As murmurs of discontent flutter around Newcastle United, it remains to be seen whether the club will stick or twist when it comes to Eddie Howe.
Back-to-back Premier League defeats have pushed Newcastle down to 14th place in the table and the upcoming encounter with Man City doesn’t offer much promise of things improving.
Naturally, Eddie Howe has been put under the spotlight a little of late. Results have been bad, but performances have been especially worrying.
However, we’re led to believe Howe is not under immediate pressure when it comes to his role. It’s a good job, too, as it would probably cost Newcastle a pretty penny to force him out and start again.
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Sacking and replacing Eddie Howe could be very expensive
In the latest episode of the Beyond the Back Four podcast, finance expert Kieran Maguire suggested Howe has done enough to be safe in his position.
He then went on to discuss how costly it would be for the Magpies to actually sack Howe and try to bring in a new manager, using other high-profile examples.
Maguire said: “We are seeing the rise of the football manager transfer fee – Chelsea paid £23m for Graham Potter, Amorim cost Man Utd eight figures. We don’t know the extent of Howe’s contract, but large figures were quoted to England last year when they were interested.
“Are Newcastle more competitive than those outside of the top six? Yes, but they are playing twice a week because of the Champions League and they can’t do what Chelsea did in the Conference League last year by playing a B team. There are no easy matches in the Champions League so those demands impact teams.
“This completely disrupts preparations for matches unless there’s depth in the squad. Newcastle might have a good 15 or 16 players, but 17-25 is the area they need to be at, but with the budget they have and cost control rules, this has all led to results being below expectations.”
Still, while sticking with Howe might be the safe option and prevent a massive outlay in compensation, Newcastle do run the risk of missing Champions League qualification if results continue this way, and that would cost them even more money in the long run.
Who could replace Eddie Howe?
So, if Newcastle were to drop Howe and go in a different direction, who could they actually hire?
Looking at the unemployed market, you have big names like Gareth Southgate (though his Middlesbrough links would surely rule him out), Joachim Low, Brendan Rodgers, Xavi, Erik ten Hag, and Edin Terzic.
Given ten Hag’s damaged reputation and Low’s apparent reluctance to get back into work, you’d be looking at younger options like Xavi and Terzic, both of whom would likely be welcomed as ambitious appointments. Rodgers is someone with potential and who has proven he can succeed in England, but Newcastle may want someone more glamorous and exciting.
Those currently in jobs who might be targeted include the likes of Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth, Oliver Glasner at Crystal Palace, or Fabian Hurzeler at Brighton. Whether any of them would actually want to jump ship is another matter, plus the likely huge compensation fees they would command would be a stumbling block.
In all likelihood, though, we will surely see Newcastle stick with Howe, at least until the end of the season. The pressure is on, but Howe has enough credit in the bank thanks to last season’s achievements, and results in the cup competitions this season.
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