99 Ed balloons
Howe has filled Toon with belief again and can keep them up now... but legacy goes pop without local kids
IT’S just under 100 days since Eddie Howe took on the Newcastle United job.
And with 99 days to go before the end of the season, Nobby Solano believes there are any number of reasons why the St James’ Park faithful should be grateful for his arrival.
Peruvian, and honorary Geordie, Solano backs Howe to assume legendary status on Tyneside if he can stop the club from plummeting back into the Championship.
Newcastle took a significant step towards safety with a sensational 3-1 defeat of Everton on Tuesday night.
That victory took them out of the relegation zone for the first time this season and offered genuine hope that the Saudi-backed club’s revival is not built on foundations of sand.
Solano said: “There’s some real belief again, I think that’s what Eddie Howe has delivered so far.
“No one has a crystal ball in football, no one can see into the future but Newcastle’s owners obviously count hugely in their favour.
“Newcastle are a club that are building, and I think Eddie is building the foundations of success.
“Newcastle fans haven’t celebrated winning anything for so long – I don’t think a couple more years of waiting for success will make too much difference.
“If you’re a Newcastle fan then I think you’re born with patience! And if Eddie
manages to keep the club up then I think he’ll already be a Newcastle legend.
“Those fans don’t forget things like that.
“It’s so important that the club moves away from this relegation situation because it gives more time in the summer to get interest from better players – the sort who can take the club to the next level.
“World-class players want to play in the Premier League – but if you go into the Championship it doesn’t matter who owns the club, you’ve got no chance.
“You can’t say that Newcastle are out of trouble because Norwich are winning games. But I think it’s probably between those two at the moment. I think it’s going to be a real struggle for Burnley and Watford.”
Newcastle spent heavily in January, arguably paying over the odds for the players that the club’s new owners hope will maintain their Premier League status.
But after two wins from two and an unbeaten run now stretching to four matches, there are distinct signs of a revival for a club which, by and large, hasn’t been challenging at the right end of the Premier League table for almost 20 years.
With so much cash behind them, those long-suffering supporters will hope that better days will arrive sooner rather than later.
And Solano, the current assistant boss of the Peru national team, would love to see a distinctly local flavour to any
North East revival.
“The club needs to open its doors,” he said.
“Yes, it’s great to see all these expensive players arriving but Newcastle United is a club which is so famous for bringing through its own young local talent.
“That’s the perfect way to bring the supporters along with you. If you’ve got two or three young local players on that team then that’s massive.
“You’ve had players like the Longstaff brothers come through – and I would love to see more players from the North East being part of Eddie’s plans.
“It’s such a special area, with a great reputation for producing young players.”