David Hopkinson got it spot on about Eddie Howe's Newcastle United future - and here's why
Newcastle United chief executive officer David Hopkinson got the tone around Eddie Howe’s future right.
David Hopkinson’s latest comments on the future of Eddie Howe at Newcastle United are far from unequivocal, and nor should they be.
It goes without saying that Howe has achieved wonderful things in his four-and-a-half years in charge, ending the club’s 56-year trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup and twice qualifying for the Champions League.
Howe has rightfully earned a ton of praise for the good, so it’s only fair he’s criticised for the bad. And this season, he is falling short. He has seven games to recover.
A season that Newcastle United have flattered to deceive
Yes, Newcastle have reached the last 16 of the Champions League and progressed into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup for the third time in four seasons, but they have flattered to deceive. Performances have been far too inconsistent.
And that is best summed up in the week just gone. For the first three halves against Barcelona, the Magpies competed before folding like a pack of cards, ultimately suffering an embarrassing 7-2 defeat at the Camp Nou and 8-3 on aggregate.
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And then came Sunderland four days later. Anthony Gordon opened the scoring 10 minutes in and the Howe side of two years ago would have gone for the throat. Instead, they did what they’ve done several times this season and went on to lose.
FYI, Newcastle have dropped 22 points from winning positions in the Premier League.
It is inexcusable to lose both Tyne-Wear derbies this term, not least when you consider that Sunderland were in League One when Howe took the reins on Tyneside. What has unfolded requires accountability, and Hopkinson has quite rightly put the pressure on Howe to improve.
David Hopkinson is right to put Eddie Howe under pressure
Six weeks ago, Hopkinson stressed Howe was “the man” to take Newcastle forward. Now, he didn’t explicitly say otherwise earlier this week, but the change in tone was clear to see.
"I spent a couple of hours in a one-on-one lunch recently with Eddie and we talked through a multitude of things, including that [the derby loss],” Hopkinson said.
"Eddie's our manager. I expect to have a great run to the end of the season here and we'll talk about the future when it's time.”
“We are not looking to make a change at the moment,” Hopkinson later added. “We are not having those conversations.
“We are still in the midst of the season. Right now we are focused on the seven matches we have remaining and not distracting ourselves with speculation about what we may or may not do in the summer.
“Right now, all of us have only got so much bandwidth and we are focused on this season and finishing strongly.”
Everyone will have their own interpretation of Hopkinson’s response, and that was the best way to play it. When a manager and team aren’t performing to the levels expected, it would be remiss of Hopkinson to blow smoke up their backsides.
Ultimately, Howe is in control of his own future and securing European qualification will go a long way to satisfying the powers that be.
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