Why Eddie Howe left Newcastle – and what it means for Bruno Guimaraes’ future

Eddie Howe‘s departure leaves Newcastle United at their biggest point of the peril since PIF took over the club. Howe’s departure is set to be announced imminently by Newcastle, with The i Paper told the club had been working on a replacement for more than a fortnight. Having originally told the club at the end of last season that he had the energy to lead them into a new era, Howe changed his mind two weeks ago. The decision is said to be amicable and Howe will take a break from football. Mathias Jaissle will be confirmed as his replacement in time for the start of Newcastle’s La Manga training camp at the end of the week. It is an orderly transition and Newcastle point out Jaissle’s imminent coronation shows they have been working on succession planning for weeks. But from the outside it feels like the project has been rocked by a second successive summer of turmoil. It is possible to make make a convincing case that Howe’s exit makes sense – last season was an alarming, retrograde step after a tenure marked by stunning progress and his modus operandi does not tally with the recruitment pivot to young, European stars that is taking place – but the timing is terrible and raises huge questions about what exactly the scope of the project is. This is a club that has sold two of its best players and looks set to flog a third in Bruno Guimaraes, who The i Paper understands expects to move to Arsenal in a move that will strip Newcastle of another crown jewel. His successor will be Matthias Jaissle, the progressive German coach recently at Al Ahli but who has experience of the Red Bull model with Salzburg. At 38 he has energy, a passion for high press, front-foot football and a clean slate but his CV is fairly thin for such a big job. There is real promise there but Newcastle are taking a gamble. Jaissle looks like a big gamble as Howe’s replacement (Photo: PA) The rumblings of a schism with Howe have been in the background for a while. At least one senior figure was lukewarm about Howe’s performance last season and at the meeting of the club’s hierarchy at Matfen Hall not all of the analytics presented were favourable to the manager. In-game management was mentioned. The minimum target for the year was to finish in the European places and that was missed – which came with big consequences for the club. Financially they are in a worse position and some players – not just ones who have left already – expressed a desire to move on without Europe. There was a general consensus that a repeat could not be tolerated this season. But Howe had also assured Newcastle he was energised and ready for the challenge of a new era, new team and new ambitions. Newcastle still firmly backed him too but a few weeks later he has taken the decision to step aside. Sources insist he was on board with the recruitment plans but he is unsure it the profile of player and possible further sales would give him a chance to recover his reputation with fans. But Howe has also assured Newcastle he was energised and ready for the challenge of a new era, new team and new ambitions. Newcastle felt his history of performing well when the club had a full week to prepare for games made him the right man and his history suggested he would succeed again. A few months later he has taken the decision to step aside, seemingly unsure if the profile of player and possible further sales would give him a chance to recover his reputation with fans. Clearly the sales of Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali – who were both key Howe lieutenants – have impacted his thinking. The fact Guimaraes and Lewis Hall are both unsettled will not help – but the sort of player Newcastle are signing has also played on his mind. Howe was seemingly unsure if he was the right fit for the club’s pivot in recruitment (Photo: PA) The i Paper had been told of internal tensions at the club of the summer, particularly in the way the club missed out on Spain winger Victor Munoz. There have been “honest” conversations for weeks, we are told. That is why a move for Jaissle is so far along and why they will be able to coronate him imminently, with three weeks to work on the training ground and integrate several new players into the squad. That Howe is off in these circumstances is hugely sad. He has been the most successful and influential manager at Newcastle since Kevin Keegan, who became a friend. He created a team that gave the elite a bloody nose and won Newcastle’s first silverware for more than 50 years. There is Paris Saint-Germain, Wembley, two Champions League campaigns, numerous brilliant, exhilarating Premier League wins at a feverish St James’ Park and a man who “gets” Newcastle. He will never, ever be forgotten. For the hierarchy there are now big, big questions. The message remains that this is a club with ambition, that the PIF is still committed and ready to invest big in infrastructure projects (the training ground announcement could come in September) but the timing of this is off. More on Newcastle News: Why Newcastle signed Aladji Bamba – plus three other transfer deals in the works Transfers: Newcastle hire AI transfer guru – here are nine deals it could lead to If a change was coming, why not at the end of the season when Howe could have got his send off and a new man could have been fully invested in the recruitment pivot? Why was no one prepared to make that call then? Newcastle currently look like a soft touch in the transfer market – great sellers but unable to bring in experienced replacements. Guimaraes will become the fourth big name to demand and be granted a move if it happens – Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest seem more resolute in their stance with star players. Communication from the top is desperately needed. Ross Wilson and David Hopkinson are doing what they can in difficult circumstances but where is the PIF? Is the idea in the face of suffocating financial rules just to become another Brighton or Bournemouth? Or will they take control at some point and show they mean business off-the-field? It has been a while since that happened. Howe’s departure plunges them into deep waters. Whether they sink or swim feels uncertain at this point.