The difference between Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United and Steve Bruce’s can be described as many things but the old cliché chalk and cheese seems to work perfectly. The Magpies now look very good to confirm their Premier League status at a canter after being doomed for the drop after 15 games.
In 10 or 20 years when looking back at the reign of PIF as the club’s owners, the greatest signing that they have ever made could well be Howe despite plenty of claims he wouldn’t be good enough. He has galvanised largely the same group of players who were sleepwalking into relegation.
Newcastle are now seven points clear of the bottom three after being one of the occupants of those positions for so much of this season. Speaking on BBC 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast, Nigel Reo-Coker was full of praise for the work Howe has done on Tyneside.
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“I’ve seen a great improvement from them under Eddie Howe now and I think he’s really got them into their groove,” said the former West Ham and Aston Villa midfielder.
“The one difference I see Newcastle now under Eddie Howe is that they look like they’re in control. They don’t look like a side that are going to concede any minute or people don’t know what they’re doing.
“They look like a team that knows exactly what they’re doing in every individual position, they know exactly what the manager expects and wants from them.”
Perhaps Howe’s most impressive transformation so far has been turning Joelinton into arguably the star player in the team. He was long considered a £40m flop by those on the terraces at St James’ Park but has emerged as one of the Premier League’s most influential midfielders, something Reo-Coker attributed to the Newcastle coaching staff.
“They just look so much more well organised and well oiled and I think Joelinton has been a sensation in the midfield and it’s great to see because he reminds me of the great days of midfielders, of being box-to-box,” he added.
“Not just having to be a defensive-minded midfielder or an attacking-minded midfielder, he has literally just been getting up and down the pitch, he’s been a revelation. Again, that comes from good coaching and managers where they can see the attributes that certain players have where they might not be playing their preferred position but you can get a lot more from them doing something else and that’s what he’s doing.”
The other guest on the podcast, Carlton Cole, looked at Ryan Fraser’s goal against Brighton as the barometer of the shift in momentum for the Magpies.
The Scotsman was the beneficiary of Jacob Murphy’s effort which struck the post and handed him a fairly straightforward finish for which he didn’t need a second invite.
“The momentum’s back,” said the seven-time England striker. “When I say momentum, the goal that Ryan Fraser scored, when you haven’t got momentum and it’s all doom and gloom, that ball that hit the post goes away from Ryan Fraser.
“They’ve changed their luck around by hard work, organisation, belief and character, these are the things that you didn’t associate with Newcastle under Steve Bruce, I’m sorry to say that.”
Howe and Newcastle will be aware that, whilst the recent form has been excellent, they are not yet safe from the grips of the relegation zone. They will need to continue the momentum that Cole touched upon if they are to make absolute sure that they will be playing in the Premier League again next season.
