Eddie Howe’s future at Newcastle United has been a topic of conversation in recent weeks following a hugely inconsistent few months.
Newcastle find themselves 12th in the Premier League despite a 4-0 win over Leicester City on Saturday, with an ongoing theme being our inability to string together a run of results.
Whether any conversations behind the scenes have taken place surrounding Howe’s future remain unclear, but a new report has offered some clarity on the 47-year-old’s position and how he’s viewed by those at the top.
Speaking to [The Telegraph](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/12/13/eddie-howe-newcastle-backing-board-january-transfer-problem/) for part of Luke Edwards’ latest piece, a ‘source close’ to the club had this to say on Eddie Howe’s position:
“Eddie is an elite manager and coach, he is honest about where the team is, what the problems are and the situation we are in. That is what you are looking for.
“He understands the wider picture in terms of PSR and the financial challenges facing the club. He does not get too high when things are going well, or too low when they are difficult. He is the perfect fit for what Newcastle are trying to be and the challenges faced in terms of building long-term, sustainable success. **Nobody is thinking about replacing him.**”
The message, if accurate, appears resolute. Howe has the full backing of the board, and the noise on social media has not led the board to waver on their decision to appoint their man in the first place.
It paints Howe in a good light and seems a fair reflection of what he says to the media. When he took the job, I think he would have been very surprised to be in the PSR mess we’ve been in, and it seems our owners appreciate his ability to work within the rules and navigate his way through tricky patches; something he did so well when he first arrived three years ago.
As The Telegraph go on to state, that same PSR situation could in fact be another reason why Howe’s job remains secure?
It is believed that a severance package for Howe and his coaching staff would reach in excess of £9 million, leaving the club even further short changed in what has been a far from profligate few windows.
The simple fact is that we need to recruit, in lieu of digging ourselves into absorbing yet another financial hit that may be a decisive factor on whether or not the squad is improved in January – and beyond.
It appears that the hierarchy do, and will, back the manager and see him as the right fit for the club now, with an eye to the future for what could become a lengthy Howe dynasty.
I wish partly they would be transparent, instead of it being assumed from under the cover sources, so at least there could be comfort in KNOWING their decision and choosing from there whether to support it.
Results do speak for themselves however, and Howe’s position may become untenable unless consistency creeps in with a big few months to come.