Better than Howe & Iraola: Newcastle could hire “one of the best managers ever”

Newcastle United have been on quite the journey with Eddie Howe, but it feels like the title-winning coach’s days at St. James’ Park are numbered.

14th in the Premier League and struggling for form, the Magpies’ season is fizzling out, too high to be threatened by the relegation dogfight yet losing faith in the jam-packed battle for European qualification.

Howe has worked wonders at St. James’ Park, but it does feel like his system has gone stale, with correspondent Craig Hope saying that the Magpies “look like a team who has forgotten how to win, how to score. They need this season done.”

This is a far cry from the Howe way, all energy and passion and intensity that sweeps away so many opponents. Now Newcastle are being drowned by their own lethargy, and a clean break might be best for all parties.

Newcastle prepare for Howe meeting

PIF have maintained that they will not be hasty. And rightly so. Howe won the Carabao Cup last season and has led Newcastle out for their second Champions League campaign in three seasons. Football Insiders’ Mick Brown has said that it’s “increasingly likely” that Howe will be sacked after an end-of-season review.

Still, it’s not working, and with Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola supposedly interested in moving to Tyneside when his contract expires this summer, there’s a big decision to be made.

However, Iraola, 43, might be an enterprising and fresh-thinking coach, but he is also inexperienced at the highest level, and that is where United are climbing toward. Would he really be an upgrade on Howe?

Instead, Newcastle could edge toward the audacious and appoint Jose Mourinho, with reports from earlier this month confirming that the Portuguese manager is open to getting the job.

Mourinho, 63, is one of the most infamous Premier League managers of all time, but he is a natural-born winner, and he could provide the tonic to cure Newcastle of their current issues.

Why Mourinho would be the perfect Howe successor

“The Special One” has managed Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, winning three league titles and a host more across his long career in English football (Tottenham notwithstanding).

This is what Newcastle need right now, a manager to lift them up and remind the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali that they are among the most talented players in Europe.

Anthony Gordon is currently linked with a transfer to Bayern Munich, and it does feel like the German giants could secure the England winger’s signature in a £75m deal this summer.

But Mourinho – described by Mauricio Pochettino as being “one of the best managers in football history” – could use that to his advantage, using his pull power to attract a high-profile replacement while convincing the other superstars at the club to stay put.

That’s not to say that Iraola wouldn’t be a brilliant appointment, but considering the place that United find themselves right now, maybe it would be worthwhile to hire a manager who is accomplished at the top of the global pyramid – and with a wealth of experience in the Premier League for teams fighting for Europe.

Iraola has the wind in his sails as a successful Premier League manager, but the Spaniard might not represent the progressive upgrade that supporters want on Tyneside, especially when considering that a legend such as Mourinho could take Howe’s place.

Mourinho might not be the perfect project manager – he certainly wouldn’t spend a decade at the SJP helm, if appointed – but he could be the perfect coach to guide the club back into the ascendancy and toward title-winning success over the next few seasons.

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