Eddie Howe 'forever an adopted Geordie' as Magpies boss presented with Freedom of Newcastle
Eddie Howe paid tribute to the “special” Geordie public as the Newcastle United boss accepted the city’s highest civic honour.
12 months on from the club’s historic Carabao Cup final triumph, the NUFC manager has now been presented with the Freedom of Newcastle.
He was nominated for the top award after last year’s famous 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Wembley, which secured the club’s first domestic trophy in 70 years.
On the anniversary of the cup final on Monday, March 16, city council leader Karen Kilgour and lord mayor Henry Gallagher travelled to the team’s training ground to present his Freedom of the City scroll.
Howe joins the likes of Alan Shearer, Jackie Milburn, and Sir Bobby Robson in holding the honorary title, which is bestowed on eminent individuals or groups who have made a major contribution to life on Tyneside.
He said: “It’s amazing, it’s not something you ever consider at the start of when you become a football manager that you can consider that happens. I’m very, very grateful for the award and the honour.
“Whenever you receive an individual accolade it’s always a bit uncomfortable with me because it’s always about the team, the players, the staff. I’m just the name at the top so I always feel a slight awkwardness receiving it for myself, so I want everyone to know I’m receiving it on behalf of everyone at the club.
“The most important thing about what makes this city special is the people. The positivity you get, the love for the football club, the love for life, there’s always a positive outlook here which is different to some other regions in England.
“Very funny people, great sense of humour, great to be around, I don’t think you ever get bored in the company of people from Newcastle so it’s got that as a fundamental stand out. The fact that they love their football club, and that they’d do anything for their football club, just adds to it.”
The 48-year-old joined Newcastle in 2021, having previously managed Bournemouth, and took the Magpies back into the Champions League in his first full season in charge.
The club is hoping for more European success this week, travelling to Barcelona for the second leg of a finely poised last 16 tie.
Coun Kilgour, a St James’ Park season ticket holder, said: “Eddie Howe gave me one of the best days of my life as a Newcastle United fan and season ticket holder when Newcastle won the Carabao Cup, but it is the way that he has represented our club, and our city, on a global stage that makes him so special.
“His impact on the club is clear for all to see, but it is only Geordies here in Newcastle who can truly understand the impact he had on the city. He restored pride in our football club and brought success we had only previously dreamt of.
“Presenting him with Freedom of the City alongside the lord mayor will be one of my proudest moments as meader and he will forever be etched on the walls of our civic centre, and the hearts of every Geordie.”
The Freedom of the City status is purely ceremonial and also involves recipients having their name carved into the sandstone wall of the Civic Centre’s Banqueting Hall.
It is not the same as being a hereditary Freeman of Newcastle, a centuries-old group whose members must swear an oath to defend the city and have traditionally had special rights and duties – including the right to graze cattle on the Town Moor.
Coun Gallagher, also a lifelong Newcastle fan, added: “Eddie will forever be an adopted Geordie and has now literally written his name into Newcastle’s history books after the presentation on Monday.
“It was fitting this took place on the one-year anniversary of the Carabao Cup win. That day, and the parade that followed, showed just how important the club is to the city, and how the impact goes far beyond the pitch.
“Bruno said it best on the pitch. There were fans that had been born, and sadly died, without seeing the club have any success. Even to this day those words bring a tear to my eye.
“Eddie is right when he says the success is not just because of him, but I don’t believe it would have been possible without him. He is richly deserving of this honour, the highest that we as a council can bestow.”