Eddie Howe must handle the extra cameras documenting team’s season but all his focus is on challenging elite clubs
Eddie Howe has become all too familiar with being second guessed. Newcastle’s manager is currently struggling to shrug off the Amazon camera crew tailing him at almost every turn as it makes the latest instalment of its “All or Nothing” fly-on-the-wall football documentary series.
It is not something Howe particularly wanted to participate in but the club’s Saudi Arabian majority owners were keen for Newcastle to follow in the footsteps of Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham in offering a new audience a window into their world.
Whether it will be opened wide enough to include any revealing insights into the hitherto secretive Saudi-based upper echelons of the club hierarchyremains to be seen but Howe’s attempt to disrupt the Premier League’s established top end order promises to prove compelling viewing.
Privacy is important; when you’re dealing with players, there are certain things that should never escape the walls of the training ground,” said a manager endeavouring to keep the cameras away from his family home. “It’s delicate but I can’t go against the club. I’ll always support them in whatever venture they’re trying to pursue. Just so long as it doesn’t overstep the mark!”
Perhaps he and Pep Guardiola can discuss the art of training-ground counter-surveillance when Newcastle travel to Manchester City on Saturday hoping to reassert their challenge for Champions League qualification.
City’s Abu Dhabi-based ownership model provides something of a template, although by the time, in 2017-18, Amazon started following Guardiola and his players City were on course to win the Premier League and League cup.
Only last Sunday Newcastle reached the final of the latter competition, losing 2-0 to Manchester United. Shortly after, in a national radio interview, the club’s UK-based director and minority shareholder Amanda Staveley vowed that the team would recover to win the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup. Fortunately for Howe’s equilibrium, no timelines were offered.
“I love Amanda’s positivity,” he said, somewhat carefully, on Friday, shortly before his team flew to Manchester seeking a first win in five league games. “I love her outlook. I’ve got no issue with it. All I’d say is that, if we set targets that are maybe too short term, that can have a negative effect and build external pressure the players don’t need.”
An excellent start has Newcastle fifth but Howe is entering a new, potentially high-risk, phase of his tenure. After rescuing the team from relegation last season and reaching that long-awaited Wembley final, his challenge is to transpose the owners’ £250m investment in players into European qualification.
