Former Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has been linked with the Manchester United job and is among the favourites to replace Michael Carrick at Old Trafford.
Manchester United's decision makers are preparing to part ways with head coach Michael Carrick, continuing a cycle where the head coach becomes the fall guy for a club that is "rotten from the head down," from the Glazers to Sir Jim Ratcliffe to Jason Wilcox to the players.
Manchester United's struggles since Ferguson
Since Sir Alex Ferguson left 13 years ago, Manchester United have not come close to winning the Premier League despite the efforts of David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag, Ruben Amorim and now Carrick, despite hundreds of millions of pounds being spent on the squad.
The Red Devils have not been a genuinely top team since Mourinho's tenure, even though Ten Hag delivered two trophies during his two-and-a-half-year stay at Old Trafford.
Why Howe stands out among contenders
Of the contenders said to be in line to replace Carrick, Howe is that man. Antonio Conte is a serial winner with Juventus, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Napoli but a volatile appointment who rarely spends more than two years in any post, while Julian Nagelsmann won trophies with Bayern Munich but struggled in the Germany job and has no Premier League experience. Unai Emery won't leave Aston Villa.
Howe turned Newcastle from dreamers to achievers with a mix of very good recruitment and excellent coaching, with a number of players he inherited from Steve Bruce, who left with Newcastle in 19th place, becoming integral pillars of his side. From the moment he set foot in Newcastle in 2021, taking over a side that looked certainties for relegation, Howe's attacking philosophy put the Magpies back on the front foot and recaptured a fanbase lost in apathy.
Howe's track record and fan opposition
In five years, Newcastle qualified for the Champions League twice, reached two cup finals and won the Carabao Cup, ending a 70-year domestic trophy drought. While the project ran out of steam last season, it was widely accepted that his next role would be a big one.
Despite this, fierce opposition from Manchester United fans online is surprising and disappointing, with Howe described as the "most underwhelming appointment in the last 50 years," "a low IQ manager" who "failed at Newcastle" and is being pushed because he is English. Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane backed Howe as the best man for the job back in January, saying: "I'd go with Eddie Howe. I like him. I like what he's done. He's managed a lot of games. When his teams are at it, they'll play good football. He has his critics, but I like what he's done at Newcastle."
Howe is said to be Wilcox's preferred candidate, which will rankle with Manchester United fans who want to see the back of their technical director. He had huge power behind the scenes at Newcastle and his internal struggle with sporting director Paul Mitchell was well documented, but he outlasted the former Monaco and RB Leipzig chief.
Howe wanted to take a break from football after leaving Newcastle in July, but the Manchester United job would be impossible for any ambitious coach to turn down. His record suggests that, given time, he will have Manchester United tracking upwards and playing football their fans will respond to. He is the manager they need, but perhaps not the one they deserve.
