HERZOGENAURACH — There were blue skies over Adidas’ state-of-the-art training headquarters as Eddie Howe put his Newcastle United players through their paces in the searing Bavarian sun.
But an hour or so later, in his first audience with reporters of a tumultuous summer at St James’ Park, a fog of confusion moved in.
Howe is happy and committed in his job at Newcastle – he reaffirmed his burning desire to win trophies with the Magpies – but it is not quite as straightforward as that. One source described his intervention on Friday as “putting his elbows out a bit”, jostling for influence as new director of football Paul Mitchell gets his feet under the table.
We arrived in Germany expecting an England story but what we got was one about the internal politics at St James’ Park and how a restructure in the football operations will need to be handled sensitively.
Howe said his quotes were driven by “honesty” and he was full of praise for the appointment of Mitchell and head of performance James Bunce – hailed by Howe as a “top class” operator. But he also admitted that if the dynamic isn’t right, it might not be the long-term assignment it had been assumed it was.
Eddie Howe’s future isn’t black and white – but he clearly wants to stay at Newcastle
England or Newcastle? If you were in the room it felt abundantly clear that Howe’s preference is to stay in the Premier League and continue the long-term project he has at Newcastle.
“I don’t think my emotional investment in Newcastle could be bigger,” he said.
“I’m all in or all out and that’s my method of working. I’m absolutely all in. I’ve been working all summer to make the squad better.”
And Howe is that kind of manager, twitchy enough to cast reporters out of his training session after a few minutes because – he joked later – it is his life’s work on show every day.
That intensity and meticulous approach means that the England job feels like an uneasy fit but there are other issues in play at St James’ Park.
Mitchell is now director of football at Newcastle and flexed his muscles by appointing Bunce as performance director within a few days of taking the job. The former’s remit is recruitment while the latter will try and recalibrate the poor injury record which ruined Newcastle’s campaign last year.
Howe was perhaps firing a warning shot when he spoke about working in the way he was happy. CEO Darren Eales spoke about ensuring Howe’s focus was on the grass where he “does his best business” but his response to questions about the power dynamics were clear.
“We haven’t had detailed conversations re: relationships yet. We’ve just come together,” he said.
“Without going into too much detail the boundaries of relationships and how they’re going to work is slightly unclear.”
Howe’s quotes also give the FA a clear roadmap for a decision
If you were Mark Bullingham or John McDermott the Howe quotes offer a clear way forward if they want the Newcastle boss next: just wait.
The transfer window closes on 2 September and by then, surely, we will have a clearer idea of whether this new dynamic works for Howe. The Newcastle manager wants signings – “We do need to bring players in,” he said – and in real terms that means “quality over quantity”. But will they force his hand on outgoings like Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier, players Howe wants to keep but should probably be moved on?
During an extraordinary half an hour here in Germany, Howe declined to list specific reassurances he is seeking, instead admitting a “very difficult” summer has loosened certainties. He referenced the loss of “hands on” Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi who he had grown close to and provided a “visible, supportive” presence at St James’ Park. But he was clearly referencing the new football structure when he spoke about wanting to feel “happy and supported”.
Indeed, how Mitchell, Eales and Howe deal with possible disagreements over recruitment strategy will decide whether a door remains open for England.
With only Nations League business to attend to Bullingham and McDermott would probably be best advised to kick the can down the road unless they have a burning desire to hire Graham Potter. A lot can change in a few weeks.
Howe has spoken at length to PIF – and thinks the club’s future is ‘bright’
It is worth pointing out that Howe did not give the impression of a man ready to jump ship. Newcastle fans grew weary of civil war in the Rafa Benitez era when the manager regularly duelled with former owner Mike Ashley and managing director Lee Charnley in the off-season, but this did not feel like a repeat of those battles. It was more about whether Howe himself could prosper in a new power structure.
In terms of the club’s ambition and future, Howe was unequivocal: it is bright.
“Of course I’ve spoken to PIF and will continue to speak to them,” he said.
“The relationship is good. Since they’ve been here and I want to make this clear, they’ve done some amazing things for the football club and I think they are absolutely going to do some amazing things for the football club in the future.
“Everyone should be very excited about what is ahead for Newcastle.”
What he needs to feel is the “support” of those above him to be part of it.
The PSR scramble was a mess that has unsettled the club
Newcastle’s “very, very difficult summer” is partly down to the Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) scramble that played out in the final fortnight of June.
Howe made it very clear that Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh were sold reluctantly and solely to avoid a crippling points deduction.
“It was a very difficult last couple of weeks of June,” he said.
“The rules forced to do things we didn’t want to do. I want to make that clear we didn’t want to sell any of the players we sold. Absolutely not. Why would we want to sell any of our promising young players? Elliot’s someone we’ve invested a lot of time in and it defied the inner feeling we all had associated with the club, it felt wrong.
“We wish Elliot and Yankuba all the very best in their next football clubs. It was a really difficult time, there was a lot of uncertainty and we didn’t know what was going to happen.
“In the end it’s been as good as we could have hoped for in terms of us not being hit with a points deduction which was of course of paramount importance we did that. But we need to make sure we’re not in that position again.”
Newcastle have a very big season ahead
i asked Howe what the club’s aims are for the new campaign.
“When I came here we wanted to win a trophy. It is burning inside me and it is a target,” he said.
“Europe is a target after the last two years. I would love to experience more European nights here.”
No Europe means the workload is lighter next season but the expectation rises.
“With [Europe] came a cost in our training ground work,” he said.
“We go week to week now which gives me more of chance to coach. It is what I enjoy most. I look at it with a glass half full.”
So much will rest on recruitment
It will get lost in the debate about his future but Howe told reporters here the club are not close on new signings and there is less than a month until the Premier League kicks off.
Internally there is no panic. The market, insiders have noted, has been slower than usual and in the likes of Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and a fully fit Harvey Barnes they have players returning in peak condition who can impact games.
But Newcastle need to get the right signings, trade well and bring in serious quality to shift the dial. It is understood recruitment meetings have been held here in Herzogenaurach but dominoes need to fall around Europe for things to start moving.
Given Mitchell’s appointment is “90 per cent about recruitment” in the words of Eales, there will be no honeymoon period for a new hire.
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