Newcastle United have become stale – is Eddie Howe really to blame?
Newcastle United’s vehemently inconsistent season took another dramatic turn as they were knocked out of the FA Cup following a disastrous performance at home to Brighton, whose extra-time winner came after a tumultuous 114 minutes which saw both sides reduced to 10 men as Anthony Gordon and Tariq Lamptey were given their marching orders by referee Anthony Taylor.
“Ultimately disappointed and devastated to lose in the way that we did, I thought the players had given everything. Extra-time was so difficult with a man less on each time, a lot more running and physical exertion and we just couldn’t either force a goal or take it to penalties.” Eddie Howe speaking to NUFC TV.
Newcastle have now lost five of their last nine games, and bar two exceptional performances in the Carabao Cup against Arsenal, they have largely disappointed in 2025 in terms of form and consistency. Questions are again resurfacing as to the trajectory of the club and more importantly, whether Eddie Howe is the right man for the job at St. James’ Park.
“Remember when we were talking about their energy and high pressing and all of that? That hasn’t happened enough this season and it feels as if it’s on the edge of being stale and that has to improve.” Alan Shearer speaking on The Rest is Football podcast.
Let’s look at some facts. Newcastle United currently rank 5th in the Premier League in terms of Net Spend since 2022, superseded only by Chelsea, Man Utd, Tottenham and Arsenal. They rank 8th in terms of Annual Wage Bill, far ahead of the likes of Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth with whom they are currently battling for European qualification.
On paper at least – Newcastle United should be confidently, if not comfortably, challenging for European football and domestic cup trophies.
But football isn’t played on paper. Sure, in the three years of Howe’s reign, the board have invested heavily in all aspects of the club; players, backroom staff, training facilities. But these are just surface level improvements. It’s easy to say that there are no excuses for Newcastle’s recent slump in form – injuries have improved, no midweek European football to contend with; why else are the club underperforming if not due to Eddie Howe’s managerial decisions? Without relying too much on the overused cliché of “mitigating factors”, it’s important to peel back the layers of Newcastle’s inconsistent form and shine a light some key issues with which Eddie Howe has had to contend since his arrival on Tyneside.
Legacy Squad
Ultimately Eddie Howe inherited a legacy squad when appointed Newcastle manager, and he has been forced to use players who prior to his arrival were at best playing at a bottom-to-mid table Premier League standard.
Not only has he had to rely heavily on these legacy players, he has shown his exceptional coaching and man-management by making every one of these players better. Dubravka, Schär, Longstaff, Joelinton, Almiron, Murphy – all underperforming players that Howe inherited and improved drastically since taking over.
PSR Disruption
Few clubs have had to contend with the PSR limitations that Eddie Howe has had since these regulations were first introduced. Sure, Newcastle are in the upper quartile for transfer spend over the past three seasons, but this is overshadowed by the fact that they are ranked 20th for Transfer Income since 2022; to put it simply, money going out, not in – a product of the previous ownership’s failings in the transfer market.
The knock-on effect is not only have Newcastle been unable to spend – they have had to sell. In the past 12 months Eddie Howe has lost 4 first-team players (Anderson, Minteh, Almiron, Kelly) as the club strived to meet Profit and Sustainability Rules – all of which caused chaos during the last two windows and deeply unsettled the squad.
“At that point, the way it seemed, everyone had their price.” Sean Longstaff speaking to The Athletic.
Squad Staleness
Alan Shearer isn’t wrong. Newcastle United’s first-team squad has, for want of a better word, become stale. This is not to disrespect the existing personnel, but a reality that the club hasn’t added a first-team player for three consecutive transfer windows.
At the beginning of the 24/25 season, Newcastle had the most first-team players with 5+ years of tenure in the entire the Premier League (9). Chelsea had none. Forest had one. Tottenham had two. Arsenal three. This is not to say that tenure and loyalty is a negative, but football moves fast and this clearly illustrates a squad that has stagnated over time with several key positions neglected.
“A new dynamic and a new team always has to form every season” Howe said at a press conference last December. “Sometimes, the same squad can produce a staleness and a negative product.”
A victim of his own success perhaps, having largely overachieved with this squad since taking over three seasons ago. The grass isn’t always greener, especially in football. With PSR issues seemingly a thing of the past on Tyneside, this manager deserves, nay, has earned the right to at least another transfer window to prove he is indeed the right man for the job at Newcastle United.
Paul Madden 