Some interesting comments from this BBC Sport pundit on Eddie Howe and Newcastle United.
Chris Sutton speaking ahead of Saturday night’s match.
Newcastle United facing Manchester City at St James’ Park.
The victors then finding themselves in the last eight of the FA Cup.
Then three nights later that huge Champions League last 16 clash, Barcelona visiting Tyneside for a second time this season in the competition.
Ahead of this exhilarating double bill, BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton declaring: “We keep getting callers on 606 saying it’s not been a great campaign for Eddie Howe’s Newcastle, but they are in the Champions League last 16, got to the Carabao Cup semi-finals and are still in the FA Cup too. The Premier League hasn’t gone as well as it should have done, but there are reasons for that, starting with the Alexander Isak saga last summer.”
I couldn’t agree more.
It is all about balance.
Nobody, least of all Eddie Howe, is happy about the way things have gone in the Premier League this season, but there are so many mitigating factors, plus the performances in the other three competitions to factor in.
I obviously wouldn’t put much (any?) reliance on the type of people who are calling into 606 anyway…but the fact is that last summer was wrecked by Alexander Isak and the Newcastle United owners, who totally failed to deal properly with the Isak situation AND only delivered one new signing in time to have a pre-season with his new NUFC teammates.
An interesting stat that was reported on Friday summed up perfectly what a challenge Eddie Howe has faced, Newcastle United have played more matches this season than any other club in the big five European leagues. With finances/PSR dictating that Newcastle United can’t have a squad as strong in depth as many of their rivals, then to be the Premier League club to have lost the most days to injury than any other, it has been a season against all odds.
For this Manchester City game tonight, Eddie Howe will be missing at least six first team squad players, that has become the norm, or even worse than that.
It defies logic when you get some Newcastle United fans who won’t concede that Eddie Howe has been ridiculously up against it, when it comes to circumstances conspiring against him and his NUFC squad.
It doesn’t mean that losing matches should be taken for granted.
However, I think what fans do need to accept, is that the circumstances have all but ensured that a season of ups and downs was the best we could expect.
The fact that the majority of those highs have not come in the Premier League is just one of those things, disappointing of course from a league form perspective, but to have had the results Newcastle United have had in the Champions League and domestic cup competitions, needs to be given significant positive coverage and acceptance.
Chris Sutton continuing: “When you look at their league positions in Howe’s three full seasons there – fourth, seventh and fifth – you can see he has been successful in progressing the club, on top of ending their long wait for a major trophy. Sometimes managers are taken for granted, and if they are in the job for any period, then some people will say, ‘oh we need a change’. I think most people understand what a great job Howe has actually done, including most Newcastle supporters.”
Once again, a question of balance.
Any Newcastle United fan who thinks Eddie How hasn’t been a huge overall success these past four years and four months…well, words fail me.
We will never know for sure, as it is all hypothetical, so it is down to opinion. My opinion is that no other manager could have done as well as Eddie Howe has done at Newcastle United. It has been sensational, especially when you take into account the massive advantages other clubs have over NUFC, advantages that have been built up over so many years whilst Mike Ashley was holding the club back, now those advantages still held by the self-appointed Premier League are so protected due to PSR and the upcoming (NO!!!) change that SCR will bring to the top tier.
The biggest guide to how successful you can expect a football team to be, is considering the relative wage bills. Newcastle United are still only eighth highest in the Premier League in this respect and for Eddie Howe to have overseen the Premier League form of recent seasons has been phenomenal, never mind the success in the cup competitions on top of that.
This season has been bruising at times but it could still end up a glorious one.
The BBC Sport pundit is predicting a 2-1 FA Cup win tonight for Newcastle and hopefully Chris Sutton is on the money: “I am going for them to win this, too. They have already beaten one Manchester team this week, and that was with 10 men – so they can win this tie with 11. Pep Guardiola’s side have won three out of the four games with Newcastle this season, but I am going with the same scoreline from the time they didn’t, in the Premier League at St James’ Park.”
A couple of epic matches coming up in quick succession at St James’ Park, let’s make sure we all do everything we can to help Eddie Howe and his players end up with two massive wins against Man City and Barcelona.