Simon Phillips’ piece on his SubStack today today expands on what he wrote last week about Chelsea doing their due diligence on finding a new coach to replace Mauricio Pochettino, should the incumbent be sacked at the end of this campaign.
Phillips mentioned a number of candidates last week, but it seems one is really rising to the top. He claims that several separate sources have mentioned Eddie Howe as a front runner in the race to become our new coach.
Howe was really impressing with his work at Newcastle, but their season has fallen away sharply and there’s a sense he could be moved on if the Magpies reckon they can find a bigger name this summer:
“One key bit of information I’ve been given by three different sources last week, is that if Pochettino is sacked or walks this summer or before, then Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe will be considered at the very least,” Phillips wrote.
“He is liked at the club and three sources have now mentioned him as a candidate to me over the course of a few days. So that is usually accurate news when a name is given to me by a collection of sources.”
The new model
Howe is not an exciting foreign manager who is going to come in with some exotic brand of football to transform Chelsea into something totally new. For that reason, this rumour will leave a lot of fans cold.
However he is a very competent coach, and one with a track record of getting the best of our the players at his disposal. Moreover, he’s also the exact kind of choice we can see this ownership making. They don’t want an autocrat, they want a head coach who will cause no trouble and work with what they’re given. Howe will also be cheap compared to a Diego Simeone or equivalent, and won’t come with a long list of demands in terms of players coming in.
So whatever Chelsea fans might think, we have no doubts that if Pochettino goes and Howe moves on from Newcastle, he will be on our list without doubt.