Eddie Howe the man for all reasons. But Newcastle United will fight to keep him.
The FA can buy itself time in its search for Gareth Southgate’s successor by putting the Under-21s coach, Lee Carsley, in place for the Nations League game in Dublin on September 7. At the same time, it can negotiate with Newcastle United over Eddie Howe. For me, he’s the ideal candidate.
If the FA decided to go foreign with Mauricio Pochettino it would send a damaging message to those working to develop young English manager at the FA’s £125m facility at St George’s Park. Home-grown alternatives to Howe include the Birmingham-born Carsley, but would he have the natural authority to command high-profile players like Jude Bellingham? Graham Potter is very available but the Chelsea failure is a worry.
Newcastle will fight to keep Howe, whose contract runs until 2027, and it would be more worrying if they were happy to lose him. He’s done a good job at Newcastle. He’s given the fans their pride and belief back. He’s entertained them with attacking football. You know what a Howe team looks like, the emphasis on attack and wingers and 4-3-3. Much of his philosophy chimes with the FA’s old DNA blueprint. People talk about his age, 46, but he’s experienced, having managed 670 games. He took the step up from Bournemouth to Newcastle very smoothly.