Howe sack? Newcastle face PR nightmare if ‘civil war’ escalates and Mitchell wields power

If Eddie Howe and Paul Mitchell are uneasy bedfellows, as current reports would have you believe, then there is a desire to portray them as Bert and Ernie.

Howe, naturally, is Ernie: the cheery, grinning, lovable little scamp. Mitchell, of course, is therefore Bert: the frowning sourpuss who is unable to appreciate what he has in his ol’ rubber-ducky loving cohort.

The difference is that you know that Bert actually does like Ernie, under it all. Mitchell, though, gives off the vibe of someone who would rather see an end to the uneasy double act – however much, true to form, Howernie might look to put a positive face on the whole thing.

For the moment, things appear to be in a state of detente; if Newcastle were determined to show Howe the door, they would surely have done so already. The question is how much time he will continue to get.

There are many things to admire about Howe, let’s be clear. His achievements with getting Bournemouth promoted and keeping them in the top flight for an extended spell earned him the right to call himself a top-level manager, while he succeeded in guiding Newcastle to the heady heights of Champions League football that they had not experienced for two decades.

Howe also has plenty of allies in the national media, particularly as he is currently the best-placed Englishman to achieve upwards mobility in the Premier League with Sean Dyche’s Everton and Gary O’Neil’s Wolves both facing issues of their own (and on very different scales) away from the training pitch further down the division.

More importantly, he is also popular with a lot of Newcastle United fans. Neither should be a consideration, really, but inevitably will be on some level; the PR hit from getting rid of Howe unless he gives them very good reason to do so would be fierce.

But any sporting director’s remit naturally includes looking at managerial appointments, and it’s hard not to think that Mitchell will have that at the back of his mind this season if he feels things are not going to plan on the pitch.

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Mitchell will be also mindful of the fact that Bournemouth spent an awful lot of money in their last Premier League spell only to wind up getting relegated under Howe, with defensive problems a constant issue under his command. The purse strings may be forced to be tighter in this age of PSR, but even after a frustrating transfer window, Newcastle will still rightly expect to see a return on their investment in the form of sustained serious contendership for European places.

One unspoken factor behind those issues may well be whether Howe is the kind of manager their more ambitious transfer targets will be begging their agents to get them a move to play under. There is a lack of glamour about Howe, which – like his positive reputation in the press and public – should not ideally be a factor, but in the real world probably has some bearing on his standing, particularly if Newcastle come to feel they are in a position to attract someone a bit more exciting.

None of these pros or cons will take precedence over results, however, and so far this season, Howe has been delivering them: unbeaten in league and cup, despite playing much of their opener against Southampton with ten men and spending much of their victory over Tottenham Hotspur under pressure before masterfully slicing them open to score the winner on the counter-attack.

That game spelt out that Newcastle are both a limited side, but one with enviable firepower; swap Newcastle’s front line with Tottenham’s on the day, and you’re probably looking at a paddling.

Maintaining that clinical edge throughout the season is going to be the key for Howe from here, but their attacking ability has never really been in doubt. They scored just one goal fewer than Liverpool last season and had the best goal difference outside the top three, yet still finished down in 7th.

Having fallen eight points short of the top four last season and seen how his squad struggled to deal with the addition of European football, Howe might secretly be relieved that Chelsea pipped Newcastle into sixth last season and that Manchester United claimed the final European place by winning the FA Cup. He should therefore have an easier job keeping his players on their sharpest league form than most of his rivals at that end of the division.

That gives Howe an advantage in the one area in which he will ultimately be judged – and little excuse if things fall short.

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