Eddie Howe showed true colours with 11-word statement just hours before quitting Newcastle | Football | Sport
Eddie Howe made his feelings on Newcastle United abundantly clear just hours before walking away from the role as manager. Newcastle are less than one month away from the start of the Premier League season, but the Magpies are in need of a new manager after Howe quit.
It’s the latest bump in what is turning into a tumultuous pre-season for Newcastle, with several key players having either already left, or being linked to a move away. Preparations for the new campaign haven’t got off to the best of starts either, with Newcastle’s latest pre-season fixture resulting in a 4-1 defeat against Championship side Bristol City.
And it was in the aftermath of the Ashton Gate mauling that Howe showed his true colours, saying: “I absolutely love the football club and that will never change.”
Given reports that Howe had told the Newcastle board he wanted to leave weeks ago, it can be presumed the Englishman was aware this would be his final match in charge. It’s claimed Howe was ready to walk away at the end of the season, and had grown even more frustrated with the club’s transfer strategy in recent weeks, but agreed to stick around until a suitable replacement was found.
That man looks like being Matthias Jaissle – a 38-year-old German coach with trophy-winning success in Austria and Saudi Arabia. The former German youth international retired young and turned his eye to management, with Jaissle having established himself as one of football’s most promising coaches.
A product of the Red Bull system, Jaissle has described his sides as high-energy, with an emphasis on winning the ball back as soon as possible. When possession has been retained, Jaissle likes to see his teams attack quickly and vertically, moving the ball up the pitch with speed.
Jaissle will have quite the task on his hands though, given Newcastle have already lost Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali this summer, with Bruno Guimaraes being linked to a move away. Howe referenced the situation during his post-Bristol City debrief – an interview that proved his last as Newcastle boss.
He explained: “There’s been a lot of upheaval at the football club with potentially more to come. I think there’s always reasons to be optimistic and that’s very much my default setting. I believe great things are possible every season with a real buzz of what’s ahead. I see no reasons to be any different this year.”
