SIMON JORDAN: Bluntly, I didn’t think Eddie Howe had the chops for Newcastle… but he’s created a tidal wave of euphoria at St James’ Park

• I was not initially convinced Eddie Howe was the right man for Newcastle
• He has proved me wrong and turned the North-East club into a major force 
• Anthony Gordon has gone from immature kid to Newcastle’s lightening rod – Listen to It’s All Kicking Off

It’s not my natural inclination to wax lyrical about managers given they’re often presidents of their own fan club, but you have to give as much credit as you can for the job Eddie Howe is doing at Newcastle.

My initial reaction was that it wasn’t an obvious fit. He was Newcastle’s second choice behind Unai Emery and had walked away from the Celtic job because at the time I perceived him not to have the stomach for it. I didn’t have high expectations of him and to put it bluntly, didn’t think he had the chops to be Newcastle manager.

But he’s doing a remarkable job and I don’t believe there’s anyone in English football who would be doing better than Howe is at Newcastle right now.

Not just because he’s bought well and galvanised the spirit of the club. Not just because the style of play is something you want to watch. Not just because when they’ve got adversity with shortage of players they can overcome it. Not just because when they get bad decisions against them they don’t cry and criticise. Not because they constantly use bad luck as an excuse for bad outcomes. It’s because of all of those things, it makes him a breath of fresh air.

And what all those things tell you is this guy has character. He’s nobody’s fool and a man of substance but I concede, I didn’t think that substance was as significant as it’s now proving to be. He is the perfect person, in the perfect job at the perfect time. But you’ve still got to execute successful outcomes. 

Eddie Howe had his doubters when he joined Newcastle in 2021, but he has done a remarkable job on Tyneside

Mail Sport columnist Simon Jordan (pictured) has been very impressed by the way Howe has gone about his business at Newcastle

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He has changed them overnight – from the darkness of the perceived miserable Mike Ashley regime to this utterly transformed club – and I don’t really see anywhere that he’s made a mis-step.

Of course, you can point to the financial might of Newcastle’s owners and human-rights issues to try to diminish what Howe has achieved. But that’s unfair. 

Firstly, Newcastle are merely spending what most top-six clubs spend and, secondly, it is unreasonable to expect Howe to offer any particular insight about the moral compass, values, motivations and aspirations of the owners. 

The chief executives and chairman should answer those kind of questions rather than the manager – he’s not equipped to do it. Just like Pep Guardiola isn’t equipped to talk about Financial Fair Play obligations that Manchester City have or haven’t complied with.

Perhaps Howe should have developed a slightly better schtick when confronted with such questions but I don’t blame him for sidestepping them because he has nothing to add. And he certainly can’t add his two pennorth in any shape or form because it will be utilised against him and his relationship with his owners. 

Howe has fielded questions about Newcastle’s owners but those should be answered by the chief executive or chairman

Is there a right or wrong answer Howe can offer given the fact that to give the right answer he’d have to vilify the ownership? So I’m not entirely sure it’s Howe’s responsibility in life to adopt moral principles given our own government doesn’t when dealing with the same people who own Newcastle.

Howe’s focus is and must be the football and right now there’s a euphoria at Newcastle. They’re riding a tidal wave of energy and enthusiasm and possess a determination to achieve because, unlike the historical legacy clubs, they don’t yet have a deep-seated entitlement and belief that they should be doing what they’re doing.

Howe is a very sensible, rounded, balanced individual who probably benefitted from his time managing Bournemouth more than someone who came from a more privileged or esteemed football background. That has stood him in good stead and if you’re a Newcastle fan, you can only be proud of what this team is doing.

His interviews after games are solid, sensible and based on constructive observations. There’s no hyperbole, no unnecessary superlatives and he’s not overly emotive. He doesn’t get carried away by winning, or despondent by losing. He is not overly effusive about his players but gives the right amount of praise and his players are on message. That in itself is the art of management.

His players are absolutely at it, on it and across it. The Anthony Gordons of this world, who I felt was a bit ahead of himself, is now turning into a player that you’d have in most teams. Joelinton and so many others look like different players. 

Joelinton has looked a completely different player to the one that struggled under Steve Bruce

Howe has also got the best out of Anthony Gordon after his difficult start at St James’ Park

Newcastle have held their own in Europe this season, and Howe has built a squad of players all pulling in the same direction

They’re getting better and are enhanced in every position and without wishing to be too gushing, there is very little you can find that isn’t positive. Everything you saw on Saturday from Howe’s team when they were so impressive beating Manchester United was the polar opposite of what you got from their opponents.

You look at this Newcastle team and their performances against PSG, their approach to the Champions League, their performances in the Premier League, the culture of the club and the direction of travel and a significant proportion of that is down to the steady, solid, clearly inspirational leadership of Howe.

I now see a manager on a trajectory that is upward only. I still maintain the view that, a bit like when Martin Luther King said we’ll get to the promised land but I might not be there when you get there, Howe may not be the ultimate beneficiary of all the good work he’s done. That’s not a criticism of Howe or my attempt to diminish him but expectation levels are going to change and ambition levels will increase.

Unless you start winning leagues and cups and European trophies, then while he may be a very significant part of Newcastle’s journey to greatness, I’m not sure he’ll be there to enjoy those successes. Newcastle are building an underlying culture where they will move into the territory of expecting to win – and win big.

Howe has the Newcastle fans firmly on his side and they look like a club that are going places

Howe’s next challenge will be closing the gap to the likes of Pep Guardiola’s Man City

That change will come and there’ll be a time where they will think like that. That is the critical point. Howe has been through every gear change and been right on every one but the spectre of enormous financial power the owners can unleash is always there in the background. 

If they really want to dominate – as I suspect they do otherwise what was the point buying the club – then I fear Howe could become a victim as they march towards that goal. 

As an Englishman, wanting an English manager to achieve in the Premier League, I’d be delighted to be proved wrong. I hope he does win them the league, but that would be a significant tectonic shift.

Newcastle are becoming an irresistible force but the immovable objects are the bigger, better, more established clubs and unless we’re going to see a sea change with them, the holy grail may avoid Howe. Who knows, if that was the case, the Toon’s loss may be the national side’s gain.

Marcus must lift doom and gloom

If Gareth Southgate was picking his England squad for the Euros tomorrow, Marcus Rashford would not justify inclusion.

He’s part of a generation of Manchester United players who are living off the legacy of those who have done things for the club in the past but they are a pale imitation of previous sides and receive far more attention than they warrant.

Rashford’s problem is he has been put on a pedestal he doesn’t deserve. He is not a world-class player but is judged by those standards. As we have seen with other players, we don’t know what challenges he faces away from the game but he should remember this is the best time of his life. He’s playing for arguably one of the greatest clubs in the world but walks around with a look of impending doom.

He needs to pull himself together and up his game if he wants to be on the plane to Germany.

Marcus Rashford does not warrant a place in the England squad on current form, and needs to turn things around quickly to get on the plane to Germany next summer

New TV deal isn’t great for fans

Much fanfare has greeted the Premier League’s TV deal and it’s a great one for Sky but I’m not sure it’s a great deal for fans. 

The broadcaster has more games for pretty much the same price over four years rather than three so I’m not sure why the Premier League are presenting this as some sort of increase. 

Of course, if the cost implications for fans reduce as a result of this new deal, they will benefit, but I’d be surprised if that was the case. I’m sure the decision to agree this deal, that kicks in when the new regulator comes in, is purely a coincidence…

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.

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