TalkSport pundit Simon Jordan has given his thoughts on the job that Eddie Howe is doing right now at Newcastle and whether he’s the right man to take them forward.
The 44-year-old has certainly done a remarkable job up at St James’ Park since his appointment back in November.
Having taken over a club that were in the relegation zone and without a win in the league, they are now on a remarkable run of eight games without defeat and have given themselves every chance of staying in the division, having opened up a seven-point gap to the relegation zone.
Although, some of that might also be down to the players that he was allowed to bring in during the January transfer window.
Speaking on TalkSport as part of a discussion about whether or not Newcastle’s turnaround was due to the money that they were able to spend on new players or down to the coaching acumen of Howe himself, Jordan claimed that it was a mixture of both, whilst also stating his belief that whilst Howe has done well in steadying the ship, he doesn’t believe he’ll be the man to take them through the next stage of the owners’ ambitious plans.
He said: “Would he have been successful with the current crop of players [he inherited]? No. Did he need to spend this £100m or best part of it, to put himself in a position to give himself a chance? We spoke about this on a number of occasions, we all said, I think, that Newcastle would not get relegated if they spent a significant amount of money in this window.
“Is Eddie Howe the answer to them in the longer game? I suspect not. But here and now, you have to give praise.”
TIF Thoughts on Simon Jordan’s comments about Eddie Howe and Newcastle United…
Will Eddie Howe keep Newcastle up?
Yes!
No!
It really is going to be an interesting decision for the club to make should Howe keep them up this season.
It’s no secret that Newcastle’s owners have big aims for the future, however, for a coach whose highest finish in the Premier League was ninth in the table during his days at Bournemouth, it will be a mighty big step for him to get used to working at the top level.
Whilst he might be able to take them one step further next year and start pushing them further up the table – as he’s shown he’s capable of doing with the players he’s working with right now – when it comes to challenging for silverware and a place in Europe, that might be something different.
As David Moyes proved when he was in charge of Manchester United after doing so well at Everton, not everyone is built to work at the very top of the table, even with money at their disposal. So as Jordan hints at, whilst it is right to praise him for what he has done now, it’s only fair to question whether or not he is equipped to take Newcastle forward if he managed to keep them up this season.
In other news: ‘You would think that he had come from a lower league’ – Pundit rips into Newcastle ace