Newcastle United may have suffered their first defeat of the 2024/25 season over the weekend, but is there any doubt that Eddie Howe is the right man to lead them back to the Champions League?
While the summer transfer window failed to attract many high-quality additions to the squad, the opening few weeks of the campaign saw the Magpies grind out several important wins.
Confidence has been rocked by the Premier League loss to Fulham though and with a clash against Manchester City coming up on Saturday, Howe will hope to get his men firing once again.
He has yet to end Newcastle’s 50-plus-year wait for a major trophy, but he did lead them to the League Cup final in 2023. Progress has certainly been made, no question about that.
He can lay claim to being the finest manager of the club since Sir Bobby Robson, who was the last man to lead them into the Champions League back in 2002/03.
The former England manager enjoyed a five-year reign on Tyneside between 1999 and 2004. Howe would surely love a few of the players who starred for the Englishman during his spell in charge.
Bobby Robson’s statistics at Newcastle
Robson returned to managing in England following the resignation of Ruud Gullit in August 1999 as the Toon occupied second bottom of the Premier League table. Considering they had finished runners-up during the 1995/96 and 1996/97 seasons, it was clear something new was required at St James’ Park.
Robson’s last managerial role in his homeland had been with Ipswich Town, who he led to stunning triumphs in the FA Cup and UEFA Cup during a 13-year spell in East Anglia.
Under the former Barcelona coach, the Magpies finished in the top five in three of his five campaigns at the helm, qualifying for Europe’s elite competition twice.
He built a side that really should have won a trophy or two, being able to call on players such as Alan Shearer, yet he wasn’t able to claim silverware.
GK
Steve Harper
DF
Aaron Hughes
DF
Didier Domi
DF
Alain Goma
DF
Wayne Barton
MF
Robert Lee
MF
Temuri Ketsbaia
MF
Gary Speed
MF
Norberto Solano
MF
Kieron Dyer
ST
Alan Shearer
Several of his latter signings proved to be major disappointments, including Patrick Kluivert, who joined in the summer of 2004.
Patrick Kluivert at Newcastle
The Dutchman scored the winner for Ajax against AC Milan in the 1995 Champions League final at the tender age of 18, thus setting himself up for a wonderful career.
Despite this early promise, he didn’t quite become the world-beater that everyone expected, despite shining for Barcelona between 1998 and 2004.
Indeed, during his spell with the Catalan side, Kluivert scored an impressive tally of 122 goals across 257 games, although he could only lead the side to a single La Liga title.
Once his contract expired, Robson was quick to bring him to St James’, spending a single season in the north-east.
13 goals from 37 appearances wasn’t exactly a bad return, but given his stature in the European game, much more was expected of the striker, that’s for sure.
Robson was sacked after just a few games of the 2004/05 season, but he could have signed a player who would go on to become much better than the Dutchman that very same summer – Wayne Rooney.
When Newcastle missed out on Wayne Rooney
Speaking after launching a charity auction in honour of the ex-Newcastle boss in 2015, Rooney revealed that Robson wanted to bring him to the club after Euro 2004.
“Sir Bobby Robson was a football man to the core and someone who once tried to sign me for Newcastle,” said the current Plymouth Argyle manager. “I only played against his teams on a few occasions.
“But as the England captain and a keen historian of the England team, I am aware of his impact as manager and as the most successful national team manager since Sir Alf Ramsey.”
What might have been had Rooney jumped at the chance to move to the Magpies 20 years ago, rather than linking up with Sir Alex Ferguson? English football would have looked very different, that’s for sure.
One that got away
The transfers that nearly happened but never did. This article is part of Football FanCast's One That Got Away series.
Wayne Rooney’s statistics at Man Utd
It was clear that Old Trafford was always going to be the preferred destination for Rooney that summer, especially given his chances of winning major titles.
While the first couple of years yielded just a solitary League Cup trophy, Ferguson was in the process of building his third great team at United, one that would see them dominate English football yet again.
Rooney played a key role during the three-peat between 2007 and 2009, while the Red Devils also tasted success in the Champions League, their third victory in the competition.
The former Everton man enjoyed his greatest season in front of goal during 2009/10, scoring 33 goals in all competitions for the club.
He would remain in Manchester until 2017, adding another few league titles, along with an FA Cup and Europa League triumph, not to mention the fact he overtook Sir Bobby Charlton as United’s top scorer in the process.
Rooney’s spell at the club perhaps exceeded everyone’s expectations when he signed, despite his prodigious talents, playing at the very top for 13 years, scoring 313 club goals in the process and winning five league crowns.
Imagine if he had joined Newcastle instead. Would the club have gotten a similar sort of performance out of him compared to Fergie? Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Instead, Robson signed Kluivert that summer, who, at the time, was still only 29 years of age. It didn’t quite work out for the Dutchman, spending only a single year at the Toon, before seeing out the rest of his career representing a number of clubs.
Rooney? Well, becoming Man United’s top scorer while netting over 50 goals for England suggests he didn’t do too badly after leaving Everton.
Newcastle must rue not making a more concrete offer to land him after Euro 2004, that’s for sure.
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