Eddie Howe ‘deserves huge credit’ for revitalising Newcastle United, says Rio Ferdinand
Eddie Howe ‘deserves huge credit’ for revitalizing Newcastle and proving his doubters wrong, says Rio Ferdinand… with one pundit claiming ‘many people’ thought he would be out of a job by now – just to make them in the top four to have yacht
Rio Ferdinand believes Eddie Howe and his team at Newcastle deserve a lot of credit for the way he has breathed new life into the Magpies since taking over.
Howe’s Newcastle travel to Aston Villa for Saturday’s early kick-off, with the Magpies looking to grab every point they can on their way to a possible Champions League place.
Villa in form is led by Unai Emery, who was offered the Newcastle job in November 2021 before he got scared.
The Northeast club looked in a complete mess before Howe took the role, and now they could crack the top four.
“I think a lot of people thought he wouldn’t even be here if he got the job,” he told BT Sport before kick-off. Many people raised their eyebrows when he entered.
Eddie Howe deserves ‘massive credit’ for improving Newcastle’s lot
Rio Ferdinand heaped praise on the Magpies boss ahead of their trip to in-form Aston Villa
“They looked at managers like Emery, with the money coming in you’d think they’d go for a big name, but they went for Howe. He and his staff deserve enormous credit.’
The former Man United and West Ham man praised Howe’s “calmness” adding: “He’s very calm, he’s really measured, he doesn’t get too high when they have good results, he doesn’t get too low when they have a have a bad run. .
“There are a lot of non-negotiables, but that balance behind the scenes is important.”
Fellow expert Peter Crouch also added to the praise for Howe’s turnaround at St. James’ Park.
“What he is doing now at Newcastle is beyond the wildest dreams of even the owners who came here and planned to spend a lot of money,” said the former England striker.
“They were in a relegation battle, to be in the Champions League now is a huge turnaround.”
Crouch also said Howe’s new signings were one of the reasons for their success this season.
Peter Crouch praised Howe’s ability to take Newcastle from a ‘relegation battle’ into the top four
Crouch praised solid signings like Dan Burn who helped structurally improve the Magpies
The 42-year-old told BT Sport: ‘The purchases they have made have not gone in for [Jude] Bellingham, [Kylian] Mbappé, they’ve got players like Dan Burn, who’ve come in and done a good job, Kieran Trippier.’
Former Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given also believed Howe’s turnaround put them in a good position to hope for a place in Europe’s elite club competition next season.
Given said, “He says the right things at the right time. We keep pushing, why don’t we dream of the Champions League?’.
After the game against Aston Villa, Newcastle will receive Tottenham Hotspur next weekend, after which a trip to Everton will take place on Thursday evening, April 27.