Pat Nevin sees a lot of Newcastle United.
The former Chelsea and Everton winger a regular visitor at St James’ Park.
Pat Nevin commenting after this weekend: “The biggest game of the weekend was Newcastle v Sunderland – well, it was in the north east, anyway. For all the passion, and there was plenty on show, as well as the usual late drama, in the end it was Sunderland winning to go 11th leaving their neighbours down in 12th.”
Now working in the media, the BBC Sport pundit commenting further.
Pat Nevin telling the BBC Sport Football Extra Newsletter: “For Sunderland it is still a fine season as a promoted side, but for Newcastle this is disappointing mid-table mediocrity following defeat in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup against Manchester City and in the Champions League against Barcelona. The calls for Eddie Howe’s head will grow but I still think he should be given at least another season. One without European football would look very different and probably more successful for his overstretched squad.”
I think Pat Nevin is definitely one of the better former players that have gone into the media.
As a player, he stood out, often talked of as an intellectual compared to many of his peers.
Which when you see the state of ex-players in the media, Pat Nevin very much proving that past opinion to be correct.
I think it also clearly helps as well that Pat Nevin is one of the few pundits who really knows what he is talking about with Newcastle United, due to watching them so often as part of his media work.
A month ago, Pat Nevin spoke after the unlucky 2-1 NUFC loss at the Etihad in the Premier League, only three days after the Qarabag Champions League match in Azerbaijan; “This week I travelled 5,000 miles from Scotland to Azerbaijan via Turkey and back to see Qarabag v Newcastle, before embarking on a 600-mile round trip drive to Nottingham. I will admit to feeling a bit wearied as I got home late on Sunday night, but what about the players who did the same mileage and played two gruelling matches into the bargain. OK, they might have been travelling first class, but even so, it must be exhausting.”
The BBC Sport pundit going on to say: “That is why I was so incredibly impressed by Newcastle United. They ran Manchester City mighty close on Saturday night and every player gave every ounce of energy, just as they always do. Eddie Howe said afterwards that he was proud of his players as they gave everything. This is a stock phrase you get from every manager but you can tell that this comment was from the heart.”
It was an excellent performance at the Etihad and full credit to Eddie Howe and his players, having won their three previous away games (against Spurs, Villa and Qarabag) in the space of a week.
Pat Nevin going on to say: “Newcastle are basically through after that Anthony Gordon-inspired 6-1 Champions League rout, but you still hear the odd rumbling about the team’s underachievement in the Premier League. They may be slap bang in the middle of the table, but I reckon no one could get more out of the group than Eddie and the vast majority of the fans know this. Five years is a long time in football management, but I think it should only be the beginning for one of the best bosses in the business.”
At the time in late February 2026 when he said this, I stated that I couldn’t agree more with Pat Nevin.
We are all gutted about the past week and defeats to Barcelona and the Mackems. However, the same as Pat Nevin, nothing has changed for me in believing Eddie Howe is the best person to be in charge of Newcastle United.
This season has been so full of near impossible challenges for Eddie Howe and Newcastle United (more matches than any other major club in Europe, so many injuries, a shambolic summer 2025 pre-season and transfer window due to the incompetence of the Newcastle United owners etc etc), as Pat Nevin says, the United boss deserving of at least one more season in charge at NUFC.