to go the route of ManUre, Spurs or Chelski, thank Christ. We don’t need to worry about Eddie walking away of his own accord either, thank Christ. Unlike Liverpool’s intelligent but faltering manager, nobody’s chanting “You’re getting sacked in the morning” at Eddie, thank Christ. Unlike Manchester City’s intelligent but fading manager, nobody’s secretly hoping Eddie realises he’s a busted flush and saves us the indignity of firing Bambi.
We’re in a fantastic position compared to most, manager wise.
What’s been so great about any of the seasons had by Arsenal, Manchester City, ManUre, Villa, Liverpool and Chelsea? Are any of their impending trophies, where that is even applicable, even close to being as dominant and satisfying as Eddie’s trophy? Has any of these teams ever shown this season, the kind of confident consistency we know Eddie’s teams have been capable of? If not, why not?
Which leaves only Brentford, Everton, Fulham, Brighton and Sunderland. Correct me if I’m wrong, but there’s nothing to envy there. No defensive titans or maurauding warriors. Certainly no sleeping giants with massive potential. Just some pretty savvy managers and owners. Just not savvy enough to have won a trophy recently.
We must be in serious trouble if it makes much difference to our thinking whether we finish 7th or 12th, manager wise. And yet we’d be mad to imagine Eddie isn’t capable of doing what the top six have done this season, were he to have Arsenal’s squad, or ManUre’s time on the training pitch, Liverpool’s history or Chelski’s lawyers and accountants. All things he has absolutely no control over, nor would any other manager, Villa’s excitable Spaniard included.
And Eddie has certainly got what Pep now relies on to win the odd trophy, maybe. Christ, what must people think seeing Pep despatch a Liverpool side in the business end of the FA Cup using counter attacking wingers and a central striker all glued together with a fast attack minded midfield that cares not a jot for percentage stats and has the luxury of no Champions League football to complicate their availability or fitness.
Deja vu, maybe. Gratitude, hopefully.
Or maybe people think the lesson for Eddie there is to stick with your proven deadly Premier League striker despite being in a massive slump, because people might laugh at you if you played a winger, a false nine or untried youth instead. And if your proven (just not in the Premier League) signing doesn’t get it done in quick time, boy are you in trouble.
Well, there’s a thought. Pep the genius and Eddie the supposedly shot manager, are not too far apart in the courage and tactics stakes. It should rightly scare people that there could be even a 1% chance Manchester City might view Eddie Howe as a potential Pep replacement. Because he might just take them up on their offer.
Perhaps we should just swap with Man City? A much needed reset for both managers seeking the same thing. But no. This isn’t the NFL. You can’t trade your way out of trouble. It does actually matter who your club is, what you can sell to a manager.
This idea some are floating that there’s some radical new style of play that suits our Newcastle United squad as it is not what we would wish it to be, or that we could somehow do better if we had the sheer arrogance to pretend there are trophies out there we don’t really need to compete for, are non-starters.
Here’s a thought. Since Eddie is not an idiot, how likely do his detractors think it is that he has already considered radically altering our style or prioritising one competition over another, and found compelling reasons not to? And if those reasons are wrong, why aren’t these people where Eddie is?