Struggling Magpies are stuck in 12th place and lost painfully to Sunderland in the Wear-Tyne derby on Sunday
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has been let down by the club despite doing more than any other manager could have done on Tyneside since 2021, pundit Jamie Carragher has said.
The Magpies’ lost 1-0 to rivals Sunderland in the Wear-Tyne derby on Sunday, a defeat Howe sad was “horrible” and “very painful”. Carragher blames the hierarchy for the club’s struggles so far
“I don’t think he’s had an awful lot of help,” Carragher said. “These are really worrying results, and it’s not what I associate with Eddie Howe’s Newcastle team. Eddie Howe’s done a brilliant job at Newcastle, and I’m not sure any manager could have done much more.”
The former Liverpool defender also pointed to issues behind the scenes, including the lack of a CEO or director of football and limited transfer activity over the past two summers.
“Newcastle are at a stage where, once you’ve won a trophy and qualified for the Champions League, the next question should be whether you can challenge for the league title,” said Carragher.
“Howe was not helped in the transfer market in the summer, or the summer before. There has been a lack of leadership at Newcastle, with no CEO, director of football and that’s certainly not helped.
“It’s felt like Eddie Howe is not just being the manager, he is being the CEO, the director of football, and he’s involved in transfers as well. I think he’s been let down by Newcastle.”
The defeat to Sunderland sparked frustration among players. Captain Bruno Guimaraes described the performance as “frustrating” and “a mess”.
“I’m very angry, I’m so embarrassed and I’m so frustrated,” said Guimaraes. “There was no crossing, no passing, no shooting. We didn’t compete. The fans expect and deserve better. We know we have a better team than Sunderland, but we didn’t play like it.”
Howe said that while the result was disappointing it would not define Newcastle’s season.
“It’s a horrible feeling, it’s very painful. It was not our finest game,” said the manager. “Nothing is lost today. It was a game of very few chances settled by a freak goal. The effort was there, but the quality wasn’t. We were disappointed with our creative output. We haven’t delivered. It’s difficult to take.”
