'Howe will be hurting after Newcastle return to Europe ends in failure'

13 December 2023 , 22:44

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'Howe will be hurting after Newcastle return to Europe ends in failure'

Long after the final whistle, they were still there, singing his name, saluting his players. It was a heartbreaking night but so many Newcastle fans were not in the mood to weep.

They celebrated the journey they had been on, they paid tribute to Eddie Howe and a depleted squad that had been within touching distance of the promised land of Champions League knockout football.

But as he acknowledged the defiant loyalists serenading a manager who has brought this sort of epic, if painfully unsuccessful, occasion to St James’ Park, Howe knew.

He knew they had blown it. The difficulty of the Group of Death did not matter in that moment - Paris St Germain’s draw in Dortmund meant that had Newcastle held on to a first half lead given to them by Joelinton, they would have qualified for the last 16.

Now, they are not even in the Europa League. And, to put it quite bluntly, that is failure, that will hurt Howe for a long time. Don’t forget, for all the toughness of their European assignment this season, Newcastle - with their Saudi cash - are no plucky underdogs.

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There can be no sugar-coating the second half collapse, the second half disorganisation, the failure to take the chance that fell into their laps on the last leg of this odyssey.

But there WERE mitigating circumstances, there WERE positives to take at what are still early stages of this new era. Before they were both substituted during a disastrous second half, Anthony Gordon and 17-year-old Lewis Miley gave bold, exciting glimpses of what the future might hold here. Perhaps Howe withdrew then prematurely.

And there is no doubt that the physical strains of this season are already taking its toll on Howe’s personnel. (He was only able to name five outfield players on the bench.)

Also, after such a long absence, it will take Newcastle time to adjust to the harsh demands of combining Champions League with Premier League football.

For all those reasons, Newcastle fans felt compelled to sing Howe’s name and, for those supporters, this was just as much like a beginning of a journey rather than the end of one.

It might prove to be just that. It might prove to be just the start of a long and successful era in Europe for Newcastle. But for Howe, on an agonising might, it would not have felt like that.

Andy Dunn