While no one is panicking just yet, Newcastle United are in something of a rut.
Admittedly coming off the back of a particularly difficult run of games against Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton, Eddie Howe headed into this international break with three defeats on his record.
Though it would be foolish to start suggesting there are profound problems at Newcastle these days, there’s no doubt recent weeks have been disappointing.
Clearly, some kind of levelling off was always likely. Newcastle have been on such a rapid rise since the takeover that, at some point, things were going to slow down a bit. No club in the world can always have the smoothest ride.
Simon Jordan, however, believes there’s one person making Howe’s job more difficult.
Simon Jordan says Amanda Staveley is “unhelpful” for Howe at Newcastle
Indeed, the pundit and media personality believes Amanda Staveley’s vow that Newcastle would go on to win every trophy available just after tasting defeat in the Carabao Cup has put unnecessary pressure on Howe.
“Newcastle were always going to struggle to maintain the standards that secured a top-four finish – and, unfortunately for Howe, he is going to be judged by those standards,” he wrote in the Daily Mail.
“It certainly underlines how unhelpful it was of Amanda Staveley to be flapping her gums after last season’s League Cup final, telling anyone who’d listen how they were going to win the Champions League.”
Unfair on Staveley
Jordan took issue with what Staveley said at the time too but it’s difficult to know what he thinks she should have said.
Why would a director overseeing a hugely ambitious project not try to use the disappointment of losing one final to assure supporters that more will be on the way?
Howe, of course, is not thought to be under any pressure internally, anyway.
To criticise Staveley for having dreams of delivering a trophy seems strange.
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