· 25 October 2025, 12:00
Newcastle United have had some legendary players over the years, with the likes of Alan Shearer springing to mind instantly.
However, when faced with the question of naming who he'd like to have coached from Newcastle's past, Eddie Howe threw up some surprise answers.
Initially framed as which one player from Newcastle's past he'd like to have in his team, the question shifted to naming a five-a-side team of former Newcastle players as Eddie Howe spoke to Andy Kerr for beIN Sports.
We're not going to lie, there were a couple of names here that we didn't see
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Eddie Howe names Alan Shearer in his ex-Newcastle United five-a-side team
As is the Eddie Howe way, he started off by stating that he'd answer the question with the understanding that he didn't want to replace any of his current squad and that's how the question shifted into something even better.
“Ok, that’s a big question. Let me set a few parameters. I am not going to do it by looking at the current squad and saying I would want to bring him in because of my current player. I love all my current players.
“So I am going to do it on who I really love from Newcastle United’s past.
“There are so many. The natural one is to go to Shearer; that is the natural thing, just because of the number of goals he scored. You look at the goalscoring charts, and he is always at the top. You can’t dismiss those numbers; they are unbelievable. I think he would score goals in this team, and he’s a natural one.
“I think knowing Shay Given and his personality, what a guy. I would have loved to have coached and managed him.
“And also, I can’t forget Shola, because these are people I have relationships with. What a guy, Shola’s an unbelievable person, because I know the person, not the player. Although I have played an end-of-season game with him and he did alright, did ok up there, even though his legs are going a little bit. But I would have loved the experience of coaching Shola, and he scored some big goals in big games for the club.”
“We need a bit of grit in midfield, don’t we. I need a ball winner. So let’s go for Lee Clark. He will win the ball back for us and all the creative players around him.
“Let’s get a winger in there, let’s go for David Ginola. That’s a really good balance, although we haven’t got a defender…we’re in trouble, aren’t we!”
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Shola Ameobi and Lee Clark were a bit left field
Hands up who was expecting Shola Ameobi and Lee Clark ... now put them down, you absolute liars! I was expecting maybe Rob Lee or Peter Beardsley.
The lack of defenders doesn't really shock us, though. We were never really known for our defence back then, were we? Although you could have Philippe Albert in there, he's a defender with an eye for goal, a bit like Fabian Schar.
We can't help but wonder now, how would Shola Ameobi have turned out under Eddie Howe?