‘Is he the right manager?’ – BBC pundit suggests Newcastle could move on from Eddie Howe
Newcastle United produced a lacklustre performance in their 0-0 draw at Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday.
The long trip from the North East to the South West on 21 September followed Newcastle’s 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League on Thursday, 18 September.
Eddie Howe’s men have now managed just one win in five attempts in the Premier League, suggesting they may struggle to secure Champions League qualification this term.
Meanwhile, Newcastle defender Fabian Schar is injured and missed out on their goalless draw with Bournemouth.
Eddie Howe might not be the right man to make tough selection calls at Newcastle
The Premier League clash with Bournemouth on 21 September was a quick turnaround from Newcastle’s Champions League defeat to Barcelona.
Consequently, Howe chose to leave key players such as Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes out of the action against Bournemouth.
But speaking on BBC One’s Match of the Day on 21 September, Theo Walcott questioned whether the 47-year-old is the right man to drop big players in vital games this term.
Only Aston Villa have scored fewer goals in the Premier League than Newcastle in the top flight this season, highlighting the Magpies’ attacking woes.
Host Mark Chapman asked Walcott: “Overall, this season, you can see where they’ve struggled. If he wants to play (Nick) Woltemade and (Yoane) Wissa together as a duo, that might have to involve changing formations, mightn’t it?
Walcott replied: “I think this is going to test Eddie Howe‘s management of a bigger squad, and I feel at times he’s going to have to make a really difficult decision and leave someone out in big games.
“I think he’s probably going to focus more on the Champions League than the (Premier) League, however. But is he the right manager to make that hard, tough decision when a player you expect to start won’t start quite regularly?
“Because the connections, I feel at times, in their forward line is important. If you’re consistently changing it, it’s a problem for the forward line just to have those connections. They’re not going to feed off each other.
“So for me, that’s a difficult place to be.“
Eddie Howe desperately needs an upturn in form
While Howe did make the brave call to omit striker Woltemade from his lineup against Barcelona, Walcott is right to outline that the Newcastle boss has tough calls to make this term.
| Newcastle’s last three results | All competitions 2025/26 |
| Wolves (H) | 1-0 W |
| Barcelona (H) | 1-2 L |
| Bournemouth (A) | 0-0 D |
The North East outfit will be desperate to perform significantly better in the Champions League than they did in the 2024/24 campaign, when they were knocked out in the group stages.
Meanwhile, having earned their spot at the top table of European football once more, Newcastle will be eager to perform well in the Premier League this season.
However, Howe’s men have failed to hit a strong run of form since former star striker Alexander Isak joined Liverpool on transfer deadline day.
Newcastle must also avoid an EFL Cup upset against League One high-flyers Bradford City on Wednesday, 24 September, just one season on from winning the competition.
Howe must also ensure that his side turn their fortunes around in the Premier League, although beating Arsenal in their next top-flight game won’t be easy.