To Howe or not to Howe?

It’s the question every Geordie hoped they wouldn’t have to acknowledge; if and when Gareth Southgate left England, would Eddie Howe be the man to take over. .?

Eddie is one of the most respected and admired young managers in English football. The downside of having success, of course, is that other organisations will try to poach your best players/coaches/sporting directors etc as we've clearly seen already on many occasions in recent times...not only at Newcastle but with other clubs over the years...be it Brighton who have been raided repeatedly over the last 4 years, or Southampton who seem to have had every half decent player poached by Liverpool which ultimately played a part in their eventual relegation from the Premier League.

The dream of every person is to represent their country, the pride of singing your national anthem under your flag before going into battle cannot be underestimated. Something we will see in more detail over the next few weeks for the Olympics. Eddie is a proud Englishman, who may quietly be thinking this chance may not come around again. As we have seen previously with many England manager appointments, the FA often tend to go with whomever is deemed "hot property" at that moment in time - from Steve McClaren’s run with Middlesbrough in 2006, Roy Hodgson's Fulham being pipped in Europa League final in 2010 and even a stretch to say Sven Goran Eriksson following Lazio’s amazing run in 2000.

There are plenty of other English managers who people will argue should have been given a chance in the past such as Harry Redknapp or the great Brian Clough, but for one reason or another the opportunity passed them by and as we have also seen before, the English FA will not wait for a manager and will rarely (if ever) come back a second time unless the individual is at elite level. It's fair to say that the next England manager will likely get a 4-year deal to bring it to the end of the European Championships in 2028 which of course will be played on English soil. In 2028 where will Eddie be? Nobody knows, we would love to say fighting for League titles with Newcastle but football is a funny game and you are only as good as your last result. If things do not go well over the next few years at Newcastle (which we hope they do of course), his stock may not be as high and the opportunity to lead his national team could easily have come and gone.

England will have high hopes to win the World Cup in 2026 exactly 60 years after their last major international trophy, however the other elite nations (Spain and Argentina aside) who have not played so well in the most recent European and Copa America tournaments will most certainly be back raring to go and with the constant pressure and media adversity facing every England manager - if I were Eddie, I would hold my nerve, remain confident in my ability to deliver on his project at Newcastle and remain fully aware that the next England manager may not be as successful as Southgate and therefore this will not be the only opportunity to lead the nation into a major tournament finals.

Eddie Howe is undoubtedly one of the most talented and promising managers in English football and has a wealth of qualities that could make him a successful England manager. Ultimately, the decision will depend on Eddie, on the other candidates available and of course on the FA's vision and strategy for the future of the national team. Howe may not be the best or the worst option, but he is certainly a viable and interesting choice if the FA attempt to lure him from St. James Park.

If not Eddie, then who? The English media are known to jump from candidate to candidate depending on what inside information they receive. Graham Potter is a logical option given that there would be no compensation required (vs the rumoured £5 million fee for Eddie Howe) not to mention the fact that he is English and still holds a high reputation for player development and tactical approach from his days at Brighon. Lee Carsley is another very viable option - not only do the FA have a tendency to promote from within their organisation, his success at the 2023 U21 European Championship with the likes of Gordon, Palmer and James Trafford greatly raised his stock at this level and it's also rumoured he turned down the Irish job in the hope of becoming Gareth Southgate's successor. Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are also names in the hat along with more ambitious coaches like Mauricio Pochettino, Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola..hard to imagine England hiring a manager from their historical rivals Argentina or Germany though...

In the end we are still faced with the same original question...to Howe or not to Howe? Only time will tell.

Thanks for reading, feel free to share your thoughts below in the comments..will Eddie stay or will he go?

Canice Walsh has been a Newcastle fan for the past 20 years and is one of our esteemed Cork-based Irish Mags having been taken under the wing of Community Officer Paul Slaughter at a Wolves game last season.