Please, make or break time for Newcastle United and Eddie Howe.
Don’t worry.
I have not joined the deranged group of people who, for whatever bizarre reason, think Newcastle United would be better off without Eddie Howe.
Form is temporary BUT class is permanent.
In my life as a Newcastle United supporter, Eddie Howe and Kevin Keegan (still can’t split them, so that’s out of order) are the two best managers NUFC have had, no arguments.
Sir Bobby Robson came a clear third, plus honorable mentions for the likes of Arthur Cox, Rafa Benitez and Chris Hughton.
While far too many people deserve dishonorable mentions, plus some who did well and/or simply faced almost impossible situations.
Anyway, back to Eddie Howe and Newcastle United at the moment.
This season is make or break when it comes to the Premier League.
As in, there will now be a push in the final third of the season that could potentially deliver a top five finish and Champions League qualification.
Before anyone says it’s already a total write-off, the facts say otherwise.
This season has been a story of inconsistency across virtually all Premier League clubs, with only rare exceptions. So any team that can put together a decent run of results tends to move up quite a few places in no time.
That brings me to now. It’s crunch time, I think.
In the space of about 76 hours it will have been a matter of make or break.
A home game at 5.30pm on Saturday against Brentford, then away to Spurs on Tuesday evening and a 7.30pm start.
As you can see in the Premier League table below, just nine points separate fourth and twelfth places ahead of Saturday’s games.
Premier League table as of Saturday February 7, 2026
If Eddie Howe and Newcastle United can get two wins and six points in the coming days, it will be game on again. Fully back in the mix to challenge for a top five finish in the last twelve Premier League games. With two points, NUFC would only be three or four points clear of the top five.
Two defeats, or even two draws, then I think Newcastle United and Eddie Howe will concentrate on the Champions League (2025/26 version) and FA Cup.
Four points from these Brentford and Spurs games, perhaps there can still be some hope of a top five challenge, but I think the reality is that we really need two wins to really get that confidence, belief and momentum flowing again.
Brentford are doing very well this season, but United are at home today, while only Wolves have won fewer Premier League home games than the two Spurs have won so far, while only West Ham and Wolves have lost more PL home games than the six Tottenham have lost.
Eddie Howe and Newcastle United continue to have terrible luck when it comes to injury rates, so they will have to dig deep, hoping to win their next two games and get us all looking up again.
#time #Eddie #Howe #Newcastle #United