Sky Sports reporter Mark McAdam has praised the way Eddie Howe and PIF have galvanised the Newcastle United fanbase and brought them together so swiftly.
The Magpies have won their last two league games, remain unbeaten at home this season and have their fans dreaming of experiencing European nights once again at St James’ Park as they sit very nicely in sixth.
A lot of money has been spent since Eddie Howe was brought into the club by PIF, but the work Howe has done to turn around the fortunes of Joelinton by transforming him into a centre-midfielder and making a competent attacking winger of Miguel Almiron – who has already matched his best return in front of goal in the Premier League – should be praised.
McAdam has claimed live on Sky Sports that the work Howe and PIF have done to get fans onside following a torrid time under Mike Ashley has been vital to their recent success on the pitch.
He said: “That connection he has built – alongside the ownership – to the fanbase is vital, particularly for a club like Newcastle. The fans love him, he loves playing that team in front of those fans, he loves managing that football club, and there’s a real feelgood factor and a togetherness around the whole thing.”
Will Newcastle finish inside the top six?
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TIF Thoughts on Howe at Newcastle…
The Athletic recently revealed some of the differences between Newcastle under Howe and how the Magpies were playing under Steve Bruce, with one of the biggest changes being how willing they are to press teams in the final third and force turnovers.
That sort of play understandably excites fans as they are winning the ball near the opposition’s goal – something they did three times successfully against Brentford, resulting in goals for Jacob Murphy, Almiron and Bruno Guimaraes.
Howe has been doing such a good job on Tyneside that there had been murmurings about his future with the club amid Gareth Southgate’s unclear future with England, but Howe is clearly loving his time on Tyneside as he ruled out leaving the Magpies anytime soon, which may have been expected given he signed a new contract not too long ago.