Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan has doubled down on his comments regarding the future of Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe ahead of their Carabao Cup final against Liverpool.
Howe has a second bite at the Carabao Cup cherry on Sunday having lost in 2023 to Manchester United at Wembley.
The hope is that he can bring a trophy back to the North East – which would be their first trophy since 1955.
Having arrived in 2021 shortly before their rise to prominence once again following their Saudi Arabain owners takeover. He has guided them to a domestic final and the Champions League since.
With the club seemingly moving in a positive direction, the talk has been on how best to ascend to the next level, with many top managerial names being linked over the years, including Jose Mourinho.
Speaking on the final, Howe is hoping to go one better than in 2023 when they lost 2-0 to Man United. “We are there on merit,” Howe said when asked about the final following victory over Arsenal last month.
“Our run has not been easy this year, so we’ve done the hard yards. Hopefully, we can learn from the last experience. We have come a long way since then. I would love to think we can go to Wembley and perform better.”
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Jordan claims Howe’s future is uncertain
Despite being joint-fifth in the Premier League and reaching a cup final, there is still that longing to take the next step and Jordan believes Howe could well exit in the near future to make way for a bigger name – an opinion he has held for some time.
“I’ve always said, and I don’t make any apologies for this, I said this to him when I spoke to him, is that I’ve always felt he is the gatekeeper,” Jordan said.
“You had such luminaries like [Alan] Pardew who took exception to that. He didn’t understand what I meant. Ultimately, it’s very unlikely that the lofty ambitions of the Saudis, who didn’t buy Newcastle so they can win the League Cup, they want to win the Premier League and Champions League.
“They will take the League Cup in the meantime because it will mean so much to the fans. My perception was that Eddie might be very valuable and deservingly rewarded for achieving something at Newcastle, which is getting a good side, a team that is really competitive in the Premier League and who people actually like to watch.
“But is he going to win something for Newcastle? Maybe he will win the League Cup on the weekend but I don’t see Newcastle, not because of Howe but because of the restrictions put upon their ability to spend.
“That might well mean that Eddie becomes a casualty in 18 months, knocking on the door of the FA’s building to take over from Thomas Tuchel.”