Newcastle United manger Steve Bruce has said that he does not plan to leave the club.
However, despite guiding Newcastle to safety, it’s no secret that Bruce’s popularity at the club remains low.
And so with St James’ Park hopefully packed next season and the negative atmosphere that it could create, there is a good reason why the Toon would want to find a new manager.
And so here’s a rundown of the possible candidates that Newcastle should take a look at to replace him:
Paulo Fonseca
An outside choice, but the young, enigmatic manager could do well at Newcastle, given his achievements at AS Roma. Set to leave the Italian club at the end of the season, he will be without a managerial role, and plenty will be looking to him as a potential appointment.
Fonseca led Roma to a fifth-place finish in his debut season and the semifinals of this season’s Europa League.
Overall in percentage 53.13%.
Major Honours: Ukrainian Premier League: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, Ukrainian Cup: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, Ukrainian Premier League Best Coach: 2016–17
Chris Wilder
Wilder enjoyed a remarkable spell at Sheffield United, only for it to end in disaster and his subsequent dismissal.
Currently linked to the West Bromwich job, given his ability to bring about form despite being restricted, Wilder could do well at Newcastle.
This trait will, of course, be an attraction for Newcastle’s hierarchy too, who like to operate on a self-sustaining model.
Wilder was at Bramall Lane for almost five years and helped them reach a top ten position before leaving the club in March with the Blades in the drop zone.
Overall win percentage – 43.7%
Major honours: LMA Manager of the Year: 2018–19
Rafa Benitez
No doubt this would be an astoundingly popular choice, bringing back Newcastle’s most loved manager since Kevin Keegan. Rafa Benitez led Newcastle back into the Premier League at the first attempt before guiding them to a top-ten finish in the Premier the subsequent year.
His standoff attitude to the unpopular owner, his talking up of the club, and his ability to bring about hope for any result Newcastle played means he’s still admired and loved in the northwest.
Overall win percentage – 49.2%
Major honours: La Liga: 2001–02, 2003–04, UEFA Cup: 2003–04, FA Cup: 2005–06, UEFA Champions League: 2004–05, UEFA Super Cup: 2005, Supercoppa Italiana: 2010, FIFA Club World Cup: 2010, UEFA Europa League: 2012–13, Coppa Italia: 2013–14, Supercoppa Italiana: 2014, UEFA Manager of the Year: 2003–04, 2004–05, La Liga Best Coach: 2002#
Frank Lampard
The Chelsea legend enjoyed relative success at Derby County – but failed to grant them promotion. Even still he got signed to Chelsea to lead the club to sliverware.
Not totally inept but certainly out of his depth, Lampard left the club proving that he had some capability as a manager, just that he was not at Chelsea at the right time.
Lampard is a Premier League legend and fits the bill of having a young, personable boss who could get the Newcastle fans alongside. Whether he would want a return to the Premier League so soon is another matter.
Overall win percentage – 48.2%
Major honours: N/A
Eddie Howe
Eddie Howe helped Bournemouth jump 92 league positions during a nine-year period. He solidfied them as a considerable Premier League force but soon the wheels started to fall off and Bournemouth were relegated from the Premier League.
He left the role soon after and has been out of action since. Howe has been linked with the Newcastle job for a while now, and he’s a manager whose charisma and charm would certainly appease supporters. But whether the results on the pitch will do just that is another matter. At the time of writing he’s a free man, but he has been heavily linked to the Celtic job.
Overall win percentage: 41.83%
Major honours: Football League Manager of the Decade Award: 2005–2015, LMA Manager of the Year: 2015, LMA Championship Manager of the Year: 2014–15.
Gennaro Gattuso
There will be something massively appealing about having the fiery Italian join Newcastle.
He will have the side working their socks off and kiss the badge before heading out on matchday. He is, to all intents and purposes, at absolute pitbull.
Currently at Napoli with the team in second in Serie A, his appointment would be hugely unlikely – and yet Italian site Calciomercato say that Newcastle have shown their interest.
If anything else, he’ll be hugely entertaining. A personal pick from this writer.
Win percentage: 43.51%
Major honours: Coppa Italia: 2019–20
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