“United We Stand, Divided We Fall” was the title of a 1970 hit single by Brotherhood of Man. Six years later they would hit the jackpot, after a few line-up changes, and were declared champions of Europe with “Save Your Kisses For Me”.
More than 24 hours after Newcastle United lost at the Stadium of Plight, there is no shortage of Magpies calling for the club to bid farewell to Eddie Howe.
This is the same Eddie Howe who, just nine months ago, masterminded our finest hour since the 1969 Fairs Cup victory.
The League Cup victory against Liverpool, Newcastle’s first win in a Wembley final in 70 years, brought unadulterated joy to every lucky member of the Toon Army in the stadium, to hundreds of thousands in the North East and to the wider Geordie diaspora.
That was then, this is now. Has there been a huge change in sentiment? Apparently yes.
Anyone visiting The Mag’s comments section can see a clear division among supporters. In Howe’s 49 months in power, it is by no means unprecedented for statements such as “he is past his sell-by date, he cannot take us any further, he is beyond his reach” to be broadcast.
On every previous occasion, he mocked such claims and silenced protests.
The trigger for this latest outburst of fear and anger was, of course, a poor performance and a one-goal defeat. Would there have been so much unrest if the match had ended 0-0 instead of being decided by an own goal? Probably not.
Would there have been OTT celebrations all over Geordieland if the shoe had been on the other foot and Big Dan Ballard had hit the ball into his own net to give us all three points? Almost certainly.
To the Toon Army, everything can seem black and white. Sometimes there have to be shades of gray. Probably not the legendary, but now that the dust has settled, think about this: the Mackems started at 2pm on Sunday and were unbeaten in the Premier League. We had won exactly once, against an Everton team that we made look terribly bad. Was a narrow loss on Wearyside such a big surprise?
In football, little is remembered except the result. Less than 24 hours before we finished second, the Woolwich played poorly but won 2-1 to continue their seemingly unstoppable march to the Premier League title. The points were secured by two Wolves own goals. Otherwise, a team that already looked doomed to finish bottom of the league would have denied the presumptive champions at least two points. None of that will be remembered when the man-boy from San Sebastian finally ends his specialty in failure. Not that I believe he will anyway.
Back to the Mags and the outpouring of misfortune. Supporters like to hand it out, but less like. In this age of clickbait, social media and online websites, any fan can be a widely read expert. No wonder Newcastle sporting director Ross Wilson told me last Wednesday that he hadn’t looked at things like that. Why would he?
I sincerely hope Eddie Howe has better ways to keep himself busy too. He certainly has plenty on his plate this season: a domestic trophy to defend, a Premier League challenge to pursue, a Champions League campaign with at least eight games to navigate (almost certainly ten or more after the Leverkusen draw) and the tantalizing prospect of restoring our legendary status in the FA Cup.
Add to that workload the serious disruption caused by the apparently sociopathic behavior of a Swedish striker, the long-term injury of his replacement and a series of other setbacks. Who in their right mind would expect everything in St James’ Park garden to be rosy in mid-December?
We are twelfth in the Premier League after sixteen games, just four points behind the teams in shared fifth place. In my view, there is no reason to argue for Eddie Howe to be replaced. He’s human, he makes mistakes, but he’s the most successful Newcastle United manager in this retiree’s life.
Every fan is entitled to his or her opinion on what has happened since last season ended with Champions League qualification and a shiny trophy cabinet finally cleared of cobwebs.
What I see is a first-team squad trying to come together despite the tough task of integrating Elanga, Ramsey, Thiaw, Ramsdale, Woltemade and Wissa, while established players like Hall, Livramento, Trippier, Osula, Botman, Krafth and now Burn have been or will be sidelined for months. Apologies if I missed anyone.
What makes matters even more difficult is the reality that our exceptional success in recent years has been built on exceptional team spirit. That was partly a result of no senior signings for three consecutive transfer windows.
Every change in the squad, every arrival or departure, can become a double-edged sword. Because we are competing on four fronts, including an extensive European tournament, the team had to be expanded. There was no alternative.
In 2006, Aston Villa fans produced a classic response to David “Jack” O’Leary’s accusation that they were fickle. He felt he was a hero when Villa won, and a villain when they lost. Funnily enough, that is the pinnacle for many supporters. Results are generally the benchmark. However, sometimes other factors play a role.
A banner draped from Holte End stated: “We’re not fickle. We just don’t like you”. It made me laugh.
Every morning when dawn breaks, every manager is one day closer to the exit. All I hope is that Eddie Howe, the most likeable manager in the Premier League, survives and thrives at Newcastle United for as long as he wants the job.
The next lines in that issue of Brotherhood of Man after ‘United we stand, divided we fall’ went like this:
‘And if our backs were ever against the wall
“We will be together, together, you and me.”
A show of unity from the home fans at St James’ Park on Wednesday evening would be a positive contribution to our season.
If you thought about O’Leary’s nickname, his teammates at Woolwich reportedly called him Jack. It came from the phrase “I’m fine, Jack,” which was used to describe people who act only in their own interests, even when it would be easy to help others. The phrase became the title of a 1959 Boulting Brothers comedy starring Peter Sellers and Ian Carmichael.
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