Jamie Carragher has been discussing Eddie Howe’s position at Newcastle United after Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at Brentford.
The Sky Sports pundit has jumped to the defence of the 47-year-old, believing a major part of our early-season struggles is a knock-on effect from a turbulent summer.
Carragher is convinced Howe will go down as one of our ‘greatest managers’, showing what he is capable of over the past four years and consolidating himself as the best English coach in the business.
So, what is the problem? Well, Carragher believes the issue begins above Howe, feeling the club have ‘let him down’ with the ‘topsy-turvy’ nature of incoming and outgoing sporting directors, the handling of the Alexander Isak saga and last-minute business we did, leaving us unprepared for the start of the 2025/26 season.
As a result, Carragher fears Howe has taken Newcastle as far as he can under the current ownership, feeling the boss should leave for the England job next summer if Thomas Tuchel leaves his role after the 2026 World Cup.
Read everything Carragher had to say on Howe’s position below, pointing fingers at a messy 2025 off the pitch more than the manager himself:
“Eddie Howe is going to go down, whenever he moves on from the club, as one of the greatest Newcastle United managers.
“I’ve championed Eddie Howe as the next England manager. I think he’s a wonderful coach, the best English coach by a million miles. I love him to bits.
“But now that we’re four years in, I don’t think Eddie Howe can do any more than what he’s done at Newcastle United. I don’t see Newcastle winning a Premier League. So I’m not sure there’s much more he can do.
“And that’s not just talking on the back of Newcastle being a couple of points outside the relegation zone, or questioning the manager in any way, but I think Newcastle have let him down.
“The topsy turvy nature of the club in terms of sporting directors…all the people behind the scenes. It almost feels at times like he’s there on his own.
“The big Saudi investment hasn’t really kicked on. Now they could question the PSR, the rules – I get all that. But something to me, when I look at how he had to handle the summer, the [Alexander] Isak situation, getting players in late, the Yoane Wissa situation.
“It’s been a mess at Newcastle really and when you’re talking about one of the greatest managers they’ve ever had in their history, I think he deserves better.
“And if I’m thinking how Eddie Howe’s thinking, if that England job came up in the summer after the World Cup with Tuchel’s contract situation, I’d be there in a shot.
“Because as I said, I think he’s being let down. And I don’t think Eddie Howe can take Newcastle United any further than what he’s done so far.”
I still believe Howe is the man to take us forward in the long-term, and so do our PIF owners based on a report released yesterday.
That is reassuring and I’m confident he will be given time to turn it around, but the prospect of managing England should Tuchel move on after the World Cup is one he may find tougher to reject next time if his position on Tyneside feels less secure.