 At the time, Eales was telling anyone who would listen that Newcastle were getting a gem, a player tailor-made to flourish in the Premier League. So, what happened under Rafa Benitez and then Steve Bruce mystified Eales. Under Howe, however, Almiron has gone from laughing stock to gilt-edged stock. The same can be said about Joelinton, and there have been sizeable improvements in the consistency of several others over the one year Howe has been in charge. But there is a){kind=link}
The Saudi takeover leaves a bad smell but Newcastle manager Eddie Howe, who has been in the job for a year, is the main reason Toon fortunes have been transformed
First things first, the situation in which a grand, old footballing institution such as Newcastle is owned by a financial arm of the Saudi state should still turn the stomach of anybody without an allegiance to the club.
And the stomachs of plenty of those who do have an allegiance, to be honest. Just because Saudi involvement in professional sport is becoming more and more widespread – Britain’s number tennis player Cameron Norrie has just signed up for an exhibition event in Riyadh – does not make it any more palatable.
But while Eddie Howe has shown himself to be one of a multitude of sportsmen and women who couldn’t care less where their lavish remuneration comes from, he has also shown himself to be as talented a homegrown coach as there is out there. Perhaps even as talented a coach as there is out there.
The news that the owners are putting in another £70million reinforces the importance of serious financial backing when it comes to making a club a success.