Alan Shearer has voted to “replace” Eddie Howe in response to calls from some for the Newcastle manager to be sacked following a poor start to the Premier League season.
Newcastle are in 11th place with five wins and three draws out of their opening 11 games this season, but they have a strong showing in the Champions League with three wins out of four and are aiming to retain the trophy by reaching the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Read more: Silva emerges as favorite in unfair sack race, but awkward interlude awaits Slott and Howe
And Shearer believes Howe won’t be under pressure for “a long time” if he has already achieved what he has already achieved at Newcastle, ending a 70-year trophy drought and leading them back to the Champions League last season.
However, he voted for “changes” such as tactics, formation and personnel to improve the Premier League standings.
“We know the rules of football, but he definitely has a lot of assets,” he said on the Rest Is Football podcast.
“He’s done things for Newcastle that others haven’t been able to do. As far as the great managers that have been at Newcastle, no, not for me, not for a long time.
“I don’t think the board will panic. They will look at what he has done in the past and his form in the Champions League. They will look again at the fact that they are already in the quarter-finals against Carabao.”
“Yeah, the league has been disappointing, especially on the road. And my prediction is that we might see a change or two, whether it’s a system change or one or two personnel changes this weekend, because you can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again. And he’s not stupid enough to do that.”
“But no, not for a long time for me, Eddie, because of what he achieved at Newcastle.”
More Newcastle coverage from F365
👉 Bolock on set pieces, here are the 5 best goals from open play in the Premier League this season
👉 Saliba and Lamence named the most overrated players for each Premier League club
👉 Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle will play in the World Cup play-off XI
The Newcastle legend went on to highlight some of the factors he believes have hindered Newcastle’s progress this season.
“That’s no excuse, but you have to look at the facts of what happened to Newcastle in the summer,” he added.
“What we’ve always seen with Eddie is that his teams have always had great energy. That’s going to change a little bit because of the personnel that they’ve had to bring in for reasons that we know. Isak’s situation. Wissa hasn’t played the same way yet. Eddie’s teams have always had great energy.”
“For all these reasons, Eddie Howe should and will be given time at Newcastle to get into shape for the league. There is no doubt in my mind that he is the manager.”
