Eddie Howe sack latest: Alan Shearer reacts to Newcastle ‘noise’
Newcastle don’t have the will or the financial leeway to sack and replace Eddie Howe, Alan Shearer has said.
It has been a somewhat underwhelming 2024/25 campaign so far for the Magpies, who are currently 12th in the Premier League table and winless in their last four.
That has led to some of the club’s supporters claiming Howe may not be at St James’ Park for much longer, after suggesting a lack of recent transfer business had prevented his side moving forward.
Shearer though, believes that the 47-year-old is still the right man to take Newcastle forward, and that he deserves to be backed in the transfer window.
Writing in The Athletic about Howe’s situation ahead of a Premier League clash with Leicester and League Cup quarter final against Brentford in the coming week, the Magpies’ record scorer said:
“I don’t have any doubts about Howe still being the right man for Newcastle, he can and should lead the team forward.
“After what he has done, not just pulling the team away from relegation and then straight into the Champions League, but in the way he has set standards and built an identity, he deserves time and patience.
“He needs support, because that identity is blurring. I don’t think there’s the mood — or the money — to make a change. Give it 10 days and three brilliant victories and I’ll be singing a different tune but, as things stand, it feels like inconsistency is baked in.
“However good they might think they are, players must run to exhaustion every game. Howe must find a way to get past Leicester and Brentford, because that keeps the season alive and quietens the noise.”
Eddie Howe still has a case to be backed as Newcastle United manager
Football Insider Opinion
It may be difficult for the club to back Howe in the way that Shearer would like them to do in the lead-up to January.
The 47-year-old has taken the Magpies a long way since his arrival at the club, steering them well clear of relegation when they looked certainties to go down at the time of his appointment.
Newcastle have also been to the Champions League and a League Cup final under Howe, showing just what he can do for the club when given the right players.
As a result of that he does seemingly deserve to be backed, given he has the pedigree to deliver success for the club in the right circumstances.
The summer transfer window though did not really improve the options available to Howe, which has restricted results, and they may have to sell players again in January to avoid PSR breaches.
Newcastle could therefore find it hard to spend in that transfer market, so while Howe may deserve to stay, there is no certainty he will be backed in the way he needs to move the club forward again.
In other news, Newcastle are braced for bids for one player in January, with potential replacements lined up.
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