Eddie Howe hints at harmony behind the scenes at Newcastle United as things look to be heading on track
There has been a lot of change behind the scenes at Newcastle United ever since the PIF-backed takeover was completed in 2021.
To say that the new ownership has had some teething problems off the pitch would be putting it mildly. While things on the field have progressed with a steady forward momentum, in the boardroom, it has been anything but a smooth journey.
We've had three CEOs and three sporting directors in four years already. Amanda Staveley was forced out by Darren Eales, who had to step down for health reasons and was replaced by David Hopkinson.
Dan Ashworth left the club as sporting director at the first sign of something 'better' even though it proved very much not to be the case, while the less said about Paul Mitchell, the better. But now we have Ross Wilson, who came in from Nottingham Forest with a sterling reputation.
Eddie Howe's words this morning suggest things hadn't been great at the club before
Eddie Howe only really seemed to have a positive relationship with Staveley and tolerated the rest. But it now sounds as though he has a good relationship with both Hopkinson and Wilson, which can only be good for the club as a whole. Howe spoke highly of both men in his press conference on Friday morning.
"Two brilliant additions. I have a lot more day-to-day contact with Ross than David but David has come in with a real energy, presence and ambition and that is a great thing for the long-term future of the football club. They really care about Newcastle and are fitting in really well."
It would be easy to read between the lines and come to the conclusion that there wasn't a lot of communication before their arrival, and given how often fans were left in the dark under Eales and Mitchell, it's not hard to imagine that Howe was also cut off from the decision-making, too.
We have been impressed by David Hopkinson so far, but it's too early to get carried away
There has to be harmony between every department to make the club work properly. It sounded like there hadn't been that harmony under Eales, and Hopkinson is far more hands-on and concerned with getting things right.
It's obviously too soon to tell if he'll ultimately deliver on this early promise, but it's so far so good.
Earlier this week, we praised Hopkinson for coming out and telling fans the difficult truth about the stadium, and we hope that he continues to be brutally honest, even if it's about things we don't want to hear. We'd rather hear the bad news than hear nothing at all.
