If England want Eddie Howe to be their next manager, they best appoint Lee Carsley. At least, that is, on an interim basis.
During an incredible half-hour with newspaper journalists here in Germany on Friday, the Newcastle head coach as good as placed a probationary period on his new working relationship with the club’s sporting director Paul Mitchell and performance director James Bunce.
Howe had just finished a gym session when he sat down with us in a room at adidas HQ in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, and boy did he flex his muscles. He showed his teeth, too.
After small talk about a family holiday in Canada — he also visited the United States with his wife and three sons last summer — I joked that he was doing a recce for the 2026 World Cup. He saw the funny side, but the laughter stopped when the 46-year-old was grilled on England.
We had expected him to play down the story. That was the word earlier in the day when watching the head coach lead his team during a training session beneath 26°C sunshine. There was no cold water, though. Gasoline, if anything.
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Howe was at pains to say his words had nothing to do with England. Rather, only Newcastle. But given that every question was framed in the context of England — and he is the bookmakers’ favourite to replace Gareth Southgate — the elephant wasn’t so much in the corner of the room as sat on Howe’s lap.
What followed, he has never done before. He has always wanted to emulate Kevin Keegan, and here he did. Not the Keegan of the Entertainers era, but the Keegan who aired his caution after the arrival of de facto director of football Dennis Wise and sidekick Tony Jimenez under Mike Ashley’s ownership. Keegan quit, eventually, and later won a constructive dismissal case.
We are not there yet. Far from it. Howe is happy, wants to stay and does not know how the dynamic with Mitchell and Bunce will play out. He spoke warmly of both. But before a ball has been kicked, this felt like warning shots being fired. Given Mitchell and Bunce are here with the Newcastle party, Howe’s bullets did not have to travel far to hit their target.
It was a power play, evoking memory of another former Newcastle manager, Rafa Benitez. You had to be a political correspondent to decode the Spaniard at times, and this felt straight from Rafa’s playbook.
Howe did it, however, knowing he has the support of the fanbase and admirers at the very top of the FA. Here was a blunt message to the club — support me or lose me. And a more subtle message, perhaps, to the FA — watch and wait. His preference, you feel, is to get the working conditions he wants at Newcastle.
Like any employee courted by others, you use it to your advantage. And amid the nearly 2,500 words he delivered, this felt like a fair summation of it all.
‘I absolutely want to stay but it has to be right for me and the football club,’ said Howe. ‘There’s absolutely no point in me saying I’m happy staying at Newcastle if the dynamic isn’t right. I’m certainly not serving Newcastle well if I do that.’
So, what are Howe’s fears after a summer of change at St James’ Park? He has lost key allies Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi, and the sporting director he was said to be in favour of, Dougie Freedman of Crystal Palace, turned down the club at the 11th hour.
Howe is currently working with his players on pre-season training in Germany
That is not to say Howe will not, and cannot, work well with Mitchell and Bunce, but there is uncertainty on his part. Asked if he would still have the final say on player incomings, there was a very short answer — ‘these are things we are working on’ — and a silence that made even the elephant uncomfortable.
‘There has been a lot of change at the club this summer,’ he added. ‘It has been a very difficult summer for everyone connected with the club. With change comes a new feeling, always.
‘You can point to PSR (profit and sustainability rules), Amanda and Mehrdad leaving, a change in sporting director which, of course, influences me. These are all big changes.
‘I don’t think I have the right, or the want, to challenge those decisions. The club has to choose its direction and that ability is their right. I’ve got no issue with that. But obviously I have to be happy in my work. I have to feel this is something that can benefit me and the club for it to work. I hope you understand what I’m trying to say.
‘As long as I am happy, I feel supported, I feel free to work in the way I want to work, I have not thought of anything else other than Newcastle. I absolutely love the club, I love the supporters, I love where I’m at in my career. There is no better place for me to be.
‘It’s about making sure Newcastle United is as strong as it can be for the next season and beyond. We’ve all got to come together and make sure we are the force we want to be.’
There was a picture taken in Germany this week of Howe, Mitchell, Bunce and chief executive Darren Eales all laughing while in conversation. It had strong vibes of new kids at secondary school. Howe made the point that he breezed through his primary education with an even bigger smile.
Howe as good as placed a probationary period on his new working relationship with the club’s sporting director Paul Mitchell (left) and performance director James Bunce (right)
Howe wants to stay in charge at Newcastle but admitted conditions have to be 'right' for him to do so
Amanda Staveley (right) and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi (left) recently departed the club
‘I have been really happy for two-and-a-half years,’ he said. ‘I have loved every second of the relationships I’ve had and the way I’ve been able to work. I think that has brought success.
‘We’re in the flux of change, it’s just happened. I can’t say with a definitive answer where that will lead. I hope it leads to everything I’ve just said. That could easily be the case, but it needs to be that way for Newcastle, not so much for me.’
But what of England, does he fancy it? A World Cup in a country he and his family love followed by a home Euros will be tempting. Privately, though, Howe has always stated his biggest love is coaching Monday to Friday, improving players and preparing them for a game.
He would lose that with England. The suspicion remains that the timing is not right, unless, like Keegan, he discovers he cannot exist under the club’s new power structure.
Privately, though, Howe has always stated his biggest love is coaching Monday to Friday, improving players and preparing them for a game
But he did answer our question on his desire, or otherwise, to one day manage the national team.
‘England is a very special job for someone,’ he said. ‘I am very patriotic and I’m not ashamed to say that. I love my country. I want my country to do well. I was gutted for Gareth and the lads that they did not win the Euros.
‘But I don’t have a burning sensation within me that I feel I have to do that at some stage. I’ve said before, if it happens at some stage in the future, then it’s to be for me. If not, then I’m very, very happy in the role I’m doing, the day-to-day management.’
And, it seems, Howe is assessing his situation at Newcastle on a day-by-day basis. It is why the FA might well sit tight and see if their man hits the ejector seat.