Ratcliffe talks about ‘marginal profits’, but has he spotted Ashworth’s £55m bluster?
EVERYTHING is black or white for Newcastle United’s managers: you’re either a messiah or you’re a bum.
Kevin Keegan, Sir Bobby Robson and Rafa Benitez were able to walk across the Tyne without crossing a bridge.
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Most other bosses of the past thirty years were doomed from the start.
Eddie Howe clearly falls into the first category: deified by the Toon Army, praised by the local media and very much the acceptable face of the Geordie Arabia revolution.
He is the man who coached a number of existing Newcastle players to much higher levels than seemed possible and built a team that terrified the Premier League’s elite.
Howe had the faithful claiming that last season’s breakthrough campaign was a sporting fairytale and not all about Saudi blood money.
At a club addicted to its own romance, that mattered. But this was a campaign of significant decline.
Saturday’s upset at Arsenal – a club they had distracted from in recent meetings – threatens to leave Newcastle in the bottom half of the Premier League.
The self-proclaimed ‘most loyal football supporters the world has ever had’ sang Howe’s name during that cathartic 4-1 defeat at Emirates.
But his team lacked the acuity and rancor that had driven Mikel Arteta to delirium in recent meetings.
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Newcastle are no longer a nightmarish opponent on the pitch. And for now, their owners don’t look like the filthy rich disruptors so feared by the Big Six.
Howe’s team have the sixth-worst defensive record in the Premier League.
And St James’ Park is no longer a roaring, flag-cracking fortress – with one win in six home games, three defeats and two lucky home draws against Luton and Bournemouth.
Howe can blame Newcastle’s shortcomings as much as he likes, but Liverpool and Aston Villa – managed by Unai Emery, who rejected the Toon – have done well despite serious problems on that front.
Meanwhile, Newcastle are in the process of losing their sporting director to Manchester United, one of the clubs they should have usurped.
Frustrations over Financial Fair Play may have hampered Newcastle this season, but the Saudis have still managed to spend the better part of £400m in the transfer market.
And paying out £55m on Sandro Tonali without due diligence was a serious blunder exposed by the Italian midfielder’s gambling ban.
Still, it’s a mistake that didn’t result in Ashworth being poached.
While Ashworth takes leave to tend his garden – and haven’t the daffodils come out early this year? — Tonali, one of his biggest ‘coups’, is still six months away from returning to action.
Old Trafford’s knights in shining armour, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford, are all about ‘marginal gain’, but apparently less bothered by whopping big howlers.
Howe was unusually candid about his fears that Ashworth would bring Newcastle’s state secrets to Old Trafford.
It was a blatant admission that St James’ Park is not an entirely happy ship.
This week’s fifth round of the FA Cup now feels crucial for the managers of three of England’s richest clubs – for Erik ten Hag, for Chelsea’s Mauricio Pochettino and, above all, for Howe.
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Howe heads to Blackburn tonight knowing that victory is essential and a draw against opposition in the Championship should provide a change of mood.
Newcastle have enjoyed their Cup run so far – gloating over bitter rivals Sunderland, before Alan Shearer joined the topless fat boys at Craven Cottage’s Putney End for another away win in round four.
A first trophy in 55 years would cement Howe’s legend and make him bulletproof this summer.
But Manchester City and Liverpool remain in the hat, as do United and Chelsea, so something special will be needed.
For a year and a half, Newcastle’s rise seemed inexorable.
Last season’s Wembley appearance in the Carabao Cup final would certainly be the first of many.
And qualifying for the Champions League, with the subsequent 4-1 humiliation of Paris Saint-Germain, felt like a first important step towards European domination.
Instead, Newcastle finished bottom of the group and will struggle to play at all in Europe next season unless they can win the FA Cup.
So can the Saudis really tolerate a mid-table finish and no trophy, leaving Howe in charge even as their fanbase demands he stays?
Only if you believe that the Saudi stooge Amanda Staveley is really the nice figurehead of the neighbors.
Howe’s team need to rediscover their ruthlessness quite quickly or their manager may soon realize the ruthlessness of his paymasters.
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If there’s one trait most self-made billionaires have in common, it’s that they can smell the scent of bulls from a mile away.
So you have to wonder what Sir Jim Ratcliffe thought of Erik ten Hag praising the ‘character’ of his Manchester United players after they were deservedly beaten at home by Fulham.
And that’s Fulham without their two best players, Joao Palhinha and Willian, and Fulham, who hadn’t won in the Premier League for six months.
Ratcliffe made some sharp statements about United’s future last week.
And it was striking that he refused to offer Ten Hag any long-term support.
Saturday’s 2-1 defeat, and the Dutchman’s reaction to it, largely explains why.
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AFTER the Carabao Cup final, the narrative is that Liverpool is doing everything right and Chelsea is doing everything wrong.
And while that’s largely true, let’s remember that the Anfield club made a £110 million bid for Moises Caicedo last summer, which was accepted by Brighton, leaving the Blues to look at them.
Caicedo should have seen red for a challenge on Ryan Gravenberch and was outplayed by a trio of teenagers later in Sunday’s match.
Sometimes you’re lucky. Sometimes you dodge a bullet.
And what about the other midfielder for whom Chelsea outbid Liverpool last year?
Romeo Lavia, why are you?
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REMEMBER all those classic matches where Tony Pulis’ Stoke bullied Arsenal and Arsene Wenger whined about ‘rugby’ tactics?
Well, fast forward to the present, Arsenal have four big centre-backs at the back, while they score more set-piece goals and more headed goals than any other Premier League team.
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AFTER Roy Hodgson was replaced by Oliver Glasner at Crystal Palace, just four English managers remain in the top flight.
Chris Wilder is heading for relegation with Sheffield United, Sean Dyche is in danger of the same fate if more points are deducted from Everton and Eddie Howe’s reign at Newcastle is in danger of falling apart.
Given that none of the Championship’s top four clubs are managed by Englishmen, Wolves’ Gary O’Neil could well be the last native boss in the Premier League next season.
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FOR a club that has campaigned heavily against violent crime, it is depressing that QPR allowed Ilias Chair to play against Rotherham on Saturday.
That’s just one day after he was given a two-year prison sentence for cracking a man’s skull with a rock.
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AFTER a first defeat of the Bazball era – following a fourth Test loss to India, in which England played less Bazball than usual – only one thing is certain. . .
Ben Stokes’ team will now become even more attacking.
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