How Eddie Howe has transformed Newcastle into trophy challengers without spending Saudi fortune in transfer market
EDDIE HOWE has got “the richest club in the world” fighting for honours regularly again despite not being able to blow the big Saudi bucks.
The 47-year-old achieved legendary status at Bournemouth by guiding the then-skint Cherries all the way from League Two into the Premier League promised land.
Now he is potentially on the verge of writing his name into Newcastle’s history books if he can end their 70-year wait for a major trophy.
Howe came mightily close two years ago when he and the Magpies suffered heartbreak in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester United.
Qualifying for the Champions League with a fourth-placed finish softened that blow, and now he is eyeing more than just another Wembley outing as he takes Toon to Arsenal for the first-leg of the Carabao Cup semis.
Of course, it has been nothing like those early days at Bournemouth for Howe since he took charge in November 2021 just weeks after their Saudi takeover.
There was a big outlay that January transfer window in order to assure the club’s Premier League status, but despite reaching the Champions League, PSR rules have delayed their path straight to football’s top table.
Though, despite the purse strings being tightened and even being forced to sell young starlets against his wishes, Howe still has Newcastle punching with the big boys for silverware.
And he has achieved that in a number of different ways – and it started instantly.
On his very first day in the job, Howe arrived at 6.45am and worked for a 12-hour shift, a schedule he still repeats almost daily.
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He watches every single second of training, even giving some a re-watch on video, and is a renowned workaholic who leaves no stone unturned in his quest for success.
And while it is all going good at the moment following their six-match winning run, he decided to take a whole new vantage point while searching for answers during the four-game winless run prior to that.
Howe decided to watch sessions from up high on some scaffolding, and whatever he saw from up in the heavens has worked a treat.
And it’s not only on the grass that Howe sees as being important – punishments are vital too.
While he is no Sergeant Major and disciplinarian, players know not to cross the boss when it comes to the high standards he demands.
Howe installed a ‘Wheel of Fortune’ with differing amounts of fines on into the club’s training HQ.
Striker Callum Wilson, currently sidelined for at least another month, explained it was brought in for those players who turned up late to work.
He said: “We have a wheel and you spin it, and on the wheel there are the figures that you have to pay. The maximum is three figures and it’s kept quite low-key.”
Laying down the law and standards for international stars is in a completely different universe to disciplining the players he had in the lower league at Bournemouth.
So just what is this group of men assembled from all across the globe like to manage?
Ahead of taking them to Arsenal, Howe said: “It’s a great group of people. I enjoy coming in everyday and I’m very proud to represent them.
“You always have good and bad moments and when you are managing 30 players there are always going to be difficult moments to navigate but they are very respectful generally and very humble. They want to get better and I really enjoy the day to day interactions.”
While Howe sometimes looks uneasy being in the limelight, the man he could not have done it all without seems to relish it.
And while the players on the pitch have been accused of s***house tactics on the pitch, long-time No2 Jason Tindall, the man affectionately known as “Mad Dog” by the Toon Army, revels in his role as the bad cop off it.
He famously got under the skin of Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp, and over recent weeks has angered both Ruud van Nistelrooy and Unai Emery.
Tindall is the yin to Howe’s yang, and the latter won’t go anywhere without him and all of his aggy-antics, just like when he refused to take over at Celtic in 2021 without him by his side.
Reflecting on their partnership, Howe said: “We started with no money, no facilities, working with a group of players, and it was just the two of us and we did everything together. You name it, we did it.
“We travelled to watch the opposition five hours away in the car together just us and we’ve never changed that approach throughout our journey together.”
And he has no problem with his touchline antics, previously stating: “We’re both really active on the sidelines and I’ve encouraged Jason to be that way. He’s a great guy and he’s been brilliant for me.”
But anyone who thinks Tindall is just there for moral support and to play the pantomime villain is very much mistaken.
The ‘Most Annoying Man in Football’ has helped transform Newcastle into one of the most inventive and effective set-piece sides in the top-flight with his routines.
And those could play a key role this evening if Newcastle are to improve on their dire record of just one victory at the Emirates.
Howe, who is without suspended defender Fabian Schar and skipper Bruno Guimaraes plus No1 Nick Pope still, said: “We’re aware that there are certain records that we need to do better in and that’s, obviously, one we haven’t done well in historically and we would love to change that.
“We can’t talk about it – we have got to deliver it.”
Meanwhile, he will also make a late call on Sven Botman, who returned from nine months out in the win at Spurs, saying: “We have to speak to the player, speak to the medical team and the experts that will give me some of the answers to what we do with him next.
“Sven is a competitor and hugely driven for the team and himself and wants to do really well in his career so I have no doubts what he will say, but we need to speak to other people and come to the right decision.”