I had a fault on my radio this morning, I thought I heard it say that Eddie Howe was leaving Newcastle United.
I sat and gave my head a wobble, then realised that what I thought I’d heard, had indeed been said.
Over the summer we have lost Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali, with Bruno Guimaraes shortly to follow, if media reports are to be believed.
This in addition to the experience which left the club at the end of their existing contracts.
The departure of Eddie Howe is a far bigger blow than any of these to the club.
Those “fans” with short memories see last season as a failure. Solely wanting to focus on a 12th place finish in the Premier League and all but ignoring the three cup runs (Champions League and the two domestic cups) which would have felt like fantasy land five years ago.
It’s not a secret what Eddie Howe had to endure behind the scenes, where key senior staff positions weren’t filled for a long time and this putting even more pressure on the manager.
So we are again waiting to see what the future holds for a new Newcastle United manager, he will have a tough act to follow.
But we are well trained in uncertainty so we are not walking new ground.
The news about Kevin Keegan was the worst possible, he will be so sorely missed and thanks for all the magnificent memories.
There will only ever be one King Kev.
Not on anything like the same level of loss of course but in football terms the club is now going to be moving on from another excellent manager.
Eddie Howe, thanks for giving us hopes and dreams like King Kev did back in the day, no matter where you go now, part of you will always be a Geordie.