Eddie Howe is an elite manager and I can prove it

A lot of debate at the minute but Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe is an elite manager and I can prove it.

Over the past decade, dozens of managers have come and gone in the Premier League.

Below, I have highlighted the so-called “big six,” whose financial power makes fair comparison difficult.

Even though Howe’s win percentage exceeds managers at Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, and Manchester United, I have also noted some managers who have had seasons in the championship—and a clear picture emerges.

Among roughly 70 managers in that group, Howe’s win percentage stands at the very top.

This is elite level over-performance.

That’s why the idea that replacing him would automatically lead to improvement doesn’t just feel risky—it feels illogical.

Win percentage of managers

Take Carlo Ancelotti, one of the most decorated managers in modern football. Even he, with all his experience and pedigree, couldn’t produce a sustained upward trajectory at Everton with comparable resources. Success at this level is rare.

And yet, after this derby home defeat in the last match, there’s talk of turning on Eddie Howe.

If I were a Sunderland supporter, I’d be laughing. Not because of one result but because of the reaction to it.

Rival fans would love nothing more than to see Newcastle United destabilise itself by discarding a manager who has built genuine progress.

Right now we are a house of cards. I genuinely believe that if Eddie Howe goes, we will in all likelihood implode like Leicester and Everton, the two previous teams who tried to challenge the “big” six.

A derby defeat can be put right next time. Losing a manager of Howe’s calibre may take years to recover from. Just look at Tottenham when they got rid of Pochettino—they are still paying the price for that mistake.

Think we can do better than Eddie Howe? Think again.