**TalkSPORT's Simon Jordan is a controversial figure amongst football fans, particularly Newcastle United supporters.**
The former Crystal Palace owner isn't shy when it comes to voicing his opinions and doesn't care who he upsets along the way, and he has often ruffled the feathers of the Toon Army, particularly in the early days of the takeover when he seemed to have an extraordinary beef with Amanda Staveley.
He also questioned whether Eddie Howe was the right man for the job, but on several occasions, Jordan has walked back those comments, admitting he was completely wrong.
Now, Jordan has come out in defence of Eddie Howe as Newcastle struggle to find anything resembling form away from home in the Premier League.
Simon Jordan backs Eddie Howe to turn things around
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Speaking on TalkSPORT denied that the Magpies are in a 'crisis' and backed Eddie Howe to turn things around.
> “When you talked about the fact they've only won four away games this year… how many have they played, 10? Premier League-wise, yes, they've had two bad results in a row.“At the beginning of the season, they had three near-nil draws against Villa, against Bournemouth, and against Leeds. I hear that (the criticism), but let's not turn it into a crisis because they've just won the EFL game against Spurs, they're in the quarter-finals of the EFL League Cup, the one they're defending (and) they're going reasonably well in the Champions League.“They've got to get themselves together in the Premier League and I'm pretty sure that they will. They've got a new centre-forward in, (Alexander) Isak’s gone, so they're setting up a different way now.The two wingers have got to start contributing a little bit more. Lo and behold, Harvey Barnes comes into the team and scores a great goal on the weekend.“The main issue is why are they setting up differently away from home and causing themselves problems? I would suspect that the crowd at St James' Park play a massive part in demanding Newcastle set up differently and play in a certain way.“Eddie's got to square the circle in his mind and the players' minds. That way results have to be achieved. Flip it on its head. If you're playing in front of an expectant crowd that are demanding you to be a certain way, is there as much pressure in that space as there is being away from home with a different set of pressures?
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> “Clearly the issue is not about the capability of this team to perform. It's about their capability to perform away from home. They seem unable to turn up ataway games. Why is that? And that's the question that Eddie Howe will unlock.”
Newcastle have been found out
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Newcastle's lack of form away from home only seems to be affecting them in the Premier League as in Europe they seem quite capable of turning up and performing.
It's either a case of rising to the occasion or, and this is far more likely, Premier League teams have sussed us out. The fact that Howe's tactics haven't really changed much over the four years he's been at newcastle means we have become predictable.
That has to change, not just because we've been worked out, but because the players we have now don't necessarily fit that style any more. Particularly our record signing striker who, if we want to get the best out of, we simply have to adapt our style to fit.