Is there pressure mounting on Eddie Howe?

  (Credit:Bein Sports)

It has been a tough season for Newcastle United, who currently sit 10th in the Premier League table, with only one win in the league in February. Is the pressure mounting on Eddie Howe?

It’s been a tough season for Newcastle, who had to deal with a difficult Champions League campaign and experienced a challenging Carabao Cup run with a disappointing ending. They have also had a tough run in the FA Cup, having had no home ties and just recently being drawn to Manchester City away in the quarter-finals.

In the Champions League, they had to deal with AC Milan, PSG and Borussia Dortmund. In the Carabao Cup, they have dealt with Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, ultimately being knocked out in those competitions and its knock-on effect on the squad itself.

With up to 13 players being out, the winter period made matters more challenging for Eddie Howe and Newcastle because he had limited options within the squad, so Howe had to manage that. Plus, they lost their big summer signing, Sandro Tonali, due to illegal betting charges.

Howe is starting to get some players back within the squad, but he couldn’t get any new signings in January due to FFP restrictions. As the commercial revenue for Newcastle has yet to see much increase, they would have to sell players to free up some revenue to comply with the rules for now.

On top of that, there are a few puzzling decisions which he has made within the squad, such as Dan Burn still starting over Tino Livramento, who has made more of an impression at the back and can help Newcastle’s defence in winning possession and can play the ball forward more, which can facilitate the attack. Burn was a decent signing in the short term, but as time passes, he is seen as an easy target for players to get past quickly, which again goes back to Howe and his decision to start him.

It has been a poor run of results recently, but it consists of the lack of availability within the squad, and it isn’t Newcastle that has struggled. Brighton, who are playing in Europe for the first time, has had a hard time with the demands of the European schedule, and there is little talk about Roberto De Zerbi’s position with the seagulls.

It is the first time in a long time that Newcastle pulled double duty. They have dealt with the gruelling European schedule and have had a run in the Carabao Cup, and this past week went all the way to penalties with Blackburn in the FA Cup.

So there is a bit of pressure on Eddie Howe to recapture the form they were in a few weeks ago and sort out the current defensive problems his side is going through. Still, his overall job is safe because it will take time for Newcastle to compete consistently for European places. Newcastle will need a few seasons to adapt to the midweek to the weekend schedule.

But for now, the focus is Wolves on Saturday.