Eddie Howe is approaching his three-year anniversary as Newcastle United manager.
The Magpies changed manager shortly after the 2021 takeover, with Amanda Staveley and co opting to relieve Steve Bruce of his duties.
That resulted in a search for a new Newcastle United manager, with Eddie Howe getting the job – but only after Unai Emery had turned Newcastle down!
While Howe was the Magpies’ second choice, he has proven over the past three years to be an outstanding appointment. The club has kicked on massively under his guidance, and there is still so much more for him to achieve at St James’ Park.
Eddie Howe transformed failing Newcastle United player
One of Howe’s biggest success stories on Tyneside is the transformation of Joelinton.
Howe has taken a failing forward and turned him into a midfield powerhouse. Joelinton is a key player at Newcastle United, which is hard to believe after his start to life in a black and white shirt following his £40million transfer.
However, Joelinton’s change of position was not by design. It came during a game against Norwich very early into Howe’s tenure. An early red card for Ciaran Clark forced Newcastle to change their formation, with Joelinton dropping deeper into the middle of midfield.
Howe reflects on starting to work with Joelinton
During an appearance on the Adopted Geordies podcast, Howe was asked about Joelinton’s transition into a midfielder.
The Toon boss explained how impressive Joelinton was during his first training session, but admitted that the positional change was certainly not pre-planned.
“It’s interesting with Joe because we never saw the first part,” he said.
“When you get to work with a new squad and new individuals, you’re sort of aware of their situation, how their career has gone up to that point. But we very much try and take an open mind and asses what we see and not take history into account.
“From day one in the first training session, Joe was excellent. Wow, he’s a very good player. Instantly impressed by his character and his attitude. Then it was a case of I really believe in this player, he’s showing us in training that he’s very technically gifted and really strong. Then we stumble across a positional change that elevated his confidence levels.
“[Against Norwich] Ciaran ended up getting sent off. We went to a 4-3-2. Through needs, he played in midfield in this game and he was everything that he is now. He was everywhere, covered every blade of grass, he was outstanding.
“From that day he’s remained in that position. I say remained in that position – he’s now playing more positions. He’s moving around all over. He’s so reliable. Wherever you put him, you know he’s going to give his best.”
Eddie Howe loves Joelinton’s versatility and reliability
As Howe says, Joelinton is extremely reliable and versatile. He is capable of operating in various different roles, and always gives it his all.
Jamie Carragher recently praised Joelinton for a hybrid role against Manchester City, where the 28-year-old was asked to play as a box-to-box midfielder, cover at left-back and drop into centre-back. It was an incredibly complex role, and sums up how good Joelinton is tactically.
We have also seen him play on the left wing, and that is a role that Howe will likely rely on more and more as the season goes on. During the 2022/23 campaign when Newcastle qualified for the Champions League, Joelinton and Joe Willock dovetailed brilliantly down the left. With both players over their injury problems, it is a tactic that Howe will be eager to use again.
Joelinton has also played as a number six and on the right of the central midfield three this season, with Howe knowing that he can ask the Brazilian powerhouse to play just about anywhere – except for up front!
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