Imagine the scenes? Eddie Howe certainly has. The Newcastle United boss has long pictured what it would be like to end the Magpies’ crippling wait for silverware. Not for his own ego, but because of what it would mean to the club, the city and the supporters. Close friend Steve Fletcher knows that better than most.
“He’s put his whole heart and soul into Newcastle,” Howe’s former team-mate and coaching colleague revealed to ChronicleLive. “He’s moved his family up. There have been no half measures.
“He said to me he loves it up there. He loves the fans. He loves the city. You can see how passionate he is, how much hunger and desire he has to achieve and leave a legacy at the club.
“That legacy would be to win some silverware. It was incredible getting into the Champions League, but he has a burning desire deep inside to give the Newcastle fans a trophy, which they have craved for a long time. There is nothing driving him on more.”
So many have shared that dream, of course, and come so close. Joe Harvey, the last Newcastle boss to win a trophy of note, suffered a League Cup final defeat in 1974. Kevin Keegan’s side agonisingly missed out on the Premier League title in 1996. Kenny Dalglish and Ruud Gullit led Newcastle to the FA Cup final in 1998 and 1999 respectively, but ultimately came up short at Wembley.
However, far from putting managers off, this drought has had the opposite intoxicating effect. In fact, the idea of delivering success for Geordies very nearly convinced Harry Redknapp to take the job in the Ashley era.
Redknapp remains the last Englishman to win a major honour in the game and Howe has credited his former Portsmouth boss as someone who has ‘really supported him’. It was Redknapp, for instance, who rightly predicted that Newcastle fans would ‘love him there’ before Howe was even formally appointed in 2021. Now, three-and-a-half years on, Redknapp would love nothing more than to see Howe end the club’s crippling wait for silverware.
“Eddie is very studious, has got a good way with him and knows the game,” he told ChronicleLive. “He’s done fantastically. I have always supported him. I always thought he had a big future when he was at Bournemouth. What he did there was incredible.
“He’s since gone to Newcastle and embraced it all. It’s a great club to manage with great fans. It’s fantastic to see him getting to a final again with a chance to actually win a trophy. It’s been so long coming and he will be a real hero, especially if he can win a trophy. It’s not going to be easy – that’s for sure – but they have got a chance.
“I’d love to see him do it. The Geordies deserve that. They support their team through thick and thin, and they deserve a trophy. It would be wonderful if they could do it.”
Newcastle are certainly getting closer to finally ending 70 years of hurt and Howe has led the Magpies to more Carabao Cup finals than every other manager in the club’s history combined. That is a statement worth repeating.
However, far from being content with reaching another Wembley showpiece, the players will go into Sunday’s game genuinely believing they can take the final leap against Liverpool – even with some big-name absences – because that is the mentality Howe has bred at the club. Charlie Daniels has seen that mindset first-hand, after previously coming up to watch Newcastle train, and the former Bournemouth defender described Howe as ‘more than a manager’.
“He has galvanised that club,” the Newcastle fan explained to ChronicleLive. “He has brought in some really good players and what he does best is get a group of players and moulds them together with a common goal, which is to improve every day and get as far as they can.
“I’m just really pleased that he’s got to another final and now, hopefully, it’s the last bit. Not only for him but for the club, for the fans. It’s a club that deserves silverware. It’s been so long that hopefully it’s Eddie who leads them to glory.”
Hundreds of fans from all over the globe have been leaving personalised messages for Eddie Howe and his players ahead of the Carabao Cup final. You can send your own message of support here through our Cheer Map
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/deep-inside-yasir-al-rumayyan-31190841
