Eddie Howe's future at Newcastle is under scrutiny as the season threatens to fizzle out
Sir Bobby Robson and Eddie Howe
Former Newcastle United boss Sir Bobby Robson and current head coach Eddie Howe
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It may be 22 years ago, but the parallels between 2004 and 2026 at Newcastle United are growing by the week.
A failure to qualify for the Champions League, a successful squad gone somewhat stale, disgruntled home fans making their feelings felt at St James' Park . . . the problems Eddie Howe is now facing are mirroring those Sir Bobby Robson endured in his final months in charge.
For Robson, it was the beginning of the end. After a disappointing end to the 2003-04 campaign, Newcastle got off to a slow start the following August, and then chairman Freddy Shepherd took the decision to call time on the great man's spell in charge.
"I always said it was like shooting Bambi," Shepherd said later. "It was very emotional."
It will be the same whenever Howe leaves St James'. He has etched his name into the club's history books by doing what Robson couldn't achieve - winning a trophy - not to mention two Champions League campaigns earned with an attacking brand of high-press football.
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However, there is a feeling the clock has started to tick on his time in the hotseat. The very fact many are speculating when that day will come is an indication of how far United have slipped from their high standards this season.
Newcastle have six games in which to turn their form around and end the season on a high, although the chances of qualifying for Europe are growing increasingly slim.
But whatever the outcome of any post-season review, United must avoid repeating the same mistakes that were made when deciding Robson's future.
For all the pain of his departure, Robson should have left months earlier, when the club had a better chance of making a strong appointment, who would have a full transfer window to work with. Instead, United brought in Graeme Souness in September 2004, with no opportunity to change the playing staff, and the decline continued. By contrast, Liverpool moved Gerrard Houllier on in the May of that year and replaced him with Rafa Benitez.
Howe's situation is different. It could be argued the club owe him a transfer window after he went along with the decision not to spend in January. He also had to toe the line in the summer window of 2024, which saw little investment, and was left to effectively fend on his own last year when the Alexander Isak saga derailed the entire plan.
Given what he has achieved at the club, he deserves the chance to work with sporting director Ross Wilson to bring in the players he needs to kick-start the next stage of their development.
But that means they cannot pull the plug on plans if his side fail to sparkle in the opening weeks of the new season.
If that's a possibility, then it's far better to grasp the nettle and make the call when this long campaign comes to and end in May.
Both Robson and Howe will rightly be regarded as club legends whatever the future holds. But the timings of their exits - whenever that comes - should be very different.
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