Opinion: The Newcastle star now under pressure as Eddie Howe unearths new formula

Written on Sunday, 23 November 2025
Jonathan Gorrie

Sven Botman is going to need to up his game after Eddie Howe’s comments on Fabian Schar following Newcastle United’s win over Manchester City.

Botman dropped out of the side as Newcastle United recorded a 2-1 victory against Man City thanks to a Harvey Barnes brace.

The Dutchman has been brilliant at times this season but had struggled for form just before the international break.

Who is Newcastle United’s best centre-back?

What are talking points?

That is perhaps to be expected after putting a run together in the first team for the first time in a while due to consistent injuries.

Still, Schar was impressive alongside the excellent Malick Thiaw as Newcastle claimed a first Premier League win over Man City in an age.

Howe was full of praise. 

Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Eddie Howe “very pleased” as Fabian Schar and Malick Thiaw impress

After the win over Pep Guardiola’s side, the Newcastle United manager was asked about the centre-back pairing of Schar and Thiaw. 

Given both are right-footed, it didn’t seem all that likely before a ball was kicked that season that they would play together.

What Eddie Howe and the pundits said about Newcastle United’s statement win over Manchester City.

Eddie Howe: “The performance from the team was there, the hunger was there, the motivation was there. That’s the key thing we have to take forward. I think if those qualities are there, with our delivery and the players that we have, we can beat anybody.” 

Alan Shearer: “If Newcastle had their shooting boots on, they should have scored six or seven – they missed four absolute sitters.” 

Jamie Redknapp: “When you have a blue-chip win like today, it shows you can compete. It shows you’ve got the players to compete and go toe-to-toe.” 

What are talking points?

This season, Schar has generally played alongside Dan Burn before the duo made way for Thiaw and Botman. In fact, the pair have only amassed 260 minutes of action together across five games.

Still, Howe was delighted with their performances.

“I think Fabian and Malick deserve real praise today because, with the way that we play, we’re brave, we’re aggressive,” he said.  

“That leaves them our centre-halves, at times, with sort of big areas to cover. I thought they both read the game really well, I thought they got their positioning spot on. Both excellent with the ball too, so yeah, very pleased with the two centre-halves.”

Sven Botman suddenly under a lot of pressure at Newcastle United

Botman wants assurances over his playing time at Newcastle but they look hard to give right now.

Thiaw has been a revelation for Newcastle this season and Schar is showing little sign of slowing down.

It seems reasonable to expect Botman to come back into the fold at some point, given Howe’s rotational policy as he looks to challenge across a number of fronts.

However, he’s under a lot of pressure to get back to his very best if he’s going to make a late run to be included in the Netherlands squad for the 2026 World Cup next summer.

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