Chris Waddle on Eddie Howe future and what he needs from Newcastle United signings
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Former Newcastle United winger Chris Waddle has said Eddie Howe needs to be ‘given the right supply’ but believes he is going nowhere ahead of a busy summer for the Magpies.
This campaign has seen Howe linked with a move away from Tyneside but Waddle has backed the 48-year-old to continue as United boss and thinks Newcastle’s summer recruitment will be crucial. Newcastle have already played 48 matches this season and their league form has suffered as a result, with the Magpies eleven points off where they were at this stage last season.
“I think it’s about giving Eddie Howe the right supply. Regarding Woltemade and Wissa, if you are judged by management on buying two players, you’d have to say you could have got better. Nobody knew how they were going to perform,” Waddle told Ozoon.
“They could have scored 20 goals each by now and we would have called it a success. But the way Newcastle played with Alexander Isak was, yes, he was technically good, but he was quick. You don’t see that with Wissa and Woltemade. So, you’re taking a massive strength from the team. “Your number nine, all of a sudden, it’s a different number nine. It’s a guy who wants to hold the ball up. It’s a guy who wants to come to feet all the time, whereas Isak, yes, he could do that, but he could also run in behind, because he had that much pace.
“So they’ve gone really from one type of player to another. Newcastle need a centre forward who’s quick and obviously skillfull. That’s why the way the team plays, when they play Anthony Gordon as a nine, it works.”
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Eddie Howe ahead of United’s trip to Chelsea.
Newcastle travel to Stamford Bridge ahead of a massive week for the Magpies with the second leg against Barcelona to come on Wednesday and a Tyne and Wear derby to look forward to on the following Sunday. But Howe was keen to stress all focus is on Saturday evening’s clash against Chelsea, who lost 5-2 to PSG in the Champions League during the week.
“There's mental challenges for this game that we're going to have to try and get right, because obviously there'll be a lot of focus on the Barcelona game, and rightly so. But this game's a very tough one if we're not focused 100 per cent on Chelsea,” he said in Friday’s press conference.
“They're a good team, a dangerous team. They've got some very good players, so playing them away from home in its own right in the Premier League will be viewed as one of the toughest away games we'll have. We can't go there under-prepared so it's a big job today to get the players ready.”
Speaking about team news Howe added: “We've got a healthy squad at the moment, healthier than it has been with Tino (Livramento) coming back. Every player that we get back is such a big lift to the group's strength and the quality. Hopefully there's a few more on the horizon that will make a big difference to us, and then we'll see the real strength of the squad as the season draws to an end."
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