Was he sacked? Did he walk?
These are the questions swirling around after waking up to the news that Eddie Howe, Newcastle United’s manager, announced he will be stepping down.
It’s been a tough 18 months for the gaffer. Two seasons ago he’d won the first trophy for the club in 70 years, and qualified for the Champions League, the premier European tournament. Things were looking GREAT.
But then the wheels came off. Alexander Isak went on strike (the striking striker) to force a move to Liverpool, unsettling the summer. His replacements were poor.
Last season was a mess with injuries and over extension; playing 2-3 times a week for months on end didn’t help. They lost 10 of their last 16 games.
Then the window opens up, and two of their best players have already been sold.
Oh, and Eddie also got hammered by a particularly nasty bout of pneumonia that put him in the hospital for a few weeks.
So a bad, bad 18 months. I’m not surprised he left.
I was a reluctant #HoweIn fan, thinking that he had earned grace after some bad results, and that his managerial and tactical style was solid. But what do I know, I’m just a fan.
The general consensus, and I’ll have to give it some more thought, is that Eddie Howe burned himself into the ground to achieve his results, but after five years he’s run out of energy and ideas. It must be an exhausting job.
So the team has no coach, two stars out the door with a third on the way, and a dark cloud of despair swirling around the North East, with only three weeks until the opening game against Liverpool.
Ooft.
Thanks for the memories Eddie.