Alan Shearer has had his say on Eddie Howe and Newcastle United.placeholder image
Alan Shearer has had his say on Eddie Howe and Newcastle United. | Getty Images
Alan Shearer has had his say on Eddie Howe and Newcastle United following a shaky start to the Premier League season.
Alan Shearer believes Eddie Howe has ‘a lot of points in the bank’ as Newcastle United head coach despite mounting ‘pressure to get results’.
Newcastle sit 14th in the Premier League table with 12 points and 11 goals scored after 11 games. It leaves them sitting two points above the relegation zone.
It comes after Newcastle won the Carabao Cup and qualified for the Champions League last season, finishing fifth. Howe has also previously secured seventh and fourth place finishes in his full seasons at Newcastle while also guiding a winless side away from relegation danger and up to 11th in his first season at the club.
Four years on and questions are being raised about Howe and his Newcastle side as they struggle to deliver in the Premier League. The side’s impressive form in the Champions League and progress to the Carabao Cup quarter-final for a fourth successive season has directly contrasted what has been delivered in the Premier League so far.
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Eddie Howe has full support of Newcastle United
While fan frustration and doubts directed at Howe has grown louder on social media in recent weeks, the club’s stance is clear.
After helping The Magpies end a 70-year trophy drought and qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons, Howe’s job at St James’ Park is secure.
Delivering his verdict, Shearer said in quotes shared via Goal.com: "I guess a manager's always under pressure to get results, but I think the job that Eddie Howe has done at Newcastle and what he delivered in the Carabao Cup, the trophy, I guess he's got a lot of points in the bank.
"What I would look at is Eddie's Newcastle team have always been full of energy, being tough to play against, not giving the opposition any space. That in the away performances is missing, and even home form really. The thing that is missing for me is the high press and the energy.”
Newcastle United’s Nick Woltemade ‘problem’
Newcastle transition from losing top scorer Alexander Isak and replacing him with a very different forward player in Nick Woltemade was initially made easier by the German’s strong goals return.
But recent matches in particular have lacked any attacking prowess or intensity from Newcastle.
"I've said before that as good as Nick Woltemade is with the ball at his feet, he is a problem for Newcastle because he's not the quickest, and he can't press, and he doesn't run in behind,” Shearer added. “Eddie's teams have always done that. Look at what Alexander Isak did or look at what Callum Wilson did, they all pressed and ran behind.
“But this guy can't do that, and that's a problem for Newcastle."
Newcastle return to Premier League action against Manchester City at St James’ Park after the international break on November 22. After that they face a trip to Marseille in the Champions League before a first-ever trip to Everton’s new stadium before a busy December schedule.
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