Alan Shearer delivers Eddie Howe sack verdict amid Newcastle United 'stagnation' fear

The Magpies are having an up-and-down season, best summed up last week when they held Premier League leaders Liverpool to a 3-3 draw at St James’ Park before losing 4-2 at Brentford three days later.

Having won just two of their last 11 league games, United currently sit 12th in the table.

But having previously taken the team from battling relegation to qualifying for the Champions League in the space of 18 months, Shearer still has full faith in Howe.

Shearer wrote in The Athletic: “Howe cannot escape scrutiny. Ultimately, he is responsible for results and performances and neither look great. Within games, some of his substitutions have not helped matters.

“Unlike a year ago, there is no mitigation of a congested fixture list, fatigue or injury piling upon injury, because with the notable exception of Sven Botman, Howe more or less has a full squad to choose from. Motivation falls within his remit, too.

“Howe will be hurt and angry after Brentford. In public, he always protects his players and that was a game when nothing came back the other way.

“It means that Leicester City at home on Saturday will have an undercurrent of tension. Then it’s Brentford again in the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup, which now looks like a season-definer. After that, it’s Ipswich Town away. It feels like a pivotal spell.

“I don’t have any doubts about Howe still being the right man for Newcastle. He can and should lead the team forward.

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“After what he has done, not just pulling the team away from relegation and then straight into the Champions League, but in the way he has set standards and built an identity, he deserves time and patience. He needs support, because that identity is blurring. I don’t think there’s the mood — or the money — to make a change.”

Shearer highlighted the perceived lack of investment in the last two transfer windows, which has led to no major signings. Newcastle tried - and failed - to sign Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi.

It means Howe has “to conjure something from what he already has”, which Shearer says has led to the risk of stagnation.

He continued: “How do managers reinvent themselves? Well, they can innovate in training or they can bring in new coaches, but the most common method is through a turnover of players. When two or three come and go every year, the newbies change and lift things. They respond to the voices and faces and keep everyone on their toes.

“It sounds simple but that’s how it is when your recruitment is sound and coaching forward-thinking. We’ve seen under Howe that it can become a virtuous circle; new players drive standards, the old players raise their levels, there is competition and energy, the side improves. The manager has buy-in. He can say, “Look we’re progressing. Do what I tell you and you’ll get better.” When you win, there is no argument to any of that.

“The circle has unfolded at Newcastle. By standing still in the transfer market, they are overtaken. They are easier to work out by the opposition. Yes, there are fewer fitness concerns, but there is less in the way of competition and without the help of incomings, Howe has to conjure something from what he already has.

“Players who could and should have been moved on are still there. Stagnation is the risk, a marginal dropping off of percentages.”