It’s make-or-break time for Eddie Howe in the Newcastle United dug-out.
Howe has now overseen 190 games in charge of the Magpies, with recent 3-1 defeats picked up away at West Ham United and Brentford surely ranking high when scanning over some of the most abject performances served up during his long-standing tenure.
Former Magpies goalkeeper Tim Krul has come out to say Howe will still go down as “one of the legends of the club”, despite his poor current form in the hot seat, resulting in Newcastle sitting in a lowly 14th position in the Premier League.
All these glowing words will ultimately mean nothing, though, if Howe can’t turn around this concerning rut, with many a selection decision for the under-pressure boss to ponder over now during the international break, in an effort to save his job.
How Howe can save his job at Newcastle
Howe must know he’s under pressure now, with the usually calm and relaxed 47-year-old cutting a dejected figure after the away defeat at the Bees.
He will surely have come to the realisation he cannot rely on the first-teamers he has picked throughout his spell on Tyneside to continue to come up trumps, with the likes of Nick Pope and Joelinton potentially put to one side – owing immediately to injury – but also due to their recurring poor performances as the Toon slide down the division.
It’s a sad decline in real time for both the Brazilian and the ex-Burnley shot-stopper, with Aaron Ramsdale the likely candidate to replace Pope long-term, after he kept a clean sheet when last selected in the EFL Cup.
The faltering Magpies could look to the January transfer window to try and nail down a lasting replacement for Joelinton, but Jacob Ramsey did impress in flashes at the Gtech Community Stadium, winning five duels and amassing two key passes.
Howe could also be willing to gift Harvey Barnes some more first-team chances to save his skin, with the number 11 bagging his first Premier League goal of the season against Brentford to raise a rare smile.
With Anthony Gordon also being stricken by injury, and Anthony Elanga yet to get off the mark after a £55m summer move, the manager’s dependable super sub could be in for a start against Manchester City, after the break concludes.
There is also the major problem of Newcastle’s leaky defence that Howe will need to address, with one first-team figure – who was once even likened to Magpies’ great Alan Shearer – now in grave danger of being shelved for good.
Newcastle's "Shearer-like" star could be given the boot
As the aforementioned Krul touched upon, Howe will be viewed as a heroic icon down the line when his Newcastle tenure does expire, having guided the often trophyless Toon to an EFL Cup triumph just last season.
On that memorable day at Wembley, Dan Burn, all 6-foot-7 of him, got the ball rolling against the heavily fancied Liverpool, with that powerful header too fierce for Caoimhin Kelleher to palm away.
Sky Sports’ Gary Neville even heralded this moment as being “Shearer-like” from the Blyth-born defender, as the passionate number 33 scored an all-important strike, much like Shearer managed during his Tyneside peak, time after time.
Still, Howe cannot afford to be swept up in sentiment right now involving the ageing defender, with a red card picked up against Brentford resulting in the away side collecting a depressing fifth league defeat of the season.
Minutes played
73
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
61
Accurate passes
20/32 (68%)
Accurate crosses
0/1
Possession lost
18x
Tackles won
1/2
Interceptions
0
Clearances
11
Blocked shots
1
Ball recoveries
1
Total duels won
8/17
It wasn’t just the dismissal, though, that would sting from Burn’s off-performance, with the four-time England international also failing to lead by example when only winning eight of his 17 duels, on top of also giving away possession 18 times.
For Howe to save his job, he will need to ditch using Burn as a left-back option, with one content creator certainly right in his assessment now from earlier in the season, that the 33-year-old staying in that spot for the foreseeable future is the “stuff of nightmares.”
It will be a tough call to get rid, with Burn even once being noted as one of the “best signings” his manager has ever made, by Howe himself.
But, with his fralities being exposed all campaign long now, it could be a necessary alteration to bring Lewis Hall in, so Howe lives to see another day at St James’ Park.
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