'Time to change': Everyone's favourite pundit Richard Keys now says Newcastle need to move on from Eddie Howe

Light the torches and gather your pitchforks, Richard Keys has been talking about Newcastle United again.

It's not often that when Richard Keys speaks about Newcastle it goes down well amongst the Toon Army, but he might have some supporters on his side this time.

Mr Keys has been writing on his blog about the state of the FA Cup and how it needs reformatting, and during his rant, he got onto the subject of Newcastle's performance against Manchester City.

Keys called the game 'awful' and claimed, rightly so, that Manchester City didn't break a sweat. Despite that, he goes on to actually be complimentary about Newcastle, for a moment.

Richard Keys was surprised by the job Eddie Howe did last season

"City/Newcastle was awful. City didn’t need to break sweat. The Toon were never in the game. They’ve gone backwards. The project up there has stalled. They need a re-boot as well.

"I’m genuinely sorry that all the hard work Eddie Howe and his staff have put in has come to nothing. Another year has passed without silverware. How many more campaigns can they waste?

"I was never convinced that Howe was the right man for Newcastle, but in fairness he did a terrific job last season. It was great to see them mixing with the big boys again. He restored pride and belief, but it’s time for change if they want to push on.

"I really don’t think Howe can take them to the next level. His team reflect his personality. They’re ‘nice’. And nice doesn’t win at the very top. You need some devil. City can be easy on the eye, but they’ve got devil. All the best teams have.

"My answer? Jose Mourinho. Few people know more about winning than he does. He’s done it everywhere he’s been - including ‘half a trophy’, as he puts it, at Spurs. What madness that was - sacking him in the week of a final."

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What is it with journalists and pundits and their obsession with Jose Mourinho? He's past it, we don't want him here. He's clearly fallen out of love with the game and the game as moved beyond him.

Unfortunately, it seems like an inevitability that he'll end up at St James' Park someday and if that happens then I will be hoping and praying that I'm wrong, but I just don't see it working.

As for moving on from Eddie Howe already? That's exactly what's wrong with football these days. Clubs and fans are too reactionary. One bump in the road and it's "sack the manager", and clubs all too often go along with it and it's just a stream of managers who don't get enough time to put their stamp on teams.

Eddie Howe still has a bucket load of Steve Bruce players in his squad and even players from well before Steve Bruce. A new manager would still have the same crop to work with, but they'll get to add a couple of their own, then get sacked, then the next man in has another crop of players that aren't his, then adds a couple of their own ... ad infinitum.

Let's give the stability approach a good go first before we start Watfording about the place.