I really relish taking part in the discussions on the comments section of The Mag.
Living deep in the vines of South West France, with a distinct lack of pub culture locally, it’s the only way I can enjoy “à bit of craic with the lads (and lasses!)”.
Of course, it’s great to chew the fat with like-minded people but I have to say that I enjoy my interactions with those who disagree with my point of view just as much.
It would be a rather boring world if we were all in agreement all of the time. Briefly, during and just after the takeover by the current owners, that was the case but, gradually, differences have arisen with this season’s poor league showing leading to increasingly deep divisions amongst the fan base.
Undoubtedly, the most controversial topic in recent months has been the position of our Head Coach/Manager, Eddie Howe. I am very much an Eddie man. I greatly admire his obvious integrity, his deft and consistent handling of the media, his relentless work ethic and the faith and support he offers, week in week out, to his players – no one gets thrown under the bus by Nice Guy Eddie!
Having said that, however, I can recognise and accept that he has his faults/weaknesses – his almost total insistence on sticking to the 4 3 3 formation, his rather formulaic use of subs and his apparent reluctance to give youth a chance.
My biggest criticism of him would be that last one – the seeming lack of trust in the Under 21 fringe players. This, for me, was nowhere better demonstrated than in the return Champions League tie against Qarabag when every man and his dog expected at least Neave and maybe also Shahar to be given a rare start, only for them to be ignored again.
This is a conundrum that I can’t explain satisfactorily. I can understand that things haven’t gone so well this season. We haven’t been winning consistently and we’re not playing with confidence so perhaps that’s not the right environment in which to be blooding young players. But we “possed” Qarabag in the first leg and the return seemed to be the ideal game to bring a couple of the young lads in.
My other thought is that, as Eddie sees these “kids” regularly in training, he has come to the conclusion that they just aren’t good enough. Whilst I can accept that, in general, the level of our reserves isn’t as high as it needs to be to begin supplying regular first team players, the performances of these youngsters – when they have had the odd cameo appearance – have seemed perfectly acceptable to me so far.
So, is Eddie anti youth? This was an accusation made specifically by one poster on The Mag commenting section in relation to one of the most controversial decisions made by the club since the takeover – the sale of local lad Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest. This particular poster is one that I often disagree with but I respect their opinion and appreciate that they always explain their reasoning. That’s what forums like The Mag should always be about!
The accusation, in this case, is that Eddie has always overlooked youth players and never rated Elliot highly enough to bother keeping him. When I disagreed I was asked to prove my point, which is where the idea for this article came from- so here goes!
Newcastle United sold Yankuba Minteh to Brighton for a reported £33 million and Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest for £35 million at the end of June 2024. In the previous three seasons, Elliot Anderson had made 53 first team appearances for the club:
none 21/22 – on loan at Bristol City
27 in 22/23 – 22 league 1 FA 4 EFL
26 in 23/24 – 21 league 2 FA 1 EFL 2 CL
After a successful season with Bristol Rovers,where he seems to almost singlehandedly secure them promotion to League One – he returned to St James’ Park and established himself in the first team squad. Anderson’s development continued in the 2023/24 season with an increased first team presence, starting 4 matches, and making substitute appearances in the other 5 Premier League matches, before he was sidelined for 4 months – from 23 October to 25 February – with a lower back injury (a stress fracture).
So, 26 appearances in the first team, including 2 in the Champions League, for a 21 year old who had 4 solid months out of contention due to injury. This is for a young lad who plays in the same position as our star player, Bruno Guimaraes. Hardly a record that suggests that the manager didn’t rate him and would be anxious to get rid of him.
Another poster added to the discussion I was having to say that Eddie should have made it a resigning issue in order to keep Anderson. The problem was, though, that the club was set to be in breach of PSR and had to act decisively to recover the situation. Who else could be sold for that sort of money (ED: Pure profit, taking into account their respective book values at the time) that we didn’t need? Bear in mind that we already had Bruno playing in Elliot’s position.
This was the 2023/24 Senior squad:
1 Martin Dúbravka
2 Kieran Trippier
3 Paul Dummett
4 Sven Botman
5 Fabian Schär
6 Jamaal Lascelles
7 Joelinton
8 Sandro Tonali
9 Callum Wilson
10 Anthony Gordon
11 Matt Ritchie
13 Matt Targett
14 Alexander Isak
15 Harvey Barnes
17 Emil Krafth
18 Loris Karius
19 Javier Manquillo
22 Nick Pope
23 Jacob Murphy
24 Miguel Almirón
28 Joe Willock
29 Mark Gillespie
33 Dan Burn
36 Sean Longstaff
37 Bruno Guimaraes
In all seriousness, who is there on that list who we could afford to lose and would have brought in the same sort of profit? For me, the only realistic suggestions were Joelinton, Tonali, Gordon, Isak and Bruno. All senior players crucial to the team at that time with no obvious replacement.
I have also seen many suggestions that the club should have done nothing about it and simply taken the hit from UEFA but clubs that breach UEFA’s Financial Sustainability Regulations (FSR) can face severe penalties, including fines, restrictions on player registrations, and potential disqualification from European competitions.
Aston Villa is set to face a significant UEFA fine at the end of the season for breaking the squad cost rule, which restricts spending on player wages, transfers, and agent fees to 70% of their revenue. They previously incurred a fine of £5.2 million for a similar breach last summer so this time around it is expected to be something significantly higher.
Everton and Forest have both had points deductions for PSR breaches. Everton (2023/24 season) were deducted 10 points which was reduced to 6 on appeal) and Nottingham Forest’s 4 point deduction in 2024 led to the sale of Brennan Johnson which took place after 30 June deadline so was unable to help them out.
Juventus was banned from UEFA competitions for the 2023-24 season due to breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, which are part of UEFA’s financial regulations.
Just imagine what the Qatari poodles also known as UEFA and the Premier League would love to do to the Saudi project in NE England! No, ignoring regulations and inviting our masters’ dire prognostications is hardly an option.
In summary, I would agree that the sale of one of England’s brightest prospects was a tragedy for the club. However, the record would suggest that he was very much valued by the manager and was establishing himself as a first team presence but battling, in his last season, against a very tricky and slow-healing injury. He was caught up in a situation, not of our manager’s making nor of his responsibility to remedy, where the only realistic solution was his sale in order to balance the books.