What now for Eddie Howe? CRAIG HOPE reveals what Newcastle board think of under-pressure manager, the key unanswered Saudi question and the missing piece holding back quest for glory

The fallout is inevitable, uproarious and much of it fair, for as Eddie Howe said: ‘You can use whatever word you want, I won’t challenge it.’

That is how lame Newcastle were in defeat on Sunday against rivals Sunderland, and for the second time this season. On Sunday night, the flames of fury torched every platform.

Yet a bigger question rises from the ashes of derby devastation – what next for Howe? Not all agree, but there should only be one answer – the head coach deserves at least one fractured season as well as the summer to manage the repairs.

The speed and ascent of Newcastle’s journey under him makes this feel like an end-of-cycle moment. Crash, burnout, reset, rebuild, if he has the stomach for a refuel, which he insists he does.

I wrote last week that exiting the Champions League against Barcelona acted as a punctuation mark on this chapter of the club, and four days later Sunderland graffitied those pages in red ink. That, however, should not blind decision-makers, nor the supporters, to the bigger picture.

Howe remains the best manager in the club’s recent history and best man to take them forward again. The greatest catalyst in taking Newcastle from 19th to fourth and into the Champions League twice, with a first domestic trophy in 70 years along the way, has been the manager.

Eddie Howe has come under pressure after a harrowing week which ended with yet another defeat by Sunderland in the derby

The derby defeat came on the back of an utter humiliation in the Nou Camp, where Newcastle lost 7-2 as their Champions League campaign came to a shuddering halt

But what do those on the inside think? The new executive team, certainly, would share that view. Howe will get support from chief executive David Hopkinson, sporting director Ross Wilson and performance director James Bunce. Everything I’m told is that they, with Howe, remain aligned and united.

What the St James’ Park hierarchy and the manager himself do not know is the opinion of the club’s Saudi ownership. 

They have not expressed anything other than understanding and a want to help – contact between Riyadh and Tyneside is said to be daily – but nor are they prone to statements of outright backing. Maybe that is a deliberate tactic to keep employees on their toes.

While that unknown exists, Howe needs to win matches and deliver European football, which is a stated expectation of the board. As to the latter of those aims, Newcastle are four points back of Conference League qualification, six behind the Europa League, and seven behind Liverpool in the likely fifth Champions League place. 

On the ground, the problems are obvious, the solutions less so. Internally, the irritation on Sunday was that the team found a way to lose after being gifted the lead – again. That is 22 points surrendered from winning positions this season. Football does not work like this, of course, but 22 more points would have them second in the table.

There is confusion as to why a squad with good characters – and this extends to the dugout – is so fragile when in front. They used to defend advantages with the snarl of a dog protecting its bone. Now, they roll over like puppies. Howe is an elite coach. With more time between now and the end of the season, that is exactly what he has to do – coach his team to be better.

Beyond that, a summer of high player turnover awaits. The indecision, confusion and subsequent panic of last year’s transfer window, which has stained this season, cannot be repeated. There was a void of executive leadership. Because for all Howe is the lightning rod right now, much of the storm can be traced to elsewhere. 

Primarily, the Saudi ownership, if you can find them. For the two biggest games of the season at St James’ Park – Barcelona and Sunderland – there was, to my knowledge, no senior representation from PIF at either game.

There is confusion as to why a squad with good characters – and this extends to the dugout – is so fragile when in front. Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey (centre) bullied the Newcastle defence

There was no senior representation from Newcastle’s Saudi owners at either of the two huge games this week

Some were in Barcelona for the second leg, a 7-2 defeat and gulf in class that jarred with the club’s vision to be the best in the world by 2030. We are yet to see the off-field action to support the weight of those words.

For while those close to the ownership protest otherwise, Newcastle increasingly feels like a neglected project. Even if that is not the case, the optics suggest so. And, in football, perception is everything. It was one of Rafa Benitez’s most favourite asides: ‘Football is a lie.’

And, if Newcastle want to keep their best players and attract even better ones to play with them, there has to be more evidence of engagement and ambition from the very top. Yes, PIF have enabled the club to spend to the maximum in terms of PSR, but football club ownership is about more than numbers on a spreadsheet.

It is about care, interest, presence, putting the right people in the right positions. In four-and-a-half years, the best appointment they have made is Howe. He is not above criticism, but Newcastle should rise above the rage and realise that the worst decisions are too often made to quieten the noise.