Eddie Howe lifts the Carabao Cup trophy.
Eddie Howe and Newcastle were watched by almost 8million football fans on TV.
Eddie Howe has, in one giant step, nudged giants Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson out of the way to line up alongside Joe Harvey as Newcastle United’s most successful manager – ever.
That is quite an achievement and the world still lies in front of him, inviting further trophies and accolades.
While KK and Uncle Bobby will always be treasured for what they achieved at NUFC – they played football the right way and brought with them Champions League participation – in terms of winning trophies they failed to get one between them.
Harvey has long been the benchmark, having claimed the European Fairs Cup, the Anglo-Italian Cup, two Texaco Cups (Anglo-Scottish Cup), and the Second Division championship, as well as an FA Cup final appearance.
Howe, the young pretender, is threatening to challenge that supremacy, however, having broken through the glass ceiling with a Carabao Cup victory. So far in his short reign he has given supporters two days out at Wembley in the League Cup, a top four Premier League finish and Champions League football against royalty Paris Saint Germain, who were smashed 4-1 at St James’ Park.
He has proved himself to be a wily campaigner, a master tactician who beneath his choirboy looks has a steely determination to succeed. He eats, drinks and lives NUFC. His idea of a good time is a cup of builder’s tea and a remote control to dissect United’s latest match!
The Carabao Cup stands as a monument to his tactical ability. He out-thought Mikel Arteta to fashion a 4-0 aggregate win over Arsenal in the semi-finals and again outdid Arne Slot and Liverpool at Wembley. Without three of his top stars, Howe didn’t sulk or think himself unlucky. Jinxed even. Instead, he set out a plan.
Away from the public glare, he quietly worked on United’s set-pieces at their Benton training ground because this was an area he believed United could exploit. Despite being hammered at Anfield a few weeks earlier, Howe spotted a mismatch at corners with Alexis Mac Allister, who has a tackle like a bear-trap, picking up United’s centre-half. Giving away nine inches in height meant the Argentinian was staring at Dan Burn’s midriff when Kieran Trippier whipped in the corner for United’s first goal.
Equally, Eddie felt United could smother Liverpool’s three midfielders through the sheer physicality of Bruno, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton. Big Joe had been out injured at Anfield but he got a couple of games under his considerable belt to rid himself of rust before the final and was as sharp as a tack.
It all worked to perfection because Howe’s plan was a good one and the players carried it out to the letter.
United’s boss had learned other things too. He learned not to stay in a hotel next to Wembley as two years ago, not to be caught up in the hoopla, but to play the match and not the occasion. To do what he always does, wear a tracksuit and not a Sunday best jacket and trousers. Go to work in your work clothes. Small things but significant ones.
Howe’s past is Bournemouth, Bournemouth and Bournemouth. Both as a player and manager. He was at Burnley for only the briefest of times, so while his CV wasn’t great in terms of big time, he blew away United officials with the depth of his research at his initial interview.
Newcastle United Carabao Cup WINNERS 2024/25
At last, Newcastle have their hands on silverware!
After an agonising 56-year wait, the Magpies' amazing army of fans can celebrate watching their side lift a trophy after their Carabao Cup final win. And to celebrate, the Newcastle Chronicle have produced this souvenir special, marking the Wembley triumph.
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It is packed full of reaction, analysis and quotes as well as amazing pictures from the day, and a centre-spread poster.
It is the perfect souvenir of an historic day for Newcastle.
Buy now and have it delivered directly to your door. Alternatively you can purchase in most supermarkets, high street retailers and independent newsagents in the North East from March 20, 2025.
He came into a relegation fight and has now delivered United’s first piece of domestic silverware in 70 years. The secret is simple: Eddie got the club, the city, and the fans from day one. He arrived at 6am on that first occasion and left at 11pm. There were still fans hanging about outside so he got out of the car for selfies and to sign autographs.
People might say Eddie is boring with his obsessions and willingness to stay out of the public eye. If he is, then thank goodness because his attention to detail is enormous. He has the Mad Dog to provide needle and in-yer-face confrontation.
On the touchline Howe stays calm and controlled while Jason Tindall gets up the noses of the opposing managers. It works a treat. They go together like Ant and Dec, Laurel and Hardy, Morecambe and Wise, fish and chips.
I’ve always said that a manager doesn’t need a No 2 who is a replica of himself. He needs someone to cover his weaker points, to provide a contrast, to produce a ‘good cop, bad cop’ scenario for the players.
We are lucky to have Eddie Howe and he is lucky to have us. The two go together perfectly – the manager and the club. Both need one another, both have waited a long time for the ultimate success of a Wembley final and now it has arrived it ought to be enjoyed to the full.
Where will Eddie end up? Ahead of Harvey? With a statue? After all, Bobby Robson has one and it has to be said he won nowt.
The future is exciting. May the board back their manager this summer and bring in some more players to bolster the squad for a season which will bring Europe. There is more work to be done but surely the incentive and the will to do it is in everybody’s blood.
Time Line
The last English managers to lift each of the major honours
Harry Redknapp - FA Cup
Redknapp was the last English manager to claim one of the domestic men's game's big prizes when he guided Portsmouth to FA Cup glory in 2008.
Nigeria striker Kanu's first-half strike sealed a 1-0 win for the Premier League club over Championship Cardiff, although their victorious manager departed for Tottenham just five months later.
Steve McClaren - League Cup
Four years earlier, compatriot Steve McClaren, who would later win the Dutch title with FC Twente, had guided Middlesbrough to the first major piece of silverware in the club's history when they beat Bolton to lift the 2004 Carling Cup.
Joseph-Desire Job's early strike and Bolo Zenden's scuffed penalty had Boro 2-0 up inside seven minutes under the closed roof at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and, although Kevin Davies pulled one back for Sam Allardyce's men, the Teessiders held out.
Howard Wilkinson - Division One
No English manager has won the Premier League title – something Scot Sir Alex Ferguson did on no fewer than 13 occasions – but Wilkinson was the last to preside over a championship-winning side in the final season of the old First Division.
His Leeds held off Ferguson's United on the penultimate weekend of the 1991-92 season – they won 3-2 at Sheffield United as United went down 2-0 at Liverpool – and ultimately topped the table by four points.
Sir Bobby Robson - Cup Winners' Cup
If domestic success has been scarce for Englishmen, European glory has proven even more elusive.
Former England boss Robson enjoyed the most recent triumph when he led Barcelona to the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1997 with Ronaldo's penalty securing a 1-0 final victory over Paris St Germain.
Joe Fagan - European Cup
Although the Champions League is yet to be won by a manager from these shores, Fagan is the most recent winner of its predecessor, the European Cup, in 1984.
Having stepped up from Liverpool's famed boot room to replace Bob Paisley in the summer of 1983, he saw Alan Kennedy's spot-kick seal a penalty shoot-out victory over Roma in the Italian capital and a fourth triumph in seven years.
Keith Burkinshaw - UEFA Cup
Goalkeeper Tony Parks handed Keith Burkinshaw his taste of glory when his shoot-out save from Anderlecht's Arnor Gudjohnsen secured the UEFA Cup for Tottenham in 1984.
The sides had drawn 1-1 in the first leg in Brussels and captain Graham Roberts' late equaliser in the second ensured it ended with the same scoreline after extra time.