Eddie Howe is back, quieter than usual but as diligent and nerdy as ever

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Eddie Howe is the Premier League’s king nerd.

He doesn’t treat the touchline like a catwalk; his version of haute couture is club-issued tracksuit and (black) trainers, an outfit he may very well sleep in. He doesn’t do tantrums or argy-bargy or bottle-chucking, just hands behind his back, twiddling with his wedding ring, a studious stare, a focus on the moment. For a bit of variation, he occasionally squats and jots down a note, but he is not a man of theatre.

To revise that statement, if he was a man of theatre it would be Harold Pinter — long silences, not much in the way of belly laughs, but still compelling. For the pantomime moments, he can call upon Jason Tindall who, after filling in for Howe for three matches and on his best behaviour, was back as the comedy baddie. After earning a third yellow card of the season, Tindall will serve a one-match suspension from the touchline, where it remains a case of one in, one out.

That kind of drama is not for Howe, whose idea of a good time is to watch back football matches. This kind of thing can be overplayed in sport, but in his case it is not; win or lose, it is the first thing he does after games. During his spell out of work after leaving Bournemouth in 2020, he travelled a lot — mainly to observe other clubs. What he most enjoyed, he said, was sorting “my training sessions into digital format”.

When he spoke late last week about returning to his duties after contracting pneumonia, he didn’t mention sitting on the sofa wrapped in a duvet watching reruns of Friends, sipping Lucozade and demanding sympathy, which is surely what most of us would have done. He expressed it like this: “When I felt well enough, the laptop was out… I was watching Ipswich straight away and it was a great sign, because it made me feel better.”

Concerned players had messaged him. “I texted him just to see how he was and he just wanted to speak football, which is the gaffer all over,” defender Dan Burn said. According to Burn, on Howe’s first day back at the training ground he had told the squad, “Listen, I’m probably not going to be as physical or vocal out there”, and then within 30 seconds of the first drill “he’d already stopped it and was giving it some! With the gaffer, either you get it all or you get nothing.”

Dan Burn celebrates scoring Newcastle’s second goal against Ipswich (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Howe can talk about principles and philosophy, but he is not a philosophy manager. He does not believe clubs should worship at the altar of his genius or his way of playing football, where compromise or pragmatism — which might actually help you pick up the odd point — are heresy. He does not try to persuade anybody that he has reinvented football and nor does he bamboozle you with managerial bulls***.

Yet, in his own way, Howe is a quiet revolutionary, although the revolution he has stirred at Newcastle United is far from quiet. From the 20th second onwards against Ipswich Town, the Gallowgate End was bellowing out “Eddie Howe’s black and white army” in honour of their leader’s comeback. They adore him here, this man of detail who has reminded them of what they are; ferocious, relentless and full of life. This man who has made them winners.

“It means so much,” he told The Athletic about his reception afterwards. “I’ve said from day one here that the biggest thing we can have is unity from top to bottom. Without that, the job becomes much more difficult. And if the supporters love the players and love the manager as well, it goes a long way to creating an atmosphere the players can express themselves in.

“I was focusing on the game, so I wouldn’t say it was emotional, but it’s been a very emotional few weeks. I’ve gone from highs to lows and you look at things differently and you appreciate everything a lot more. I appreciated being here. I appreciate everything to do with Newcastle. I appreciate the support I’ve had. And in a sense, that’s made me very emotional. But when it’s business time and it’s game time, you turn up. We’ve got our job to do.”

His return was necessary, timely and pleasingly low-key. Ipswich proved obdurate and then generous opponents — Newcastle’s 78 per cent possession was the highest by any team in a Premier League match this season — and their relegation was confirmed by this 3-0 defeat. Howe will have craved as little stress as possible and, not too long ago, the obvious rejoinder would be that he picked precisely the wrong club for that. Perhaps no longer.

Once Ben Johnson had been dismissed for two silly, soft yellow cards, it became the perfect game for Howe to ease his way back. What was striking about his role was how restricted it was. He took the big decisions — picking the team, deciding on the substitutions — but he did not implement all of them. For much of it, he either hung behind Tindall or was sitting on the bench. On Friday he had said, “I’m not 100 per cent in my body,” and here was the evidence.

When he stepped from the tunnel shortly before kick-off, he waved at nearby supporters and shook hands with Kieran McKenna and his staff. That was as animated as he got. Usually, he is a constant on the touchline; static, but always there, solid and reliable and unflappable, a kind of anti-Mikel Arteta. On this occasion, his appearances were restricted, even as the stadium celebrated goals from Alexander Isak, Burn and William Osula.

On the team’s lap of appreciation, Howe could be seen coughing.

How had it all felt? “The result makes a big difference,” he said. “I was lacking in energy today so JT (Tindall) took the reins on the touchline. My ability to shout is reduced, but I’m just pleased I could lead the team and be out there where I love to be. It wasn’t difficult because if I’m here I’m all in and leading the team. We over-egg the importance of the touchline because the players can’t hear what you’re saying anyway. You think they can, but they can’t.”

Burn didn’t dispute that. “It’s hard to hear him when we’re out on the pitch anyway, especially when I’m over the far side,” the England centre-half said. “I just try not to get in his line of vision!” That sentence was delivered with a laugh but there was a serious point to be made, too.

Newcastle have won the Carabao Cup, their first domestic trophy for 70 years. They have won 20 of their past 26 matches in all competitions and are back up to third in the Premier League. With four games to play, they have Champions League football at their fingertips and all of this is Howe’s work, the king nerd’s beautiful legacy.

“It’s the standards that he drives,” Burn said. “He doesn’t let anything slip. He’s our leader. It was very important to have him back.”

Additional reporting from Chris Waugh

(Top photo: Michael Driver | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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