Recently Jamie Carragher caught the ire of Newcastle United fans when he commented about the Magpies’ transfer business seemingly saying we hadn’t brought in top players.
On Monday Night Football on Sky Sports Jamie Carragher reiterated his claim about the type of players Newcastle have brought in, saying that the likes of Liverpool wouldn’t have made these signings and that they are “Eddie Howe signings”.
It’s the same claim he made before which riled up sections of the fanbase as he failed to properly explain what he meant. This time Carragher added an extra line during Monday Night Football which clarified his through process a bit.
Jamie Carragher has clarified what he meant by “Eddie Howe signings”
Carragher still said that some of the so-called “big” sides wouldn’t have gone for the players Howe did, but this time he phrased it so that it doesn’t sound like a bad thing. In fact, the “Eddie Howe signings” line is actually a positive thing and was made to highlight just how good Howe is at getting the best out of players.
We already know how good Harvey Barnes is after his top class performances in a poor Leicester side last season, but with Eddie Howe now coaching him, he can go on to become massive and that’s what Carragher was hinting at on MNF, saying: “They’ve got quality but I said this before the season even started.
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“Even the signings they’ve brought in, they’re not the signings that Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United would make.
“You talk about [Tino] Livramento who’s come in, he’s been injured, he’s at Southampton.
“Harvey Barnes has just left a team that’s got relegated, [Sandro] Tonali’s had one game, he’s done really well, played at a high level, I get that.
“They weren’t in competition for the other top teams for those players if you understand what I mean.
“I describe them as Eddie Howe type of signings where they look like good players, but he can make them very good players. He is a top, top coach.”
Barnes was brought in for £39million by Eddie Howe and in one 20-minute outing has already bagged an assist and scored a goal which is what Howe brought him in for. The fact that Eddie Howe feels he can further improve Barnes is actually a scary thought, especially for the rest of the Premier League.
Eddie Howe’s recruitment policy is perfect for Newcastle
I like the fact that Eddie Howe backs his own ability to improve players. I’d rather have us sign players on the verge of greatness and have Howe tip them over the edge than go for a player who already has a big reputation in the game.
If you bring in a player who needs improvement then there’s more chance of them being given time to do so, but if you spend big on a player with a huge reputation they’re under pressure to perform straight away and that could be detrimental to their development.
For me Eddie Howe plays the market brilliantly and I back our signings to be lauded by all the pundits come the end of the season just like Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes were.