Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson and West Ham forward Michail Antonio both agree that Eddie Howe should have been named LMA Manager of the Year. That accolade went to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, whose team finished second in the Premier League - one point behind Manchester City - and lifted both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
The Anfield outfit have also reached the Champions League final, which they will contest against Real Madrid this weekend. In their Footballer's Football Podcast, though, Wilson and Antonio both reached a consensus that Howe would have been the worthiest winner.
The Amersham-born, 44-year-old assumed the reins at St James' Park in November with the Magpies win-less in their opening 11 Premier League games and sat 19th on five points. Another three matches passed under Howe without a victory before the team finally managed to collect maximum points in a 1-0 home triumph against Burnley during the first weekend in December.
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No team in Premier League history had previously managed to stay up after failing to win their first 14 fixtures, but Howe's Newcastle went on to canter to safety, finishing the season 11th and on 49 points. That represented their best top-tier haul in 10 years, with only runaway top-two Manchester City and Liverpool accumulating more points during 2022.
England international Wilson, who also played under Howe for six years at Bournemouth, scored the goal that secured that vital first win against Burnley. Following a calf injury that sidelined him for more than four months, the 30-year-old forward then returned to the fold in May and bagged a brace to send Burnley down during a 2-1 final-day victory for the visitors at Turf Moor.
Unsurprisingly, the £20million signing is unequivocal when giving his opinion on who should have received the LMA honours. "I’d have to go with Eddie Howe," Wilson said.
"The manager’s come in. We had five points.
"We didn’t win all season. Nobody had ever stayed up in that position in history and we managed to do that.
"People were saying the game against Burnley would’ve been an end-of-season decider but we got ourselves into a possibility where we were playing that game to finish 10th. That’s unbelievable considering the circumstances.
"They’ve changed the mentality, the culture around the club and that with a takeover. What an amazing place to be."
Antonio felt his own manager David Moyes was also a candidate for LMA recognition, having steered West Ham to a seventh-placed finish and into the semi-finals of the Europa League, whilst he also believed Antonio Conte deserved plaudits for securing Tottenham a Champions League place. But, ultimately, he too plumped for the Magpies' chief, saying: "Eddie Howe - flames to finish where he has.
"It’s not an easy decision to pick one. Obviously Pep (Guardiola) winning the Premier League… again.
"For managers, it’s been unbelievable. They’ve done so well.
"Klopp in the for the quad. I’m going to have to give it to Eddie Howe.
"When he went to Newcastle, I honestly believed they were down and out, gone. To be unbeaten in 10 to 12 games to drag them out is unbelievable (Newcastle actually went nine league games without defeat between December 27 and March 10). It’s easy to look up the table but you need to admire the people for what they’ve done because it’s not easy to come and pull someone out the bottom three to finish comfortably in 11th."
