Howe’s worked wonders… he’s Manager of the Year

It’s NO surprise where Manchester City find themselves as the last weekend of the season comes around. With the best group of players in the history of English football — and the money they’ve spent — I would have expected them to be champions. But I would argue that Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe has to be in the reckoning for Manager of the Year. Who are the big surprises of this year? this Newcastle team. It’s not just about their top-four finish but the manner in which they’ve achieved it. they’ve gone out there all guns blazing every week, playing an excellent, ambitious brand of football. I remember being really struck with them right back in August, when they went to Anfield. their style of football said to Jurgen Klopp’s team: ‘Come on, we’re going to take you on at your own game.’ Not many teams say that to Liverpool at Anfield. something told me on that occasion that Newcastle were going to be ambitious. they weren’t going out with some cautious counter-attacking plan. It was, ‘We’re going to try to outgun you, we feel that we can outscore you’. that’s an incredibly admirable attitude, which they’ve now been rewarded for. We also have to look at what Eddie has done with players who have performed beyond what we thought was their level. Miguel Almiron and Joelinton, to name but two. You might well have said in the past that they were not good enough to play in the Premier League. But that’s not been the case this year. You can say of almost every player in that squad that Eddie has made them better. the challenge now is the expectation level. Newcastle will go out and spend more this summer and will no longer be the outsiders, barging their way into the top four. Extra pressure and scrutiny will come, as it does for all the top sides. But for now, Newcastle can reflect on a fine contribution to another wonderful season for our football.