Chris Sutton has had his say on the future of Eddie Howe after the Newcastle United manager came under a lot of pressure after a defeat to Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day.
Newcastle have now lost six of their last seven games and things don’t look to be getting much easier any time soon with a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool on the horizon.
On the It’s All Kicking Off podcast, Sutton suggested that Howe cannot be judged until he is given some serious investment in the next few transfer windows.
Sutton says Howe deserves more time
Just like at the beginning of the season, Newcastle have a very daunting fixture list coming up in 2024 and the pressure Howe is currently under is only going to continue to build.
There’s probably not three tougher teams to face in the Premier League right now than Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa, and now you throw a Tyne-Wear derby in the middle of it all.
It’s likely that Howe will have to secure one positive result to ease the pressure off of him, though no one is expecting him to come out of January unbeaten.
Sutton thinks that Newcastle are still making positive move in the grand scheme of things and hopes that Howe is given more time to develop this squad after not a lot of investment into the first team in the summer.
On the podcast, Sutton said: “I think you have to look at the bigger picture. The football which he’s played since he’s come in has been an attractive brand of football and there needs to be patience.
“There are always parts of a season for most clubs where there’s a bit of turbulence and there’s a bit of turbulence at Newcastle.
“But when you go back and look at their summer spending they’re not in the top six in terms of recruitment and the players they brought in
“So until Eddie Howe is really helped by bringing in an abundance of top class players, I think it’s very hard to judge him at this moment in time.”
Howe should get until at least the summer
Unless there is an incredible run of poor form in the second half of the season, something that sees Newcastle drift well into the bottom half of the table, then the 46-year-old should be given the chance to start next season.
Newcastle are unlikely to spend big in January thanks to FFP so expectations aren’t exactly very high for this season, but they could make serious developments in the summer.
With more money coming in through brand deals and potential sales, Newcastle should have a lot more to spend and they can finally address the lack of depth beyond the starting 11.
That is when the pressure will really be on Howe, but the former Bournemouth man has at least earned the chance to get the opportunity to manage a team full of quality players.
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