Browsing: Newcastles

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe will go head-to-head with a manager he believes should be considered one of the game’s greats as he prepares to lock horns with Jose Mourinho.

The 62-year-old Portuguese takes his Benfica side to St James’ Park, where his mentor Sir Bobby Robson remains such a favourite, in the Champions League on Tuesday ready to resume hostilities with Howe.

Asked if Mourinho should be considered one of the all-time greats, the 47-year-old Howe said: “I think you have to. Look what he did.

“I’m not just saying that because we are playing them tomorrow, I genuinely believe it. The impact he made initially was incredible, really. He had an aura around him and his teams. His teams were always very difficult to beat.

“I remember watching his teams in my very early days as a head coach, when I was looking to mould the way I wanted to play and what I was thinking about coaching-wise, he had a big impact.”

Mourinho may have a certain affinity with Newcastle because of his links with Robson, but St James’ has not always been a happy hunting ground for him with 12 visits in all competitions with Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham resulting in three wins, five defeats and four draws.

– Gascoigne says he will not stop drinking: ‘I cannot change’
– Arsenal’s Arteta talks up Simeone ahead of Atlético clash
– How Man United’s Rashford revitalized career at Barcelona

Howe has fond memories of his first encounter with the then-Chelsea boss when his newly-promoted Bournemouth side won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in December 2015, although that remains his only victory against him.

Howe said: “Any Premier League win is savoured regardless of where you are. It’s so difficult to do it in the Premier League and especially at that stage of my career.

“Chelsea were one of the strongest teams in the league and there were some great wins for us that, at the time, being Bournemouth manager, gave us the belief that we could compete in the Premier League.

“Being a newly-promoted team, you need every shot of confidence you can get. I look back fondly on those games.

“But obviously this game is very different. It’s a different kind of experience. We now — I said this before the previous Champions League game — we’re desperate to qualify in the competition.

“We know the importance of our home games, so after the disappointment of Barcelona, we’re looking forward to this one.”

Newcastle bounced back from their opening defeat by Barcelona with a 4-0 win at Union Saint-Gilloise, while Benfica have lost their opening two fixtures to Qarabag and Chelsea.

The Magpies are sweating on the fitness of key midfielder Sandro Tonali, who missed training on Monday through illness and is considered to be “touch and go” by Howe with Lewis Miley and Jacob Ramsey standing by.

Meanwhile, Mourinho spoke of his love for St. James’ Park and how he revels playing there.

“I told them [Benfica players] that it’s beautiful even as an opponent it’s beautiful. We have to be strong enough to cope with it. We have to be ready to suffer on the pitch because it’s going to be difficult for us,” he told a news conference.

“I adore to play here. Even as a rival, it’s fantastic to play here. It’s an incredible atmosphere. It’s not just the stadium, it’s the club, the history, the passion of the fans, the economic power that allows them to emerge from a difficult situation and win for the first time in decades, as they did the League Cup.

“That allows them to play two seasons in the Champions League. They’re a team close to greater things, which these people deserve. The culture of Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham is different from this area. I love playing here. I told the players that even as opponents, it’s fantastic to play here.”

Information from ESPN’s Adriana Garcia contributed to this report.

Source link

Sep 21, 2025, 01:03 PM ET

Eddie Howe admitted his Newcastle team will be a different attacking side this season without Alexander Isak, after watching the 0-0 draw at his former club Bournemouth.

It was the third goalless draw in a row away from home for Howe’s side and the head coach says other players must now step up to fill the void left by Isak’s move to Liverpool.

Howe said: “It’s three 0-0s away from home for us, which is really uncommon with our attacking style.

“I think just naturally we’re going to be a different team attacking-wise this year without Alex.”

Following Isak’s £125 million ($168.4m) switch, Newcastle acted quickly to bring in Yoane Wissa, who is expected to miss the next month with injury, and Nick Woltemade, who led the line at the Vitality Stadium in a game of very few chances.

“I thought Nick played really well today,” Howe said. “I thought he was very effective with his footwork and his link play.

“But we just need to know and get used to him and his style more and get more runners off him because he’s very good in that respect.

“I’m hopeful we’re evolving to a different team, hopefully a better team, but it may take a bit of time.”

Eddie Howe admitted Newcastle are trying to adapt to a new style without star striker Alexander Isak. Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images

On the plus side for Howe, it is now four clean sheets in five games this season — no mean feat against in-form Bournemouth, who managed just two shots on target to the visitors’ one.

Andoni Iraola’s side did have the ball in the net when David Brooks lashed in Evanilson’s cut-back in the first half but it was ruled out for a marginal offside by VAR.

Newcastle’s best effort came at the end of a slick move involving Woltemade and Sandro Tonali to tee up Jacob Murphy for a shot from a tight angle which Djordje Petrovic turned around the post.

– Bournemouth, Newcastle play out 0-0 bore draw
– ‘Favourite footballer’: Scholes, Grealish hail Pedri
– First-month grades for all 20 Premier League teams

“We respected each other a lot,” Iraola said. “It was very different from the last Bournemouth versus Newcastle games.

“If there was a team closer to scoring, I think it was Bournemouth.

“In some games we’ve been more brilliant and we’ve made more of a difference, but we’ve been competitive in every game.

“Even the game we lost against Liverpool, we were there until the last minute. Today, it was a different kind of game, very close.”

Iraola claimed Newcastle defender Malick Thiaw should have been sent off for a challenge on Ryan Christie, having already been booked.

“The Newcastle bench decided to take him out, it’s a clear second yellow,” the Spaniard said. “I don’t know if it would make a difference because there wasn’t much [time] remaining.”

Source link

Sep 12, 2025, 06:26 AM ETNewcastle United boss Eddie Howe has admitted his relationship with Alexander Isak became “difficult” after…