Eddie Howe got a good idea of the size of the task on his hands at Newcastle United as he watched his new side’s 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.
The 43-year-old was pictured sitting next to Amanda Staveley, whose consortium bought out Mike Ashley last month, in the stands at the Amex Stadium during the Premier League clash between the two sides on Saturday night.
Newcastle are understood to have agreed a deal in principle with the former Bournemouth manager to take over at St James’ Park, more than two weeks after head coach Steve Bruce’s exit.
The new era did not start well with Ciaran Clark giving away a first half penalty, which was converted by Leandro Trossard from the spot.
All eyes on him ????
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Man of the moment Eddie Howe in the stands watching his soon-to-be new clubpic.twitter.com/6O95mpFPXV
The defender made amends after the break however, setting up Isaac Hayden for a neat finish to cancel out the opener.
Newcastle nearly won it at the death only for Callum Wilson to be hacked down by Robert Sanchez when through on goal.
Jonjo Shelvey then wasted the chance to test Lewis Dunk from the resultant free-kick, with the centre-back forced to act as stand-in keeper for the final few minutes after Sanchez’s red card.
The result leaves Newcastle level on points with basement boys Norwich City after their 2-1 win over Brentford.
Here is what Howe will have learned and what Newcastle fans can expect from him over the coming months:
Ex-Cherries trio set for big role
Howe will be reunited at Newcastle with three of his former players: striker Callum Wilson, left-sider Matt Ritchie and winger Ryan Fraser, all of whom have been key for the club this season.
No Newcastle player has made more appearances or played as many minutes as Ritchie, Fraser has played seven games and Wilson, despite missing four matches through injury, is the Magpies’ top scorer with four goals.
The experience of this senior trio will be vital to Howe as he looks to establish himself in the dugout at St James’ Park, and also for the club as it begins its envisioned transition from lower-half outfit to European challengers.
Experience of crisis management
Howe’s CV appears well-suited to the opening stages of this transformative vision. At Bournemouth, he took over with the club having just gone into administration and 10 points adrift at the bottom of League Two, delivering them to safety in his first season and winning promotion to League One in the next.
Howe then left for a brief spell with Burnley before returning in October 2012. Between then and 2020, he was a perpetual over-achiever, taking the club from the relegation zone of League One to an established Premier League side.
This is the pedigree of a manager who has built long-term, sustainable success out of difficult origins. The applicability of this to Newcastle’s current situation is plain to see and evidently what has attracted the club’s new owners.
“He’s a meticulous, young, up-and-coming manager who has been around the block,” said BT Sport pundit Steve Sidwell before kick-off. “He’s got attention to detail, someone that’s hard-working, a workaholic, he’ll get every ounce out of these players…
“He’s got Premier League experience, young and English and relegation battle experience. I know it ended not great at Bournemouth but in terms of what he done there, in terms of the pressure environment, ultimately keeping that club from winding up in his first season, he’s been superb.”
A new tactical approach
Backed by Saudi billions, Howe’s tactical style is likely to differ significantly from Steve Bruce’s preference for functionality over flair.
At Bournemouth, Howe employed a possession-based system which focused on winning the ball back quickly and dictating the play, with the idea being that Bournemouth would defeat their opponents by creating more chances than them.
Newcastle supporters, however, should not expect Howe to work wonders straight away. The difference in style between Howe and Bruce, the club’s perilous position in the relegation zone and the fact that January is still two months away all mean that a more conservative, stabilisation-oriented approach may be needed.
“You need character, personality and defensively they need to be sound,” Sidwell added. “The way he performed with his Bournemouth teams: full-backs flying on, pressing high, it’s going to be hard to recreate what he done at Bournemouth in terms of conceding goals but also scoring goals.”
Howe’s time at Bournemouth, though, proves that such patience is likely to be rewarded eventually.
Defensive transfers will be a priority
Only fellow strugglers Norwich have conceded more goals so far this season than Newcastle’s 24 and this is likely to be one of the areas Howe will want to strengthen in January – but there will also be plenty of work to do before then.
“People will say he’s got a transfer window to sort things out,” Sidwell added. “Listen, the next 10 games before this transfer window is massive because if they’re out of touch, you try and attract key players that are going to come in that window when they’re in that predicament.”
Former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand agreed that defensive solidity will be key to Howe’s success.
“Those shocking defensive stats [at Bournemouth], that is the area he has to home in on immediately. The foundations for any football club to do well, defensively you’ve got to be strong”
Former Newcastle midfielder Jermaine Jenas added: “They have to find the right players, with the right motives, with the right character.”
One of the key names linked with a transfer to Newcastle in January is Burnley defender James Tarkowski, whose contract runs out in the summer and is there expected to be available on the cheap.
A new director of football?
The PR disaster that saw Unai Emery leaked as the club’s first-choice before a deal was reached encapsulated the dearth of football experience among Newcastle’s new owners. Jamie Reuben, 34, is the only one who has sat on a professional club’s board before, and that was nothing more than a two-year stint at QPR.
While Howe was an astute recruiter during Bournemouth’s rise to the Premier League, the £255m he spent after this left a lot to be desired: infamous duds include Dominic Solanke for £20m and Jordan Ibe for £15m.
This suggests that a director of football would be a sensible option for all parties, providing expertise in both recruitment and day-to-day footballing operations. What complicates matters is that Howe has not worked within such a structure before and had a notoriously high level of authority and control over decision-making at Bournemouth.
Legitimate questions therefore remain about how exactly Newcastle will approach the manager’s role, especially given the extent of the rebuild required by the new owners’ ambitions.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3wlaH58
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