Rob Lee comments some three years apart – Sums up the brilliance of Eddie Howe | OneFootball

Rob Lee has been talking about Eddie Howe.

The former Newcastle United and England midfielder giving the NUFC Head Coach well deserved praise.

Rob Lee pointing out what a brilliant job Eddie Howe has done, culminating in that League Cup trophy on Sunday, plus United in Champions League qualifying form in the Premier League, two points off fourth with a game in hand.

Looking back, very interesting to see what Rob Lee was saying about Eddie Howe back at the start of August 2022, just ahead of the NUFC Head Coach kicking off his first full season with the club.

Rob Lee back in August 2022 gave a very good overview of the challenges Eddie Howe faced and the position the club were at back then, Lee declaring “Now Newcastle fans expect to finish in the top ten at least and they want us to go for Europe, which is a big ask.”

Quite mad what Eddie Howe has actually achieved since those Rob Lee words back then.

Eddie Howe talking about Eddie Howe back before his first full season with Newcastle United kicked off – 2 August 2022:

“I knew Eddie Howe was a good manager.

“He did it at Bournemouth. I think people maybe doubted him when he went to Burnley. He struggled a little bit, but then came back to Bournemouth. People maybe saw Burnley as a bit of a failure and that he could only do it at Bournemouth with everything he knows.

“Going to Newcastle which is a huge football club and comes with huge things on and off the pitch that you have to deal with, I think he has surprised a lot of people.

“You have to be able to deal with the fans, you have to be able to deal with the players – and big players. He’s dealt with that fantastically well. You speak to most of the players now and they love him. They love the way he trains, and they seem to be enjoying their football. I was always taught that if you’re enjoying your football, nine times out of ten you will play well.

“I don’t see why he can’t take Newcastle all the way to where they want to be. I think this will be a big season for him and we’ll certainly know more because when he took over I think we were bottom of the league by a million miles and hadn’t won in 14 games, so he did a fantastic job in keeping the club up. Now there are more expectations. I think we finished 11th, but he could have finished fourth from bottom and it would have been success. Now Newcastle fans expect to finish in the top ten at least and they want us to go for Europe, which is a big ask.”

What Rob Lee speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live about Eddie Howe following Sunday’s League Cup win at Wembley on Sunday – 16 March 2025:

“Eddie Howe has been magnificent.

“There are not many English managers around at the moment that have won trophies and lots of people have tried.

“In a short space of time he has saved us from relegation, took us to the Champions League, got us to a final two years ago and then got us to a final again and now he has won a trophy.

“He will be an absolute legend in Newcastle as all the players will be now.