From day one, Eddie Howe spoke with clarity.
He had inherited a mess at Newcastle United, things had unravelled alarmingly before his arrival in November 2021, but after sitting through his first press conference, I was convinced the winless team, 19th in the Premier League table, had a chance of staying up.
Howe fielded question after question about the club’s predicament – and cut through everything.
If he had instilled belief in the press room, I thought as I left St James’ Park that day, then surely he could do that in the dressing room.
Muddled thinking and ideas were out. Howe gave the team a clear identity, something it had badly needed, founded on his “non-negotiables”. He had a vision for his team, and the drive and determination needed to make it a reality.
Howe’s Newcastle played with a fierce intensity, pressing high up the pitch. Even on a bad day, they were competitive and hard to beat.
The turnaround on the pitch was extraordinary. Howe worked well with co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi as the club also made strides off the field following that season’s takeover.
What followed the team’s great escape in 2021/22 was unforgettable – a first domestic trophy, the Carabao Cup, in 70 years and two Champions League qualifications.
Last season’s Premier League campaign, however, was forgettable, though there were mitigating factors. A lack of investment in the squad due to European and domestic spending restrictions had left Howe with a squad ill-equipped to compete on four fronts, and a run to the last 16 of the Champions League took its toll.
An injury to Bruno Guimaraes, a player the team had always struggled to win without, came at a particularly bad time.
Newcastle held Barcelona at home without Guimaraes – they were only denied a victory by Lamine Yamal penalty six minutes into added time – but it was a different story in the away leg, and that 7-2 loss was an unfortunate way to end what had been an impressive campaign in the competition.
The home defeat to Sunderland which followed was even more damaging for Howe, who, for the first time as United head coach, found himself under real pressure from supporters.
There were calls for him to go from some angry fans after the derby loss, but many also wanted Howe to stay, which he did.
But early in pre-season Howe – who had lost Alexander Isak last summer – was facing up to the prospect of losing Guimaraes, his captain, this summer after the sales of Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali to Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.
Without them, would the team have the same identity? Could it play with the same intensity?
The team he had painstakingly built was always going to need a rebuild or reset of sorts this summer, but I wrote earlier this month following the sale of Tonali to Tottenham that the scale of renewal needed was “eye-opening”.
Back in the summer of 2009, I reported on a 6-1 pre-season defeat to Leyton Orient, and I knew as I waited on the cinder track to interview players that the defeat would lead to change.
As it was, the dressing room inquest led to a necessary squad clearout - and a reborn United, managed by Chris Hughton, won promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt.
Watching this week’s 4-1 loss to Bristol City, I thought back to that afternoon at Brisbane Road.
Howe and his staff had brought clarity to the job, but it was clear that something had to give after that performance and result at Ashton Gate.
It is sad to see Howe, one of the club’s most successful and likeable managers, leave his post.
I dealt with 14 managers, excluding caretakers, as a reporter covering the club for regional newspapers, and Howe was the most successful during my time on the beat.
He was not one of the most quotable managers - greats Sir Bobby Robson and Kevin Keegan were brilliant at one-liners - but one thing he said really resonated on Tyneside.
I remember quickly tweeting one sentence from a presser at the club’s training ground in January 2023.
In response to a question about Mikel Arteta and Arsenal’s complaints after a goalless draw at the Emirates Stadium, where I had reported on many Newcastle defeats, Howe said: “We’re not here to be popular… we’re here to compete.”
And that’s the thing. Under Howe, United routinely went to grounds where they had previously been routinely (and often heavily) beaten in the Premier League era, and were competitive.
The interview I will remember most, though, happened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during a break for the World Cup in Qatar in December 2022.
Howe spoke to the small group of reporters out there in the lobby of the team’s hotel, part of the iconic Kingdom Centre. Relaxed, he opened up as players milled around the reception area, even revealing what one of his sons wanted for Christmas.
“My wife has just sent me a letter from my eight-year-old,” said Howe. “I’ll read you a bit.
“You’ll be pleased to hear some of this: a Fitbit, AirPods, Newcastle away kit (green and white), PSG home kit, three walkie talkies – he’s got two brothers – Newcastle home shorts and socks, Newcastle away (blue and yellow), Match Attax, footballs, chocolate, Where’s Wally book.”
Howe’s boys, like their dad, genuinely got the club.
And, in his final message, Howe also spoke with clarity.
In a statement issued by the club. he said: “After a period of personal reflection, I have decided that now is the right time for me to step away from my role as head coach of Newcastle United.
“After nearly five years of giving my life, heart and soul into the club with unrelenting energy, I feel that it is in the best interests of both myself and the club to step away, recharge and take a break.
“Although it’s been incredibly difficult to make this decision, I know in my heart that it’s the right one. I have always put the best interests of Newcastle before my own in every single decision I have made whilst I’ve been here and this one is no different.
“It has been the privilege of my lifetime to have been the manager of Newcastle United.”
Howe, for his part, has given fans memories that will last a lifetime.
Excellent piece Miles 👏
The squad had aged noticeably since the high-intensity season, 22/23, when the team finished 4th in EPL.