Former Liverpool star Stan Collymore has repeated his belief that Newcastle United should sack Eddie Howe. Earlier this season, the ex-striker urged Toon chiefs to pull the trigger on Howe should they qualify for the Champions League.
While some questioned his appointment 16 months ago, any qualms have since been put to bed by the Magpies’ drastic turnaround. Even this season, few had expected Newcastle to be challenging for a top-four finish.
However, Collymore still believes United should axe Howe - who signed an improved contract last summer - to take them to the next level. The 52-year-old has named recently-sacked Julian Nagelsmann as the man to take charge.
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“Now Nagelsmann is set to become available, he could go to Newcastle United,” Collymore told CaughtOffside. “If Bayern Munich can get rid of a coach like Nagelsmann, who had the club competing for the Bundesliga title and was unbeaten in Europe, then Newcastle United can definitely part ways with Eddie Howe.
“The Magpies’ owners should, at the very least, put the feelers out and ask Nagelsmann if he’d like to take charge. They don’t even need to tell Howe that they’ve made contact with him but come on, they have to at least go and find out if he’d like to come to the northeast. That is how they will improve because they’re not going to get to the promised land with Howe in charge.
“Now before you say it – I know a lot of fans will be thinking ‘but that’s not the way Newcastle are doing it, Stan’ and that is true; it isn’t how they’ve gone about their business, so far – but if they snapped up a manager of Nagelsmann’s reputation and went on to qualify for Europe and win a trophy, then, believe me, the feeling would quickly go from ‘Eddie Howe’ to ‘Eddie who?’”
Collymore also claimed the ambitious owners on Tyneside will not be concerned by how supporters would feel. The ex-Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa man expects a “ruthless” approach to emulate the likes of Manchester City.
“The Saudi owners are in it to win it,” he added. “They won’t care how the fanbase feels towards Howe, Sven Botman, Bruno Guimaraes, Alexander Isak, or any other individual. They won’t care that Dan Burn is a boyhood fan. He could have ‘Howay the Lads’ tattooed across his backside and it won’t matter to the owners. They’re not here to mess around. They want to take Newcastle United to the very top and compete with the likes of Manchester City.
“At the moment, they’re testing the waters and seeing how far they can go without spending a ridiculous amount of money but once the excitement dies down and they decide to take the club to the next level, they will be ruthless, mark my words.”
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