Change might feel uncomfortable at Newcastle United right now but renewal won’t lead to ruin at St James’ Park.
Eddie Howe’s surprisingly forthright sit-down in Germany last week revealed cracks that have emerged over a summer of upheaval that has caused plenty of unease. The first priority – which has been initially addressed in the last couple of days – is surely now to make sure everyone is on the same page after the appointment of Paul Mitchell and James Bunce to key roles in the football operation.
It is in no-one’s interests at Newcastle if Howe, a coach who feels destined to one-day break into the elite of his profession and has done a fantastic job, walks away from the club and takes the England job. But it is no longer the case that if the manager departs, so too does hope.
That was always the issue that underscored Rafa Benitez’s annual skirmishes with Mike Ashley during the Spaniard’s tempestuous three years. If Howe setting out some concerns in the Bavarian sun on Friday felt similar to some observers there was surely one big difference: this is no longer a Newcastle happy to settle.
And that is the bigger issue at play here. How happy were those in positions of real influence at Newcastle at how the 2023-4 season went?
A 7th place finish was about par for them but there was disappointment at the way the club went out of all three knockout competitions, where they were sabotaged by injuries. Poor recruitment and miscalculations in previous transfer windows left them hamstrung.
Dan Ashworth’s departure and the Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) mess has made 2024 a difficult year so far. Nobody should be labouring under the illusion they can tread water again.
Enter Mitchell, who seemed personable and clued up when he chatted to journalists in Germany. His CV is impressive and he brings very different skills than Ashworth did. He is a contacts man – “not necessarily a 10-year appointment,” according to one source i spoke to last week – and has been brought in offer fresh insight and expertise in recruitment.
Howe will regard it as a major red flag if signings are thrust on him but it is undoubtedly a plus that there is another voice in the room. It also wards off possibly unfair criticism that his clear preference is for players with Premier League experience that he has worked with before. Change might well end up being for the best.
Ultimately the club will live or die this season on their recruitment. i understands there is a decent transfer budget to bring in “quality over quantity” – the current thinking that two or three players who can immediately challenge for the first team need to come in. The earlier flirtation with Michael Olise, who ultimately joined Bayern Munich, is the bar to which they will aspire and Darren Eales has promised the club will spend every penny of PSR headroom they have. A right winger, forward and right-sided centre-back are on the list: they have to get all three right.
There are also some choices to be made in the upcoming summer, not least how England internationals Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier are handled. In January Howe was an influential voice against either being sold. But maybe those are the sort of difficult decisions that do now need to be made.
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