Newcastle's legendary striker believes Howe's magic has faded. Will the manager stay after a dismal season, or is a summer exit inevitable?
Alan Shearer has been an ardent supporter of Eddie Howe, the man who delivered silverware to Tyneside. Something Shearer was not able to do during his playing career as Newcastle’s number 9. Howe has also been pivotal to Newcastle’s return to Champions League football for the first time in 23 years.
Following the defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday, Shearer speaking on his podcast Rest Is Football said, "As tough as it is for Eddie, I don't know what is going to happen with him. I listened to his interview afterwards and I watched him on the touchline and I just think, is he going to want to go again? Is he going to get the chance to go again?
Shearer also added, “ There are so many moving parts with it for Eddie Howe. If all things are equal, then I would like him to stay, but does he feel he is going to have the chance? Does he want to do it again? Are Newcastle United going to have to sell? If he has money to spend and doesn’t have to sell players, then yes. But I look at the player and if that was what they call fighting for their manager, they were terrible. The players chucked him under the bus, the performance was crap from every single one of them.”
It is a tough situation and a tough summer for Newcastle coming up. They have got some big decisions to make, and as I am sat here, I don’t see Eddie Howe in charge of Newcastle next season, unfortunately. I looked at this interview after the game, and I am not sure the fight is there. It is a very different club now to the one that he would want to go forward. He doesn’t look in a good position.”
Alan Shearer is a regular podcast host for The Rest Is Football alongside former Manchester City & Aston Villa Defender Micah Richards who as a child supported Arsenal but his time at Man City has turned him into a full on City fan, Leicester City, Spurs & England striker as well as the former host of BBC’s Match of the Day, Gary Lineker.
Newcastle United were just two points off 4th place in early January. Fast forward to now, and they find themselves in the bottom half of the league & 16 points off 4th place. A record more akin to a relegation battle than a fight for European football.