Paul Merson’s comments on Newcastle and Eddie Howe in 2021 now look very interesting

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Eddie Howe is celebrating the third anniversary of his appointment as Newcastle United boss today.

The 46-year-old was hired by the new Magpies regime to replace Steve Bruce on November 8, 2021, shortly after PIF’s takeover was confirmed.

Since then Howe has enjoyed a largely successful tenure at St James’ Park, initially dragging the club out of the Premier League relegation fight before earning a place in last season’s Champions League and reaching the Carabao Cup final in 2023.

Howe is now the fifth-longest serving boss in the top flight, behind only Pep Guardiola, Thomas Frank, Mikel Arteta and Marco Silva.

Howe’s appointment was one of PIF’s first major decisions at Newcastle and was the subject of intense media speculation at the time, with Unai Emery snubbing the club at the time.

Paul Merson may regret his 2021 comments on Eddie Howe

With Howe still in place and having the overwhelming backing of the fans as Newcastle target a return to European football this year, PIF’s decision has so far been vindicated, so it’s perhaps a good job that the new regime did not listen to Paul Merson, who called for a more splashy appointment than the then-out-of-work Howe three years ago.

“They have got a load of money to spend. We know that. They are wealthy,” HITC reported Merson saying in 2021, as he urged the club to go back to one of their recent successful appointments.

“Go and pay £30 million for [Rafa] Benitez. If you are going to go and buy a player for £40 million, £50 million or £60 million, then go and buy a manager that will 100% keep the fans happy.

“The fans won’t be happy with that appointment. That’s no disrespect to Eddie Howe.

“And if you get Benitez in, then you have won already.”

While Merson would no doubt admit that the Newcastle fans are indeed happy with Howe, another wrinkle to these comments is the lukewarm reaction of fans to news that Jose Mourinho is interested in the Newcastle job, should Howe depart, as the Portuguese would fall into the kind of big-money manager Merson lobbied for three years ago.

Rafa Benitez’s post-Newcastle career

Benitez’s Championship-winning season in 2016/17 saw him steady the ship during a turbulent period and won him a place in the hearts of Newcastle fans, but the Spaniard has found success hard to come by since leaving St James’ Park.

A stint in the Chinese Super League with Dalian Professional came to an end during the Covid-19 pandemic, while he would last just over six months at Everton after the Toffees hired him in the summer of 2021.

His last job saw him sign a three-year deal at Celta Vigo in June 2023, but he was sacked eight months later with Celtic just above the La Liga drop zone.