Eddie Howe looked momentarily fazed as Sandro Tonali trudged towards the touchline and a gentle smattering of boos and heckles greeted his decision to withdraw the Italy midfielder. Newcastle’s manager had in no uncertain terms been issued the reminder that the widespread adoration he commands on Tyneside is no longer unconditional.
Only last Saturday at St James’ Park and, with 65 minutes gone, were Newcastle heading towards a 1-0 defeat against Brighton. Despite the muted outward show of dissent, numerous home supporters were vocal with their disapproval of Howe’s decision to replace the influential, albeit clearly tiring, Tonali. Worse, a manager who prides himself on an ability to read the signs conceded his introduction of Joe Willock did not produce the desired results.
November 8 marks the third anniversary of Howe’s installation at Newcastle. However – with a largely long-serving squad turning stale and struggling to regain its previous harmony – his once near-irrepressible tactical templates are starting to look ragged around the edges.
One can easily recall just over a year ago how Eddie and the boys produced a breathtaking 4-1 Champions League home win over Paris Saint-Germain. Unfortunately those glory days seem to be quite a distance off as the fanbase are debating whether the impending three matches — Chelsea away on Sunday today in the Premier League, Wednesday’s Carabao Cup date with Chelsea at St James’ and Arsenal’s league visit on Saturday — should be regarded as sink or swim fixtures for the beleaguered gaffer.
While none would readily doubt his ability as an outstanding coach and no one is really suggesting he should be sacked any time in the immediate future, his hopes of leading Newcastle back to Europe and lifting a trophy are being undermined by circumstances beyond his control.
Although arguable, the high-intensity pressing game that blew PSG, and others, away likely prompted the series of injuries responsible for last season’s disappointing seventh-placed finish, leading to the appointment of James Bunce as Newcastle’s new performance director. Bunce prompltly modified Howe’s demanding training regimen in the hope of minimising soft tissue injuries, and such tweaks are a possible ecplanation for the slow start to the campaign.
All this has left Newcastle languishing mid-table and having scored eight goals in eight league games. The season is far from over, but with Newcastle desperate to secure their first major silverware since 1969, Wednesday’s cup tie seems pivotal.
To be fair to Howe, the past two transfer windows have been quiet, leaving the gaffer short of the new right-winger, centre-half and central striker he craves.
The departure of minority co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi in July, coupled with the need to meet PSR requirements, have created a sense that behind the scenes, Newcastle have become a bit more corporate, and slightly soulless.
Adding to the frazzle, a summer involving key performers Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimarães and Anthony Gordon becoming the subject of transfer speculation and the manager himself being linked with the England job only served to disrupt what was once watertight unity. This was further exacerbated by the contentious decision to replace Kieran Trippier as captain with the more emotional Guimarães.
34-year-old Trippier had served as the lodestar of Newcastle’s metamorphosis for a considerable period of time but the team miss the full-back’s leadership qualities and his stellar crossing and dead-ball deliveries.
“It was a difficult summer, for lots of different reasons, for a catalogue of things,” says Howe. “When you have multiple players affected by different things, it becomes harder. The general feel of the squad at the start of the season was different to previous years.
“My job is to get the focus and harmony back where it should be, but it’s taking longer than we initially hoped. We’ve come through some really rocky spells in the past but underpinning the strength of the group was always a sense of duty, professionalism, love for the club and positive momentum. It meant we could ride through some difficult patches.
“Now we’ve just got to make sure all those qualities are underpinning the squad again because our ability is unquestionable. But for every player to be at their best, there needs to be that unity, that ambition.”
As Newcastle enter a potentially season-defining next seven days, Howe is fully aware that a watershed moment beckons.
“I’ve seen things, very quickly, go the wrong way in football,” he says. “So everyone connected with Newcastle has a big job to try to keep that momentum positive and the dreams really big. That’s absolutely crucial.”