Eddie Howe watched on as Newcastle United won away at Spurs.
The final scoreline reading 2-1 to United but it could and should have been an away victory by a larger winning margin.
Thankfully, the ridiculous VAR decision to deny Joe Willock didn’t prevent Eddie Howe and his players taking all three points.
A match where Newcastle United were by far the better team.
Jacob Ramsey and Malick Thiaw with the goals, as United put in an excellent team performance.
Eddie Howe reflecting on this important victory after having lost three competitive matches in a row, for the first time in over 26 months.
After the final whistle and with the NUFC team thanking the travelling Newcastle United fans, Eddie Howe was pushed to the front to take the fans’ acclaim and punched the air in reaction to this winning moment, as he shared it with the supporters.
Eddie Howe: “I was pushed to the front! It is not really my style. We haven’t won away enough, we feel like we have let them down. That was a special connection though and I’m grateful it’s still there.”
The Head Coach once again surprised many fans with his team selection.
Eddie Howe going with the fluid trio who did so well at Anfield for the first 40 minutes, before mistakes at the back undermined that.
Anthony Gordon starting through the middle, with Harvey Barnes and Anthony Elanga supporting him.
Eddie Howe explaining: “Anthony’s legs, his desire to press, makes the team play better. It had a really fluid look to it. We wanted to play with a fluid frontline and we wanted to press aggressively. You need quick and mobile players to do that).”
Recent matches have seen the likes of Anthony Elanga and Jacob Ramsey looking like they are now adjusting to Eddie Howe and Newcastle United.
Eddie Howe on the summer signings: “I keep saying that the lack of training is slowing their development. Now though they are beginning to feel at home in the team and once you feel part of it, feel integral to how the team plays, you can only get better.”
It was a great team performance.
Eddie Howe seeing his side give it everything: “I thought that the players were all out on the pitch, we were getting cramp at the end. The schedule [of matches] has been relentless but I thought the performance was brilliant. It was a great finish from JJ (Jacob Ramsey) and he is getting accustomed to the team. I thought Bruno’s performance in the middle of the pitch was really strong. We have been waiting for that momentum shift for a long time this season. We just haven’t strung it together long enough this season. It’s going to be tough for the players but a great result today.”
Having lost three competitive matches in a row, for the first time in over 26 months, Newcastle United and the team boss under pressure.
Eddie Howe: “I think in the moment that we were in…you have to take stock of everything. As I said after the press conference at Brentford, that wasn’t an act. That was me being very real and very genuine in terms of how I felt. I said again that I have got to believe that I am the right person to be in the job, with all the sacrifices that it entails. I have got to feel the players are playing for me. Today they showed that they are…but that has to be consistent moving forward. I think it has brought us closer together and it’s reinforced relationships and made us all look inward. It made us all look at what we are doing and how we can do it better. This is a really tough job that we are doing. We are at the very highest level.”
Such a tough schedule with Newcastle United playing every midweek as well as weekends.
Eddie Howe on facing that challenge: “You are constantly asked new questions, we are playing a game every three days and sometimes that can feel like you can’t breathe, that you can’t reset, you are being asked to play again and again. That is why we rotated the squad to a degree today, to try and freshen a couple of players up, so they can really find their top form. We need to try and have the ability to do that more if we can get a few players back from injury.”
The only real negative on the night was Bruno Guimaraes forced off late on, clearly in pain.
Eddie Howe asked about the potential injury: “He is a little bit worried, he’s not sure, he has never had a problem with his hamstrings before. So is it cramp? Was it a muscle problem? It probably feels more of an injury to me, but let’s wait and see, we will try and stay positive at this moment.”
Joe Willock saw his first half strike disallowed due to a ridiculous VAR decision.
Eddie Howe: “I really felt for Joe because it was an outstanding finish, he ran himself into the ground for me.”