Sunday saw the sackings of two Premier League managers placing Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe in a small group.
On Sunday, Wolves manager Gary O’Neil was sacked following their dramatic late defeat over Ipswich Town who Newcastle United will meet on Saturday.
Russell Martin was also relieved of his duties following their 5-0 defeat over Tottenham Hotspur leaving the door open for incoming.
Newcastle played both teams earlier in the season with the Magpies winning 1-0 against the Saints on the opening weekend of the season. The game saw a controversial moment which involved Fabian Schar and Ben Brereton Diaz with the Swiss international being sent off in the process.
Eddie Howe’s side came back to beat Wolves 2-1 at Molineux in September thanks to goals from Schar and Harvey Barnes.
Eddie Howe, Manager of Newcastle United, shows appreciation to the fans followin the Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and Leicester...
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Richard Keys suggests Eddie Howe could leave Newcastle United at the end of the season
Football pundit Richard Keys took to his blog to comment on the departures of O’Neil and Martin. During his musings, he pointed out a particular statistic that highlighted Howe along with fellow managers Sean Dyche and Keiran McKenna.
He said: “I’m sorry to see Gary O’Neil go. And no – I don’t owe Bournemouth fans an apology. The way he was treated by your club was a disgrace.
“It’s not many months since O’Neil was being touted as a future England manager. I still believe he’s good at what he does, but he was fighting a losing battle at Wolves. Any coach that’s seen £250m worth of talent sold would struggle.
“I hope both O’Neil and Martin find their way back into the game. With Steve Cooper sacked earlier in the season were three British coaches down now. We’ve only got Eddie Howe, Sean Dyche and Kieran McKenna left.
“I don’t expect Dyche to start next season at Everton. The chances are Howe won’t be at Newcastle either and you’d be brave to suggest Ipswich will stay up.”
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The Premier League now only has two English managers in Howe and Dyche who are both under their own pressure to perform at the moment. The Magpies currently sit 12th but are just four points off the fifth place while Everton are three points off the relegation zone in 15th.
The pressure is on Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe to perform
The season hasn’t panned out like Newcastle fans and figures would’ve liked so far and Howe will be the first to say it.
Newcastle have won just four of their last 13 Premier League games with defeats coming against the likes of Brentford, West Ham and Brighton.
Part of Howe’s struggles are down to Newcastle’s lack of spending with just one first-team player being signed in the last two transfer windows.
READ MORE:Newcastle confirmed signings, departures, loans & released players in the summer transfer window 2024
These problems look like they will persist with Newcastle needing to sell before they buy in January.
While there is no suggestion Howe would be sacked mid-season it seems likely that it is Europe or bust for him. If the PIF decided to go that way, it would cost over £9m to sack Howe and his staff.
With PSR still a lingering issue for Newcastle, it seems silly to consider a bigger setback.
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