Eddie Howe sack odds slashed as Newcastle plot manager change

Newcastle United are set to consider the future of manager Eddie Howe this summer after another damaging defeat.

The Magpies were beaten 2-1 by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday, with Jean-Philippe Mateta’s late brace sinking Howe’s team.

Newcastle had been in a strong position when Will Osula gave them the lead just before half-time, but they failed to build on their advantage and were eventually broken down when Mateta headed in.

Deep into stoppage time, the striker was given the chance to take all three points from the spot after Sven Botman had been penalised for a shirt pull on Jefferson Lerma.

He duly obliged, plunging Newcastle manager Howe into deeper trouble with three consecutive losses now hanging over his head.

Bookies slash Eddie Howe odds

Former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown exclusively told Football Insider last week that Newcastle would be making a mistake by sacking Howe.

The 48-year-old has overseen huge progress in his almost five years at St James’ Park, leading a project that has gone from the brink of relegation to the Champions League.

But there is little denying that this season has been a blow to the Englishman’s reputation.

Newcastle now sit 14th in the Premier League, with any prospective chance of European qualification slipping further and further away.

The Magpies have suffered massively with the loss of Alexander Isak and last summer’s tumultuous saga, but they may well have to go through it all over again in the coming months.

Should Howe fail to lead his team to Europe, Newcastle’s financial situation appears to beg that a big star is sold, and the likes of Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon already appear to be drifting towards the exit door.

But the manager himself could be first to go at St James’ Park, with one major bookmaker cutting his odds of being the next Premier League manager to leave down to 11/4 in the last hours.

What Howe said after Crystal Palace blow

Howe carries a lot of credit at St James’ Park, and rightly so. The 48-year-old has been the figurehead of a new era at Newcastle, and he is the man who ended the trophy drought.

But good faith can only go so far. The Magpies have suffered time and time again this season, with no let-up in sight.

“A couple of games ago we beat Chelsea away and beat Manchester United and you sit here off the back of a disappointing run and the outside noise is to change everything,” Howe said on Sunday.

“Sometimes you have got to believe in what you do but, of course, we have to execute it better.”

The post Eddie Howe sack odds slashed as Newcastle plot manager change appeared first on Football Insider.