Eddie Howe has decided to leave Newcastle after nearly five years in charge, with the 48-year-old stepping away following discussions with the club's hierarchy and weeks of privately considering his future.
The decision became public today, but the process behind it stretches back to the final day of last season. Newcastle lost to Fulham, and Howe questioned whether it was time for a change. Two days later, talks took place and everyone at the club left feeling aligned that he would continue. A number of weeks later, however, Howe began to consider a potential departure.
After a family holiday, he returned for pre-season and raised the same point again. That came in a period when Newcastle were already dealing with significant change around the squad, having sold Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon and also faced Bruno Guimarães wanting to move to Arsenal. Howe had still been described as being all in, but the latest conversations made clear his thinking had shifted.
How the situation changed
Last April, Howe was hospitalised with pneumonia, and last week reporters picked up that he looked weary at the pre-season friendly against Gateshead. Last night, the message was relayed to his backroom staff as they landed back in Newcastle from the pre-season defeat at Bristol City. By then, Newcastle had already started working on a replacement while Howe remained in post temporarily.
The club has asked Howe to stay until a successor is appointed, which gives Newcastle some short-term continuity even as it prepares for a major change. Howe's exit leaves the club facing one of its biggest decisions in recent years, with a head coach who had taken the team as far as he could in his own view now stepping aside after a long spell in charge.
