Following the inevitable departure of Steve Bruce, Newcastle are tasked with choosing the man to lead the new era. Our reporter Zach Sampson takes a look at the best options.
It was announced yesterday morning via Twitter that Steve Bruce took the decision to leave his role at Newcastle United. It was always a matter of time, but it is now a matter of who. Who will be the chosen one to take control of the richest club in the world?
The now former Newcastle manager admitted to the Telegraph the psychological and emotional struggles that he faced during his tenure at Tyneside were tough. He said: “I thought I could handle everything thrown at me, but it has been very, very tough. To never really be wanted, to feel that people wanted me to fail, to read people constantly saying I would fail, that I was useless, a fat waste of space, a stupid, tactically inept cabbage head or whatever. And it was from day one.” Newcastle fans have faced a lot of criticism from the public for their harsh treatment on the Geordie manager.
The club’s statement has stated that assistant manager, Graeme Jones, will be taking over on an interim basis until a permanent replacement has been found.
We now look ahead to who could be the next person in charge of The Magpies and what they could achieve with this Newcastle side.
Paulo Fonseca
Before Bruce left his post at Newcastle, former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard was the bookies favourite. However, the tide has turned, and Paulo Fonseca (the ex-Roma manager) has emerged as the favourite.
Fonseca is an experienced coach who went into management straight after he retired from his playing days and started his managerial career at Estrela de Amadora in 2005. For the first two years he was in charge of the youth team until he took his first professional job at S.U. 10 Dezembro.
More recently, the Portuguese manager was Roma boss from 2019-2021. Whilst in charge, he took Roma to the semi-finals of the Europa League. However, he was sacked after finishing 7th in the Serie A.
Fonseca was also very close to replacing Jose Mourinho at Spurs, however the talks broke down after a disagreement with Spurs’ Director of Football, Fabio Paratici, because he decided he wanted to hire a more defensive minded coach.
His teams play dominating and expressive football. At Roma he was respected for his strong relationship with his players and how he was able to maximise his players’ strengths and their potential. He is very good at getting the best out of the resources he has.
I believe Fonseca would be a great option for this Newcastle team. His coaching would elevate the players in this Newcastle team; key players like Callum Wilson and Alan Saint-Maximin could flourish under his guidance.
Luicen Favre
Another man in contention for the Newcastle job is Lucien Favre, the man who brought Erling Haaland to Borussia Dortmund.
Favre’s style of play is unique – he adopts a combination of pragmatism and eye-catching football. His teams build their attacks slowly and create few chances but score a high number of goals. This could be quite risky for Newcastle due to how injury prone Callum Wilson is. When the Englishman is fit this style of play would work exceptionally, however if he got injured there would be problems. Wilson’s understudy, Joelinton, is not up to scratch and his £40 million transfer fee now seems extortionate having only scored 6 goals in 77 appearances in the Premier League.
The Swiss manager is also known for promoting young players and setting them strict tactical instructions for them – Jadon Sancho is a great example of this. This would go down a treat at Newcastle with their new owners looking to invest in improving the youth academy and its facilities.
In theory, Favre would be a great fit at Newcastle as he has a very strong track record of transforming an under-performing side. He took Hertha Berlin from 12th to 4th in two years and rescued Borussia Monchengladbach from relegation and took them to Champions League football the following season. However, he demands a lot from his players in training, similar to Leeds’ Marcelo Bielsa, which explains his track record of falling out with players.
Eddie Howe
Another manager who appears to be a frontrunner in the selection pool is former Bournemouth manager, Eddie Howe. The Englishman is currently unemployed after he left his post as Bournemouth manager at the end of the 2019/20 season following their relegation. Howe has every reason to feel hard-done-by with the Cherries’ relegation coming as a result of a goal-line technology error, giving Aston Villa a point that took them above Howe’s side and out of the relegation zone.
In 2008, when Eddie Howe took over Bournemouth, they were on the brink of relegation from the Football League. He successfully took them from the bottom of League 2 to the Premier League.
Howe’s style of play focuses on keeping the ball and attacking football. The team works hard to win the ball through high pressing. They then aim to force the opponent into making a mistake or simply dispossess them. His philosophy is not based on individuals but more how the team works together and play for each other; if the players give 110% the individual talent isn’t necessary.
I am not sure if Howe’s style of play would work with this group of Newcastle players. At the moment, team morale is at an all-time low. The Daily Mail have reported that club captain Jamaal Lascelles and Isaac Hayden got into a bust up in the tunnel after their 3-2 loss to Spurs. They were forced to be separated by team-mates and members of staff. I question whether the players would be willing to fight for each other.
If Amanda Staveley was to appoint Eddie Howe, it would work very well for them in the short-term. He is a man known to the relegation battle and will have the know how to save Newcastle from the dreaded dropdown. From there, he has the ability to establish them as a mid-table team. However, I do not know if he is the one to make them challenge for trophies.
Being the first manager of this Saudi-led Newcastle era is a poisoned chalice; at the moment this team is not good enough to attract the biggest names in football management. The club will probably be looking to move the manager on after a couple of years when someone like an Antonio Conte or Massimiliano Allegri would be willing to take the job.
With all these components considered, if I was in Amanda Staveley and PIF’s position, the manager I would appoint is Paulo Fonseca. His ability to bring the best out of his players will be vital for this underperforming Newcastle team. In theory, it means he will be able to lift them out of the relegation zone and then bring quality into the side during the January transfer window.