'Quickly went sour': Eddie Howe now opens up about the sudden departure of Newcastle United's sporting director Paul Michell
For the second summer in a row, Newcastle United have been left to navigate the transfer window without a sporting director in place.
Last year, Paul Mitchell arrived mid-window, but all of Newcastle's planning - to not buy anybody - had been done, so Mitchell's impact was minimal. Now, a year later, the former Monaco man has already left his post at the club, choosing to step down at the start of this month.
Now, Eddie Howe has revealed how he had no idea his resignation was coming down the line, saying that he was on holiday when he got the news.
How are fans meant to have any confidence in the off-field operations of the club when the manager doesn't even know that one of his key men is thinking about leaving the club?
Eddie Howe was blindsided by Paul Mitchell's decision to leave
Speaking to The Shields Gazette, Eddie Howe talked about how he was blindsided by Mitchell's departure.
“Yeah, well, my phone exploded. I was just in, I think I was enjoying my second day of my holiday. And that quickly went sour because then suddenly I'm like, oh.
“So yeah, it was the second day. I didn't know. It was a complete surprise to me and a big disappointment because we had stability.
“We were planning the summer ahead. And then, you know, that's a big upheaval internally that we've been through before with Dan Ashworth leaving. So I've experienced before, and I know sort of the cost that that departure comes with.
“It wasn't, wasn't a good first couple of days on holiday for me!”
Paul Mitchell isn't likely to be remembered fondly on Tyneside
Newcastle have really been struggling to get deals over the line this summer, and you can't help but wonder if things would have been different if Paul Mitchell had just held on until the end of the window to help the club get some signings in.
Eddie Howe is now having to split his focus between helping the recruitment team and getting the players ready for the new season.
To say that Mitchell has left the club high and dry is an understatement, and given that his legacy now looks to be not offering Alexander Isak a new deal when he was promised one, we're not too disappointed to have seen the back of him, but the timing of his departure really is the mark of the man. He'll not be on any Geordie's Christmas list, that's for sure.
